Small balcony, veggie growing.. how?

[Dinu]

My daughter lives in Chelmsford near Boston.
She has a small balcony/patio, may be about 7 feet wide and 5 feet long, 3rd floor. She asks me if I have any ideas to grow a few veggies there. I have no idea since I live in Zone 10, tropical plains. So I thought of turning to my friends here who may be able to give some clues and basic guidance in this matter. May be a couple of herbs.

 

[headfullofbees]

How much sun does her balcony get?

 

[Beth_B]

Yes, amount of sun is critical. Almost anything that can be planted in the ground can be planted in containers.

 

[IcyBC]

Right now, I have sweet basil, Thai basil, peppermint, spearmint and green onion growing in containers on my deck. They had adequate sun in the afternoon, shade in the morning and evening.

 

[Autumn_Hearthwitch]

This is the first time I've planted anything on my patio. I wanted to see how it would do. I planted only peas in a railing pot and so far they're doing great. I planted some in my greenhouse too and those are getting out of control. The ones on my patio are starting to do the same. If they keep up, I'll try planting other types of veggies next year. For the most part I usually plant herbs as I have basil and rosemary growing as well along with marigolds to keep away the mosquitoes.

 

[Dinu]

My daughter replies that she gets mostly evening sun at this time, may be 2 hours, but she is not very sure as she has to observe more [living there since 4 months, most of the time winter, snow..] - I have asked her to keep an eye on it and revert with a rough estimate.