Balcony Garden (Day 3): The Groundwork ... again

New home, new balcony, new climate, new garden.

I'm so very happy that this new balcony is roughly four times the size of the old one. It's different also because it's approximately west south west facing, so it gets midday and afternoon sun. My last garden got morning and midday sun. I've moved in the last part of spring so am still able to get my spring planting done. Although most people already have green tomatoes on their bushes, my seeds have only just gone in.

After all my grandiose and well thought out plans for my garden, after all that my practical side has won out and I've readjusted my plans. Ideally I wanted my themed garden with exotic edibles and herbs, reality has decided though that this is not going to happen at this point in time. A lot of what i wanted to plant is not yet seasonally available, nor is some of it appropriate for this climate. I figured that I would initially establish my garden with the leftover shop bought seeds (thus not offending my sense of frugality and abhorrence of waste), supplement this with new seeds bought from the Diggers Club, compare the quality while at the same time experimenting with previously unfamiliar crops.

I also decided I would stick to expert advice this time about what plants to sow appropriate to my climate and time of year. I will try recommended methods of planting and propogating, and measure these results against my initial experimental style. I do think that you need to be fearless in gardening, prepared to take a chance and see what happens. But why not establish a baseline first?

With that in mind I have already planted my initial starters for my garden from my store bought seeds. I'm going to order my organic, non-GM (genetically modified) or  GE (genetically engineered), heirloom style seeds from Diggers and plant them when I get them. I will do my best to produce the best crop from each plant and compare the resultant produce. That way I can offer information based on actual first-hand evidence .

My basic garden is set up and the store bought plants I have planted are:
Basil
Beans (Dwarf)
Capsicum
Carrots
Coriander
Parsley
Silverbeet
Spinach
Tomatoes (Cherry)
Tomatoes (Grosse Lisse)

After five days, my basil was sprouting, six days saw the carrots and Silverbeet follow suit and now each day I see more and more seedlings popping up, so I must be doing something right!

Balcony Garden (Day 1): The Groundwork

Before

This ain't my first rodeo...

That is to say, this isn't my first balcony garden. I had a thriving garden, producing quite a good crop for my kitchen, I was experimenting with growing techniques, watering systems, companion planting, pest control both natural and otherwise. But when you have a job which makes you travel all over the world for prolonged periods of time (I'm not talking weeks, I'm talking about months), your garden will suffer even if you have someone visit occasionally and do something to help it out. No one looks after your garden quite like you. No one will love it in just the way you do. They don't have a personal stake in it, they most likely didn't get their hands dirty putting it together and they weren't there to watch it's first baby steps (so to speak).

Found this little critter buried in the soil of a pot. It's a Cockschafer Grub, can be harmful to your plants by eating their roots

So this time has probably been the longest away from home plate for me. It's been 8 months so far, with a quick two weeks home in the middle of that, and this time I'm only here for a week. But only another two months and I'll be back for at least six months! Bliss. This is why I decided to start prepping my balcony now so it's ready for when I return. How often do you get to have a complete do-over with your garden?

My last garden was an experimental one. Seeds and plants were bought and cultivated at an ad hoc basis, through my desire to have those ingredients, or even a random wander in the gardening section of stores. The problem with that is that you don't know the provenance of the seeds/plants. You don't know what problems that plant will have, what other plants it's been grafted to, or how genetically different it is through commercial manipulation from its original form. This can make for extremely varying results. Some plants may produce brilliant crops, and some may not even produce a single acceptable fruit or vegetable.

After months away,  it's incredibly exciting to reestablish my balcony garden! Although I can't plant or even prep the old soil for use again (trying to be organic-ish and reduce my footprint), I can at least clean, organise and set up a rain water collection system! Love the garden! It's not often you get to have do-overs with your garden, and my balcony garden shows that you can have a vibrant and producing crop in the smallest of places. 

Rain water collection system, situated high enough that I can fit the watering can under the tap - an expexperiment in progress

I've decided to put more thought into the design of this garden. I'll try my hand at growing both Indian and Asian food items noting how much I enjoy cooking and eating the food. Plus I will put some staples in which will complement most foods, with a few luxury items thrown in for kicks. The plan is to get as much as possible from diggers.com.au using heirloom varieties for maximum quality, flavour and the least impurities. Plus I'll be trying to use up all the old seeds from previous purchases or seeds I've harvested or dried myself. 

The initial list (if I can fit them) as it stands is:

Basil Fino Verde, 

Cardamom, 

Tobago Chilli, 

Confetti Coriander, 

Cumin, 

Galangal, 

Garlic, 

Kaffir Lime, 

Lemongrass, 

Lemons, 

Mint, 

Red Spring Onions, 

Tomato, 

Tumeric, 

Coffee, 

Merlot or Cabernet Grapes (haven't decided on a supplier yet) and 

Aloe Vera. 

Also probably Marigolds for their pest repellant properties.

My worm farm / composting system. Result = ultra rich soil to mix with my used soil to rejuvenate it when I return

It took a whole day and into the evening but my balcony is prepped for when I return in a couple of months. You may wonder what took me all day, I mean it's just a small balcony right? 

So here's the prep work that I did:

Cut down all dead plant material (including the tomato plant which had crept across more than half of the balcony railing - hard to see in the before photo)

Pulled all root balls and preserved the soil from them

Loosened all soil in planters, breaking down clumps

Pulled and cleaned all stakes and propping structures

Cleaned the water tank inside and out

Swept, scrubbed and sanitised the tiles in quarters so I didn't have to move planters inside

Cleaned the railing

Cleaned and sanitised all empty pots

Cleaned the outside of my composting system

Cleaned all tools and bags/pots/bottles of product

Built a set of shelves

Built a rain water catchment system

Disposed of all rubbish and cuttings

Unfortunately I can't do much more than that unitl I return in two months.  But it's a start.

After