I would like to grow a (small) variety of veggies this year, but the only place I have to put them where I can tend them easily is our balcony. It only gets maybe an hour of sun in late afternoon because we face away from the rising sun, and theres a huge oak right outside to block the rest of the light. Can I get good growth using grow lights?? The kinds I would like to do are carrots, spinach, potatoes and -maybe- some other vegs if I can make the room (and the bf doesnt complain too much)
Basil, oregano, thyme, all lend themselves to pot culture, greens might be another good candidate. Potato if you can mulch them well (potato part will grow in mulch). Have you asked around for a local community garden? It sounds like you are dirt deprived! ;-)
With only an hour of sunlight, you are very limited in what you can grow on your balcony. If you can get into a community garden, that would be much better, or perhaps someone would rent/lend you a plot. The only thing that I can think of that might survive (not thrive, just hang in there) is mint. Even lettuces, which don't require as much light as other vegetables, need more than an hour. Grow lights are a possiblity, but outside on a balcony you would have a problem each time it rained. I don't mean to be discouraging, but neither should you go into container gardening expecting more than your location can give you.
it sounds like what you may need to do is grow inside hydroponically if you have the room the possibilities of what you can grow are only limited to imagination and room.
