Gardening on apartment balconies-specifically central Texas weather.?

Question

We have a decent size balcony- gets morning all morning sun and afternoon till about 1pm. Looking for advice on how to make a starter garden-maybe some herbs, tomatoes? Anyone who's from central Texas and knows the climate feel free to answer

Answer 1

Hi, I used to live in Texas and I always had a patio 'garden'. I got very large pots and planted lemon balm, thyme, oregano, rosemary etc. I planteed more than one kink of herb in the same pot. I liked to have a variety of texture and color. Check this site out: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Herbs-720/replanted-herbs.htm. Herbs need at leastt 5 hours of direct sunlightper dayy. I also planted two tomato plants in two nylon stockings. I hung the upside down on each side of the patio. As they get bigger, you have to secure the plant so it does not separate where the stem meets the roots. I also grew a number of peppers....like Mucho nachos, cayenne, habaneros, caribbean Reds. They grow very well and are very colorful. Water, water, water! You can take your herbs inside if it gets too cold. But, go to the site I gave you and it will tell you what you ned to do in that case. Good luck and have fun!! JOSA

Answer 2

You can grow plants just about anywhere, so long as you give it what it needs. If you have the room for a whole garden on your balcony, all you have to worry about is where the water will go, and how to contain the soil. I would recommend planting in pots. Herbs will do especially well, and tomatoes take a little more work. Either way, just about anything will grow in a pot, just do some research about it. www.about.com has just about everything you need to know, they have a wealth of information there. Just type in what you're looking for and it brings up countless articles about your information.



If you don't wanna go searching for info, just make sure you buy your seeds in your hometown, as they should be able to grow where you live. Whoever you buy your seeds from should be able to help you out as well.



Hope this helps!

Answer 3

You're a bit late to start a fall garden, but perhaps not too late for herbs if you start with transplants. Too late for tomatoes. Basil and parsley should do pretty well, and cilantro likes cool weather. Lavender, sage, and rosemary need more sun. You might have enough sun for nasturtiums, which you can add to salads. They will die if they freeze but like col weather. Peppers do pretty well without full sun, but wait until spring.

Central Texas Gardener has a list of what to plant now. Look for "What to do this Week". http://www.klru.org/ctg/

Answer 4

Try Earth Boxes, we love ours (Link Below) The box is about 2 1/2 feet long, 12" wide and about 12" deep. Three 3" from the bottom is a plastic layer which is remove-able. A watering tube at one end for auto or manual watering. Reuse-able, will fit onto rollers to roll out of the way. Check out the link Earth Box.