a common treasury for all

[devi]

balcony garden
Originally uploaded by bluedevi

Since February I've been growing stuff on my balcony. Windowsills full of seedling trays to begin with, gradually moving outside. I'd kind of wanted to grow things for a while but there didn't seem much point while I was all weird and vegetable-phobic. Then, last summer, something shifted, and I found out you could grow veg and flowers in containers, and... well. The picture is from three weeks ago. Now the tulips are all gone but everything else is burgeoning. Peas, lettuce, strawberries, spinach, various herbs, all bursting out of their pots. The little green bastards, much as I love them, are taking over the balcony and looking appraisingly at the house. It's an entirely commonplace thing, of course, but if you've never done it before it's like magic.

On the other hand, it'd be nice if we could both sit on the balcony at the same time again. So. Would any Oxford people like some plants? Many of them are in small pots and easy to transport - I've delivered some already on my bike and on the bus. I've got chives, coriander, lavender (sprouting so fast I think they want to be triffids when they grow up. They have flower buds and everything), lettuce (the kind without hearts), a few marigolds and - if anyone wants a charity case - some yellowish basil which I think would be doing much better if it were somewhere with more sunshine. Everything else is disgustingly healthy. Let me know if you want to take some.

I've spent hours and hours sitting on the balcony doorstep staring at them as they grew. Seedlings all look the same at first and get more complex and different every day. Who knew?

Comments

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Oh god yes. I just wish I had a proper garden. Thing is, I'm aware it would be more difficult if I had, what with slugs and birds and things. I was telling doop about my gardening exploits and at one point he said "ah! It's on a balcony! That's how you can have lettuce!"

[juliet]

Speaking as someone who has both a balcony & an allotment, I can confirm that they're both good for different things :)

(You could investigate allotmenting, if you want a garden? Though it is a certain amount of work!)

Tomatoes grow v well in pots, too, especially if you make self-watering pots (can be done cheaply with those black buckets that you can pick up from florists for 10p or so a pop: let me know if you want further information!)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

I have a container garden, some tomato seedlings that will need re-planting soon, and would love more information!

[juliet]

OK!

Complicated self-watering containers: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/build-your-own-self-watering-container.html

Two-litre plastic bottle self-watering containers:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Self-Watering-Plant-Container-out-of-a-2-liter-bot/

My adapted version with black plastic florist's buckets:
- take bucket A, & put something in the bottom that bucket B can stand on (I can't now remember what I actually used, but old takeaway containers or bits of plastic piping would do. Anything that'll keep a bit of empty space).
- Make one biggish hole (enough to thread some scrap material through) in the bottom of bucket B, then smaller drainage holes in a circle around that. (Ideal tool for this: soldering iron. But, um, prob best not to borrow yr partner's without asking, and/or if you *do* do this, make sure to clean all the burnt plastic off it afterwards, otherwise they get cross. Not that I would know this, obviously. Also it smells a bit but never mind.)
- Get a piece of scrap material - old T-shirt, whatever - and thread it through the biggish hole in the bottom of bucket B, so that it's half inside B and half sticking out the bottom.
- Stack bucket B inside bucket A. Make sure the piece of fabric reaches all the way into the bottom of the space between the buckets: this is where the water will live.
- Fill bucket B up with earth. You want the fabric to run up through the earth, not to sit in a puddle at the bottom, so be careful when you're filling to hold it up and fill around it.
- Put plant in bucket B.
- Stick lots of water in at intervals. The excess will fall through into the bottom & then be wicked up as desired.
- Admire yr tasty tomatoes (or whatever: but it's partic good for tomatoes b/c one tomato plant per bucket is about right, & they're v thirsty plants so often a hassle normally.)

Hope that makes sense!

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

People sharing this kind of information on my journal gives me a happy.

Not that I would know this, obviously.

Hahaha, oh dear :)