Harvesting the Seeds

A number of our vegetable including cilantro and tomatoes produced seeds that we stored for the next season. Seeds were washed and sun dried on the window sill, then stored in little containers until time to plant.

Tomato and pepper seedlings dried from our last harvest

Fresh Salad Anyone?

We harvested carrots, tomatoes and peppers in September and used the herbs and greens throughout the summer. We prepared salads with the lettuce, tomatoes and peppers and steamed the carrots. We hope that 2015 brings in a better yield for our little garden! Stay tuned....

Part of our garden harvest

Entertaining Bugs Bunny?..Serve Carrots

My household enjoys carrots...steamed, roasted, stir fried, in a salad, with dips.. The bright orange vegetable can be grown on any container 12" deep. I obtained seeds for miniature carrots that would not take up too much space. The thrift store had the perfect container for the carrots. The carrots were transplanted in late May as they prefer cooler spring weather. I cannot wait to harvest them in 75 days!!

Yonge carrots growing on the box

Bring on the Harvest!!

The little garden produced a bounty of fresh, delicious vegetables and the freshest strawberries from the hanging planter! My next door neighbor (share a balcony) could not believe that we had a garden thriving in that little balcony! We shared our garden-harvested tomatoes and vegetables.

Tomatoes ready for harvesting

Spinach and salad mix thriving

Little Garden loving Summer in the Sun!

In the months of July, August and September, the vegetables, fruits and flowers loved the outdoors and the sun!! I made sure to water the plants daily in the evenings to reduce water evaporation. With companion planting, I did not face any problems with the pests and diseases. Unfortunately, the cucumber plant flowered, but we did not get any fruits (quite a mystery).

The vertical shelf allowed me to grow more plants with less space (an excellent investment). I has so much plants that I shared some with friends and family! It was certainly a success story! My family could enjoy the fresh vegetable steps from the kitchen and save us money.

Small pepper plants, tomatoes and flowers thriving in the balcony!

Transplanting Seedlings to Containers

Sooner or later your seedlings overgrow their little containers. My Tumbling Tom seedlings were already outgrowing their starter containers and they were moved to large container to ensure that they had space to grow. I used a trellis from the Dollar Store with twines to hold the seedlings in place. I mixed sheep manure and potting soil (1:1) prior to transplanting, then watered the seedlings thereafter.  Basil and Nasturtium flower seedlings were added to the planter to act as companion plants for the tomatoes to deter pests and diseases and keep the plants healthy.

Spinach, coriander, small peppers, Mescuin salad mix and all the other seedlings were moved into larger containers. Herbs such as basil, thyme and oregano requires smaller containers.

Garden Centres open...feels like Christmas in May!

I remember going to a hardware store and garden centre in March to inquire on planter holders and strawberry seedlings! Got some strange looks from floor staff who mentioned how early it was in the season for the stores to stock up on garden supplies. Over-enthusiastic much?! Probably had a nasty case of the "green itchy fingers."

Later in the month, I was so thrilled to visit Plant World, a nearby large garden centre in the West end of Toronto, and see all those plants out on display. My partner and I picked up June bearing strawberries and annual flowers (Calendula, Celosia, Petunia, Geranium) that make great companion plants for fruits and vegetable seedlings. 

Photo Credit: Plant World (They have some amazing displays and plant varieties)

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