Container Gardening: Growing my own vegetables on my apartment balcony

I love gardening and have been used to having lots of land to plant, but three months ago I moved into an apartment with two very small 'balconies' (about 3 x 8 feet each) and had to rethink veggie gardening. I'm happy to report that my vegetable container garden is thriving and I have been having fresh veggies everyday for close to two months now. It's definitely possible to grow enough for your own needs in a very small space, as long as the plants get a few hours of sunlight daily (more is better).

View of my 'balcony'

Starting veggies from seed: tomatoes, peppers, squash, zucchini, cucumbers and more

Summary of Post
Starting seeds indoors, yourself, on a budget. As with last year I have started a bunch of seeds indoors so that they will be ready to transplant into my (hopefully) composted, tilled, and amazing raised beds when their time comes. Ever the miser, I got the entire operation going for under $5. I couldn't bring myself to buy starts - those trayed plantlets promising all manner of veggies.

How to start your seed for cheap:

• Scavenge seeds. A couple weeks before beginning this endeavor, start putting aside seeds from the veggies that you eat. For example, scoop out a spoonful of tomato seeds when slicing tomatoes for your salad. Most seeds simply need air dried on a paper towel. Tomato seeds are left to 'ferment' in a cup of water for a couple of days first (gets quite gross), then dried on a paper towel. I've had good luck simply using fresh seeds directly as well. In any case, heirloom veggie seeds are a better bet because hybrids probably won't come true to seed.

From weed patch to bounteous veggie garden

A sad, neglected weed patch

That's not going to be my garden this year! Last year I launched my 25 sq ft veggie and herb garden quite successfully - even starting all the seeds myself. I transplanted tomato, pepper, squash, swiss chard, zucchini, watermelon, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, pumpkin and cucumber starts. I put in little green plantlets that promised zinnia, sunflower, marigold. I even threw in some organic Russian fingerling and Russet potatoes for good measure. And corn too. I tried my hand at spinach, various lettuces, basil, coriander, beets, radishes, carrots, peas, beans. Did I mention okra, malabar spinach, nasturtiums and Jerusalem artichokes?

I can get over-ambitious sometimes :). It was my first experience gardening in the US and I wanted to experience it all! I figured I could figure it out on the fly, since I have like two degrees in farming. Yeah, so my Ag degrees were in tropical Malaysia and I didn't have a clue

Pastured vs organic 'cage free' eggs

Can you pick out which are the pastured eggs and which are
the store-bought 'cage-free' organic eggs?

I love eggs! They are the ultimate fast food for me and I start my morning with four over easy or with garlic and tomatoes in an omelette.

There's nothing better than a freshly laid egg from one of our family's free-range hens. The yolks sit high and proud, radiating a deep orangey goodness. The sort of goodness that comes from happy birds and sunny days spent scratching dirt and pecking bugs and greens. And the flavor, oh my... I eat around the yolk - the whites go in my eager belly first - then slide the entire yolk into my mouth where it does a slo-mo burst/ooze...mmmm mmmm mmmmm....

I sometimes resort to organic cage-free eggs (Egglands Best) because

Goji Berry Plant in a Pot

Summary of Post
This is an update to my Goji Berry Germinating Endeavour launched in August 2008.

Survivor: Goji Berry
My Goji plants celebrated their 6 month birthday today! I had previously sowed about 60 seeds extracted from within the largest of my organic goji berry supply. (You can get some here at about $16.50 for a 16 oz pouch). From these, about 15 germinated (germination rate 20% = Not Bad!). I transplanted 8 of the sturdiest looking seedlings, and now 5 are left standing. These are the survivors of all the worst trials and tribulations one could possibly submit baby goji plants to. Measly, meager winter sunlight, scorching heat from experimental grow light initiatives, near-drowning via over-watering by a very enthusiastic caretaker (oops!), and prolonged drought and dessication when their mommy went away to sunny Florida for two weeks (uh...sorry!).

