Baking bread and Netflix binge-watching aren’t the only trends that have come with COVID-19 lockdown. Masses of urbanites are feeling a new urge to grow vegetables—even on the smallest of Vancouver balconies. And Egan Davis, principal instructor of the horticulture training program at the UBC Botanical Garden, where they’re fielding a tidal wave of how-to-garden queries, has a few theories around the topic.

“It’s just been astonishing right out of the gates: all these questions about how to grow food. I think there’s a sense of urgency around food security,” he marvels over the phone from home, adding that the pandemic has been a catalyst for a concern that was already growing. “There are all these other issues around food, about pesticide, and, ‘What about bees?’ or ‘Is food healthy?’ ”

He has an eager message for anyone looking at their pint-sized patio and wondering what is possible. “It’s easy!” Davis asserts with a contagious enthusiasm. “Honestly, vegetables are the weeds of the plant world, essentially. These are annual plants; they occur in the wild, they’re opportunistic, and they will germinate in disturbed soil. They grow fast and easy. They don’t have much time and most grow for just one season—and for that reason they grow fast.”

At the same time, he says the act of growing some of your own food will nourish your soul at a tumultuous time when you need it.

“The most satisfying thing I can think of is watching seeds germinate,” Davis says. “It’s such a marvel of nature. So get some seeds and put them in a pot and water them. Watch it happen. It’s addictive!”

At the same time, the process will generate a new respect for the people who grow the peppers, broccoli, and cukes you get at the grocery store.

“When you get into it, you think about the amount of labour and space to get that food to your home—and that really becomes apparent when you do it on a small balcony,” he says. “You learn about your limitations, and I think everyone will gain a deeper understanding for the people that do produce food.”

Whatever the benefits, you’re going to need containers to start growing your patio garden. In some cases, that might mean vertical shelves or some other setup that allows you to maximize space. Strawberries make beautiful hanging baskets. Hit Pinterest, and you’ll find a goldmine of DIY ideas for stacking your veggies from high-functioning gardeners: everything from shoe organizers to homemade wooden-box structures. If money’s no object, shop online for a layered pot or stacking tower. (At last check, 20-plant versions were as low as $72 on Amazon.ca, where we also found PVC-pipe-style tube towers starting at $38; GreenStalk’s fancier five-tier plastic vertical garden tower was $259.99 on Wayfair.)

Timing is everything. Right now, in cooler weather, Davis encourages you to direct-sow your salad needs: lettuce, arugula, radishes, bok choy, spinach, and mustard greens are all fast and easy. Lettuce can even grow in shade.

Davis advises: “With lettuce and greens, it’s important to understand that you want a kind of succession. Sew the seeds on the surface and water till they germinate, planting new ones every two weeks or so. Otherwise when you harvest, it’s all over.”

By late May or June, you can put tomato plants out. But Davis advises that you still have time to plant the seeds inside now and grow them on your windowsill. “It could be fun to grow them from the seeds of tomatoes you’ve eaten,” he adds, pointing to heirloom varieties. (If you can’t wait, Hunter Garden Centre [2560 West Broadway] is one of the spots that has beefsteak plants in already, with more patio-friendly cherry-tomato varieties arriving later this week.)

Elsewhere, consider balcony-happy cucumber varieties, which can spread vertically if you give them something to climb on.

“People also like growing a variety of hot peppers on their balcony, but in order to have success you’ll have to hope for a hot sunny summer,” Davis adds.

Here are some of Davis’s other startup tips to get your patio garden growing.

Container prep

Make sure your pot has good drainage—it’s simpler than you think. “You just need a container with a hole at the bottom, with a reservoir dish underneath,” says Davis. “But it’s important to elevate the pot from the reservoir dish; use one-inch tiles, or I use shims.” Otherwise, your pot can stick and the hole is essentially plugged.

And take heed: “It is a myth that you should put gravel or broken terra cotta on the bottom of the pot,” Davis reveals. “It reduces the volume you would otherwise have for soil or roots.”

Soil

When you’re setting up your container, just use general-purpose potting soil. “It’s engineered to work in a container,” Davis stresses. “Don’t use garden soil or straight compost. A pot is like a bathtub and it will get saturated.”

Watering

“When they water plants in containers, people often make the mistake of dribble watering, putting in a little bit every day,” Davis says, adding the result is that leaves look crispy or burned. “What you need to do is water until the water comes right out of the pot—and then let it dry right out. So let it soak and dry down. If you don’t put water all the way through, the salts accumulate.”