The Balcony Container Garden

Balcony gardening can offer greater challenges than working a garden bed in your backyard. The first one is that it may be against the building rules to grow anything on your balcony and so by doing so you may run into some problems with other tenants, the superintendent, or the owner.

The second challenge is the conditions, low light, or high winds can be common conditions on an urban balcony. However, if you can get 3-4 hours of sunlight each day, more is better, but if that is all you get you can still grow your own food.

It is possible that the yield will be less or the plants will take longer to produce fruit. It is almost certain you will need to water frequently as the containers will dry or under the hot sun or high winds.

Before planting anything get to know the conditions, especially how much sunlight you get on your balcony, if it varies then place the containers where the sun visits longest.

Plant Choices:

1. Cherry Tomatoes, I use CampJoy but any cherry tomato will do well in a container and the bonus is you can grow basil in the same container. Two containers, 18 inches across and 2 feet deep will hold two tomato plants and two basil plants.
2. Green Peppers, both peppers and tomatoes enjoy the sun but need heat so if the spot is cool, then I suggest planting something else. Plant peppers same as tomatoes without the basil.
3. Pole beans need support; I use bamboo poles, available at the plant nursery. They are cheap and last for years. You can put two plants per 18 inch diameter pot.
4. Peas, you will need support and there are trellises that will fit into an 18 inch or larger container. They can also support themselves on balcony railings.
5. Herbs, chamomile, borage, chives, thyme will all do well in a container. You could create an herb garden in one 24 inch diameter container and plant a few of your favourites. They will also help to bring in the pollinators when in flower.
6. Gladiolas, I must have one ornamental per garden and the glad is an ideal choice. The bees are as necessary on the balcony as they are in the backyard. Fuchsia works as well. Morning glories can grow along railings.

Containers:

You can use anything that is deep and wide enough as long as it will hold soil in place. A drainage hole is essential and you may want to place the container in another container to catch the excess water. If you are cramped for space you can use smaller containers and plant fewer seeds or seedlings per pot.

Anyone Can Garden

Gardening is the most rewarding and useful activity.

There are many lessons for one thing, that you can learn from a well-designed garden; history, math, language, organizational skills, the appreciation of beauty and so on. Perhaps the most important aspect of gardening is that it can keep us in touch with nature. I view the garden as the place where Civilization and Nature meet. The garden’s job is to maintain the balance between the two forces so that the garden and all that is in it thrive.

A child’s garden can be a simple design that includes fast-growing plants like radishes so the child can see the results quickly and sunflowers so they can enjoy the majesty of these garden giants. What you place between these two is all up to you and the time that is available for gardening.

Gardening does not require you to be physically fit. There are many tools that make basic gardening chores simpler and we will explore those in a future hub.

If you cannot bend over you can create a garden on a tabletop to which you can pull up a comfortable chair. This works well for a container garden. Remember when building a tabletop garden, it is important to consider the height of the table and the container. You want to keep it all within reach.

Window boxes are a great way to make your garden reachable or you can place flower boxes on your balcony railing.

The most important consideration is that this is your garden so if you are designing it for yourself ask this question what do I need in order to garden comfortable?

If you are creating a garden for someone else then be sure to ask them that vital question.

Trellises are another way to keep your plants within reach. You can build your own or buy a trellis.

There is a wide range of plants that grow well on a trellis from clematis to zucchini. Here again, what do you want to grow is an important question to answer? Are you looking for beauty or food, perhaps a bit of both?

Raised beds are another option and the video gives you some ideas about how to make a raised bed garden. You can even add a trellis to your raised bed.

You may find it essential to put in a pathway in order to make it easier to get around. We will examine pathways in a future hub but for now, the type of material will depend upon how you are getting around.

You may want to give some thought to the fragrant garden; herbs, for example, will give off their aroma as you walk through the garden. Herbs are easy to grow and work well in containers regardless of where you place that container, as long as they get the light that they need.

I believe that anyone who wants to can garden, it all rests in the design.

Taking Time to Reflect

I am revisting what I want to achieve with this blog and my work. Seeds are on my mind. 

Back to The Garden

Over the years my work has been shaped by a number of influences, music and particular lyrics have played a strong role in helping me choose a path that made sense and served a purpose.

