Best 5 Crops for a Windy Scottish Balcony

Wind does three things to a plant in a pot, and none of them is what people usually picture. It strips water out of the plant and the compost far faster than still air does. It flogs tall or floppy growth, snapping stems, shredding leaves and knocking off flowers and young fruit before they've set. And at height it acts on the container itself: a tall, narrow pot of light compost with a top-heavy plant in it is exactly the shape most likely to topple.

A pot that stays damp for two days in a sheltered garden can be bone dry in one on an exposed balcony. Moving air pulls moisture from foliage and from the soil, and pot plants are at particular risk. A crop that copes needs to be low and compact so the wind can't catch it, tolerant of drying out, and sturdy enough to need little or no support, because a balcony rarely has anywhere to sink a cane.

Many Scottish flats are tenements built around narrow closes and stairwells, and gaps between tall buildings can funnel and speed up wind, so a corner balcony may be windier than open ground a few storeys below. A coastal balcony adds salt on the wind, which can scorch foliage on top of the drying and physical damage. A balcony can also run colder in spring than the regional last-frost dates suggest, so build in a margin before sowing anything tender.

The 5 best crops for a windy balcony

1. Mediterranean herbs: thyme, oregano and chives

Thyme and oregano are two of the few edible crops that want the conditions wind creates. Thyme likes well-drained, even stony poor soil in sun, and oregano grows best in well-drained to dry, neutral to alkaline soil in sun. Both are low, woody or semi-woody and never need a cane. Chives are more moisture-tolerant (rich, well-drained soil in full sun, though tolerant of wet conditions and heavy soils) but share the same tufted, ankle-height habit with nothing for the wind to catch.

Basil needs a warm, sunny, sheltered location, dislikes cold, damp conditions and is best under glass in cooler regions, which describes an exposed Scottish balcony almost exactly. Skip it there. Rosemary shares the drought-hardy, woody habit, but needs shelter in cold areas because it rarely survives prolonged freezing, so it's a reasonable sixth choice rather than a top-five pick if your balcony gets hard frosts.

Growing notes: Plant or sow from spring once the worst frosts are past. A single wide trough or several 20-25cm pots works well, and grouping all three lets them shield each other's compost from drying wind. Water only when the compost has dried out, and err towards underwatering. Trim thyme lightly after flowering and cut chives to the ground after flowering to keep both bushy and productive. All three are perennial and can stay in their pots over a Scottish winter; move them somewhere more sheltered in a hard freeze, because a pot's roots are more exposed to cold than ground roots.

2. Cut-and-come-again salad leaves and rocket

Loose-leaf salads and rocket stay low and floppy-leaved rather than growing upright, so wind damage is limited to occasional leaf bruising rather than snapped stems. A wide, shallow, low-profile container (a large but quite shallow old tin bath works) is harder to blow over than a tall narrow one, because it keeps the whole planting's centre of gravity close to the floor.

Growing notes: Sow outdoors from mid-spring to late summer, a small batch every few weeks, for a continuous supply rather than one glut. This is an annual crop, resown each time. Use a container at least 30cm (1ft) wide, since larger containers dry out more slowly, which matters where wind is already speeding up moisture loss. Check the compost daily in summer, as containers may need watering daily. Salad plants don't usually need feeding as a short-term crop, though a fortnightly liquid feed can help cut-and-come-again leaves keep producing. In the hotter months, sow in light shade to slow boltingA plant switching early into flowering and seed production, usually triggered by stress, after which leaves, roots or bulbs turn bitter or unusable. Full page →, and shear leaves off at the base, leaving the growing point intact.

3. Compact, round-rooted carrots

Carrot foliage is fine, feathery and low, so it flexes in wind rather than catching it: no broad leaf surface, no floppy stem, no top growth heavy enough to threaten the pot's balance. Small, round-rooted varieties are ideal for most containers, which also avoids needing a deep pot.

Growing notes: Sow directly into the final container from April to early July, since transplanting disturbs the roots and gives forked or distorted carrots. Use peat-freeCompost made without peat, which is harvested from a slow-forming, carbon-storing wetland habitat that peat extraction damages. Full definition → multi-purpose compost, sow thinly and cover with about 1cm (½in) of compost. A second sowing in early summer extends the harvest. Container carrots dry out more quickly than ground-grown ones and need steady watering, because the roots can split if moisture varies a lot. This is the one crop here where you can't let wind-driven drying go unchecked, even though the plant itself is unbothered by wind. It's an annual, pulled at harvest.

4. Compact chilli varieties

Compact chillies stay short enough to be self-supporting. 'Loco' and 'Prairie Fire', both RHS Award of Garden Merit holders, are compact, bushy plants (Prairie Fire reaches up to about 30cm). That solves the mechanical side of wind exposure.

