Just moved in

I've just moved into a new flat. There's a south-facing balcony with 2 good sized window-boxes ready fixed in place on the outer ledge, plus some trellis which a former owner has fixed just beside the east side of the window - so it's under the overhang from the balcony upstairs. Absolutely no plants anywhere so far.

I've never tried real container gardening like this, but I really fancy some herbs and maybe growing veg on a teeny scale - any ideas would be very welcome! I'm starting completely from scratch.

 

Well, tomatoes would be a good one! Pretty and well as productive.

As far as flowers go, try some pelargoniums (geraniums) they just love being in pots!

 

Tomatoes certainly sound a good idea - I love 'em! Have you grown any particular ones successfully? Pelargoniums, yes, I've grown those in pots before and I suppose there are always the faithful petunias. I was hoping to grow some culinary herbs, but, apart from knowing that mint takes over whatever you plant it in, I've not much idea. I see hours of happy pootling in garden centres ahead of me!

 

Rosemary is dead easy to grow (I know you shouldn't but I just root fresh cuttings in a yoghurt tub 3/4 filled with water - seems to work ) and looks good in pots. Chive is an easy grower too and has nice lilac or white pompom blooms. Thyme is also a welcome addition to any kitchen and there's some decorative varigated ones you can grow.

Toms need sunshine, good ventilation and frost protection so in theory should do well on a South facing sheltered town balcony but the vital ingrediant for success is water (with a bit of feed) If they dry out at all they'll suffer badly so on hot days you could be watering 2 or 3 times a day. Not so handy if you do the 9-5 grind + travelling. Tall varieties need staking and side shoot nipping but there are dwarf bush and cherry hybrids you can just leave to get on with it. You may need to net them outside to keep the birds off though.

A strawberry barrel might be fun too but the same applies re watering and birds.

Most anything will grow in a container if the conditions are right but for a balcony I'd suggest plastic pots. They are much lighter than terracotta or stone/cement types and don't dry out so quickly. For safety make sure there is no danger below if you have a gale. A flower basket or 12" pot full of moist compost can do a lot of damage to an unsuspecting head!

[ 17. January 2006, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: frogesque ]

 

Thanks so much! I can't wait to get started. Re the window-boxes - I don't have any choice as they are part of the building which has just been Grade II listed. Still, they certainly won't drop on anyone's head and I can always put plastic pots inside them.

I'll remember about the netting - there aren't any squirrels here, thank goodness, but I have seen a blackbird sitting on the window-box.

 

There is a new ebook on sale at cjmarketing.org.uk/id31.html entitled Outdoor Gardening In pots And Boxes which has a section on window boxes.
Hope this helps.
C Jacobson.

 

re watering... there are two handy methods to reduce watering activity
1) add water retaing gel to compost
2)....esp for tomatoes, place on pea gravel and train them to grow roots trhu the bottom, and feed thu the top.. they won t dry out or be overwaterd very easily

 

Chives grow very well in pots and do lovely purple flowers.

 

I would second Michaelmasdaisey about growing Pelargoniums (commonly called geraniums). They flower for a very long period of time, and can stand more abuse like forgetting to water than most plants.

They don't like frost - so I would grow them inside for a bit till the weather is better.

 

Basil is easy to grow in a pot and smells good too.

 

How about ivy leaved geraniums particularly the Swiss Balcon type or trailing fuchsias. Both would make a fantastic display, mine do. Cape dasies(osteospermum) do well in window boxes and like geraniums can take drying out and will flower well into autumn.

 

Finally got round to looking at old soil in containers and discovered loads of old cigarette-ends (yuk!), spent matches and - right at the bottom - that black stuff that comes in little beads. Presumably, the best thing to do is clean everything out and scrub, then fill with new potting compost - but what kind?

 

I just use general purpose - but remember that certain plants like azaleas, and pieris, like ericaceous compost, so you might want some of that too. If you check on plant labels first, to see if it says "acid-loving" you'll be ok! It's not a bad idea to put in some perlite or vermiculite to help draining - but most importantly, imo, is to put some sort of crocks at the bottom, and put the container securely on pot feet. Crocks can be small stones, but I prefer bits of polystyrene, which is lighter - and I've always got loads of that knocking around!!

 

Thanks, dendrobium! I've discovered that there is a local greengrocer who sells general purpose potting compost, so not too far for this non-driver to go.

 

I also have a balcony do you not fancy climbers as mine are doing great in large pots jasmine is lovely i also have honeysuckle i have other climbers that are doing great.
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