There are many reasons why I have chosen to wander the garden path but the following words from Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock still keep me focused.

And we've got to get ourselves Back to the garden.

The garden is where civilization and the wilderness meet, the place where humans maintain the balance and all thrives.

Over the years we have wandered far from the garden and even when we are gardening the techniques that we use are hostile and unfriendly and upset the balance rather than maintain it.

When I speak about gardening I am referring to everything from growing a petunia in a container to a community garden and onto the schoolyard and beyond.

The intent of this hub, which is the first in a series, is to bring my gardening hubs into focus and thereby create a more useful document for anyone who is interesting in growing plants of all kinds.

Why do I garden? Let me count the reasons; but seriously folks, I garden for many reasons and I will explore them here.

Style plays a major role in many gardening discussion but I feel that what is most important is for the gardener to always remember that it is your garden so style it your way. Anyone, who wants to can garden.

The plot may be as small as single container with a cherry tomato and some basil on a table top, for example, or vast; that depends upon your resources (time, money, land) and your interest.

The wise use of water enables the gardener to conserve this valuable resource and to have a garden as well. A garden needs five things to make it thrive; air, light, water and soil are four that in varying degrees nature will provide but the fifth and certainly not the least is the care and attention of a gardener.

Trees may not be right for every garden but the act of planting a tree begins a long term commitment with another being.

Now if there was a situation when it was important to follow the right plant, right place rule it is when you are choosing a tree or trees for your property. Pick the wrong tree and you may find its roots assaulting the foundation of your home. Pick the right tree and you will enjoy its many benefits for many years.

The plant you call a weed, I may call lunch. Weeds, if they were called by any other name would they still annoy us to such a degree. The topic of weeds and weed control can touch off a frenzy of discussion when gardeners gather.

Many people, especially those living in the city are faced with serious space restrictions when it comes to growing anything.

So you want to garden but your backyard is small or non-existent; well do not let that discourage you, if you have the will, you will find the way.

The first step, as in all forms of gardening, is to assess you existing space. How much room do you have? How much sun and shade does that space get?

Growing you favourite plants in a container is another great way to utilize a small space or tot take advantage of decks, patios and balconies.

The choice of container is up to you and there are many possibilities out there. You can buy a wide variety of containers from urns to window boxes at you local plant centre or you can drop by a garage sale and find that unique planter. You may even find ways to recycle items in your attic or garage. Your personal taste and vision will guide you when it comes to choosing a container.

If you are looking to move beyond the lawn and establish and backyard food production system then you may want to take a close look at the forest.

Have you begun to feel that the time you spend watering and cutting your lawn is a waste and probably doing more harm than good? Tired of using poisonous chemicals to keep that lawn green and golf course ready?

Or are you longing for fresh fruits and vegetables?

Perhaps both appeal to you and if you have answered yes to one or both then it could be time to turn your yard into a food forest garden.

There are many possibilities and adventures awaiting the person who chooses to set out on the path back to the garden.

If you are not yet a gardeners then take that first step and plant a seed, watch it grow and produce more seed that you can save and plant to grow more plants and so the circle continues.

Nasturiums

I Have a serious liking for nasturtiums.

Gardens Are For Learning

All I need to know I found out while I was gardening, well nearly, I first had to learn to read and write first, thankfully gardens can help people develop reading and writing skills.

If you are going to plant seeds or plants, for example, you need to know what their requirements are. This information is either written on a seed pack or other printed source.

If you really want the plants to do well, you need to know how far apart the seeds or plants must be spaced when being put into the garden. You also need to know the size of the garden and how much space each plant requires so you can calculate the number of plants you can place in each plot.

There is more than math and language literacy skills one can develop by gardening, there are the personal or lifestyle skills that will help you make your way through the world.

The first garden/life lesson I had was patience. I used to find it very difficult to wait for anything; this may be partial because I was spoiled as an only child and while there may be other reasons I did my develop patience when I began gardening.

This took a while but the lessons were remembered as I planted seeds and had to wait for them to emerge; I also had to wait until the weather conditions were just right so I could plant.

