These are the best fruit and vegetables to grow on balconies

You don’t need a large garden or outdoor space to grow your own fruit and vegetables – a balcony will do just perfectly, and you'll be surprised at the number of balcony plants that will thrive in these spaces.

Not only will having your own edible garden cut down on future grocery costs but growing your own food and taking the time to care for plants can have several mental health benefits as well. The experts at Garden Buildings Direct have put together their top picks of balcony plants – crops that will flourish in containers and small spaces – explaining: 'One of the most rewarding parts of gardening is using homegrown produce in your kitchen, and there is no need to miss out on this if you only have a balcony.'

Here is the best fruit and veg to grow on balconies and smaller spaces...

Did you know that you don’t need a raised garden bed to grow vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, turnips and parsnips? If you do have the garden space, you can still grow them in the ground, but balconies are an ideal place to grow and harvest root vegetables.

The experts do suggest ensuring that the pots used for your crops are at least 40cm deep to give the vegetables enough room to grow.

If you’d love to have fresh tomatoes to hand, particularly those of the cherry variety, growing them on a balcony can be great as they love the sun but need to be sheltered from the rain.

Because they flourish while being grown in pots, this makes them perfect for those who only have a small space to play with.

There are several easy ways to plant strawberries on your balcony.

For the best results, the experts say, ‘use only 20cm of special strawberry compost, or use a pot which has been specifically designed for strawberry plants. Those with a smaller balcony should try hanging baskets and ensure to give the strawberries at least 30cm of depth and width to grow'.

Utilising all of the space on your balcony, particularly on walls where you might have some space to spare, can allow you to create your very own mouth-watering fruit garden.

Grow the likes of grapes, blackberries, raspberries and gooseberries, while simultaneously adding colour to a previously blank area.

Growing tasty peppers and chillies is possible but only if they are placed somewhere where they will receive hours of sunlight, which is why balconies and sunny windowsills work fantastically.

Again, choose a variety of different peppers and chillies and you will be adding some lovely colour to your balcony space.

You may already be aware that herbs grow incredibly well in containers, which is why they fare so well on balconies too.

And because they don’t require much attention, these are one of the most straightforward plants to grow. You’ll also get the added benefit of adding a lovely smell to your outdoor area too, and a great garnish for your meals.

You really don’t need a large garden or outdoor space to grow fruit trees. ‘Dwarf fruit trees are ideal as they never grow above 1.5 metres yet still produce a lot of fresh, flavoursome produce. Choose dwarf trees such as apricots, cherries, peaches and pears,' the experts recommend.

‘Varieties of columnar trees are also perfect for balconies as they grow in a narrow shape.’