Balcony Garden 2011

[plumtreeblossom]

It took a number of trips to the nursery courtesy of beowabbit, but I finally have everything planted for this year's balcony garden.




All the veggies that fit on this small balcony, which is about the size of a walk-in closet. As you can see, it's a sunless, dreary day, and these sprouts haven't had many sunny days since going in over the past two weeks. But we persevere. This year's line-up:

Sweet red bell peppers
Sun Gold tomatoes (planted on surrealestate's suggestion from last year)
Beefsteak tomatoes
Upside-down planter tomatoes (still sprouting in preparation for hanging)
White onions
Alaska peas
Pickle Bush cucumbers
Large-leaf sage
Italian parsley
Spearmint
Peppermint
Catnip, yo!

If you look in the corner you can see Hedwig the scarecrow.

Over on the other side of the door we have the Topsy Turvy Strawberry Planter, filled just today:




I've never grown strawberries before. Should I clip those blossoms, or do they not matter?

For friends reading from afar who have never been here, this suburb of Boston is the most densely-populated community in New England, and there's very little room for home farming. Still, people use little bits of space for crops and flowers. I'm so glad I have this little balcony. I'll post again in July to show progress!

Comments

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Don't clip the blossoms if you actually want strawberries; I believe that the strawberries grow from the blossoms.

Mmmm...strawberries...

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Oh! Well then I won't cut them. :-) These are my first, so I didn't know what to look for. Thanks!

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

confirmation that flowers do indeed become berries. That's the basis of pollenization!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

See how novice I am? I never knew that the flowers were the infant fruit, since all strawberries I've ever had came from the store. :-) Thanks for the clarification!

[heatherp8.livejournal.com]

that is so awesome!
Sounds like you're going to have some mighty good eatin' once your crops come in. :-)

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I sure hope so! I just bought a food dehydrator and am currently drying some of my [parsley in it. My first haul of the season!

[ron_newman]

Strawberries! *Like*

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

You still owe me goodies from last year, so you'd better provide this time around! :D