Container Gardening

[Aggie]

Anyone else have a gardening urge but no garden? 

I'm trying to figure out what to put on the balcony this year - I want some LARGE plants that will give it a jungle feel, but am limited to containers.  Will probably also move my basils out, and am considering doing some aquatic pots of arrowheads.

We have a southern exposure with full sun for most of the day...

[goat starer]

How about a baobab?

[Aggie]

I don't think they'd like the winters - or work indoors for too long. 
Something that would sprout up fast and die back for the winter would be best.


I'm thinking something vinelike might be nice as well - some kind of summer squash perhaps?
(edible is always good) 

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Hello Brother Agujjim! ,

How about a nice cherry tomato plant,you will need a deep container of course.I used an old plastic 20 gal  pail someone threw out in the garbage,it looked great on my old rooftop 12x10ft deck.The fruit was so sweet and plentiful and provided much colour,it needed daily attention as it grew like it was on a mission (the soil was very rich) it got much sunshine up on the second floor roof .

I also had morning glorys in a 12 deep square container that grew about 20 ft.they would look good hanging for your balcony railing (needed a lot of water).Or might i suggest railing containers with 3 species,for example, a trailing plant ,say potato ivy with their light, pale green thick foliage, combined with a short deep purple flower,maybe heliotrope with that intoxicating scent to drift into your humble abode and a "hot" coloured plant,marigolds?geraniums?.
The reds and oranges would go with  nasturtium ,the flowers can be put into salads.
Onions with the white flowers work well with red cherry tomatoes , white impatiens or lobelia en masse?

I find myself inspired to do something just like that on my fence this very moment...bye for now.

[Aggie]

Thanks for the suggestions, Sibling!

I think I am partway doing what you've suggested (planted about a week ago) - I didn't put in tomatoes, but I did remember some old garden staples from my childhood - scarlet runner beans.  They should grow all over the place and they also have lovely flowers (and yummy beans!)  I also planted some corn to act partly as support for the beans and also for it's exotic looks, but I doubt I'll get many cobs.

Sharing the pots or in their own are some pink & white and/or purple geraniums, lots of marigolds, some purple-leaved sweet potato vines,

*Ooops yoga time - will finish later *

[Darlica]

I wouldn't survive in my flat if I didn't had house plants and the balcony, it's my oasis and mini garden.
I have also found that tending to my plants and flowers is an excelent theraphy when I'm down and have concentration problems. 

I have a mix of annual and perennial plants and bushes, and some of the annual plants would be perennials if I happend to live in another cilmate zone I guess, but as it is now I get down to -30°C in the winter.
Annual:
mint plant
thyme
savory
tarragon
hyssop
parsley
oregano
chive
tomatoes
flower tobacco
pink snowflake
lewesia
saxifrage
morning glory
million bells

Perennial
orpin
winged euonymus
sour cherry bush(Nordia)
myrtle
wild strawberries (under the cherry bush)
ivy

This summer I have less(!) pots and containers than I've had in many years, I had to make place for two chairs instaed of one, so it isn't as lush as it used to be but I'm pretty happy with it any way.

The weather is right down crappy right now but when it gets a bit better I'll take some photos and post here. 


~D

[Bruder Cuzzen]

 Hi Sibling Darlica ! , Ahhhh.... there is nothing like a garden oasis to calm the spirit in my book .

I love your annual selection , I have such in mind for my new deck (if and when I get to it ).

I love the ritual of walking into the green and grabbing a healthy snack off the vine/branch .

-30 C ? in winter ? Are you in Winnipeg ,Canada ?

[Aggie]

Haha...  I have -30^oC in the winter as well, but a little further west of Winnipeg (Darlica is MUCH further east, I think).  Haven't tried to overwinter perennials in containers - I think the -30 would be OK, but we get a lot of freeze/thaw cycles (sometimes to +20^oC in the winter).

I agree about the oasis - I think I'd go crazy especially in the winter if we didn't have plants, and they help to humidify the dry air.  Also a *rumble* to Bruder about snacking - not so much on the balcony (wish I had a garden), but I am notorious for tasting things.  My fiancee' just shakes her head when she sees me munching on walks. 

Nice herb collection, too!  I only have some hot peppers and a basil that has been ravaged by whiteflies.  I took some pictures last night but haven't had time to post them up.

[Darlica]

Hi Sibling Darlica ! , Ahhhh.... there is nothing like a garden oasis to calm the spirit in my book .

I love your annual selection , I have such in mind for my new deck (if and when I get to it ).

I love the ritual of walking into the green and grabbing a healthy snack off the vine/branch .

-30 C ? in winter ? Are you in Winnipeg ,Canada ?

I'm at latitud: N  59.37°N    longitud:  16.51°E that would in other words place me about 100 km West of Stockholm, Sweden.  This means I'm pretty close to the Baltic sea but not close enough to get costal climate, and between me and the Northen Gulf stream lies Norway and most of Sweden (about 400 km).
Last winter the record was -32°C in early January, if it's a warm winter it would be about -5°C instaed but that's unusual. November/December and late February/March we usually have between -5 to +8°C.

I like the snacking bit too, but most of all I like to sit down with a cup of tea or a glass of wine (or whisky) a warm, late summer, evening and listen to the city as it goes to sleep and sound after sound dies away, while a light breeze rattles the foliage and makes the flower tobacco smell heavenly.

[Darlica]

Haha...  I have -30^oC in the winter as well, but a little further west of Winnipeg (Darlica is MUCH further east, I think).  Haven't tried to overwinter perennials in containers - I think the -30 would be OK, but we get a lot of freeze/thaw cycles (sometimes to +20^oC in the winter).

