Home Ideas and Plans Project guides & Articles

Essential tool kit for balcony gardeners

Here are the essentials to get you growing:

Garden gloves – A good pair of gloves will help take the dirty work out of gardening. Well okay, not entirely, but at least they’ll help keep the dirt out from under your nails. But more importantly, it will help reduce the risk of any cuts and scrapes and it’s also good practice to wear gloves when handling potting mix.
Hand trowel – This handy tool will help you scoop potting mix from the bag or dig small planting holes in large pots.
Scissors or secateurs – Get yourself a pair to help deadhead flowers, trim dying or diseased foliage, stems or branches and to cut any flowers for indoor display.
Dust pan and broom – Soil, leaves and other garden matter can end up dirtying the floors of your balcony or apartment. A dustpan and broom is an easy way to help maintain the cleanliness of your space.
Liquid fertilisers – Feeding your plants is easy with liquid fertilisers, like Yates Thrive All Purpose Liquid Plant Food. Simply dilute in a watering can and away you go. Plus, liquid fertilisers take up much less room than a heavy bag of plant food and they’re generally odourless – ideal for small spaces.
Watering can – Plants need to keep hydrated, so invest in a small watering can to ensure you can water as needed. Depending on the size of your ‘garden’ a compact 2.4L watering can may be sufficient, but if you’re finding that you’re making multiple trips to the tap, perhaps consider a 9L can.
Storage crate – Keep everything tidy in a large plastic storage container. That way, you’ll always know where everything is and your tools are ready to go when you need them.