You want to make your balcony sustainable? Then you've come to the right place! Around 59 million Germans own a Terrace or a balcony.₁ However, the latter is often used quite umemotionally as a kind of storage space. Others see it as an additional living space with a few plants that offers relaxation - in the village, but especially in the city.
But "balconies" can do so much more! If you also have a balcony, you can transform it into a lively paradise of well-being with small, resource-saving measures that provide food for animals, produce fertile soil, supply fresh food and give your garden a new lease of life. ecological footprint massively improved.
In this article, I would like to show you exactly how to make your balcony garden environmentally friendly and sustainable. Use the following 10 tips to create a little piece of nature between heaven and earth. Because your balcony - large or small - can be just that. You just have to let it be. Let's go!
1. use potting soil without peat
A green balcony needs the right soil. Unfortunately, however, the peat in the bags of garden soil often available in DIY and plant markets these days comes from raised bogs. Its extraction contributes to species extinction with, the draining intact moorland landscapes and destroying the habitats of countless animal and plant species.
Since the world's peatlands are about twice as much CO2 stored forests combined, potting soil with peat also drives the climate change ahead.
As Replacement for peaty soil serves for example peat-free soil from the construction and plant market. But of course the self-created Compost, sands, coffee grounds or Softwood mulch are more environmentally friendly alternatives for your plants in your balcony garden.
2. select bee-friendly plants
Balcony plants are much more than just a visual highlight! Insect-friendly plants in particular promote the Biodiversity and help our buzzing friends find food. NABU recommends paying particular attention to native, perennial, hardy plants, like small Shrubs and perennials or climbing plants at set - also because they survive the winter on "balconies".₂
The attracted Wild bees, butterflies and countless other insects in turn attract more and more birds, making your balcony garden really lively. They also help themselves to the Snack fruit, that on a pet and environmentally friendly balcony is always welcome.
Here are some insect or bee friendly balcony plants you should definitely get.
Plants for garden balconies with lots of sun:
- Checkerboard flower
- Blue Mint
- Soft woman mantle
- Rosemary
- Wood Vine
- Blackberry
- …
Plants for garden balconies in the shade/half shade:
- Caucasian comfrey
- Forest forget-me-not
- Evergreen honeysuckle
- Raspberry
- Red currant
- …
Easy to clean and extremely effective at the same time wild buckets - i.e. plant pots in which you let low-maintenance wildflowers sprout.
Tip: The aforementioned plants on your balcony will help decisively to Promoting biodiversity. What else you can do, especially to Stop insect mortalityI will be happy to explain in the linked blog articles.
3. get the right pots, containers and tubs
You should also take a close look when choosing containers for your balcony plants. Sustainable balcony boxes and pots, for example Made from recycled plastic or natural clay, are durable and environmentally friendly.
In general, your pots, containers and tubs should be be stable and frost-resistant and have sufficient volume for the roots of the plants. It is also important that the water is Hole at the bottom and some expanded clay can drain off to prevent waterlogging.
As you can see, with the right containers you can fortunately even without own garden Sustainable gardening. So nothing stands in the way of your green balcony!
Tip: Raised beds also serve as containers for your plants. You can design them completely individually and, for example, build them yourself from old Euro pallets at low cost.
4. install balcony power plant with storage
Solar collectors on the balcony railing can Capture sunlight and convert the solar energy into usable alternating current via the generator. With the help of a corresponding Balcony power plant with storage you can also store electrical energy and access it conveniently when you need it. And if you want, it can also be fed into the public grid.
Such a power plant makes your balcony not only more sustainablebut also helps you to save electricity and energy costs. What's more, it is simply attached to the balcony railing, so it doesn't even take up any space.
Tip: In general, try to keep the lighting on your balcony as low as possible and only switch it on when you really need it. This way you can protect nocturnal insects, as they could otherwise be attracted to artificial lighting and die. If you don't want to do without light, then definitely give preference to LED lights with the lowest possible ultraviolet and blue content.
5. grow herbs, fruit and vegetables
With a raised bed on the balcony where you can grow your favorite fruits and vegetables, you can be wonderfully self-sufficient. However, it is important to always bear this in mind, how much sun, shade and humidity the respective plants need.
Whether in a planting bag, a tub or a raised bed - here are some Food that experience has shown to be very suitable for growing in the balcony garden.
