I'm making plans for next year and I could use some good advice.
I have a small yard in New Orleans where I'm a first time gardener. We're a half block from the street car line so we get a ton of foot traffic past our house. We've had plants taken off of our front porch before, so I'm afraid to grow fruits and veggies in my yard. We have a nice sized balcony that wraps around the second floor of our house and I grew flowers and herbs up there the first year we were in the house, but the watering got to be too much of a chore (drought that year) so I gave it up. I'd like to try it again with some tomatoes, strawberries and maybe even a watermelon. I bought a drip irrigation kit that I plan to run up on the porch columns to the balcony so that I don't have to hand water so much. The balcony gets at least 8 hours of sun in the summer.
My husband's skeptical but he's used to my kooky ideas so he'll help me anyway :-) What do you think? Can this work?
Mary Ann
Balcony garden Help please!
Mary Ann, if you're going to plant in containers I would suggest using some form of Soil Moist. I mix it with water before adding it to the pot, right at root level.
Since watering in pots is the biggest problem for balcony gardening I think you should have a terrific garden with the drip system installed! Just remember that pots,soil and water are very heavy so do not over load the weight capacity of the structure. Use light weight plastic pots and as light a soil as your plants will grow in and fertilize them regularly. Oh, and posting lots of pictures is not mandatory but it is highly appreciated ;~)
Elsie, is Soil Moist the polymer crystals? I bought 2 pounds of the stuff cheap on eBay but I've never used it. That sounds like an ideal use for it.
Zany, thank you so much for the encouragement. I have 2 big fiberglass pots that I got at Home Depot. I think I'll start with those. They're big but they weigh almost nothing. The balcony is very sturdy and held up by 4 huge columns (my house is a 100-year old Victorian and has survived through several major hurricanes). We've had as many as six adults sitting on furniture out there with no problem at all so I'm sure it will be fine for the garden. My father-in-law cracked up when I told him I was going to grow watermelon out there but I'm going to make him eat his words... literally! I got something in the mail about one of those self contained tomato gardens but I think I can do just as well on my own with spending all that money. I'll definitely post pictures!
Mary Ann
Hehe I'm growing Watermelons on my balcony and that's up in Canada so you shouldn't have problems.
I have to cut the shoots off though otherwise the Watermelon would take over :).
You could actually use a water hose if you have a bathroom close by to the balcony. Get a tap to hose thread adapter from your hardware store to connect the hose. It's better then carrying the water daily LOL.
Watermelon in Canada? I always that watermelon was a southern thang ;-) I've been so disappointed with what we've been getting from the market the last few years that I am now determined to grow my own.
I watched Gardener's Diary this weekend and this lady was growing all different colors of watermelons and tomatoes (yellow and green fleshed). She even had one tomato, 'Yellow Stuffer', that looked like a yellow bell pepper but tasted like a tomato. Another looked just like a peach. It got me excited so I just made up my mind to go for it. If you're brave enough to grow watermelon in Canada then I can certainly do it in Louisiana!
Hi, I container garden all the time. Tomatoes, beans, peppers, lettuce, cucumber and on and on.
I use the light weight Polystyrene containers. All kinds of sizes and colors. This is a form of exterior grade insulation. You water less often and it doesn't weigh as much as terra cotta or concrete. It has the same look.
I have 13 inch to 30 inch containers. What I do is add the NON-biodegradable packing foam peanuts about 1/3 full in the pot and then I add my composted dirt mixture.
Much easier to move around and the plants don't mind.
These containers are made in Montgomery, Alabama. I am about 7 miles from the plant.
Have a great week.
Clair
Clair, I also put packing peanuts in all my containers to make them lighter and use less soil. If I didn't most would still be where I potted them up on my patio.
Mary Ann, yes the Soil Moist is the polymer crystals.
This message was edited Tuesday, Aug 12th 5:07 PM
BTW here a balcony Watermelon up in Canada.
Was a late season start and hope that it will have enough time to grow and ripen.
Maybe I should shape the square like they do in Japan and sell them for an outrageous price :)
Beautiful melon! Square? How do they do that?
Panamon that is the cutest watermelon I have ever seen.
I saw pictures of how they make the watermelons square. Basically, when the melon is small they put a square form around it and as it grows it squeezes into the form and becomes a square melon. I think the forms break away. Its really weird and cool.
We live in the city of Chicago and are fortunate to have a small garden as well (actually its a pretty decent size for a city yard). But I love to container garden. For big containers you do not need to fill the whole container with soil. Less soil, less costs, and less weight. We don't like packing peanuts too much because they are messy. However we ended up using left over insulation boards which we had hanging around the garage. These are boards that have the fiberglass insulation in between. My husband cut up squares and put them in the bottom of the pot - we stacked up the insulation until it gave us half a container - we then filled with soil from the half way point. Its easier to clean out and plenty of space for water to drain. We got this idea when we saw the City planters lined with the same type of insulation board (we think its for the weather). Of course we also lined our new raised flower bed with the stuff (I'll let you know the results).
Finally, there are some containers that have a water resevoir. I have some of my second balcony container with the resevoir containers and its made it easier for me with the watering.
Hi everybody
In France, it's possible to find a product named "Seramis" (the name seems the same worldwide), produced by Masterfood. This product is described by the producer as the most convenient for balcony gardens, as it can be used with all the plants (which is a trumendous promise)
I would like to know if members have had some experience with this product and if it is true that it can be used whatever the plant.
thank you in advance for your comments
Virgile, I've never heard of Seramis, but when I looked on Google for it, it's apparent that what I use for my water plants is the same thing. I have good luck with what I use, so I don't think I'd use this. But I can't see any reason why this wouldn't work for everything. As long as you fertlize and give your plants nutrients, it should work. The Seramis system does provide a special fertilizer for it.
Dirt does little more than anchor plant roots. It's the nutrients that are important. And whether or not Seramis is heavy. If it's too heavy it would put too much weight on balconies and roofs.
Zuluqueen,
You don't need to limit yourself at all in your choice of veggies and most flowers.
W/ 8 hours of Southern sun and a drip system you can grow any of them.
Don't limit yourself to annuals either.
Perenials and a lot of Summer bulbs will do great also.
Rev and I run a group of Container gardeners that believe ANYTHING can be containered.
We have bulbs to trees happily growing on our decks and balconeys, from Seattle to Berlin to Afghanistan.
Ric
i've even grown okra in pots on my balcony... a good southern vege...*grin*
Mary Ann... Have you considered 'Upside Down Tomatoes' (and/or peppers)? There's a couple of good threads here on DG... just do a 'Search the Forums' on the lower right column.