Balcony garden update

I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I’ve started balcony gardening again after a few years’ break. We moved to a new place in March and now have two balconies for growing vegetables and fruit.

Quite quickly after the move it became apparent that our big balcony is very windy. It’s between big houses and winds from the harbour can reach it. This of course makes the plants more vulnerable, especially when they are in the early growing stages. Therefore we decided to buy two mini greenhouses for the balcony. They had to be connected to each other, as they were also moving in the wind. We haven’t filled the boxes with soil, the plants are in there in their pots.

The greenhouses are currently full of tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, chilli etc. I can’t wait to harvest some of the produce later in the summer. I will keep you updated. Here are some photos from my little balcony garden.

Here the young plants were ready to move to the balcony.

Long train of growing space.

Onion squash ready to take over the balcony.

Red currant bush

Have a nice Sunday everyone!

Your VegHog

Garden update, rat plague and The Bee Cause

It has been a while since I have written a garden update and a lot has happened since the last post. Now we are getting into the proper harvest time and I have already cooked a few times with the produce from the balcony. I love to see the plants grow, but there has also been a nuisance lately. We've made several rat sightings on the balcony and a few tomatoes have been gnawed a little. Currently we are only fighting them by sprinkling peppermint oil onto the balcony and I have also planted a few extra mint plants, as I heard that they can't stand the scent. Please share if you have any good humane rat repelling tips! I did some internet research and quite a few people seemed to release snakes to repel rats. Haha, I wonder how that would work out! I think we might get a humane trap and then will have to relocate the creature.

Now to the plants themselves. These small chillies are nicely colourful and they certainly pack a punch. I've been adding them to several dishes already and will dry the rest that I won't get the chance to use fresh.

The tomatoes are growing well and we've eaten some of them already. I'm growing tomato tigerella and koralik bush tomatoes. First I thought it would be tigerella only that came through, but now that the tomatoes are actually growing and starting to ripen, there is one bush of cherry tomatoes amongst the tigerella vines as well. It's great to have two variations growing. (p.s. the rats seem to prefer cherry tomatoes).

I've also already harvested some of the bell peppers and have four plants growing, which are all carrying fruit. They are more successful this year than previously.

The summer squashes, pattypans, are also edible and I've harvested them while they were fairly small, as then they are at their best. They look so cute and the plant hasn't taken over the whole balcony, it sits nicely in its corner.

Then to something slightly different, yet garden related. I'm always delighted to see bumble bees buzzing around my balcony, so I try to have some blooming flowers there at all times in the summer. It's horrible to think that these creatures are so much endangered. I recently donated for The Bee Cause by Friends of the Earth and they sent me this delightful Bee Saver Kit. The kit contains wildflower seeds, garden planner, bee spotter guide and step by step guide for saving bees. It's a really nice kit to get more bee knowledge and plan a bee friendly garden.

Have a good weekend!

Your VegHog

What's going on in my balcony garden

Suddenly due to the warmer weather my plants have seriously started growing. It's been wet and damp, but also fairly warm, so the plants are liking it quite a bit. Unfortunately there have also been a few slug sightings and I do not like those creatures. They haven't done much damage, but I don't want to have them around at all. I have put copper wire around some of the pots of the plants that are most attractive to them, so hopefully they will stay safe. There is also a minor aphid plague at the moment, which is quite annoying. But apart from that everything is growing nicely.

The tomato vines are already pretty high and in bloom. I have bound them today so that they can steadily grow in height. It seems that none of the bush tomatoes started growing and these are all tigerella vines, which I love anyway.

The courgette is about to bloom and has huge leaves. I think I'll have to move it to another corner, where it would have more space.

Strawberries could already be harvested. It was nice to have the first juicy produce of the summer.

The dwarf beans have grown in height and are in bloom. I like to have them on the upper edge of the balcony railing.

The bell peppers are also growing steadily and have several fruits on them. Can't wait to harvest those.

It's looking pretty good and green at the moment. More updates to follow.

Your VegHog

Quick garden update

I started my gardening a bit later this year, probably due to the unusually cool spring. However now I have tomatoes and peppers growing slowly outside. Luckily this weekend was already a bit warmer, so that the plants should get a bit of a boost in growth.

Remember how I said “no courgettes this year”? Well, when I saw the seeds for these custard white marrows, I just couldn't resist and one plant is now coming up. Would be nice to have a few courgette flowers and then finally this quirky produce. Let's hope there will be some.

I also planted these pimiento peppers and one regular bell pepper. The strawberries are already coming along nicely and so are the pretty sweet peas. I really hope that we'll get some nice balcony produce this year as well.

How are your gardening projects going?

Your VegHog

Gardening thoughts

While the strawberry plants start pushing through in the pots on the balcony, I start wondering what I should plant this year. I'm quite indecisive at the moment, but I think I will definitely want to grow some tomatoes, as they have been quite successful on the balcony in previous years. Obviously I hope that the strawberries will actually make it through and there will be some small early strawberry crops. Similar to last year, I think I'll pass on the courgettes, as pretty as the flowers are, but the plants easily take over the whole balcony.

I would also like to grow more edible flowers this year. They are nice for the visiting bees and pretty in dish presentations and to look at.

But what else...? What are your gardening plans and would you have any tips or ideas for me? I guess I'll need to get started soon and also tidy up the balcony more, the glass windows should be cleaned the first thing.

On the picture there's a bit of inspiration from the previous years.

Your VegHog

Balcony garden in August

It was nice to come back from holiday and see all the progress my plants had been making and that they were alive and well. So big thanks to the watering help!

It's starting to look increasingly red over there and I have been able to harvest many tomatoes already. Some will stay very tiny in the size, but they are still very tasty, a perfect addition to be eaten fresh with any meal. And if there are too many, I can always make a sauce. The bell peppers are turning red as well and so are the chillies. What a jolly redness! Here are some photos to show the situation of my balcony garden in August.

Quick garden catch-up

I just jealously looked at my balcony garden photos from a year ago, as then everything was definitely more advanced, but even now things are starting to grow and the colour green is taking over the balcony.

I have been enjoying my lovely juicy strawberries and the plants have produced a few runners that I have allowed to grow

The tomatoes are blooming and have tiny little fruits on them. This year I planted Koralik bush tomatoes.

My herbs are doing well and the chillies are growing.

There are a couple of good bell peppers coming along as well.

It's not all that bad, hopefully the warmth and sunshine will continue a bit for the plants' sake.

I will write another update soon.