Document A
The Spec Sheet
> for the machine · speed · precision
Let AI design the garden plan around your exact balcony conditions.
Required
- ChatGPT / Gemini
- Compass app on phone
- 1
Describe your balcony
Prompt: "My balcony faces [direction] in [city], gets [X] hours of direct sun, is [size]. I want herbs + 2 vegetables in containers. Give me a plant list matched to these conditions, pot sizes, and a layout."
- 2
Generate a watering schedule
Follow up: "Create a weekly care calendar: watering days, feeding schedule, and warning signs of overwatering vs underwatering for each plant."
- 3
Troubleshoot on demand
Yellow leaf? Photo → AI → diagnosis. This alone saves most beginner gardens from the compost bin.
EFFICIENCY NOTE: Replaces weeks of forum-reading with a plan tailored to your exact light and city.
Document B
The Worksheet
— for your hands · craft · patience
The traditional way: observe the sun, start with survivors, learn by doing.
Materials
- 5–6 containers with drainage holes (buckets work; ₹0–₹300)
- Potting mix + compost (₹150)
- Seedlings: mint, tulsi/basil, chilli (near-unkillable starters)
- Watering can or reused bottle
- 1
Map your sun
Check the balcony at 9 AM, 1 PM and 5 PM for two days. Full sun = 6+ hrs (grow chilli, tomato). Partial = 3–4 hrs (mint, basil, spinach). Shade = greens only.
- 2
Plant deep, not dense
One plant per 20–25 cm pot. Cover drainage hole with a broken pot shard, fill 2/3 with mix, seat the seedling, top up, water till it drains.
- 3
Water by finger test
Stick a finger 2 cm into soil — dry? Water. Wet? Wait. Most beginner plants die of kindness, not thirst.
- 4
Feed monthly, harvest weekly
Mix a handful of compost into the top layer monthly. Pinch herbs from the top (they bush out); never strip more than a third at once.
OLD-HAND TIP: Mint is invasive — give it its own pot or it will bully everything else.