A Tour of the Balcony in Spring

'Just living is not enough,' said the butterfly. 
'One must have sunshine, freedom, 
and a little flower.'


~ Hans Christian Andersen


Slowly a harvest is coming! The young leaves are filling out, and fruits are developing. My tiny peaches are getting a hint of red in them. The garden is looking so different from when I first started. We've already harvested 4 strawberries! Not a LOT, but it's been exciting, and they've tasted so sweet.

I planted a few garlic cloves at the base of my peach tree. The garlic is a companion plant to fruit trees, potentially detering beetle, including the peachtree borer and japanese beetles. Anything that can deter pests, not have a negative effect, and produces more good food is worth a shot! Here's a picture of the balcony so far... notice the little stalks of garlic coming up from under the peach tree!


If you look very closely at this picture, there are some leaves on the balcony floor... something has been "snipping" my plants. I have no idea why a bird might do it, but all the signs point to a bird! The tops of the plants are affected the most, and many "damage" points have several rips or depressions when it appears a beak might be pecking or chomping. I decided that for the good of the strawberries (as they ripen) and my other plants, I must come up with a line of defense... something to repel the birds... And that's when I came up with a brilliant plan.


A snake. Isn't it cute? It's a combination of plastic piping, floral tape, packaging tape (for the stripes), and googly eyes! Terrifying, I know, but it may just save the fruits. Every morning I put it in a different location, so the birds don't get suspicious. It's been out there for two days and so far I've not had trouble with birds. We'll see if it can withstand the test of time... and not fall apart.


In other news the nasturtiums are growing beautifully in our window! We've been harvesting flowers for salads and toppings for french toast or main dishes. The more flowers we pick, the more are encouraged to grow. The colors are beautiful, and making a lovely "curtain" as they climb the window lacings that James made.


To date I've grown 4.6 pounds! 3.41% of my goal. Ok, it's mostly been sprouts, but still I am feeling quite accomplished!

First Fruits

Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and meditative occupation. It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to which a man gives his heart.
~Karel Čapek, The Gardener's Year, 1931


It's so exciting to see the garden beginning to come alive, and see all the hard work we've put into it beginning to blossom and fruit. Here's are some of our first fruits:

The strawberries

Look at these little strawberries go! I had grand visions the other day of really hefty strawberries growing from our balcony, but the more I thought about it, the more I remembered those 8oz containers they sell in grocery stores... will I be able to fill one of those containers? Hmm... we shall see. How much exactly does a single strawberry weigh? I am suddenly beginning to have my doubts.

The raspberries

We had white flowers, and now check out these amazing little guys! All told, it appears as if we'll have about 2-3 dozen raspberries. Hmm... well, it's not an ENORMOUS amount, but certainly cool to watch them grow!

The blueberries

Check out these little blueberries? Can you see a slight hint of blue? Isn't that amazing! I've never watched blueberries in the wild so closely before, so seeing them grow and mature day by day is quite a treat.

The peaches

I have high hopes for these little peaches. Aren't they cute? I just "thinned" them recently which was very hard to do, but recommended because peach trees are well-known "over-bearers" and can produce more fruit than the branches can actually hold. The fruits will also be a lot smaller and more crowded (potentially inviting in disease) if not thinned properly. Let's hope I did it right.

Rhubarb

Isn't this cool? I know, I know. Rhubarb really isn't a fruit, but this was so exciting to see it come up, I just had to post a picture. We planted the roots' "bulb" recently, and I was convinced it was dead. The roots were limp and almost completely desiccated. I was disheartened and nearly didn't plant them. But what could I loose? I put them in the soil regardless with the strawberries, and check it out! A tiny little rhubarb leaf has popped up! Somehow plants never cease to amaze me.

The adventures continue!

A Bag of Potatoes

"The man who has planted a garden feels that he has done something for the good of the world." -- Vita Sackville-West

How many types of potatoes would you guess there are in the world? Maybe a few dozen varieties? In the grocery store I've definitely seen red, white and yellow ones. And occasionally they have purple ones. That's right, if you've never had a purple potato that's a dark purple inside and out... you are definitely missing out on the coolest mashed potatoes ever.

Would you believe that there are actually a few thousand varieties of potatoes!? Isn't that incredible?! So many different types and flavors and colors. A great majority of them are in the Andes Mountain region where the potato was first developed.

So, when you are deciding what potatoes to grow, know that there are SEVERAL very interesting options. From potatoes that harvest in as little as 55 days to a potato called the Purple Viking -- a beautiful purple skinned potato with red swirls on the surface and a surprisingly snow-white flesh. Here's a picture.


How would one grow potatoes in their backyard? On their balcony? Well, here's one idea I'm currently using.

First, get a spud -- a potato you are going to plant. If you are getting them at a grocery store, be mindful that the non-organic potatoes have a spray on them that prevents them from sprouting, so buy organic potatoes or ones you know are not sprayed. We got ours from a farmer's market at the end of the year last year, and as the weather's gotten warmer, many of them began sprouting. Here's a picture of a sprouted potato that REALLY wants to be planted.

Notice this potato's size. If it's much bigger than this you may need to cut the potato in half or even in 4ths for very big ones. If this is the case, make sure you let the pieces sit for a day or two in a dry location. This will let the cut (moist) side dry out and prevent it from rotting once you plant it. And BELIEVE me... you don't want to smell a rotting potato. Just trust me.

Now get a bag. We used one of the more durable and water-proof-ish reusable old shopping bags that we own as our potato bag. If the bag you are using does not allow water to pass through it, make some holes at the bottom. Put a thin layer of gravel at the bottom (1 inch-ish) to help with drainage. You don't want to oversaturate a potato plant!! Again, beware a rotting potato...

Fill about 3-4 inches of the bag with soil. Place potatoes on the surface of the soil layer (I planted 3 spuds in this bag), and then cover the potatoes completely with soil. Water well, roll down the edges of the bag and put in a nice sunny location. Be sure to try and keep the soil moist but well drained. Potatoes, like many vegetable plants, require a balance of not-too-dry-but-not-too- wet-or-else. Though potatoes are actually fairly forgiving plants. Awhile ago, I grew some potatoes on a fire escape in a large, old juice container, and (as can happen with plants on fire escapes) I forgot about it. I thought the plant had died and just left it out there for the season. The following spring, I turned out the container to re-use the soil, and shockingly some potatoes rolled out! They lasted all winter! Not very many, mind you, but I was quite impressed the plant had produced despite the harsh conditions of a fire escape.

As the potato plant grows, you'll want to keep mounding soil around it. This encourages the plant to have a taller root system and produce more potatoes. As you mound and need more room, roll the edges of the bag up. If all goes well, by the time the potato plant blooms and dies back (which is when you know it's ready), you'll have a bag full of potatoes!


Happy Potato-ing!