Posts Tagged ‘containers’

It’s been almost a year of blogging, and over 200 posts! (March 10, 2010 is the actualy “birthday” of Grown in the City). In that time, there have been a lot of interesting posts covering balcony gardening. Since it’s almost time to start thinking about this season’s planting, here’s a few of my favorite articles. It’s never too early to start saving your yogurt containers or building those self-watering planters! Anatomy of a Yogurt Container Self Watering Planter DIY: Building Self-Watering Grow Boxes (18 Gallon Tub Edition) Step by Step: A Simple Guide to Starting Seeds Step by Step: Making a Self-Watering Planter from Yogurt Cups Gardening with Kids – Lifetime Engagement Tips for Growing Zucchini on a Balcony – Be sure to Pollinate! Growing Your Own Sprouts: Indoors Advice for a “below-novice gardener” The Most Indestructible Trellis Ever, 2.0 And remember, if you’re looking for seeds, some books on

Anyone out there know what these little critters are?  I noticed them on the underside of my Tuscan Pepper plants.  In all my years gardening, I have never seen anything like them.  They look like tiny lady bugs, but I want to ensure they aren’t something destructive to my tiny ecosystem.  Here’s the specifics: A cluster of papery, white eggs (punctured perfectly at the top where they hatched) Small bugs that are brick-red, with six black spots on them This morning, I noticed another clump – the small bugs were all black and looked more like spiders. Anyone have ideas?

The heat is taking a toll on my plants (more on this in a later post), but they’re still producing beautiful basil, tomatoes, and peppers.  Once (if?) we make it through this heatwave, I’ll expct a second round in late August, and, probably, through October. What did I make with all the basil?  PESTO!  (It’s in my freezer now.)

Thanks to all of my friends and readers, who continue to send me interesting articles and ideas they come across.  Here are a few, with their comments! Thinking Outside the Lawn – Washington Post: An old colleague just purchased a house, and while he has great raised beds in the backyard, he was looking for what to do with the front yard.  “I’d love to get rid of my lawn!  I hate mowing it and it’s being invaded by weeds but I’m hesitant to use chemicals knowing how bad they are and what they might do to my dog.” – J.W. Going Green: Hop on the Urban Gardening Bandwagon – Southwest Airlines: My buddy from grad school never abandoned his business mindset.  I love that he always links me back to what’s going on in green business practices.  “Can you imagine this idea being floated at one of the other

In January, I inherited an orchid.  It was lush, gorgeous and in full bloom.  My cousin Bob had moved from two blocks away in DC all the way to San Francisco to pursue his inner bohemian — and I inherited all of his houseplants. I had never cared for orchids before, and I “knew they were notoriously fickle.”  I set the plant on my kitchen counter for the winter, and it proceeded to die a slow, untimely death (or so I thought).  I fawned over it every day, examining the leaves, keeping it well watered, and rotating the plant to catch the sun.  I cut it back in March, cut it back some more in April, and when May came, I was left with a small stub of a plant.  I felt really awful. In an act of desperation, I set the plant out on my deck and forgot about

Introduce aphid-eating insects into the garden as a natural predator

I had dinner with some friends from grad school last night, so I took a different route from work than I usually do. As I was walking down 18th street, I spotted something that made me do a double-take. A self-watering planter? It was!  Sorry for the blurry iPhone photo, but I was just so excited and didn’t have time to run home for my digital. Rock on, my friend!