Growing herbs on an apartment balcony: the three easiest

Growing herbs on a balcony sounds simple, but beginners usually fail two or three times and give up. The reason usually isn't a lack of green fingers — it's that a Saigon apartment balcony has two harsh conditions few people account for.

Two conditions to know first

1. Harsh sun, but only for part of the day

A balcony typically gets only a few hours of sun, and it varies enormously by orientation:

• East-facing — morning sun, gentle, good for most herbs.
• West-facing — fierce afternoon sun, and the concrete holds heat so the balcony stays hot into the evening. The hardest orientation.
• North-facing or shaded by another building — too little sun; plants stretch and weaken.

Worth doing before buying anything: watch for a day and note what hours the balcony is in sun. Pick plants from that number.

2. Strong, drying wind

Wind is much stronger high up. It dries pot soil very fast — a pot watered in the morning can be bone dry by afternoon, while the same pot at ground level is still damp.

The consequence: small pots barely survive on a windy balcony. The smaller the pot, the faster it dries.

The three easiest

1. Spring onion — easiest, and nearly free

No seeds needed. Buy spring onions at the market, cut the green tops for cooking, keep the white root end and push it into soil. Leaves appear within days.

• Handles both fierce sun and limited sun.
• Regrows after cutting, several times over.
• A pot about a hand-span deep is enough.

This is the one to start with, because it barely fails and produces quickly — which matters for a beginner.

2. Basil — suits Saigon sun

A tropical plant that likes heat and sun. On a fierce west-facing balcony basil copes where many plants scorch.

• Pinch the growing tips regularly — the single most important trick. Pinching makes it branch sideways into a dense bush; left alone it grows tall and leggy, flowers and finishes.
• Remove flowers as soon as they appear. Flowering means the plant is entering its final phase and the leaves lose fragrance.
• Likes moisture, so the pot needs to be reasonably large.

3. Perilla — the most shade-tolerant of the three

Suits a balcony short of sun or shaded by another building. Perilla manages with less light than basil, and the large leaves look good too.

• Likes moisture; don't let the soil dry out completely.
• Pick leaves from the bottom up, leaving the growing tip to continue.
• Self-seeds readily if an older plant is left to set seed.

Watering — the most common mistake

Beginners kill plants through wrong watering more than anything else, and usually by watering too much rather than too little.

• Put a finger into the soil before watering. Dry to the first knuckle, water; still damp, leave it. Watering on a fixed schedule is the fastest way to kill a plant, because water needs change daily with sun and wind.
• Pots must have drainage holes. Without them roots rot, and the plant looks like it needs water — so people water it more.
• Water in early morning or cool evening. Watering in midday sun means most of it evaporates.
• Don't leave water standing in the saucer — it rots roots and breeds mosquitoes.

Pots and soil

• Deeper beats wider. Roots need somewhere to go, and a deep pot holds moisture longer than a shallow one of the same volume.
• Ready-mixed vegetable compost is enough. Garden soil brought in is usually dense and heavy and drains poorly in a pot.
• Mix in coconut coir or rice husk for openness — holding moisture while still draining.

Is it worth it

Honestly: three balcony pots won't supply a household's herbs. But they solve one specific annoyance — buying a large bunch at the market, using a pinch, and binning the rest three days later.

Picking exactly what a meal needs wastes nothing. That's the real value of balcony herbs, rather than any notion of self-sufficiency.

Quick answers

What should I do before buying plants?

Watch for a day and note what hours the balcony gets sun. East-facing morning sun suits most herbs; west-facing is hardest because of fierce afternoon sun and concrete holding heat.

Why do balcony pots dry out faster than pots at ground level?

Because wind is much stronger high up and dries the soil quickly. The smaller the pot the faster it dries, so small pots barely survive on a windy balcony.

Which is easiest for a beginner?

Spring onion, and it's nearly free — buy them at the market, keep the white root end and push it into soil. Leaves appear within days and regrow after each cutting.

How do I look after basil?

Pinch the growing tips regularly so it branches sideways into a dense bush, and remove flowers as soon as they appear — flowering means the plant is finishing and the leaves lose fragrance.

What grows on a shaded balcony?

Perilla — the most shade-tolerant of the three, managing with less light than basil.

What kills plants most often?

Wrong watering, usually too much. Test the soil with a finger instead of watering on a schedule, and make sure pots have drainage holes — without them roots rot while the plant looks thirsty.