June is a busy time of the gardening year for Chris and signals that its time to change over his balcony space.

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As May turns to June the busiest time of the gardening year takes place for me. The big change over on the balcony being at the centre of my personal gardening life. The bulbs, which once again provided a beautiful display from March until the end of May have now ended and are now drying in the office. These will be relocated to the verges around the property, to hopefully to give many more years of pleasure.

The big job of removing and replacing two thirds of the compost from numerous hanging baskets and pots is then undertaken. This is one way to stay fit as the spent soil is bagged and carried down the stairs to be transported to my compost bins and then the bags of peat free compost are carried the other way, up four flights and once done my containers are finally replenished. It is a hard job, but this is a fundamental part of balcony gardening.

Over the year the compost does degrade and although I top dress with compost in the growing season, a refresh is needed if my plants are to be successful. In many ways it contradicts the organic and soil practices of my allotment but as with all gardening, adaption to the conditions is key.

Once the compost is in place, some 150 plants that have been sown and grown in my front room can finally be placed in their summer home. They will be relieved as the conditions of being indoors has started to take its toll but once planted and given a good watering and a liquid feed of seaweed extract, they soon perk up and I can say just a couple of weeks later they are already putting on growth. A combo of Aubergine, Pepper, Tomato. Chilli, mixed in with the bright colours of summer bedding plants, all produced within the same 10 meters always feels like and an amazing achievement, in many ways balcony gardening, is gardening against the odds but I know this little space will give me a whole summer of joy and contribute to a few tasty meals too.

Reasons to grow your own organic food

This month Garden Organic will be hosting a stage at Gardeners World Live, NEC, Birmingham. The theme is ‘Grow Your Own’. There will be lots of great guests and growers. In light of that I’ve been asked to bullet point the advantages of growing your own food.

Taste - the freshness of homegrown food is second to none.
Guaranteed to be chemical free - and high in nutrients.
Small carbon footprint, transport costs, no packaging.
Feeling good, sense of achievement - well-being.
Saves money - price of veg and fruit has increased in recent years.
Save seed from HSL plants.
Reduced food waste - if you grow it yourself, you will eat it!
Supports wildlife - veg plants are all pollen rich and will attract those important pollinators.
Promotes local food systems - encourages good community cohesion.

Happy gardening
Chris