Balcony "Garden"

My balcony gardening experiment in Halifax has gone as follows...

May 14

   I potted up the seedlings on the 12th and put them on our neighbour's balcony yesterday.  The seedlings started in water-jugs looked great, but had almost no roots.  The seedlings started in the Lee Valley kit had much more developed roots.

   Once the weather has warmed up, I'll start some nasturtiums and transplant the pansy seedlings as well.

 

 

Update (June 24th)

 

July 15 - the 'garden' is coming along, though in some respects, not as I expected.  The pansies are doing poorly on both our balcony and the neighbour's (even though she gets more sun). The Chinese cabbage started off beautifully, but some now looks like it might bolt (I have already pulled out one).  The red cabbage is doing well and looks hardy.  The nasturtiums have come up.  They're a bit leggy, but look healthy.  Some of the parsley looks excellent, some looks like it's barely hanging on.  The kale and chard look pretty good.  I hope they experience a growth spurt in early August so we can start enjoying in salads and stir-fries.

 

August 2 - Well, at least my intentions were good!  

   The Chinese cabbage has either been stunted in growth or has bolted, so I pulled all but one.  None of the pansies (which usually grow without effort, like weeds) were doing well, so I pulled them all and used the dirt when we divided and repotted Mom's big fern.  The large container of parsley I will bring down from the neighbour's balcony to ours, as it doesn't seem to be doing any better there than the small pot of parsley I have growing on our balcony.  The kale, chard, and nasturtiums are coming along so I haven't given up on them, yet.  The only thing that looks hardy and healthy is the red cabbage.  I wish I'd planted more than three, now!

August 16 -  After pulling and composting some more things that either weren't growing well (pansies) or got eaten (kale) by bugs (possibly earwigs), I'm down to a few small kale plants, 3 red cabbage, a few very small Swiss Chard, spindly nasturtiums, and parsley.  Note to self: unless you're in a south-facing, preferably corner apartment unit, vegetables might not be the best things to attempt to grow.

It was worth a try.  Live and learn!