Friday, May 8, 2009

Finally seeing some progress


I finally figured out how to do the planters on the railing! I bought 4 30" window box planters, drilled holes in the side and tied them together with nylon rope. They hang over the railing like saddlebags. It's so simple, I can't believe how long it took me to come up with this solution. I planted one with strawberries, the other 3 have annuals. Nasturtiums are on the edge of the outside ones, so they can trail down in front. A few of my favorite annuals are interspersed with edible violas and pansies.

I'm still waiting on my Burpee order....but in the meantime I got a few herbs at the garden center. It's so tempting to buy everything in sight, but I have so little space. :(

See the milk jugs sitting under the grill? I'm using them to transport water. I think I might need to figure out a way to hook a hose up to my kitchen faucet though. I'm spending a LOT of time hauling water.


Nasturtiums hate to be transplanted, so I got them started in paper egg cartons, then I transplanted the entire thing into the window box. The paper will decompose and the roots can grow through without being disturbed!


Here's a view from inside. Note the bag of potting soil - I'm planning on getting more window boxes for vegetables. :)


The dishpans are finally starting to fill up with lettuce. (You can see how tall the peas are getting in the background.)


PEAS! I have snap, snow and garden peas planted. I'm using the railing for their support, it's supplemented with 100' of twine wrapped around and around. I think I'll have to add some supports to the other side of the dishpans, too.

3 comments:

  1. Very smart idea on the windowboxes. Sometimes we just have to "think outside the box" a little bit to get the solution we need. Brava! Everything looks awesome!

    Here's how I'm solving the watering problem: I got a 10-gallon painting pail from the hardware store, and put it under the overhang when it rains to collect rain water. I leave the pail outside with the lid on so the water doesn't evaporate, and I dip the watering can into it. Then I don't have to run in and out of the apartment to water the plants. It hasn't rained in a couple weeks, so now I fill up the pail in the bathtub: each morning when I start the shower water to warm up, the pail catches the cold water.

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  2. I like the bucket idea. May have to steal that...

    I found out that you can get an adapter for faucets to be able to screw on a garden hose. Just have to find the time to go to a plumbing store!

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