I have been busy planting (and working) away and I thought I'd do an update of how my balcony garden is doing. It has been about 2 weeks since I planted some of my herbs, vegetables and flowers and since then, I have planted some more.. a lot more.
This year I am growing 7 types of peppers, 2 types of strawberries, blackberries, lemons, 2 types of tomatoes, 7 types of herbs, lavender, pet grass and a mother load of flowers. But that's not all, my boyfriend also wants me to grow some peas. I think I may have overcommitted myself this year. If all goes well, I will be sick of peppers, tomatoes, berries and lemons by the end of this season.
I am excited to see how well the garden does, but I am also a little bit scared. That is a lot of plants to take care of this summer. And a lot of trips to the kitchen with my little canister to fetch some water. I have a brilliant idea to resolve that problem, but for now, let me talk about how my plants are doing and what I have been doing to ensure they continue to grow big and healthy.
The weather has been crazy. It goes from sunny and 80 degrees to cloudy and 48 degrees. Needless to say, the plants are not loving this weather at all. It is important to bring plants inside once it gets below 50. If you leave them outside, the cold can slow the growth of the plant and result in a lower yield of fruit for the season. So at night, before the temperature dips below 50, I have been bringing all of my plants inside. I have kept them indoors until the temperature outside reaches at least 60. This way the adjustment in temperature between inside and outside isn't as bad, so the plants won't be as shocked by the temperature change and will continue to grow at a normal rate. Because the temperature has been a little colder than normal, the flowers have struggled a little bit to establish their roots and grow. However, the Miracle Gro plant food I have been feeding them has helped keep them in good shape. I haven't picked up an organic plant food yet, so any recommendations would be great! But i did get an organic feeder for my lemon tree that I will be trying out this week.
I also picked up some more organic soil, but this time I tried out a new brand. Dr. Earth's Organic Soil.
I bought one specifically for vegetable gardens and citrus plants that has worm castings. I have been wanting to use vermicompost for a while and start a worm farm but unfortunately I don't have the space (or the budget) for one just yet. So I decided to give the all-in-one compost a try by buying the Dr. Earth soil. I can tell you that after 2 days I can see a huge difference between the plants growing in the vermicompost soil and the ones growing in the other organic soil. I am a skeptic at heart when it comes to people's opinions sometimes and I am sure some of you may be skeptic of mine, but take a look at these pictures.
This picture shows some of my pepper plants planted in the organic soil without the worm castings. Note: all the pepper plants in both pots were bought at the same time and were at similar growth stages.
Now look at my pepper plants growing in the pot with the Dr. Earth soil with worm castings.
See the difference!? It is incredible. I will def make the 30min drive to the nursery to buy this soil next year. It isn't cheap, $14.99 per bag, but the plants love it and I have never seen my plants perk up this much in just 2 days. I can only imagine how they will perk up with an organic feeder. The vermicompost soil is also much darker than the other organic soil, which to me it shows how much richer in nutrients it is, which is a great news for my plants. Overall, my plants are doing great in both types of soil, time will tell if the soil makes a significant difference in the yield or taste of fruits/vegetables this season or not.
The balcony is a work in progress, I still have a flower bed to hang to my railing, a bird feeder, bird houses and some minor organizational fixes. But so far, it is starting to look and feel a little less urban and a bit more homey, and i like it.. and so do my kitty cats. They enjoy coming out to the balcony and smelling all the different herbs and flowers. I planted them some organic pet grass to eat (and later puke) and put the thin black screen you see around the railing for their safety. You can find the net and zip ties at Home Depot for a few bucks. Totally worth the investment!
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