After 4 years of sad balcony tomatoes I finally tried the burpee tin foil trick

I kept getting these tiny green tomatoes that never ripened. Last summer I figured out my balcony only gets like 3 hours of direct sun because of the building next door. A guy at the garden center told me to line the back wall of my balcony with crumpled up tin foil to bounce light back at the plants. I thought he was messing with me but I tried it and I swear my cherry tomatoes ripened 2 weeks faster. Has anyone else tried weird light tricks for shady balconies?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciaellis20d ago

That crumpled foil trick is legit. Try adding a cheap white reflective car sunshade on the ground under the pots, it helps push even more light up to the lower leaves.

paul11720d ago

Funny how that works, right? Same principle as putting a light colored rug in a dark room to make it feel bigger. Little reflectors change everything.

the_michael20d ago

My buddy tried the car sunshade trick and his peppers got so bushy you couldn't see the stems.