- Paprika
- Chard
- Beans
- Eggplants
- Tomatoes
- Salad
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
- Kohlrabi
- Potatoes
- Blueberries
- Apples
- Pears
- Strawberries
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Basil
- …
Tip: Sometimes so-called "vermin" affect the harvest. For a high crop yield and as little animal suffering and environmental damage as possible, you should definitely use the Natural pest control (e.g. thyme against the cabbage white butterfly caterpillar). And to promote the growth of your plants, organic fertilizers (such as coffee grounds) are advisable.
6. provide drinking troughs, sand baths and nesting boxes for birds
The food supply in your balcony garden is now very diverse. What the feathered friends of balcony owners still need are a drinking trough, a sand bath and a nesting box as a shelter. So set out a shallow bowl of water and a shallow bowl of sand so that the animals can absorb sufficient fluids and clean themselves at all times can.
With a nesting box you offer them a safe dwelling - especially in spring, for example, when house sparrows or great tits and blue tits are raising their young. You can also find more inspiration and lots of ideas for your sustainable balcony in the blog article on the Bird friendly garden pick up
Tip: Speaking of nesting boxes! You can also offer bees and other insects a suitable home with a (self-built) bee hotel.
7. recycle organic waste in a worm composter or bokashi bucket
Special worm composters and bokashi buckets don't actually stink. Nevertheless, it can make sense to place them outside in the fresh air on the balcony. Especially when the Balcony near the kitchen located.
Either way, you can use this method to turn organic waste into fertile soil respectively valuable fertilizer and use it again directly for your balcony plants.
8. prefer fair and ecological balcony furniture
Unfortunately, balcony furniture is not automatically sustainable just because it is made of wood. The material could, for example from the rainforest or generally from illegal timber trade originate
You can recognize furniture from sustainable forestry, for example, by the widespread FSC seal or the even more stringent criteria subject Naturland seal. It is even better to avoid buying new ones altogether. You can do this by buying second-hand tables or chairs for the balcony (e.g. via classified ads) or building them yourself from old wooden planks. The more durable and resource-saving, the better.
9. collect rainwater from the gutter
Instead of using tap water to irrigate your balcony garden, you can simply use lime-free rainwater in a Barrel, a canister or a bucket collect.
Here are some ways to capture rainwater on the balcony:
- Rainwater flap: Perhaps you have a rain gutter or downpipe on your balcony so that you can use a so-called rain strainer to divert and collect water in a collection container.
- Inverted canister: Many of us have a covered balcony. Nevertheless, you can collect rainwater and channel it into a container using a 5-liter canister that has been turned upside down and attached to the balcony railing.
- Stretched tarpaulin: If you don't have a roof over your balcony, you should make the most of it! Simply attach a tarpaulin and weigh it down in the middle so that the water runs directly into the center of the hole from which the rainwater flows into the container below. Alternatively, it also works with a tarpaulin attached to a clothes horse with clothespins. It is important that the collected water always drains to a specific, lower point.
10. balcony decoration build yourself, upcycle or buy used
Homemade decorations, as well as upcycling and DIY projects will give your balcony a creative, personal touch, reduce waste and conserve natural resources in everyday life.
For example, convert a old wine barrel into a rainwater tank with tap and/or bar table. Many things, such as Old canisters or beverage and egg cartonscan also be used wonderfully as an alternative flower pot. There are no limits to creativity when it comes to making the balcony as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible.
Environmentally friendly and sustainable balcony, made easy!
As you can see, a balcony can be the garden, for those who don't have a garden. With the above-mentioned means and measures, you can transform it into a mecca of biodiversity, a natural bird and insect paradise and a floating temple of well-being in no time at all.
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (more at Environmental protection quotes)
If you really fancy a green, lively balcony on which you can enjoy the hustle and bustle of the bees and the chirping of the birds during a well-earned coffee break then simply implement the ideas and advice in this article step by step. However, please always remember that a sustainable balcony doesn't have to be a quick fix. Instead, think of it as a continuous process that you master step by step.
Do you have any questions, suggestions or would you like to share your own experiences of eco-friendly balcony design? Then I look forward to your comment!
Stay sustainable,
PS: I have another tip for a more environmentally friendly balcony or garden - make your windows bird proof! I'll show you exactly how to prevent birds from flying into the reflective windows in the linked blog article.
References:
₁ VuMA; IFAK (2022): Number of people in Germany who own a balcony or terrace from 2018 to 2021, available at https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/172077/umfrage/besitz-von-balkon-oder-terrasse. [14.08.2023].
₂ NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland) e. V.: Video tip - Start of the balcony season How to turn your balcony into an oasis for people, birds and insects, available at https://www.nabu.de/umwelt-und-ressourcen/oekologisch-leben/balkon-und-garten/trends-service/diy-rezepte/31567.html. [14.08.2023].
