Why my balcony garden was not a failure

... even though all I got out of my plants were a few green beans, decent chives, teeny basil, and a misshapen green pepper that I am trying to coax along until it frosts. No tomatoes (from two plants) no cherry tomatoes (two almost ripened, then fell off), and no peas.

And yet, I don't really consider that to be a failure, at least not a complete one.

There were a few things that I couldn't account for - the torrential rains, then baking sun, then torrential rains again. And the July squirrel attack.

A few things I could have done better - I tended to underestimate the pot size needed for most of what I planted. And I didn't fertilize at all when I should have.

Not only was this a learning experience that hopefully will help me next year, but it is also good for our God-given earth. A few weeks ago, we invited a local expert on climate change to speak at our adult forum time on a Sunday morning. She not only spoke about the things that we as a species are doing to mess up our planet, but she also talked about what we can do to help. Even our littlest choices, if made consistently, can at least help slow the damage that we have done.

Living in the suburbs, I have seen first-hand how our lifestyles can wreck havoc on our environment. I have been stuck in rush hour traffic many-a time and thought about all those vehicles with one person inside, and also felt guilty myself, as I drive home from church. Granted, at least I don't have an hour or more commute like many people, but I do my fair share of driving, and thus polluting. In order to get around out here, a car (usually one car per person) is required, because nothing is within easy walking distance of anything else (and frankly I would be terrified to cross most roads around here - much less bike them). We have built our society on convenience and individuality, and I fall into that just as much as the next person.

But I'm trying. I try to bundle as many trips to the same strip mall as I can so that I only have to go there once a week. I pack a meal with containers that I can wash when I have a late night meeting. And I planted a failed garden on my porch that did nothing but take just a little bit of CO2 from the air and replaced it with just a little bit more oxygen.

The earth is God's gift to us. And this is a gift that should not go into the trash.

Psalm 24:1-2 

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
   the world, and those who live in it; 
for he has founded it on the seas,
   and established it on the rivers. 

Awake awake, for summer is flying...

August 9th? Who gave summer permission to nearly be mid-August already. Sure, this summer had its slow bits, but for the most part I've been bouncing from on thing to the next: VBS, our 5th anniversary, LiT, Julie and Brett's Wedding, seeing family in WI, vacation, swimming in the ocean, and now going solo while my colleague is on vacation and also picking up a vice pastor gig. And next week Beau's mom is coming to visit  for a week and Beau's sister and family are coming up from VA for a day.... and before we know it, September and Rally Day will be here!!!

It's good to be busy, thought, because if we weren't I think we'd go crazy right about now. For the last 8 or so years of our lives, we've had to move or think about moving right around this time of year: whether it was wrapping up camp and moving back to college for three years, moving to seminary, moving to internship, moving back to seminary, and moving out here. All pretty much done around mid to late August. Right about now I am used to seeing a box mountain grow in our living room, much to our cats' delight. Well, kitties, no such luck this year. We're staying put.

It's not really surprising then that Beau has gotten the "re-arranging bug." Just this week we completely rearranged the "cat closet," and when I got home form council last night, I found that our study was in the throws of transformation. Our living and bed rooms have already gone through three or four permutations, so they are (fairly) safe. But I too have been in a rearranging mood, and have finally cleaned of the last of the Squirrel Onslaught of '12. We were gone for two days - TWO DAYS! - to come back to utter decimation. My ittly bitty growing green peppers - gone. My nearly ripe cherry tomatoes - gone. My second tomato plant - destroyed. And the African violet (not the original one Beau got me in college, the cats got that one) which we had brought from MN - utterly obliterated, gone without a trace. Well, not quite, as while I was cleaning up the dirt I found one small green leafling which I am trying to get to root. We'll just have to see if I too to raise the dead. :)  Here are some pictures of what I have left.

Well, one of the good things about summer almost being over is that the end of this ridiculous weather is in sight. Never in my life would I ever have imagined that I would ever find 88 degrees to be a "nice day." I think that is is why my peas died and my green beans are limping along. It's just too hot for some of them, at least on our balcony. Next year I might concentrate on tomatoes and cherry tomatoes and green peppers, since they seem to be doing the best overall. And we learned our lesson - no birdfeeder during the summer. That's what attracted the little buggers in the first place. Sorry kitties, you'll have to figure out another way to entertain yourselves until fall. :)

Hanging Gardens of Nelson

Our balcony garden is making excellent progress! I've harvested a few green beans already, and some of the snap peas are getting close. I've learned a few things along this journey of suburban gardening, like how to keep squirrels from digging in my plants (sprinkle some chili or curry powder on the dirt) and that green bean stalks will fall over and break with the weight if not propped up (extra wooden disposable chopsticks work well). Here is how much progress has been made in the last few weeks:

These were taken in the middle of May.

This is how it looks today: 

Fantastic, huh?

And here are our kitties, enjoying the nice weather and birds from a sunny window:

This is where I pretend to be a Garden Blog!

Last year when we first moved to NJ, we came in August. We moved into a second story apartment which is lovely but unfortunately has no yard. At the time I wanted to start a small balcony garden, and while I did by a few plants, it was too late to really do anything with it. So our poor balcony languished for a few months, with only a bird feeder to adorn it. Not anymore! Spring is here in full force, and I have begun the transformation from boring balcony to garden balcony! 


This has been kind of a piece-meal process, with assorted pots I have acquired over the winter and knowledge gathered from all kinds of library books about container gardens and patio gardens and urban rooftop gardens. Our very first gardening adventure on internship was wildly successful, so I am coming into this with some know-how already. The real trick is downsizing and scaling back. We can't plant rows and rows of peas and beans, but we can plant a few. I'm also learning about pots and the best kind to use and how to make sure they have enough drainage (since excess water can't just disperse into the ground). 


So far I have planted spinach and garden greens, green beans, and have started my snap peas indoors. We also plan on planting red peppers (that one has to wait since the seed packet had NO SEEDS in it when I opened it) chives and green onions. 

In the deep windowsill in the kitchen, I've decided to place my Herb Annex. Since the cats can't (well, SHOULDN'T anyway) be up there, there is plenty of space and it will be convenient to cook with. 

I just finished a wonderful and helpful book called This Odd and Wondrous Calling. One chapter reminded me that the time of a pastor is both more free and more random than in practically any other line of work. This has given me the chance to pursue and expand my knowledge and interest in gardening. And probably keeps me from try to do too much or to get too obsessed with thinking about the church! Being called part-time can be a tricky business to navigate, but it has also been a blessing, sometimes in unseen ways. For example, I, like Katie Luther before me, get to be "head of household" and make decisions thus, like what to plant!!! 


Has anyone else tried balcony/container gardening? Any tips?