If you’re an urban dweller with a balcony garden that receives little or no direct sunlight, luckily, there are some creative hacks to help you harness that golden energy right here. Before moving forward, it’s worth knowing your balcony’s orientation – that is, the direction your balcony faces. This is important to know because it gives you information about the sunlight’s pathways nearby and around your balcony. To determine the orientation of your balcony, stand on your balcony facing outwards with a compass (usually there’s a compass application in modern phones) and that will tell you the orientation of your balcony. My balcony is north-east facing. Secondly, finding which direction the sun rises and sets will help implement creative hacks for harnessing the sun. This can be done by either observing the sunlight for a day or researching. I love ChatGPT for these purposes – so straightforward. A general rule, however, is that the sun rises in the East, sets in the West.
Let’s say I had a westerly facing balcony; I would now know that I am likely to receive the afternoon/evening golden hours at best. Therefore, I will work towards harnessing that sunlight with the following:
Reflective surfaces
Mirrors or reflective surfaces – Using a reflective surface like a mirror, white walls, or thin-gauge aluminium can be used to redirect and amplify the sunlight to your balcony plants. Obviously, the positioning of the reflective material will need to be well thought out. Things to consider when harnessing sunlight using a reflective surface include: the direction of the available sunlight, the angle of the reflective surface, making a connection to the available light, and where the reflective surface needs to be positioned to achieve this. To harness indirect sunlight, using manageable-sized panels or a mirror is ideal, that way it’s easily maneuvered around your balcony. Luckily, there is a range of lightweight aluminium materials you can experience with.
Grow lights (solar)
Grow lights – Grow lights are an effective hack due to their ability to mimic the sunlight while used indoors or in shaded areas. What’s better is that there are solar options that keep costs low, avoiding high electricity bills. I understand you might think, “but I don’t get any sun on my balcony to charge my solar grow lights”. The beauty of these solar grow lights is that they’re more than capable of being moved around your apartment where the sun does shine. Simply charge during the day before setting up on your shaded balcony garden. The way grow lights work involves their adjustable blue and red light intensity. The light is essentially what activates the plant’s photosynthesis process when set at accurate measurements, distance and duration of exposure (This website Gatherahttps://gathera.com/blogs/learn/what-type-of-light-do-plants-need-to-grow, goes into depth on this topic). So, if you have a heavily shaded balcony garden, this may be the perfect hack for you.
Here is a simplified example of harnessing the sunlight using a mirror from a shaded balcony.
pot plant trolley (caddy)
Pot plant trolley (or Caddy) – A pot plant trolley gives balcony gardeners the ability to follow the sun by turning plants into portable plants. A pot plant trolley comes as a base on which your pot sits, and the bottom of the base has wheels. This makes it easier for balcony gardeners to move their plants around, chasing that direct sunlight or available light that is captured by a reflective surface, making the most of it while you can.
shade-loving plants
A final hack for a shaded balcony is to grow shade tolerant plants (see this article for more – Best plants for a beginner balcony garden). If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. As someone passionate about gardening, I wouldn’t let this be the driving factor keeping me from doing what I love, especially when there are so many shade loving varieties out there. Whether you want to grow food or build a beautiful balcony garden oasis, there are shade loving plants out there that will completely fulfil that goal.
Gardening is a responsibility; it’s like operating a small business, and you are the boss. It will take thinking outside of the box, trial and error and time. On the other hand, when you have tinkered and conquered, gardening is what will reward you for your time and efforts, much like a small, successful business. Although balcony gardeners face unique challenges, there is always going to be a way to overcome such barriers. Reflective surfaces, grow lights, and pot plant trolleys are a part of the solution to the challenges of having a shaded balcony garden.