During this process, I discovered what the basic needs of plants were and enhanced my botany and biology knowledge. As my knowledge of pollination grew and I studied the role of the earthworm and spider in a garden, my understanding of the role that cooperation plays in nature and how important cooperation with others was to the success of my garden, in fact, I even began to think of the garden as ours as I was not the only being responsible for its growth.

This leads me to an appreciation that life is much greater than just my immediate universe, the few blocks that I inhabit were only a part of something that was much, much greater; the whole was indeed more than the sum of its parts.

The act of gardening and the quest for related knowledge fanned my curiosity; I was already an eager learner but growing things gave validity to that eagerness and a sense of purpose.

What I was learning had a practical application in my immediate world. My years of schooling, especially the years before University would have been much, more rewarding if more of my classes gave me a sense that there was a real-life use for the lessons I endured.

The garden brings learning to life and if we want the children to become lifelong learners and truly reap the most from those formative years then we must get them back to the garden.

The garden can help us all find out what we must discover in order to live in harmony on our home, the Earth.

Small Gardens Can Be Great Gardens

Small spaces may present some gardening challenges but with a bit of planning and careful thought, you can create a great garden in the tiniest of places. Be it backyard, balcony, or rooftop, space can be transformed into a green oasis.

To get started ask yourself the following questions:

1. How do you currently use the space? Is it a quiet getaway; a place for you children to play, or pets to roam, for entertaining?
2. What do you want to grow, herbs, flowers, annuals, perennials, shrubs, fruit trees, vegetables?
3. Thinking about a water feature?
4. Do you use it as an outdoor office?

Once you have answered these questions, here are a few more to ponder.

1. How much money are you willing to spend, on hardscaping, plants, watering system and décor, lights, garden art?
2. How much time do you have to look after your garden?
3. What specific challenges do you need to address, sunlight blocked by nearby buildings for example, ugly view?
4. Measure the space and draw a plan. You do not need to be an artist but setting in down on paper will help you focus.

You are now ready to create your garden plan, and, of course, there are more questions.

1. Are you growing in containers? If so, you need to select containers that are the appropriate size for the plants you choose and fit in with your overall décor.
2. Is there a view you which to hide? If yes, then you may want to include a trellis and a climbing plant such as English ivy or you could consider ornamental grasses; it depends upon the situation.
3. Do you want to add lighting, furniture, garden art? If you do they must flow with the design.
4. Think up, small spaces are ideal for growing vertically; you can use trellises and other supports or stackable plant holders for herbs, for example.
5. Fill in all the items that will be in your garden on the plan, again, accurate representation is not the goal, only you need to be able to understand it. Label items, such as chair, light rose, peas.

We grow beans and peas vertically so why not expand that list. When you make the choice to grow vertical your small space expands, growing up means growing more.

Deer Proof Your Garden

Deer. Oh, deer, you may find them to be cute, reminding you of Bambi but once they have eaten your prize roses your feelings may change.

You may get even more annoyed with these four-legged eating machines when the vegetable garden you planned all winter long and so passionately prepared turns into a deer buffet. Deer will devour your greens and veggies and many of the ornamentals that we do love so.

What can you do?

Well first remember this, deer are just being deer and foraging for food where they can find it; it is not their fault that you have gone to so much trouble to lay a feast before their eyes.

Also one of the reasons that deer are becoming pests in areas where they were rarely seen is that human, through urban sprawl and other activities are destroying their natural habitat and hey they have to live and eat somewhere.

So how do you deer-proof your garden? If you are growing vegetables, the safest way to do so is to build or buy a greenhouse. This will keep the deer out and keep your food safe from their hunger.

A greenhouse will also help keep another unwelcome garden raider away, the rabbit. A greenhouse is more effective than a fence

Now you could put up an electric fence; however, the price of energy is rising and adding to that bill offsets any gain that you may get from growing your own food.

Of course, a small solar panel could be used to fuel the fence. Deer when properly motivated and food is a great motivator, can leap pretty high. However, for a small garden plot an electrified fence can be a good alternative to the greenhouse.

Deer cannot sense electricity but will come up close to an object before leaping it so if they receive a shock, they are unlikely to proceed and will turn elsewhere for their meal.

