Planning for this spring's garden...
Last year's balcony garden was surprisingly successful. Especially the basil, which sprouted up like mad and made for many wonderful tomato sauces and pesto blends last year. So once again LJ has become my place to blather and plan.
Garden setup: 5th floor NNE-facing balcony. Gets some sun from the east during the morning, so if I push the plants right up to the railings, they should be fine. I just can't do stuff that LOVES the sun.
DEFINITELY
* Basil. Obviously. Maybe a new kind? Last year's was sweet basil, which was awesome. Maybe I'll stick with what works. Scatter seeds when night temperatures are above 60F. Thin to 6"-10" apart once the seedlings have 2-3 sets of leaves. Last year's tended to be tall and sparse, so maybe this year I'll pinch off the tips so they'll be bushier.
* Spinach. OH MAN, I hope this works. 0.5" deep, 2" apart, thin to 6" apart when seedlings are 4" tall, then fertilize until 6" tall. It seems as though it wouldn't be terribly difficult to get it to grow. I think leafy stuff likes partial shade. (Don't bother starting indoors. To keep it going, should sow every 2 weeks until daytime temperatures average 75F).
* Bell Peppers. Oh man, that would be so awesome if this worked. Ripe bell peppers are the BEST, OM NOM NOM. Start them indoors (oops; better do it soon!) . I'll need to buy a bigger pot, I think. When the soil is 70-85F, pot 'em outside (1 plant per pot, I think). Keep 'em well watered & mulch to retain moisture or they'll be bitter! Fertilize after the first peppers grow. Clip the peppers off the plant. This... probably won't work, but I REALLY want to try.
* Nasturtiums. Pretty, edible flowers with tasty leaves. I could put them in a hanging contraption of some sort, especially since there are some trailing versions. Plant after the last frost. Picking the flowers encourages it to bloom more. Note: water sparingly! Don't drown them.
MAYBE
* Chives. I grew them last year with some success, but I hardly ever used them. But I could try 'em again.
* Tomatoes. Many people have had patio/balcony success with tomatoes. I loathe tomatoes on their own, but fully homemade tomato sauce could be amazing. They like full sun, though, so I don't know if I could provide that.
NO / NOT AGAIN
* Garlic. Waaaah. Not going to happen. It takes, like, 8 months to get set up and I don't know if I could get it to grow at all in a little pot. It's too bad because I use garlic ALL the time.
* Lemon Thyme. Because I practically never used it last year and I should focus on growing something .
* Rosemary. I struck out last year and after reading up on it more, I think it's generally very hard to start from seed. Also, I think the roots go deep, so maybe I couldn't do it anyway in my limited space. Unless I can buy a young plant, I think rosemary isn't for me.
Think, think, think. Maybe I'll go to Target, Lowe's or Home Depot this weekend and pick out some seed packets. ^_^
PS: My hair is red now. ^_^ Fun! It makes my eye color pop and it's still got that fabulous super-conditioned smooth feeling I can never seem to replicate at home. I love gettin' my hurr did.
Garden setup: 5th floor NNE-facing balcony. Gets some sun from the east during the morning, so if I push the plants right up to the railings, they should be fine. I just can't do stuff that LOVES the sun.
DEFINITELY
* Basil. Obviously. Maybe a new kind? Last year's was sweet basil, which was awesome. Maybe I'll stick with what works. Scatter seeds when night temperatures are above 60F. Thin to 6"-10" apart once the seedlings have 2-3 sets of leaves. Last year's tended to be tall and sparse, so maybe this year I'll pinch off the tips so they'll be bushier.
* Spinach. OH MAN, I hope this works. 0.5" deep, 2" apart, thin to 6" apart when seedlings are 4" tall, then fertilize until 6" tall. It seems as though it wouldn't be terribly difficult to get it to grow. I think leafy stuff likes partial shade. (Don't bother starting indoors. To keep it going, should sow every 2 weeks until daytime temperatures average 75F).
* Bell Peppers. Oh man, that would be so awesome if this worked. Ripe bell peppers are the BEST, OM NOM NOM. Start them indoors (oops; better do it soon!) . I'll need to buy a bigger pot, I think. When the soil is 70-85F, pot 'em outside (1 plant per pot, I think). Keep 'em well watered & mulch to retain moisture or they'll be bitter! Fertilize after the first peppers grow. Clip the peppers off the plant. This... probably won't work, but I REALLY want to try.
* Nasturtiums. Pretty, edible flowers with tasty leaves. I could put them in a hanging contraption of some sort, especially since there are some trailing versions. Plant after the last frost. Picking the flowers encourages it to bloom more. Note: water sparingly! Don't drown them.
MAYBE
* Chives. I grew them last year with some success, but I hardly ever used them. But I could try 'em again.
* Tomatoes. Many people have had patio/balcony success with tomatoes. I loathe tomatoes on their own, but fully homemade tomato sauce could be amazing. They like full sun, though, so I don't know if I could provide that.
NO / NOT AGAIN
* Garlic. Waaaah. Not going to happen. It takes, like, 8 months to get set up and I don't know if I could get it to grow at all in a little pot. It's too bad because I use garlic ALL the time.
* Lemon Thyme. Because I practically never used it last year and I should focus on growing something .
* Rosemary. I struck out last year and after reading up on it more, I think it's generally very hard to start from seed. Also, I think the roots go deep, so maybe I couldn't do it anyway in my limited space. Unless I can buy a young plant, I think rosemary isn't for me.
Think, think, think. Maybe I'll go to Target, Lowe's or Home Depot this weekend and pick out some seed packets. ^_^
PS: My hair is red now. ^_^ Fun! It makes my eye color pop and it's still got that fabulous super-conditioned smooth feeling I can never seem to replicate at home. I love gettin' my hurr did.