Preparing balcony for next season

Hi,

I’m pretty new in this stuff. I tried grow some veggies and plats on my balcony, but I failed every year mostly because of pests.

Truth be told, I didn’t do much research previous years – just grab pots, soil, seeds or seedlings from garden shop and place them outside.

My balcony is facing SW, and it gets pretty hot and dry in summer. Zone is 7a.

So, this year I wash all the dirty pots in dishsoap for the first time, got rid of old crispy leaves (except fargesia bamboo) and I honestly don’t know that to do next?

I want to get rid of all possible “sleeping” pests before the season starts. The worst are spider mites and thrips every year.

Currently I have dwarf kiwi, red currant, raspberry plant (but I think it’s dead), fargesia bamboos and chives.

Photo is from last summer, all vegetables and fruits were destroyed by pests. Except chilli peppers, I have them in the bedroom by the window and they are alive (I luckily saved them from spider mites).

What should I do to minimize risk of returning pests?

Thanks!