My balcony and garden are producing well. Is everybody satisfied this year?
By Colmuc
@Colmuc (707)
June 26, 2009 8:22am CST
This picture shows part of my balcony with my large selection of salad crops and the one box of flowers which I included as an afterthought. They are petunias and have grown really well. My tomatoes are now producing several ripe fruits per day. The cucumbers and peppers have also small fruits but need another 2 or 3 weeks before they are ready. My garden, where I am at weekends only, is also going really well. Last weekend I picked the first of what promises to be a huge crop of raspberries.
This weekend more raspberries and a lot of redcurrants will be waiting for me.
I expect also to have my first courgettes(zucchini). Only failures are my blackcurrants and damsons so I am generally quite happy. How are things with you?
2 people like this
11 responses
@mflower2053 (3223)
• United States
27 Jun 09
That is awesome. We got kind of a late start b/c we had to build up our garden. We put gutters in it and had to dig up the lawn, put mud b/c there was sand down there. Build a fence to keep the roaming dogs out of it and then paint the fence. It took sometime but now everything is planted and I do hope we start seeing things soon. We now also have 2 blueberry bushes, an orange, fig, mango and banana tree that I hope starts producing soon. We could really use the extra food right now. We have a compose container and something is growing in there also which was a nice surprise. I think its cucumbers.
1 person likes this
@mflower2053 (3223)
• United States
7 Jul 09
Thank you for marking me best response. Its starting to look like it may be some cantalope growing in the compose barrel. I might have to try pumpkins in there since they grow too much to put in our garden. It will be cool to see what comes out of it.
@Colmuc (707)
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28 Jun 09
Hi mfllower, I really hope all your hard work pays off. It is difficult starting from scratch. Will be interesting to see what your compost container produces.
I have a neighbour who plants pumpkins in her compost heap and they do really well.
I love mangoes but no chance of growing them here. Thanks for your response. Good luck.
1 person likes this
@Colmuc (707)
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29 Jun 09
Hi Lakota, I would strongly recommend you start them off in small pots so you can easily control temperature and moisture level until the seeds germinate. You could experiment now and see how it goes if you still have some seed left. By using pots you require less seeds and can make a pack do 2 or even 3 years. Good luck, Col.
@irishmist (3814)
• United States
28 Jun 09
Well this is the first year I have tried growing flowers and tomatoes and peppers in pots on my deck, and for some reason it is not going well. The only thing that has done really well is my potted rose bush. And I' waiting for the exotic lilies to bloom soon I hope.
@Colmuc (707)
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28 Jun 09
Hi irishmist, your name makes me think about my many visits to Ireland and drinking Irishmist on the Aer Lingus flights. Lovely stuff!
Sorry your gardening efforts are not paying off. Roses have done ecceptionally well here this year also. Maybe your tomatoes and peppers will still produce lots of lovely fruits. I hope so. I pulled my first pepper in the garden today.
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
26 Jun 09
It looks great! Sounds as if you are doing a fine job of keeping things going. I would love a big batch of delicious raspberries right now! Yummy! Keep up all of the wonderful gardening. Share more pics when you have time.
@lynnemg (4529)
• United States
26 Jun 09
My garden is not doing as well as I had hoped it would. Not yet anyway. I have planted things along my fence line because I really couldn't till the ground and plant a normal garden. I didn't plant a lot either. So far, my cucumber plants are doing the best, probably because they get the most direct sunlight. My tomatoes and green pepper plants are slowly growing but not [roducing anything quite yet, and my strawberry plants are spreading and beginning to produce a few berries.
I hope that they all end up doing okay though. The weather here has been hot, but we have had a lot of rainfall the last week or so.
@Colmuc (707)
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28 Jun 09
Hi lynnemg, there has been a lot of rain here too over the last week and it has destroyed a large part of my raspberry crop. Fortunately there were so many that enough survived. Other plants are quite happy with the rain and my broccoli and cauliflowers are looking great. Hope things pick up with your garden when the rain clears.
