The sweetest thing... Strawberries

The sweetest thing in the balcony are the strawberries. Last year i had some very small ones, but 100 time sweeter than regular strawberries.

They were the best thing of the summer mornings. It is great to wake up, go on the balcony and search under the leaves, the good, ripe, berries.

This year I am also planting regular strawberries, just out of curiosity...

Good, let's get to work now.

First we plant them in small pots, I used plastic cups. Fill them up just leave 2 fingers left at the top, and add the seeds.

I tried to have around 3 seeds per glass, but as they are small, in some cups i dropped up to 6 :).

Add another thin layer of soil, and press gently to fix the seeds.

Wet, and make sure you keep the soil wet this beginning period.

Totally 18 cups, 9 regular strawberries, and 9 small ones.

 That's about it for now.

Enjoy!

The Basil

You cannot make any tomato sauce without basil :). You cannot miss it! It is great in salads, mixed with cheese & tomato & olive oil, over a pizza or in a simply refreshing drink with lemon and mint. Plus, the scents you will feel over the summer on the balcony will relax and chill your senses.

Till then, we need to work a bit. We will plant lots of seeds in a pot, and later on, we'll move it in the final pots.
I took one big water bottle (11liters/3 gallons), cut it and make holes at the bottom.

Add soil until there are 3-4 fingers left free at the top. Spread the seeds as uniform as possible, but no minimum distance between them.

Add another 2 fingers of soil and press gently. 

As easy as that. Water and put on the window still. Once they are out, we will place some in the pots with tomatoes. They ad a bit of flavor to it.

Have fun!

My precious... Tomatoes

By far the most demanding are the tomatoes, but they are the best.
There are dozens of tomato types, but not that many that can grow nicely in the balcony. Last year I had cherry, but they grew a bit more than expected (last picture here), and they needed loooooots of attention.
Fortunatelly i found some tomato seeds that are suitable to be grown in a pot, do not require too much attention, is very resistant and it offers very sweet tomatoes, cherry size. It is called Vilma, and you can search for a shop near you on google.
Ok, now to work.

I took 6 plastic water glasses, made holes at the bottom (very important to drain the excess water).

Fill with soil until you have around 3 fingers left. Place the seeds, I put 1-2 per glass, but they should be one by one.add again soil until there is 1 finger left. Press gently to fix the seeds.

They can be moved in the final pot after they have 2 good leaves, but we'll see then.
Water, put it on the window still, and maintain the soil wet.
That's it. Have fun!

We have a lift off!!

Thanked to the radish seeds...

After only 4 days from planting, the leaves are going easily toward the window.
This crop started well, i am curious how will it go... i still have second thoughts about this pot, but... ah well.
Since in 3 weeks they should be ready, i think there is enough time to find out this summer what is the best solution for planting the radishes.

I am also thinking about rotating the crops... i mean, if a radish is "done" in 30 days, i can plant a new pot every 2 weeks so that fresh radishes will be available all the summer.

In the parsley field, nothing for the moment, will keep looking.

Fast & Easy - The Radish

The fastest growing veggie i could find in the shop was the radish. I got "Cherry Belle" type.
It's written here that in 25-30 days it's done, so let's see if in mid February we'll  have fresh radishes. Beside the fast growth, there is another good thing about radishes, they can grow in shady places also, so during the summer you can keep them at the tomatoes shadow.
Good, and now to work.

Radish seeds, pot (I am using a former baking form, in which I drilled some holes, you can use anything that is around 15 cm/ 6 inch deep), and soil.

For radishes, where you plant them, from there you will crop them. They cannot be moved once planted.
Fill in with soil until there are 4 fingers left. Put the seeds, 4 cm/2in spread. Add soil to fill in the pot, and press gentle to fix the seeds.

The soil needs to be maintained wet. As much water they have, as fast and sweet they will grow. But be careful, not to drown them.

Up on the window still and let's see what happens. I have some second thoughts as the pot i am using seems a bit small, but if this doesn't work, i will adjust at the next crop.

Have fun!

Low hanging fruits - Parsley

Let's start with something easy to plant, to maintain, but extremely useful in the kitchen: the parsley (I am sure that everybody knows what parsley is).

I got some seeds of parsley for leaves - Petroselinum crispum, they were quite cheap, and they grow fast, are very resistant. Their leaves a a bit curly, dark green and very flavored. It can be potted anytime between February and April, and then you can start picking it as of April till late October.

For the soil, I am using a special mix for herbs, but also a universal use should do. The one for flowers should not be used.

Ok, now to work:
As a primary pot I am using a 11 liters recipient, cut at the middle, in which I made holes for the excessive water to drain.










Next, fill it until there are 3-4 fingers left. Spread the seeds, and add another layer of around 2 fingers. Press a bit to have the seeds fixed.
Put the pot inside the house, preferably on the wind sill, and wet it every couple of days.

That's it. Now we wait...
Have fun!

Last year story - How to garden

Last year I moved in my first house (should be read apartment in a big city). After finishing the painting, the first thing i did was to plant some vegetables on the balcony (pretty diverse, from parsley to tomatoes). A sort of a challenge was to plant them in mid April, a bit too late for them. But in the end they all grew up just fine.

The thing is that the parsley from my pot had the same taste like the one in my grandma's garden. The one I buy in the supermarket, even if is in a pot and not cut already, has absolutely no taste. I know that i will not be able to be self sufficient on all vegetables, but i think i can have enough parsley and basil for the summer, and a few salads with tomatoes. In the end is a matter of choice, if you want to have diversity or to have just some plants that will keep your taste rich.

Now, because i am not a land owner, the only place where i can grow something is my balcony and the window sill, so just a couple of square meters. Unlike like last year, now I can have a head start and plant when they should be planted (namely, in the next 2 months). In the meantime I will also keep this blog with instructions on how to stuff. Just one thing, I am not a professional farmer, this is not my full time job, is just a hobby.

This is it. Have fun!

Fresh basil

Fresh parsely

Cherry tomatoes starting to ripe

Full balcony 2010