I have a guest author joining me on the blog today, and you guessed it…it’s Gary!! Back when I first started this blog, I semi-joked about having a Gary’s Garden series since he is usually the one who takes the lead on our balcony garden. Well, the day finally came! We started our balcony garden about three weeks ago, and Gary came through with the content this week! Since our garden is still in a fairly infantile stage, there will definitely be more tips, tricks, and photo updates to come throughout the spring and summer.
So without further ado, here’s Gary’s first-ever published piece! I promise, I only made a few grammatical and syntactical adjustments, and popped in relevant photos — trust me, it was hard to not ramble on about all of the things. I guess we’ll have to leave you wanting more! 😉
Presenting…Gary’s Garden!
When it comes to starting a garden, there are many routes you can take, and much of the decision comes down to personal preference. Do you want to have a flower garden, a vegetable garden, or a hybrid of the two? Personally, I prefer a hybrid to add some variety to the small garden area that we are able to support on the balcony of our one-bedroom apartment. However, I do tend to lean towards vegetables and herbs most of all because the convenience and rewarding feeling of being able to use the food you have grown in recipes is pretty cool.
This growing season, we also had a mixture of plants we decided to start from seeds (my favorite) and flowers that were already started we purchased from Ace Hardware. I think it is much more satisfying to grow a plant from a seed.
The seeds we started this year are:
- Vegetables/Herbs – Onions (red and white), Basil, Cilantro, Green Beans, and Bell Peppers
- Flowers – Moss Roses, Marigolds, and California Poppies
The pre-started plants we purchased this year are:
- Flowers – Violas and Petunias
Gary’s Tips:
- If you buy plants that are already started, save the container, as it is perfect for growing possible replacement plants in case some of your other seeds in pots don’t take (egg cartons also work well for this)
- An easy and environmentally friendly way to label your plants is to use leftover plastic forks, spoons, and knives. It makes it easier to see from a distance what plants you have and where. Plus, if you have extra utensils from ordering takeout, it is a good way to use them instead of throwing them away.
- Once you get flowers and vegetables that flower and grow, if you like the way they look/taste, it is usually fairly easy to save some of the seeds for next year.
Alright, it’s me again to wrap things up! I just love watching our garden grow throughout the spring and summer months. Thank you to Gary for sharing your garden starting tips in this post! Do you have questions about Gary’s Garden that you’d like him to address in a future post? Be sure to comment below!
xoxo
Jennifer