@strawberrybaby39 (2086)
• United States
29 Jun 09
Very pretty balcony. I planted a garden and flowers all around my house. Me and my husband just bought our house and we have lived here for 2 months. And I have flowers sprouting everywhere. My garden is a little slow this year but it is growing well. My mother in-laws garden is taking off. We went over and picked pea pods today. And washed them and ate them the way they were. They were good.
@Colmuc (707)
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29 Jun 09
Hi strawberrybaby, it takes time to get a new garden into the way you want it. Try to find some room for vegetables you will really appreciate them.. Fresh young peas are great eaten raw. I also love to just chop the pods and cook them in a Chinese stir fry. This year I did not plant any peas or beans.
@strawberrybaby39 (2086)
• United States
29 Jun 09
I will work on plating more and making it bigger every time. I love the pea pods. I just eat them the way they are. I hope I get to plant some of them next year because I like those a lot. That would be nice to try them in a stir fry I bet they are good in one. And I like stir fries.
@dhedows118 (891)
• Philippines
26 Jun 09
Wow! That's a very beautiful flower box that you have. I envy you. It's so fulfilling to harvest those vegetable that you planted yourself when the right time comes. Not to mention it is very good in ones health too!
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
26 Jun 09
What a beautiful garden you have growing on your balcony. Everything looks so lush and healthy. I wish I had a balcony but I don't. I only have a few plants growing in my front window. I use to work in a garden center and there's nothing like it early in the morning when everything is so peaceful, and all the flowers and vegies are just blooming away, with the birds chirping their morning hello's. Nature is just wonderful. Great Garden!
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
26 Jun 09
Oh a balcony like we have here in Italy! Just thathere they are all full og geranimums and although they are colourful and lovely to see it does get a bit boring year after year.
Having said that, I haven't got one where I live. I wouldn't have had much time to care for it if I had one right now either but you have certainly done a brilliant job there with yours - and you don't even have to get dressed up to go and 'harvest' your crop 
Well done! 
Well done! @Colmuc (707)
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26 Jun 09
Hi mysdianait, almost everyone here has geraniums as well but I prefer my salad crops and I do have plenty of time to devote to them. I am sometimes out early on the balcony wearing just my dressing gown which is necessary since I don't wear anything when I sleep! Lovely to feel the fresh air and the early morning sun. Thank you for your kind response.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
26 Jun 09
Looks great!
I really wanted to get a good garden in this year, but since I just moved and have had problems almost from day one, I didn't have time to do it, and almost didn't do it at all.
I have 6 tomato plants and a few cucumbers, and also tried some corn this year. The corn is doing well, and I have one tomato so far, and the cucumbers are flowering, so I guess I'm ok.
Watch out for next year, though!
@Colmuc (707)
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26 Jun 09
Hi Ldyjarhead, thanks for your response. too bad youdid not manage to get your garden fully organised in time for this year and I hope you get it going really well for 2010. I have special mini cucumbers on my balcony and the normal ones in my garden. I love corn but have never tried growing it. I see many fields filled with it and strangely enough nobody picks the cobs. Everything is mashed up by a huge machine and made into animal feeding. Seems a waste.
@kiran8 (15348)
• Mangalore, India
26 Jun 09
Hi Colmuc, It is lovely to see such an abundance in your garden. For a keen gardener, nothing gives more happiness than their plants thriving and giving out their best. the pic is lovely. Petunias are beautiful,colorful flowers...It must be a gret feeling to pick your home grown raspberries and redcurrants - all the best and happy mylotting
@Colmuc (707)
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28 Jun 09
Hi kiran, thank you for your friendly response. Gardening does indeed give me a lot of pleasure and satisfaction. Unfortunately the weather has been unkind to me over the last week with heavy rain every day. A lot of rasberries went mouldy with the dampness but I still have more than enough. Today I picked 6 kilos(just over 13 pounds) and there are lots more still to ripen.
