Balcony Garden Update 2

Given that we are now in the midst of growing season, meaning that most of the plants are actually showing signs of growth, I thought I might provide another update on our balcony garden. Not surprisingly, this, after weeks of very slow growth, really pleases me. At the rate things are going right now we might actually be able to harvest something before the end of the summer, though I probably shouldn't set my sights to high as there is still plenty of time for things to get messed up.



In honour of Newton's discovery of gravity I will start at the top and work my way down.

Last weekend I transplanted some small thunbergia seedlings into these hanging pots. Though the package advertises this plant as a "fast growing vine" I haven't yet seem much evidence to suggest that this is the case, as they are presently neither fast growing nor vine like. I am hoping that the larger pots will encourage more aggressive growth, but I think I may just be kidding myself. (Oh, and this is the pot with the bigger plants, the other four plants are pretty small compared to these).



After several weeks of being battered by stunting cross-winds the scarlet runner beans seem to be taking particular advantage of the reduced wind activity we have been having recently. Three or four of the plants are now tall enough to start making their way along the guide strings around the column. A few more are within a few centimeters of being tall enough to start making their way along the strings. I am hoping that once they start following the string the wind issue will be less significant and growth will be more regular.



While the tomato plants don't seem to be making too much upward progress, they do seem to be developing new leaves and continuing to grow in a general sense. While I have found buds on one plant, I have seen no signs that these buds are really making any movement towards the flower stage or that buds are about to develop on any of the other plants. I really think that part of my problem might be pot size and the number of plants per pot, but there isn't much I can do about that now.



The lettuce in this pot and another smaller pot seem to be slowly growing. Now that I have had a little time to think about it, I think that I likely wouldn't go for lettuce in a pot garden. It seems that there are likely better vegetables to grow given the constraints of the growing environment. Anyway, it nice to see that even a poorly chosen vegetable is making some progress.



A few weeks ago when we were in PEI I purchased some pea seeds at a Dollorama. The packaging suggests that the seeds are either for "Lincoln or Homesteader" peas, so I have no idea which type of pea I have planted. It seems that whichever type of pea they are, they are slow to start but then come on strong, or stronger. I am a little curious to see how these plants develop as I am not particularly familiar with pea plants and have no idea how tall I should expect them to grow.



The notable growth trends I mentioned earlier are the two sets of the plants that I purchased last weekend at the local grocery store. Neither the tomatoes or the watermelon (pictured below) seem to to be doing much of anything. I am hoping that this lack of growth is because they were recently transplanted, but I have no idea if this is what is going on. I guess the good thing is that they haven't died.



The bay tree, as was mentioned a few days ago, is in the midst of a growth spurt. Unfortunately, it seems that moving the plant outdoors has slowed some of the growth, which can be quite rapid indoors. Even if the rate of growth has slowed, I think that it is probably worth it if it means that the bay tree can avoid my spider mite problem.



The beans in the planter seem to be growing particularly quickly. I think they owe this to their location, which is on the floor of the balcony, largely out of the wind. In the very near future I will have to rig something for the scarlet runner beans to climb.



The pepper plant is alone because it is presently in a spider mite related quarantine. So far there have been no signs of a return of the spider mites, but I will need to keep an eye on things for a few more days/weeks. Fortunately, the plant doesn't seem to have been too negatively effected by the move outdoors.




While the broccoli, cauliflower, thyme, chives, and smaller pepper plants didn't get their own pictures they seem to be doing well, though they are all (with the exception of one of the thyme plants ) still relatively small and new.

Now you have more information that you ever cared for about our balcony garden. Enjoy.