A small balcony herb box that actually gets used
Which herbs earned their place in a single long box on a narrow balcony, and how I keep them productive all summer.
My balcony is narrow, about the width of a chair, and gets sun from late morning until mid-afternoon. For years I tried to grow too much on it. This year I settled on one long planter box of herbs, chosen by a single rule: I only grow what I actually cook with every week.
What made the cut
After a few seasons of trial and error, the box now holds:
- Basil, at the sunniest end, because it sulks in shade and cold.
- Flat-leaf parsley, which is far more productive than I expected.
- Chives, which come back year after year and are hard to kill.
- Thyme, tucked into the driest corner near the edge.
- Mint, but in its own separate pot, never in the shared box.
Mint deserves a note. Its roots spread aggressively and will take over any container it shares. Give it its own pot and it is a wonderful, generous plant.
The box itself
The planter is about 80 centimetres long and 20 deep, with drainage holes along the bottom. I raise it on two small wooden blocks so the holes are never blocked and water does not pool on the balcony floor. I check with my building's rules every season that the box is securely fixed and inside the railing, not hanging over the edge.
For soil I use a general potting mix with a couple of handfuls of grit stirred in. Thyme in particular hates wet feet, and the grit helps everything drain.
Watering on a balcony
Containers outdoors dry out much faster than plants indoors, especially on a windy day. In high summer I water every morning, sometimes again in the evening if it has been very hot. A deep, slow watering is better than a splash. I aim for water reaching the bottom of the box, not just wetting the surface.
Basil and parsley like steady moisture. Thyme prefers to dry out between waterings, which is another reason it lives at the edge where the soil drains fastest.
Harvesting is the secret
The biggest change came when I started harvesting properly. Herbs grow bushier when you cut them, and if you do not, they go to flower and stop producing leaves.
- Basil: I pinch out the top pair of leaves just above a pair of side shoots. Two new stems grow from that point.
- Parsley: I cut the outer stalks near the base and let the centre keep growing.
- Chives: I cut a whole clump to about three centimetres above the soil and it regrows in a couple of weeks.
- Thyme: I snip sprigs from the tips and never cut into the old woody stems.
When basil tries to flower, I pinch off the flower buds as soon as I see them.
Feeding
Herbs do not need much fertiliser, and too much can make them leafy but less fragrant. I give the box a half-strength liquid feed every three weeks from late spring to late summer, and nothing in autumn.
End of the season
When nights turn cold, the basil is finished. I harvest everything that is left and dry or freeze it. Chives and thyme stay outside and come back in spring. Parsley often survives a mild winter too. I clear out the basil, refresh the top few centimetres of soil, and the box is ready for next year.
It is a small thing, but stepping out with a pair of scissors before cooking is one of the best parts of my day in summer.