Balcony Garden

[BP]

We've picked 6 strawberries so far. I think I messed up by not clipping the new plants on the runners because my berries are smaller and not as many. 10 of my plants are everbearing "Berri Basket" and 5 are "Quinalts" and they have not flowered at all. I clipped all new plants after these pics were taken, so hopefully I will have many more and larger berries soon.
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/028.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/027.jpg[/img]

Everything is growing great in the Topsy turvy tree
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/025.jpg[/img]

This pic really doesn't do the sweet 100 cherry tomato plant justice. It's growing huge and fast, close to 100 tomatoes on it right now
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/026.jpg[/img]

slicing cukes on the right are growing slowly, but the Anahiem pepper plant on the left has a couple little peppers growing with many more blossoms to open in the next few days
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/021.jpg[/img]

Celebrity on the left and yellow pear on the right. Seems like the yellow pear is growing so fast I can watch it grow.
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/019-1.jpg[/img]

I made a mistake with the topsy turvy tree by not labeling which tomato plant is what. I obviously can tell which is the cherry tomato plant, but that's where it ends. I have a plant with round tomatoes that could either be Pink Girl or Better Boy and then I have heirloom tomatoes on a couple others (I can see the rippled edges) but can't tell which is Brandywine or Delicious. The Bell pepper plant in the front of the "TT" has twice dropped blossoms before opening. I'm thinking it's due to cold nights because the plant looks healthy. I also have pickling cucumbers in the TT, with plans for them to grow over the top, but they are also growing slow. I've been fertilizing everyting with bone meal. I'll have to get a pic of the 5 gallon bucket with the pole beans in it. The vines have far outgrown the top of the tomato cage, but now flowers yet.

[ButterflyGarden]

Lovely garden!!

[garden5]

You have a beautiful balcony garden. By the looks of things, it will soon be a very productive on as well!

[jal_ut]

Nice garden. I don't know about clipping the runners. I just let them grow here. They soon put down roots. I always figured that they have leaves which synthesize food for the plant so they add to the overall output of the plant. As long as your soil in the pot has enough fertility and water to support the leafy growth it should do well. Near as I can tell the size of the berries has more to do with variety than any thing else. If they are everbearers, the new runners will flower and make fruit too. If you can hang another pot for a runner, you can get an increase. How much sun do they get?

Celebrity, my favorite tomato variety. Couldn't find any this year. So I bought 3 different varieties. We will see what I get?

[BP]

I clipped the runners because they were just hanging from the basket. I did save them and currently have them in a pot, but my intent was to give them away. Only problem is nobody wants them.
I'm now up to 35 berries harvested and the plants were looking shaggy after the heat lately so I looked into it. I took the basket down and the dirt was seperated from the outside of the basket, the water would run down the side since the dirt in the center was rock hard. I now am taking it down and slowly watering making sure water sinks down in the middle. That and a little 6-9-7 bone meal and they are recovering. Here are a few pics from a few days ago

Sorry you didn't get any celebrities this year Jal. You are the reason I bought them after reading awhile back they were your favorite.


I'm just a hair under 6 foot tall and yes they are in buckets, but these yellow pear plants are taller than I thought they would be and are still growing. I kept one plant to one main stem and the other two stems. I've let each stem keep one sucker on at the top, but other than that all suckers have been taken care of as they pop up.
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/019-2.jpg[/img]

Hard to tell in this pic, but my pole beans have to be well over 6 foot tall by now. Once they reached the top of the tomato cage I wrapped the vines around the top hoop quite a bit and now have them going under the handrail sticking out into the ait and will be coming back over
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/018-2.jpg[/img]

cukes and Anaheim pepper. Today my first cuke was pollinated by myself since I have NEVER seen a bee on the balcony. The pepper plant has 2 nice peppers on it and one small curly one, it's now dropping all blossoms but looks healthy.
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/017-1.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/016-1.jpg[/img]

cherry tomato plant out of the side of the topsy turvy tree. Harvested 2 so far with many to come. This is the only tomato plant I have allowed to keep all suckers and it is getting quite large.
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[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/014.jpg[/img]

First time growing heirloom tomatoes and I love the way they look (Red Brandywine)
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/013.jpg[/img]

And my corn at my Mother's house
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Balcony%20Garden%202011/002-2.jpg[/img]