Home » Food & Drink » From Field To Table » Balcony Garden: Update

Balcony Garden: Update

© Bob Ewing

Rain and sun when they work together Life thrives. When one is missing Life cries. It is a simple combination but a complex process. July was a very dry month. I had to water the balcony garden more frequently than I would have liked. If you are planning to garden in containers you must be aware that they dry out fast. So you have to pay close attention to them.

We live about half way up a hill. The house is considerably higher than those across the street. The wind coming across the Lake has no barrier to temper it before it hits the balcony. This can mean that the temperature of the balcony is colder than that on the ground below. It also means that the containers dry out faster on a windy day.

Next year I think I'll move the balcony composter to the other side of the balcony and put a rainbarrel where it is now. The eaves troughs will need replacing if this is going to work or at least a serious cleaning. I sense the effort will be worth it though as I'll then have my own water source and be able to reduce my need for household water.

I have been using greywater (bath and dish) to water the cutflowers, mostly glads. I am not ready to use this water directly on the vegetables, even though we use an environmentally-friendly soap for dish washing and in the shower. I'd like to filter that at least once before adding it to the containers and , as yet, do not have a way of doing this. Any thoughts?

The tatsoi and arugula were good producers, adding their distinctiveness to supper salads. I've let a number of them go to seed so that I can have seeds for next year's balcony garden. They grow well together in the same container. I have combined a number of plants in the containers, cucumbers and peas, nasturiums and just about everything, tatsoi and cucumbers. I working towards developing a container polyculture but will need larger containers to achieve this goal.

The cucumbers are in bloom and promising a good crop. There is something very satisfying about stepping out the balcony door, picking something for summer and then opening that same balcony door and putting any waste into the recycled bin. You get the complete cycle in one meal, well almost, after all it all begins with the seed. Soon, I will be able to gather the seeds and compost the stalks and leaves all in one fluent process.

The copyright of the article Balcony Garden: Update in From Field To Table is owned by . Permission to republish Balcony Garden: Update in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.