Plans

Didn’t do much during spring and summer with the garden, so the main plans will be to prep the balcony for autumn/winter and the next planting season. No more suboptimal soil, too small pots, etc.

  1. Make a proper planter setup for the bushes (raspberry, currant) and a little tree (Japanese maple?).
  2. Prepare a planter with the proper soil and setup for flowers next spring/summer:
    1. Bulbs for early flowers
    2. Summer meadow flowers, including Strohblumen, bee-friendly, etc. Combined with e.g. Zinnien, Osteosporum.
  3. Some hanging planters for trailing ivy (murgröna).

Planters

Requirements

Red currant: since it’s a woody shrub you’ll keep in the same container for years, go with at least 45cm diameter and 45cm depth (roughly 60–75L) once it’s a mature plant — a half whiskey barrel size is a common benchmark for currant bushes long-term. Young plants can start smaller (around 30–40cm) and be sized up as they grow.

Raspberries: these have a shallower but spreading root system (they send up new canes from lateral roots), so width matters more than depth. A wide trough or large pot around 40–45cm deep by 60cm+ wide works better than a narrow deep pot, since it gives the spreading roots room and lets you support a few canes rather than just one. Minimum depth around 30–40cm; more volume overall helps a lot since raspberries dry out quickly.

Japanese maple: this is the one to size generously for, since it’s a long-lived tree even if kept compact. For a young tree, 40–50cm diameter is fine to start, but plan to move up to 60cm+ diameter and at least 45–60cm depth as it matures — depth in particular helps with stability in wind (relevant on a balcony) and buffers against the roots drying out. A half-barrel or larger is a reasonable long-term home unless you’ve chosen a genuinely dwarf cultivar.

So for all: Depth: 45-60 cm deep Width/diameter: 45-60 cm wide

Options

https://www.blomsterlandet.se/produkter/tillbehor/krukor-balkonglador/balkonglador/balkonglada-langtidsbevattning-vit-orthex-27825/

https://www.blomsterlandet.se/produkter/tillbehor/odlingstillbehor/pallkragar/bricka-till-odlingsladapallkrage-395315/

https://plantagen.se/se/p/vaxtlada-for-potatis-559188