Raised bed on tiled, roofed veranda... Possible?

[want2grow]

We live in an apartment with a huge veranda. I'd like to build a simple raised bed out there to grow some herbs and a few veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers).

I read that if I put in a layer of gravel at the bottom, drainage will not be an issue? But should I build some sort of a drainage chute to take the water to the gutter? I don't really want it seeping all over the veranda where we eat dinner, the kids play, etc.

I'll also have to water the bed myself since the veranda is covered by a roof (high enough that the veranda gets plenty of early morning and late afternoon sun). Will there be any problems or a benefits to that?

The veranda is approx. 50m2 (which I believe is around 500ft2) and the floor is concrete with porcelain tiles on top. I was thinking of building just a small bed, around 1x3 metres or something like that. I'm flexible. Depending on the positioning, it can either get direct sunlight from around 8am-11am, or from around 3pm to 6pm. Both times the sun is low (rising or setting).

I'm in the southern hemisphere, "Yearly temperatures average between 9 and 35 °C (48 and 95 °F). The Köppen climate classification of the region is tropical savanna climate (Aw) and it borders on a humid subtropical climate (Cwa)".

 

[Plantdoctor]

Well you could ,but as an alternative, why not grow the veg you want in containers? far easier to manage and you can move them around.

If you go for a raised bed,the practicalities are getting the growing medium to the area,the materials to construct it as well,and if it doesn't work and you give up on it,quite a mess to clear up.

 

[headfullofbees]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roof_garden