Potted Ponderings
At six months of age, these goji plants look sturdy and healthy (I'll post a pic soon). Their leaves are a rich deep green color, which is surprising when you think about all the light deprivation they have endured. The plants actually spent the first three months of their existence looking like Goji Dwarf Wannabes. I was beginning to think that they would never grow any taller than their 1 inch height when quite suddenly some of these bad boys bust into puberty and displayed some impressive growth spurts. I had to

Goji Berries in my edible garden

Summary of post
How to plant your own goji berries (Lycium barbarum). Germinating and sowing your own Goji Berry plants, for those DIY- type people (like myself!).


Goji Berries: A traditional Asian "medicine"?
Being Malaysian Chinese, I've eaten goji berries since I was a baby. Chinese ladies use the dried red berries in soups and other tasty dishes. I love it as is (tastes like a raisin with lots of little seeds like a blueberry has). I also love the flavour it imparts to some of my favorite Chinese dishes. Never really thought of it as a medicine though, much less a 'sexual tonic revered in Asian herbalism'! Goji berries have become the latest health food craze here in the US and apparently can cure a plethora of maladies.

Goji berries in my edible garden
This plant packs a punch healthwise and also aesthetically. Impressive white and purple trumpet-like flowers from early summer, eye-catching fire-engine-red clusters of delicious berries on a lush green bush (max height 8 ft). The plants will fruit continuously till

Asparagus in my edible garden

Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies and there are two feathery clumps in my garden right now. The great thing about incorporating asparagus in an edible landscape is that once established, it comes back every year for up to 20 years. It usually doesn't need watered because the roots go deep, and is low-maintenance (at least from what I read!)

Since I had never grown asparagus before, I read through several articles on how to do this. Of these, I found the extension fact sheets from OSU, MSU and UMN the most informative. A really useful guide on growing asparagus I found free and public domain from Google Book Search was Gardening For Profit, published in 1909 by Peter Henderson. The asparagus shoots in my garden are now quite skinny (smaller diameter than a pencil), so I cut back the spears and

Living Simply

What is living simply?

Simple Living elegantly defined by Duane Elgin is “Living in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich” in 'Voluntary Simplicity' (a classic paperback. Used, for a mere 76 cents here).

Living a simple life is exactly that – simple. It does not mean forsaking all creature comforts and living like a hermit. Rather, you decide what is “enough” for you and do away with the rest. Voluntary simplicity is practised by a growing number of people who wish to tread lightly on our planet and who have no desire to keep up with the Joneses. It is a life that is ‘considered’, not thoughtless.

It is a life of consequence.


What are the benefits of simple living?

Tremendous. By consciously reducing your need to buy goods or services, you consequently lessen the need to sell your time and energy to make money to make these purchases.

The most important choice in living simply is

Can one person make a difference?

I have a thing about plastic bags. An obsession, if you will.

I feel guilty about using them. I feel bad knowing that these handy little fossil-fuel-derived things will eventually end up in a landfill somewhere, never, ever to degrade. Or worse still, be sucked in by a jellyfish and end up choking and killing an endangered baby turtle.

To assuage my feelings of guilt and shame, I resort to one 'inaction' and several 'actions'.

Inaction #1: Don't go shopping. Shopping = packaging. And these days it is almost impossible to purchase stuff without packaging. This “Inaction #1” can be a very difficult thing to (not) do, especially if you are a shopping afficionado like myself. In which case, one must then refer to Action #1.

Action #1: Very carefully pick and choose establishments that purvey less packaging. To this end, I shop at farmers markets and the like. No Styrofoam, no cling wrap, no unnecessary packaging. Yes, sometimes it can be slightly inconvenient but nobody said saving the world was going to be easy right? Besides farmers markets are the best!

Action #2: I carry my own plastic bags everywhere. I am prepared for any occasion. They are like my little security blankets. I keep my stash close to me, not knowing