start a container garden

I’d like to plant some of my favorite edibles and give my urban windowsill a little more life. Of course…I have trouble even keeping my lucky bamboo alive. We will see what happens to my food items. I’m thinking for starters:

Scallions
Mint
Ginger

and if there is success with the above, then maybe…
rosemary
tomatoes

major repotting and cleaning.
my neigbour turns TV too loud so maybe it is best to do something else then.
i trowed away last years soil, it was not soil at all, it was some dry oily substance…yuck! i purchased it at dollar store, never more. only quality soil mix.

i said goodbye to my xmass tree that has dried, it was so sad. we had some good memories together.

i feel good about my balcony. white wire pot holders are mathing fine with white balcony fence.
i need more plants, i will grow some from seeds but rest of seed i’ll leave for next year in the fridge since i started too late due to travel; i’ll purchase some more and cut nurslings from them.
my nurslings are doing well, some seedlings are starting teeny-tiny, and some not at all.

it finnaly clicked to me this morning when i saw bulbs (tulips) i carlesly replanted with no major reason – they regressed, and before that they were progressing so nice.
this morning i watched them, they are not going well at all, picture of broken roots flashed in my mind, fragile and white (after repotting – in their previous pot – when it was too late) and i realised clearly: this is what i am doing to myself! constantly restarting and pushing things and breaking tender roots in the process. that is why i feel so rootless!

dear bulbs. but i know vitality of nature will prevail, like allways!

and i simply adore them!
2 roses and some other perenials and some annuals as well… i have purchased lots of seed, will be planting this weekend.
i also purcased some plants and plan to take plantlets out of them… this reminds me to purchase more soil.
my tulips haven’t flowered yet…
just reading books about plants makes me feel so good! and watching plants grow is so great.

I got my Aerogarden, and I’ve planted the cherry tomatoes. I’m well on my way to an indoor kitchen garden. In addition to the Aerogarden, some friends bought me the Chia herb garden for my birthday, and I planted cilantro, chives, parsley, and basil. They have sprouted, and they are nearly three inches tall now. I’m looking forward to being able to make my own salsas and pasta sauces once the tomatoes ripen!

Of all things on my Christmas list, I’d have to say the AeroGarden is tops. Here’s hoping Santa puts it under my tree!

http://www.aerogrow.com/

I got lots of blossoms on my cantaloupe plant, but only one melon (which the squirrels swiped). I really don’t think I will get anything edible from that plant.

The basil did okay, but nothing spectacular.

The grape tomato plant produced about a dozen tomatoes so far.
One of the other tomato plants has two tomatoes on it.

The beets were the most productive plants in containers. They kept me pretty well supplied with greens (the tops) all summer.

Not sure about the potatoes yet. So far, just two small spuds, but I really knew nothing about growing them till now.

Carrots were a waste of time.

Lettuce and mesclum mix would’ve done better in the ground.

Conclusion: the only thing I would try again to grow in containers is beet greens.

Here’s a picture of what I picked from my container garden this morning: lettuce, beet greens, basil, my first potato, and some tiny grape tomatoes.

Picked my first big tomato today…it may be my last! So far, there are no tomatoes on the big plants, just a few blossoms. The grape tomato plant has a handful of green tomatoes, and I
picked three a couple of days ago.

I’m not sure I would try growing tomatoes in containers again. They just seem to be an awfully finicky plant.

Ah, the basil and beet greens need to be harvested. Growing beets for greens has worked out wonderfully well!

When I was watering this morning, I found a little yellow crookneck squash hiding in the leaves! I’ve also got 2 tomatoes—one per bush, and a couple of bushes that aren’t doing much at all. Picked beet greens and had them with dinner last night, but they seemed a little tougher than the last ones I had. The potatoes are starting to bloom, basil is just growing slowly. I give up on the carrots!