Hi Michael, a big factor in what you can grow is how much sunlight reaches the balcony.

You can grow plants in any container as long as it has holes in the bottom (don't let it sit in a full tray of water for too long either). I avoid clear containers because light hitting the roots can be bad for them.

Some edible plants you can grow in containers that require less light include lettuces, carrots, beets, radishes and most herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, and cilantro. You generally want at least 2-4 hours of sunlight to hit those plants leaves during each day, and having ambient/reflected light helps too. If you can't get them enough light on the patio you can always get a grow light.

Pretty much all of these plants need the soil to remain moist so make sure you don't let them dry out too much, but also be careful of over watering. If you can squeeze the soil and water comes out, it has too much water.

Just out of curiosity, what wild plants do you/did you eat?

Chia sage (seeds are edible), prickly pear cactus (the pads), Agave (leaves, flower stalks, flowers and seeds), pinyon pine (large seeds known as pine nuts).