I agree about the oasis - I think I'd go crazy especially in the winter if we didn't have plants, and they help to humidify the dry air.  Also a *rumble* to Bruder about snacking - not so much on the balcony (wish I had a garden), but I am notorious for tasting things.  My fiancee' just shakes her head when she sees me munching on walks. 

Nice herb collection, too!  I only have some hot peppers and a basil that has been ravaged by whiteflies.  I took some pictures last night but haven't had time to post them up.

Another Chilihead?
I used to have quite a collection; Habanero,Scotch Bonnet, Rawit,Thai among others, unfortunatly they also became victims of the whiteflies, right now it's just the Rawit left.
Nothing can turn me in to a raving homicidal maniac like bugs on my plants!

Inside for the monent I have 27 house plants (I have 3 rooms and a kitchen), the biggest one a 2m tall and 1.5m wide monstera, an imperealistic monster that tries to take over the living room.  I'm very proud of it...

I like to spend time outdoors, picking berries and mushrooms is another of my favorite ways to pastime. I have 1.5 litre of wild-strawberries in the freezer right now and the raspberries will be ripe in a week or two. Mmmm

[Aggie]

Another Chilihead?
I used to have quite a collection; Habanero,Scotch Bonnet, Rawit,Thai among others, unfortunatly they also became victims of the whiteflies, right now it's just the Rawit left.
Nothing can turn me in to a raving homicidal maniac like bugs on my plants!

Inside for the monent I have 27 house plants (I have 3 rooms and a kitchen), the biggest one a 2m tall and 1.5m wide monstera, an imperealistic monster that tries to take over the living room.  I'm very proud of it...

I like to spend time outdoors, picking berries and mushrooms is another of my favorite ways to pastime. I have 1.5 litre of wild-strawberries in the freezer right now and the raspberries will be ripe in a week or two. Mmmm

  Are you my clone? 

Unfortunately, it's not as easy to go foraging here in the wild as where I grew up, but I do some urban foraging - I get asparagus, mushrooms, apples, saskatoons, a few herbs etc. from various parks and empty lots in the city.  Just found a sour cherry tree yesterday and discovered a species of scrub cherry I didn't know about.  I've NEVER seen that many wild strawberries in one place, though!

Only have a hybrid Super Chili growing at the moment, but generally have a multitude of peppers and derivatives around for cooking and eating.  Hybrids are fun because if you plant the seeds, you get many different types of peppers in the next generation.

Not sure how many species of plants I have growing indoors - probably upwards of 20, but the actual number of plants is MUCH higher (probably thousands if you count all the dragonfruit seedlings here and there).  No room for a monsterra as we are in a 1-bedroom apartment, but lots of other tropical fruit species that I have grown from pits (there's another thread about that....).

[Darlica]

  Are you my clone? 

Not very likely but you never know...

Unfortunately, it's not as easy to go foraging here in the wild as where I grew up, but I do some urban foraging - I get asparagus, mushrooms, apples, saskatoons, a few herbs etc. from various parks and empty lots in the city.  Just found a sour cherry tree yesterday and discovered a species of scrub cherry I didn't know about.  I've NEVER seen that many wild strawberries in one place, though!

Only have a hybrid Super Chili growing at the moment, but generally have a multitude of peppers and derivatives around for cooking and eating.  Hybrids are fun because if you plant the seeds, you get many different types of peppers in the next generation.

Not sure how many species of plants I have growing indoors - probably upwards of 20, but the actual number of plants is MUCH higher (probably thousands if you count all the dragonfruit seedlings here and there).  No room for a monsterra as we are in a 1-bedroom apartment, but lots of other tropical fruit species that I have grown from pits (there's another thread about that....).

Those wild strawberries didn't all grew at the same place, I took a pretty long walk, but it was worth it, also, if I didn't knew where to look I wouldn't have got that amount, but I've been picking them at more or less the same places since I was a kid.

I used to have multiple plants in one pot but nowdays prefer to have more or less one plant/one pot, probably because I have room for it.

I havn't had much luck with tropical plants, I guess the air is to dry at my place, the Chili plants and the Monstera are the shining execptions. Meditaranian plants do much better I have an small olive tree, a bay leaf plant and a mispel in the kitchen window. 

[Aggie]

Heh, maybe I should correct...  I've never seen more wild strawberries on a walk than I cared to eat immediately.  Even in the good picking areas they are quite sparse and the berries are very small (2 or 3 berries the size of a green pea per plant max).  Huckleberries are easier to pick a pail or two of.

[Darlica]

Heh, maybe I should correct...  I've never seen more wild strawberries on a walk than I cared to eat immediately.  Even in the good picking areas they are quite sparse and the berries are very small (2 or 3 berries the size of a green pea per plant max).  Huckleberries are easier to pick a pail or two of.

I'm a patient being.
If I don't eat them right at the spot I'll get to make wild strawberry vodka and rum.

I have some Blueberries/Huckleberries too...

[anthrobabe]

Did someone say Chili?

I know you did Agujjim!!

Has anyone ever had luck with an Avocado grown from the pit? I can get them to start and the get fairly large and last a couple of years but never even the hint of fruit- I've had 2 going at once as well and nada. Maybe they are not living long enough?
I keep them outdoors when warm and bring in during the winter.

I have a cherry tomato plant (Brudder Cuzzin!) that is going gangbusters still!

Darlica my mint started in a pot- busted the pot and is now a riot in the front yard. In years goneby when company was spotted coming in rural areas -often a small child was sent out with a broom to "beat the mint" to release a welcoming smell for the visitors.