plant status updates

[rm]

I've moved the rest of the herbs outside so they can get more sun. They were doing fine, but I think this is better.

I can't find the frigging strawberry seeds!

We are now at TWO tiny tomatos on the green zebra. There are several other flower buds, at least one of which seems like it clearly won't turn into a tomato. The others are small and have not opened yet.

I will clearly need to add more soil to the recently repotted acquisitions from yesterday as that all settles and gets watered and all. I also need sticks to keep the two need tomato plants upright. They are younger than the zeba, and I don't expect tomatos on them until July at the earliest.

The pepper plant already seems to have some buds well hidden in the leaves. Will the bees find it?

The basil has had no disasters so far, although something came and ate half a leaf.

Should I plant some flowers to summon bees?

What other food-stuff is well suited to container gardening on a fire escape?

It was originally supposed to rain today. I am so glad it did not.

I am really, really into this.

Comments

[bare-bear.livejournal.com]

CHIVES! Chives are fabulous and also impossible to kill.

Can you do carrots? Just cuz home-grown carrots are the best, but you need a deepish container to grow them in. Just don't do the following when planting the seeds:
1. Dig a hole
2. Dump in about 30 or 40 seeds
3. Fill in hole
It produces an artfully twisted grouping of carrots. Fun to look at! Hard to clean. Very small.

[bare-bear.livejournal.com]

Ooo! Also, a buddy of mine grew lettuce on her balcony.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I am afraid lettuce will summon rodents. I'm not sure if this is a rational fear or not. I figure we could do a container as high as 18 inches, if we wanted to do carrots, which might be a yess.

[bare-bear.livejournal.com]

Oh. I didn't know that. Of course, my buddy did live on the 5th floor with an isolated balcony, so I imagine she didn't really have that problem. :)

Mmm carrots. I miss having a garden.

[rm.livejournal.com]

We've had mice try to come in through the airconditioning shield. With a fireescape, we're not isolated from stuff at all.

[aether-entropy.livejournal.com]

You might want to try coffee grounds to keep insects from eating at your plants, but be careful because they can harm some plants. (like tomatoes)

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

On a related note, most Starbucks will give away their used coffee grounds for gardening purposes.

[mme-furiosa.livejournal.com]

Yay-- gardening is such a joy.

I wouldn't bother starting strawberries from seed- they grow from rhizomes, and seeds will take forever and ever to do anything, if they manage to germinate at all.

[moonpupy.livejournal.com]

We don't leave pollination to chance - both because we have indoor flowering plants and the lack of bees.

Yes, I'll admit it. We have sex with our plants.

Just us and a paintbrush, flitting from flower to flower, pollinating their little asses . . . um stamin and whatever the other part is called, lol.

Works beeeeutifully.

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

Ah yes...gardening is so relaxing. That reminds me...I need to get out there and weed. Maybe tomorrow...

[gairid.livejournal.com]

Bush beans (3 plants per 12" pot) and bush cukes could work. Even a cucumber vine would work in a large pot with a trellis to support the vine & fruits.

Definitely a few pots of flowers for the bees--they need it in an urban situation!

Also--remmeber to pinch back any flowers that form on the basil to ensure tender leaves. When they go to seed, it changes the flavor.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

I can't find the frigging strawberry seeds!

OH MY GOD! THE VELOCIRAPTORS! THEY'VE FOUND THE ENTRY POINT! RUN!

...

Heh. Sorry.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Speaking of bees, did you see the crazy bee-swarm thing on NewYorkers?

All the plants are very exciting!

[rm.livejournal.com]

No, what bee-swarm? I don't want a bee swarm!

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Union square bee swarm!

[rm.livejournal.com]

That is disturbing, funny and NOT OKAY

[hyrkanian.livejournal.com]

Parsley has been ridiculously easy for me to keep alive in pots on our deck, it's even overwintered and come back (but that's in NC, pretty sure it wouldn't do that up where you are). One really cool thing about parsley is that several butterfly species' caterpillars feed on it (as well as fennel, etc.) and we've watched several go through chrysalis stage and emerge as butterflies. So I plant a lot more than we'll ever use. :)

[graene.livejournal.com]

I'll scond the chives and parsley comments (but I haven't seen butterflies yet), and add that thyme does well for me and lemon balm, aka bee balm will work to call you bees despite a lack of flowers. Both will try to take over though, so need their own pots. twelve inches is supposed to be deep enough for short varieties of carrots - wildlife keep eating ours, but the kids like replanting it.

Keep the basil near the tomatoes. They love each other.

[newwaytowrite.livejournal.com]

Check to see if you have a determinate or indeterminate variety of tomato. Some need to be staked and pruned, others not.

Glad to see you enjoying mucking about in nature. If you find you don't have bees about certainly get a small soft paintbrush and pollenate your flowers on each tomato plant. But since you have actual tomatoes on one plant you may have already had bees about.

Container gardening is all the rage. Many salad greens love to be in containers.

[jendaby.livejournal.com]

Lemon balm is supposed to attract bees. My daughter and I planted some in our herb garden today along with some flowering herbs - lavender, chamomile and oregano. I'm hoping for butterflies! :)

I love to read about gardening!

[savorie.livejournal.com]

Awesome. I started container gardening for the first time ever this past week, and I'm loving it to pieces. Not starting on fruits/veggies yet since for some reason, it feels more "advanced". Mostly starter flowers and unique plants (vines and ferns).