Balcony Garden Too, in the Midwest

I am once again a Midwest resident. After 5 years in Seattle I find myself back in the great state of Michigan. Two important guys in my life have brought me back, Dad and boyfriend, Scott. Leaving the ladies behind in Seattle was no easy task and the bf is really being supportive in making sure I'm enjoying things here. So this weekend we started a garden. Nothing big, just a couple of containers with some herbs and one small pot of peppers.  If we can manage this then maybe we'll go bigger next time?

We kept things simple, two long boxes that will hang over the balcony filled with parsley, basil, thyme, oregano and chives. As the engineer (or money manager?!) he's indicated that the "garden" in order to pay for itself, will have to yield more than $50 in produce this summer. Yikes! You need me to yield that much cash value in herbs and 1 pepper plant?! If that's not pressure, and challenge, to keep me watering the small things I don't know what would be! Bring it on. I'll be avoiding long viney things Amy did last year, hoping to retain space for BBQ patio dinners for two this summer :) So far he's into the challenge as well. Tonight after dinner he said, I'm gonna water the kiddos! and happily refers to the pepper plant as his baby. Well, OK then. Together we'll keep these things alive. Hopefully we'll get some sprouts soon as we're little bit late planting our seedlings.

Here they are in the kitchen while we wait out the fear of possible frost.
Happy Gardening and Happy Easter! -Vicki

Balcony Gardening - Round Two

Another year, another garden! I've decided to try flower boxes, which I can hang on the railing instead of using white 5 gallon pails.  I plan to have three boxes containing plant herbs, lettuce, and strawberries. 

Earlier this month, Ben told me he did not want the pails taking up space on our tiny patio.  Little did he know that I had a plan to hang everything and continue on my merry gardening way. I think while he is away at a conference in 2 weeks, I will just plant a few of the pails anyhow.  I'll make sure to refrain from the pumpkin and zuchinni plants that took over our entire patio last year. 

Visit one of my favorite blogs Life on the Balcony for helpful information, video tutorials, and crafty projects. Not in the mood to read a blog,  pick up Amy Pennington's book titled Apartment Gardening.  "Grow squash on your patio, flowers in your window box, and pick blackberries from your parking strip". 

Start your garden, we'll talk grains shortly! - amy w

The Garden of Greatness - Amy's Organic Garden (AOG)

I started a garden on our patio back in May.  After talking this through with Ben, he was pretty convinced it was not one of my best ideas.  I'm the type of person that will start something without thinking about the entire process.  My husband on the other hand addressed several questions, but will support my decision either way.

"Amy, I'm really busy with school and I don't want this to become one of those WE projects."  No worries, I've read a few people's blogs on container gardening.  I know exactly what I need to do.  Shortly after, Ben is drilling holes in buckets, carring large bags of dirt to the patio, and helping me dump soil into the buckets.  WE started a garden together!!!  

"Amy, maybe you should wait a few weeks to start your garden.  It's still pretty cold at night." Naaa, I think the weather is fine, besides it's starting to warm up.  After planting all of the containers, I realize it's a bit early.  My nightly routine consisted of hauling 7 containers into the living room, telling Ben that I need help because the tomato pot is too heavy. 

Amy, I would still like to be able to grill and put our table and chairs out like we did last year.  Yeah, we'll have plenty of room.  Note to self, if you plant pumpkins and zuchinni on your patio, vines will be everywhere. Welcome to our patio pumpkin patch and watch out for the crazy tomato plants.  October 9th, our table and chairs are still in the storage unit.

For the past 5 months, I've watered, our garden. Every morning, I make three trips with the watering can from my sink to the patio.  Here's the output:

Strawberries -15 berries
Lettuce - 4 servings
Spinach - 4 servings
Basil, parsley, and cilantro - plentiful
Cucumbers - 5
Zuchinni - 0
Pumpkins - 2 (fist size)
Cherry Tomatoes - Maybe 7 tiny tomatoes
Regular Tomatoes - 4

Next year, I should stick to herbs and cucumbers.  I also need to read on how to properly grow tomatoes.  As you can see by the pictures, we had a tomato jungle on our porch.  How did my plants not produce tomatoes?  I guess we will see what next year brings!!  - amy w.