Personal Balcony Garden

This summer I've tried my hand at gardening on the balcony at my apartment in Laramie. I planted each from seed back at the beginning of July (except for the strawberry), and have been anxiously waited for them to produce a crop. Which as of now the Sugar Snap peas are producing nicely, and continuously every couple of days. 

I started each seed in a simple plastic Solo cup, and then as they began to out grow the cup, transplanted them into 5 gallon buckets. After losing a few plants from the transplanting process, I have come to the conclusion that directly planting the seeds into the buckets would be best for minimal trauma to the plant and faster growth. Next year I may plant the seeds earlier in the year, say sometime before June. I would likely start the seeds in a cup (or somewhat larger container) inside again, and keep them by a good southern facing window. This would give them protection from the cooler nights and start them maturing sooner. Enabling for a longer period in producing more crops when eventually put outdoors. I have also been using All Purpose water soluble plant food, produced by Miracle-Gro for 3 weeks or so, and have seen some improvements in growth.

Overall this is a fun experience, and I hope to eventually seed these plants out at the end of the growing season for next years crop if possible. If you would like to recommend any hints or tips about anything, it would be greatly appreciated.

This picture shows the progress as of July 28th. From left to right, there is Okra, three sugar snap peas, strawberry (bought at Ace for 50 cents), and Cherry Tomatoe plants. The others at the bottom are experimental to see how large a plant can get in only a Solo cup, but this has proven to stunt the growth as the roots have no room to expand.

 I will update with new photos soon, as weather (it's raining as I write this) and time permits (working a lot, and dealing with personal matters).