Edible Dreams

OMGosh.... I have always wanted to grow blueberries (amongst other fruits and edibles) on my balcony, but had been unsure until I saw this as to whether growing them in pots was a yes/no/maybe....

IT'S A YES!!!

The site I found this pic on, and other information is http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/how-to-grow-blueberries.html   -  and even better it's an Australia website!

Stay Tuned... one day I will do this....

Happy Potting! K.

T.I.L: Pest Deterrents

I'm not an expert in the garden, so I'm not really sure that offering tips and tricks and advice is the right thing for me, however, I would love to share with you "Things I've Learned" (T.I.L) along the way with my little garden.

This fist T.I.L post, comes curtosy of the little green bugs I mention so often and are again re-appearing in force in my garden - that's right, Aphids.

Through trial and error, I have found that there are 3 methods, used in conjunction with each other and used regularly, that work best for me in keeping my apparent Aphid population at bay.

1. My hands - with a pair of gloves on, and some warm soapy water, the quickest way to rid plants of aphids is to physically remove and squash them! Not the nicest job, and I am careful to not squash the plants in the process, but this method reduces numbers immediately!
2. Pyrethrum Spray - an absolute must for me in regular applications.
3. Home Made Spray - I have a couple of pyrethrum plants in my garden now, so I take the leaves and mix them with water, detergent and oil to make my own spray. The oil and detergent is supposed to clog the pores of the aphids and therefore suffocate them. I sometimes think this spray works better than the pyrethrum, so I use both. Another benefit of using the detergent is that if it gets into the soil (and it's a good idea to spray the soil for aphids too), it is said to help with water retention, particularly if your pots have dried out a little like some of mine! I also plan to try adding a little garlic or chilli to the mix once I start planting tomatoes, as this is supposed to help deter pesky caterpillars :)

- This is the product I am currently using, also available as a concentrate, but there are also many other brands available -

One of the things I have tried and will never do again;

• On advice I was given, I added some sugar to the mix as this was supposed to attract lady bugs (natural predators of aphids). What I ended up with were zero lady bugs, and a crunchy sticky mess with bugs trapped in it!

What I would like to try, and am preparing my garden for;

• Mail order lady bugs.... That's right, you can have a box of these pretty little predators delivered to you for around $40-$50 (AUD). )You can get them here...   http://www.bugsforbugs.com.au/.)  I have been seriously tempted to try this already, but through some research before hand I discovered that without aphids and flowers, the ladybugs are unlikely to stick around! Not such a bad thing, but I thought if I can prepare my garden to best of my ability for some lady bugs, perhaps they'll hang around a little longer, and protect my garden. (A post to come about my lady bug preparations!)

So there you have it... some of what I've learned about pest deterrents (in particular to aphids!). Hope if you're looking for some things to try, this might give you a little hand - my pansies are benefiting from it, such happy faces - 

Happy Potting! K

Inspiration...

There is almost nothing more entrancing than a pot/container overflowing with blooms/edibles. Here are some great combinations of colour - I hope one day my pots will be as successful as these!

- Petunia's have never really been all that enticing to me, but I may just have had my mind changes, don't they look stunning! (Could not get this image to import at the proper rotation, sorry about that) -

- I love the mix of orange, magenta and purple, plus the site I've borrowed this image from has some great tips and advice (http://www.costafarms.com/Public/NewsView.aspx?News=Gardening&Type=News&Id=71) -

- I just love pinks and purples! Make sure to include some trailing plants to add more dimension to your pot/container as they spill over the sides -

- different types of foliage mixed in with flowers can be just as stunning -

I am a firm believer that anything can be grown in pots and containers, and that you don't necessarily need huge containers for plants to flourish. See my last post with my pair of pansies - that pot would be approx 20cm diameter. 

What I have learnt and would strongly encourage, is make sure that whatever pot/container you use, you have a saucer for it - I (shamefully) thought pft to this, but sure enough, when the water drained straight through the pots, the plants weren't getting enough water (and the food in the water was being wasted)!

And boy do pot plants need their food - unless you give it to them, they don't get any nutrients once they've drained the soil of what it did have. I feed all my plants at least once a week with a soluble fertiliser, and perhaps every 1-2 months top up the pots with a bit of fresh compost. They sure seem to be loving it.

So give it a go! Now is the best time to plant spring blooms, so get going and do it! Just remember, pots and containers can sit on the ground, on shelving, or even hang!

Happy Potting. K. 

More like an oasis every day...

My goodness, how time flies!

Much has changed on my balcony since my last post (back in April!!) - I am so sorry to have been gone so long, and that I have missed out on updating you all on what's been happening in my little oasis.

Truth be told - for a while it wasn't feeling much like an oasis - remember those aphids?? Well they've been right little pains that's for sure! But these days, whilst there are still aphids around, I am in better control, and my little oasis is really thriving!

At the moment, my balcony is quite awash with flowers, and it's just marvellous! I have had tulip and now freesia bulbs sprouting and flowering.....

I have lots more happy faces... including a stunning pair in a lovely turquoise pot as a centrepiece...

I was inspired to plant sweet peas to tumble out of a hanging pot, and having planted the seed a couple of months ago, you can see how healthy the sweet peas now are, and flower heads are already apprearing - what an amazing flowering mass they will be...

(sweet peas in the lower hanging basket)

The above photo also shows one of the edible components of my garden, the 'herb wall'- there's chocolate mint, coriander and basil on the top shelf, flat and curly leaf parsley and thyme on the middle shelf, and more mint below that. There are chives keeping company with the sweet peas, and look! My daisy is finally flush with flowers!

Below see my blushing strawberry plant - such delicate and beautiful pink flowers that are going to give me yummy berries to eat!

Finally, as far as photos go, the old lady of my garden.... my Jasmine... in full bloom and amazingly fragrant!

What a lovely little oasis it is now... and I'll have more to share very soon... my dianthus is finally about to flower, I have yellow button squash seeds sprouting, plus more flowers, I have healthy beets, spinach and radish plants ... and more herbs establishing themselves including common mint and rosemary.

Can't wait to share more with you soon!

Happy Potting! K. xx

Happy Faces

Since my last enthusiastic post about my lovely little seedlings, my balcony garden has become somewhat of a battle field - aphids, sudden weather changes causing sunburn and heat stress, and slight overwatering when the temperature suddenly drops!

But, all is not lost, and the garden is hanging in there (me too!)

At the moment these happy smiling faces greet me every morning! I've decided, all gardens must have pansies and johnny jump up violas!

K. xx

Big and Strong!

My seedlings planted just over 4 weeks ago are still growing well!

Above - beans right, radish left. Below - spinach left, beets right.

I discovered the aphids had moved in on my radish on Sunday, so I sat and carefully removed them all by hand (there weren't too many at that stage) - Going to have to keep a close eye out to avoid a major aphid offensive!

K. xx

Partial to Pansies

I added some spreading pansies and jump up violas to my garden over the weekend to bring in a bit of colour and interest. I just love to see their little colourful faces in the morning!!