If you want to grow organic vegetables then either a greenhouse or a solar-powered electric fence is your best option for success. There are other alternatives such as repellants and some of these will work but they do need to be applied more than once over the season so if you forget, you may wake up one morning and find the cupboard bare.

There are ornamental plants that are not on the deer’s favourite dining menu and if there is something they like handy, your ornamental garden might be safe. Rittenhouse has put together a list of plants that are deer resistant, just remember that a hungry deer is not a fussy deer.

Humans have destroyed deer habitat and humans have expanded their territory so that deer-human conflicts are all but inevitable. If you live in an area that has a large deer population and are a gardener then you will need to plan for deer control when you plan your garden.

Greenhouses will keep the deer out

If you build a glass greenhouse your cost will be higher. However, the added advantage to ether greenhouse is that unlike the fence they will extend the garden season both in the spring and the fall and this increases the yield and variety of plants that you can grow.

The choice is yours to make.

Weeds?

Weeds, if they were called by any other name, would they still annoy us to such a degree. The topic of weeds and weed control can touch off a frenzy of discussion when gardeners gather.

Some gardeners have little to no problem with weeds as they either use them to attract beneficial insects to their garden, eat them, for example, lambs quarters have serious food potential, or they read them and realize that the existence of weeds is telling us something about our garden; usually about the condition of the soil.

When we get the message we can take the proper steps to eliminate the problem and watch the weeds disappear.

Nature does not like bare patches of soil and the plants that we call weeds are nothing if not opportunistic, they will quickly move in where others fear to grow.

Weeds are hardy pioneers that are often the first plant life to appear on an abandoned site. So if you do not want the weeds to move in then do not leave patches of soil available to them because if you leave it they will come.

In addition to mulching, you can avoid digging all together; often when we turn over the soil to create a new garden bed what we do is free the weed seeds that have been lying in wait for the opportunity to grow to spring forth.

Resist the temptation to dig and deny them that opportunity. No-till gardening plus mulching will reduce your weed concerns.

Like many activities how you approach your garden depends to a considerable extent upon your attitude towards the garden; towards Nature and towards weeds.

When I am giving a garden talk or starting a workshop and feel the need to gain some insight into the people who are there; I ask one question; when you hear the word dandelion what is your first reaction?

If they gasp and say weed or worse then I know that I have my work cut out for me; if they say healthy, salads, wine or tea substitute than I have a very different crowd.

The dandelion, the bane of many suburban lawn and gardeners, is probably one of the most versatile and useful plants that grow so freely in our yards and just about anywhere it can get some sun and put down roots.

I am not suggesting that you deliberately grow it, although you can buy seeds if you wish, I do feel that you can learn to love it and try some of the recipes, like dandelion fritters.

I find the dandelion to be quite a beautiful plant that contrasts brilliantly with green lawns; if you pick the heads before they go to seed and deep fry them in batter, for example, you won’t be spreading them around the neighbourhood.

In fact, you could invite the neighbours over for dandelion tea and fritters and maybe just change their minds.

Once again, if you do not leave space for weeds to garb hold in your garden and do not set free the seeds already hiding in the soil, you are well on your way to reducing your weed worries.

Compost: What is it and Why use it? Part 1

Compost is decomposed organic matter.

Compost energizes the soil food web, which is made up of microscopic bacteria and fungi, along with earthworms, crickets, and many other life forms. Many fungi form symbiotic, or mutually rewarding, partnerships with plant roots, making it possible for vegetables to feed themselves more efficiently ...

How to Save Time When Gardening

Reducing the work you need to do and creating a garden that thrives begins in the planning stage.

My Small Garden is located near my front deck and my container garden.

Planning steps to take:

1- Calculate the amount of time you have to invest in your garden.

2- Determine what available space you have or where your garden will be.

3- The first two steps tell you how big your garden should be.

4- How much light does that space get? This tells you what you can grow.

5- Be sure to write your answers to the above down.

6- What do you want to grow?

7- Draw a rough plan which you can refer to as you go.

8- Get started.

