Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Balcony Garden: Spring Planting

Ummm, so I may have gone a little bonkers planting seeds to celebrate the beginning of spring. There is literally NO more room out on the balcony. The Boy's on guideline for my taking over the balcony was that he needs to be able to get to the clothes line, which he still can do. Just.


Besides filling up all horizontal space on the balcony I've been spending a bit of time at Bunnings of late stocking up on goodies for Spring.

I know there are LOADS of nursery's out there and I should be supporting smaller businesses. It's just that Bunnings is SO close to home and they have an "OK" selection of seeds, as well as an outdoor area selling established seedlings.  I prefer planting form seeds though as seeds are cheaper and half the fun of gardening is praying that your seeds will sprout. That and checking the garden 100 times a day.  I feel such joy when I head out on to the balcony each morning to check my crop.  I may or may not have screamed out form the balcony last week "oh my god! I have a bean shoot". Sorry neighbors!


So what have I planted?  It's quite a list, so are you ready for it?  Here we go: beetroot, beans, peas, eggplants, zucchinis, coriander, basil, parsley, lemongrass, lettuce, radish, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, pak choi and shallots. Phew! And, I still have the carrots, mint and chives plodding along from last time and that one pesky radicchio that is still about as big as my thumbnail.  AND, I still have more things to plant but I've run out of room - I need to somehow find room for the bok choi and rocket.


So far most of the seeds I have planted all look pretty much the same, apart from the coriander that looked like the coriander seeds you get from the supermarket for cooking. This time around I thought it was pretty cool that the bean seeds looked like actual beans and the peas looked like dried peas. I'm a bit perplexed by the zucchini seeds though as they look like pumpkin seeds (geez, I hope I'm not growing pumpkins as I certainly don't have room for that out there). And how COOL is the beetroot below - it comes in a ready made strip (not sure why though).


And we've had these little guys move into the balcony. I'm thinking of them as short security guards from the bugs and aphids!


Get to work security guards!

15 comments:

  1. Wow I can't believe how many pots you have on your balcony! It will be great to see everything in full bloom later.

    I'm jealous because I can't grow anything where I live. I live in a second storey unit with no balcony, I tried to grow some indoor plants but they died without fresh air and sun!

    Ai-Ling

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  2. How exciting to add new things to your garden! You'll be whipping up some home grown treats in no time I bet with this lovely weather :)

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  3. That's just the inspiration I need to revive my courtyard! Can't wait to see your balcony in a few month's time!

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  4. Awesome Miss Piggy! Growing your own food totally rocks and you have got so much variety happening on your balcony. I look forward to further updates!

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  5. It is really nice to have plant inside the house.

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  6. Your balcony garden is so cool, and so neat. Can't wait to see the fruits (veg?) of your labours.

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  7. I think it's amazing what you're able to do in a really small space and I can't wait to see how your garden grows - very exciting! xx

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  8. Wow you must have a really big balcony :) I'd love to have my own little garden but.... lol last time I tried to grow my own parsley it died within a week sighhh

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  9. Good luck with the balcony garden!!

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  10. I'm so excited for you! I definitely want to get a few herbs going on a raised bed ASAP.

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  11. That is SO cool! Our balcony isn't nearly as big as yours (lucky girl!) but I'm hoping to get a few pots out there soon. Seriously jealous of all your growth there... and I'm sure I'll be MORE jealous once you're eating the fruits of all your labours!

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  12. Oh I love your security guards Mel - so cute! I am so with you on the anticipation of waiting for seeds to sprout....no appearance for my recent crop...yet...but I ll give it a few more weeks!

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  13. Hi everyone - thanks for leaving your comments.

    Ai-Ling - what a shame about your plants. I've heard things like corriander, mint & parsely grow "OK" without sun. Maybe you could hang a planter box out of one of your windows...just like in Paris.

    Daisy - our balcony is loooong, but not very deep. I wish it was BIGGER!

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  14. what a fantastic range of veg in your garden - puts mine to shame seeing I have a little courtyard backyard and don't really plant that much - though we do have a gnome or two to watch over our garden

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