It doesn't solve the other side. Chillies are heat-loving and want your warmest, sunniest spot, ideally a sunny patio or beside a south-facing wall, with heat and lots of sunshine to fruit well. So this pick belongs in the most sheltered sunny corner of the balcony, not on the exposed rail edge: wind-tolerant in stature, but not wind-loving.

Growing notes: Sow indoors from late winter to mid-spring, since chillies need a long growing season, and move them outside only once frosts are over. Check the regional frost dates, remembering a balcony can run colder than the ground-level figure. Young plants benefit from clochesA small, portable clear cover placed over an individual plant or short row to trap warmth and keep off wind, rain and pests. Full definition → for wind and cold protection, preferably until the end of June. Grow one plant per 22cm (9in) pot of peat-free multi-purpose compost, or three to a standard growing bag, and keep the compost evenly moist. Feed weekly with a high-potassium liquid feed once flowering starts. Large plants and anything in a growing bag may still need canes. Treat it as an annual outdoors: a plant can be pruned back and kept on a bright windowsill or in a conservatory over winter, but it won't survive outside a Scottish winter.

5. Dwarf peas

Full-height peas are a poor balcony choice: tall, climbing and needing a proper support structure. Dwarf varieties need only a few twiggy sticks rather than tall canes or netting, a real difference on a balcony, where a handful of twigs pushed into a pot is achievable and a 1.5m cane structure isn't. 'Meteor' is a quick-maturing dwarf pea to about 60cm and shows some tolerance of windy sites.

Be realistic, though. 'Meteor' still climbs by tendril and needs something to grip, such as twiggy hazel sticks or netting, and its listed exposure is sheltered. So it's the least stake-free of the five, and belongs away from the most exposed edge.

Growing notes: Sow from March to June once the soil has warmed, or a little earlier under cover, and protect seedlings with cloches or fleeceA lightweight, breathable fabric laid or draped over plants to trap a little warmth and keep off frost, wind and some flying pests. Full definition → in a slow spring. Use a container at least 45cm (18in) wide, with plants about 7.5cm (3in) apart. Containers dry out quickly, so water regularly, and from the first flowers feed fortnightly with a high-potassium liquid feed such as tomato feed. Taller pea varieties become top-heavy and need tall, sturdy supports, which is why dwarf types suit a balcony. This is an annual, cleared at the end of the season.

Comparison at a glance

Keeping pots upright and plants intact

Gauge how exposed your balcony is before choosing pots. A top-floor balcony facing the prevailing wind with nothing to break the airflow is a different problem from a lower, more enclosed one, and the precautions below matter more the higher the exposure runs.

Crop choice solves half the problem. The other half is the container: tall, narrow containers are prone to being blown over, particularly with tall plants in them. Add a layer of bricks or stones to the base to stabilise them, and put them in a sheltered spot. A few bricks or large stones in the bottom lower the pot's centre of gravity and cost nothing. A heavy glazed or terracotta pot is harder to blow over than a plastic one, though it's more likely to crack if it freezes while wet, so choose frost-proof pots and weigh that trade-off against the spot's exposure.

• Favour wide and shallow over tall and narrow wherever the crop allows it. A salad trough is the clearest example.
• Group containers together. Pots clustered against each other and a wall or balustrade shelter each other's compost from wind and present less surface to a gust.
• Tie tall or top-heavy pots to a fixed rail or balustrade where the structure allows it, rather than relying on weight alone.
• Keep the most exposed edge for your lowest, sturdiest pots and the sheltered corner, nearest a wall, for anything taller or top-heavy, such as the pea pot.
• MulchA layer of material spread over the soil around plants to suppress weeds, retain moisture, and improve soil structure as it breaks down. Full definition → the surface of pots of thirstier crops once they're established, using bark or other bulky organic mulch, which reduces the drying effect of wind on the soil.
• On a coastal balcony, rinse foliage with fresh water after a salt-laden gale, particularly on herbs left out year-round. Salt on leaves adds damage on top of ordinary wind-drying.
• Keep drainage holes clear and stand pots on feet or bricks. Blocked drainage leaves a pot waterlogged after heavy rain, and a saturated pot is heavier and more likely to crack in frost.
• Consider a reservoir or self-watering container for any of the five. It holds a buffer of water between waterings, a direct answer to wind's main effect where daily watering isn't realistic.

A pot that goes over the edge is a real hazard, since it can land on a pavement, a car or a neighbour's balcony, so treat stability as essential. In a flat, check your building's rules before assuming it's up to you. Your title deeds set out any burdens or conditions that come with the property, and if there's a property factor, they manage repairs and maintenance for shared parts of the building. Rules on what can go on a balcony vary, for example a weight limit on the floor, a ban on anything fixed outside the railing or a rule that drainage water mustn't run onto the balcony below. See tenement and balcony growing in Scotland for the fuller permission picture.

Common questions

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