Simple activities:

1. Which garden tasks would you rather not do?
2. Which garden tasks do you enjoy doing? If there is nothing on this list, perhaps, you are not a gardener.
3. If you dislike mowing the lawn, reduce the lawn space. Add a shrub, some berry bushes or a fruit tree or two, Put in a vegetable or cut flower garden or add a deck.
4. Dislike weeding, add mulch. Mulch will not only reduce the need to weed but also reduce the need to water. You are reducing labour in two ways and improving the garden’s health.
5. Keep a compost bin. This gets rid of food scraps, lawn clippings and tree leaves, for example, and turn them into organic matter that will help the garden thrive and reduce the amount of garbage you will need to put out.
6. Spend time in your garden, just watching the plants grow. What could be easier? While there check for any new and unexpected happenings. This way you can catch a problem in its early stages and reduce the work you will need to do, if the situation gets out of hand.
7. When planting put the right plant in the right place. Make sure the plant gets the sunlight it needs.
8. Water in the early morning and water deep; you are watering the roots.
9. Plant a diversity of plants and use a combination of herbs, vegetables and native wildflowers. This will attract the pollinators your garden needs to reproduce.

Time spent in the garden is a great investment; one that will repay you for many years.

Forest Gardens

Have you begun to feel that the time you spend watering and cutting your lawn is a waste and probably doing more harm than good? Tired of using poisonous chemicals to keep that lawn green and golf course ready?

Or are you longing for fresh fruits and vegetables?

Perhaps both appeal to you and if you have answered yes to one or both then it could be time to turn your yard into a food forest garden.

If you do undergo the transformation, you will be no longer be using your time and energy to maintain an unnatural ecosystem- the lawn- which gives you little in return for your efforts.

Instead, you will be investing that time, energy and dollars in an ecosystem that provides you and your family with fresh right off the vine, produce all the while, creating a backyard habitat that will attract, butterflies, bees and birds.

The backyard food forest meets not only you and your family’s needs but provides food and shelter for butterflies and songbirds, for example.

The inclusion of native plants and others, such as herbs, berries and fruit trees, in the backyard forest garden will form the layers of your backyard forest.

Your lawn wants to become a forest; it wants to follow Nature’s way and eventually become a forest but the constant maintenance that a lawn requires prevents this natural progression from taking place and creates considerable work for the homeowner.

As you move away from the lawn; from an unnatural and stalled ecosystem that wants to evolve but is constantly thwarted in its desire, you move from wasting your resources to investing them and stop using resources poorly and begin to invest so that one day you can reap the rewards of your work as you harvest, fruit, berries, herbs and vegetables fresh from you own backyard.

The role of the gardener is not to stall ecosystems and combat natural growth but to work with that desire and need to grow and guide the progress so that it meets the needs of all beings.

This way balance is maintained and the garden becomes a place of mediation between Nature and Civilization rather than a war zone.

You can start small. There is no need to overturn your whole backyard into a forest garden the first time around, select a sunny corner and work with dwarf fruit trees for example.

This is a process and you may proceed at your own pace.

If you are interested in converting your backyard into a food garden then the book, I’d suggest is Gaia's Garden:A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway. It is published by Chelsea Green, 2001, and has a foreword by John Todd.

introduction

edible forest gardens

Wild But Not a Weed

Chicory is a perennial and one that many consider a weed; it certainly is persistent enough. Formally known as Cichorium intybus ), it is a member of the family Asteracea.

Chicory is well know, the roots, that is, as a coffee substitute but if I was to wild cultivate it for this or any other edible purpose I would want to know more about the soil where it is growing.>

The young leaves can also be used in a salad. However, once again if I was planning to wildcraft the leaves I would need to know more about the site other than chicory was growing there.

For example, how long has the site been abandoned, in an urban setting, there can be a number of areas where buildings once stood but have come down for one reason or another. Depending upon what the purpose of the building was, for example, industrial, and how long ago it came down, you may just want to enjoy looking at the wild things rather than eating them.

You could collect a soil sample and get it tested, at your own expense, if sufficiently motivated.

If the motivation is strong within you, take a trip to the local municipal office and find out who owns the property and gather all the information you can.

It may be worthwhile to contact the owner and find out what you can about the site. Meanwhile enjoy the wild garden. Nature is a fine gardener, observe and learn.