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Kitchen garden in the balcony of an apartment - Possible?

Discussion in 'Gardening' started by satchitananda, Mar 24, 2015.

  1. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Well, I have a garden in my balcony comprising of a motley mix of decorative plants, some flowering plants (some of which flower, some which don't), odd ones which are edible etc.

    Among the edible varieties in my garden are the Perandai (bone setter), Ajwain, had a curry leaf plant which perished (don't know why all the plants in that particular pot are perishing/refusing to grow, must try changing the soil) and odds and ends like an occasional methi crop, roots of greens stuck into random pots which give me enough leaves to put into dal, tomatoes (again seeds put into pots with other plants). This year I got half to one kilo of tomatoes just this way.

    Tomatoes from balcony garden - IL.jpg


    Now that I am home composting, I have got it into my head that I want a kitchen garden. The only issue is I need someone to give a home to my ornamental plants, so I can make space for vegetables and herbs. I really need to get it systematized.

    As of now, I have started with trying to grow some watercress with seeds which I got online.

    Watercress - Day 4 - IL.jpg

    Keeping my fingers crossed. Hope it grows well and more importantly, I do hope I will be able to get it to regenerate.
     
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  2. GaythriV

    GaythriV Platinum IL'ite

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    @satchitananda Colourful tomatoes

    please post more pictures of your garden
     
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  3. yellowmango

    yellowmango IL Hall of Fame

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    Those are nice tomatoes Satchi!:thumbsup
    Have you tried chillies...they are easy to grow.So is basil and pudina.I had beans too in my balcony till some aphids made a meal of it .
    As for ornamental plants......If you can't get someone to adopt them in one go....try giving away as you increase your food plants.Every time you get one ....gift away a plant to some one around you(look around for people with plants.).You can even make some interesting friends .Who knows,they might want to give you some food plants in return.
     
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  4. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    My balcony garden - IL.jpg


    Here is a view Gayathri.
     
  5. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    YM, I had a lot of pudina in a big pot when I first started my garden, but then they died out. Not grown them after that. Tried corriander - not too successful; for one, the birds get the seeds before they have half a chance of sprouting. Just recently grew methi in a small broken stone pot of mine which I could not use for cooking any longer.

    Methi - 3 days old - in broken kalchatti - IL.jpg

    Need to replant it now.

    I have requested the association to take the plants from me and to plant them in the central park of our block. Let us see if they do.
     
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  6. yellowmango

    yellowmango IL Hall of Fame

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    You can grow beans,karela,cucumbers etc and let them climb that iron grill.
    Pudina needs lots of water and sunshine.
    My mom keeps sending me plants and my brown fingers keep destroying them.shakehead
    As for birds....don't get me started. I don't mind the mynah,bulbuls or sparrows...its the dirty pigeons that get my goat.Not to mention the squirrels.I spend so much of my time shooing them away...my husband says I am on sunrise to sunset pigeon watch.
     
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  7. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    You bet YM. Squirrels are very cute when I can take pics of them sprawled out on branches taking a break from munching on all their goodies, but not when the goodies are my plants. Pigeons are another problem. And what do I say about crows? They are so brazen, they refuse to listen when I try to politely tell them to go away. Can't be too rude with them. What if they are some friendly ancestors visiting me?

    Recently a pigeon got trapped between two pots in my balcony and its wing was injured. It lay for a while on the floor while I contemplated what to do. Fortunately when I went to look for a cardboard box, it had flown away somehow. Some miracle that!

    Talking of creepers, sometime ago I had thrown some seeds into one of the pots and when it grew there was a tiny melon like fruit. I could not figure out what it was till I cut it and it turned out to be a little musk melon, just the right size to be finished in one go! :-D
     
  8. nb25

    nb25 Gold IL'ite

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    Wow your balcony looks so beautiful, and such juicy tomatoes yumsmiley
     
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  9. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks nb. :) I used to have an old gardener who used to come 3-4 times a week to water the plants and take care of them. He stopped more than a year ago. I am trying my hand at doing some basic stuff now.
     
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  10. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    You know Satchi, your ornamental plants might have found home at mine if I were there. Hope you find a home for them soon. Those are some yummy tomatoes and I couldn't help but feel....yay! I know that balcony. Keep posting. May be I will share mine too...soon!
     
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