From Balcony to Self-Sufficiency: A Realistic 3-Year Plan

Year 0: The Starting Point

Lisa and Thomas live in a 70 m² apartment in Vienna's Ottakring district. A southwest-facing balcony, 6 m². No garden, no experience. But the desire to buy less plastic-wrapped vegetables from the supermarket. A typical starting point for many people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

What they had:

• 6 m² balcony (southwest, 5h of sun in summer)
• Budget: €150 to start
• Motivation: Fresh herbs and "a few tomatoes"

Year 1: The Balcony Start (6 m²)

The Investment

Item	Cost
3 balcony planters (80 cm)	€35
2 large pots (40 L)	€28
Organic soil (80 L)	€22
Seeds (Demeter)	€18
Trellis for tomatoes	€12
Watering can + saucers	€15
Total	€130

What they grew

Herbs (planter 1): Basil, parsley, chives, dill Salad (planter 2): Cut-and-come-again lettuce, arugula, Asian mix Radishes (planter 3): Resow every 3 weeks Tomatoes (pot 1): 2x 'Balkonstar' – compact bush tomato Peppers (pot 2): 1x 'Yolo Wonder', 1x chili

The harvest in the first year

• Herbs: ~2 kg (market value approx. €60)
• Salad: ~3 kg from 4 sowings
• Radishes: ~1.5 kg from 5 sowings
• Tomatoes: 4.2 kg (disappointing – too little fertilizer)
• Peppers: 1.8 kg

Total: ~12.5 kg – not much, but the herbs alone almost recouped the investment.

Mistakes in the first year

1. Started too late (May instead of starting seedlings in March)
2. Too little fertilizer – potted plants need liquid fertilizer weekly
3. No system – never knew when to sow what

Solution: Lisa discovered PermaNatura and set up her balcony as her first project. The reminder function helped her keep to the resowing intervals.

Year 2: Adding an Allotment Garden (45 m²)

In the autumn of the first year, they obtained an allotment garden plot in the "Am Heuberg" allotment colony – 45 m² of usable area, typical for allotments in Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg or Zurich.

The layout (according to permaculture zones)

• Zone 1 (at the entrance, 8 m²): Herb spiral + 2 raised beds for lettuce and radishes
• Zone 2 (middle, 25 m²): 6 vegetable beds of 1.2 x 3 m for tomatoes, zucchini, beans, carrots, chard, kohlrabi
• Zone 3 (back, 12 m²): 3 berry bushes (currant, raspberry, gooseberry) + compost

New investments in Year 2

Item	Cost
Raised bed material (2x)	€120
Soil + compost	€65
Seeds + young plants	€45
Garden tools	€80
Fleece + mulch material	€25
Total	€335

Harvest Year 2

• Tomatoes: 28 kg (8 plants, well fertilized!)
• Zucchini: 15 kg (2 plants are enough for a family)
• Salad/herbs: 12 kg (balcony + allotment)
• Carrots: 8 kg
• Beans: 6 kg
• Berries: 4 kg (bushes still young)
• Rest: 9 kg (kohlrabi, chard, radishes)

Total: ~82 kg – market value approx. €280 at organic prices.

Documentation in PermaNatura

Thomas used PermaNatura intensively:

• Companion planting planner: Which plants go next to each other? → Tomatoes next to basil ✓, tomatoes next to potatoes ✗
• Crop rotation tracking: Where was what last year? → No nightshades two years in a row
• Harvest documentation: Exact kg figures per bed → comparison over the years

Year 3: Optimization and 40% Self-Sufficiency

What changed

• Starting seedlings from February on the windowsill (thanks to the seasonal calendar)
• Green manure in winter (phacelia) → better soil
• Consistent mulching → less watering, fewer weeds
• Companion planting systematically following PermaNatura recommendations

Harvest Year 3

Total: ~140 kg – of which 65 kg vegetables, 40 kg tomatoes/peppers/zucchini, 18 kg herbs/salad, 17 kg berries and fruit.

For a 2-person household that buys ~350 kg of vegetables per year, that corresponds to 40% self-sufficiency during the season (April–October). In winter the share drops to ~10% (storage vegetables, preserves).

Total costs over 3 years

	Cost	Harvest (organic market value)
Year 1	€130	~€40
Year 2	€335	~€280
Year 3	€95 (only seeds/fertilizer)	~€480
Total	€560	~€800

From Year 3 on, the system is profitable – and that's without factoring in the value of fresh air, exercise and the taste of a sun-ripened tomato.

Tips for Your Start

1. Start small: A balcony planter with herbs is enough for week 1
2. Plan digitally: Use PermaNatura for crop rotation and companion planting
3. Local seeds: Buy from regional suppliers in Germany, Austria or Switzerland (e.g. Arche Noah, Bingenheimer Saatgut, Sativa Rheinau)
4. Use the community: Share experiences in the PermaNatura community
5. Document everything: You can only improve what you measure

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