Your turn to help me –
So I started taking Larry Santoyo’s Permaculture Design Class last weekend — and I realize now why I never got any tomatoes from my balcony garden: I was trying to impose my love of tomatoes on my balcony, instead of using my balcony for uses it’s actually suited for :P
Illustration: This is how much sun my balcony was getting at 9:35 am yesterday. That’s right — none.
At 12:34 pm there are the first glimmers of sun on the edges –
And at 2:09 pm we’ve got some real sun –
Which, by 5:35 pm, is gone again.
You may be wondering why it took me so long to figure out tomatoes won’t grow well on my balcony. Let’s just say I was blinded by my love of tomatoes –
My question is this: What does my balcony want to grow, if anything? Are there any yummy shade-loving veggies I can balcony-garden?
Hi LA Girl! You have a beautiful balcony!
Your shady balcony will love green leafy veggies like spinach and chard. Being in LA, you do have to be aware that spinach generally prefers it cooler so you might want to start your spinach containers in Feb/March.
We’ve also grown lettuces, broccoli, bok choi (brassica family). Tomatoes, like most nightshade plants including potatoes and bell peppers, are really greedy for sun. I was successful in growing very healthy, large tomatoes in an area that got about 4-5 hrs of full sun but ideally, they like more.
I would try to grow containers of buttercrunch, romaine or red leaf lettuce, bok choi, swiss chard to start, but do give them some light. Lots of good recipes for swiss chard (a good replacement for spinach and more vigorous!).
Plangarden’s last blog post..Starting “Hard Seeds”
Comment by Plangarden — April 7, 2009 @ 10:17 am
BTW, if you REALLY want to grow tomatoes (and who doesn’t!), you might inquire about signing up for a community garden. The best place to start would be your permaculture instructor or your county extension office: http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/
All the best to your gardening joys in 2009!
Plangarden’s last blog post..Starting “Hard Seeds”
Comment by Plangarden — April 7, 2009 @ 10:25 am
hi!
i’ve been following this blog:
http://victoryhomegarden.blogspot.com/
for a bit now…she’s been posting about some of the leafy greens she’s been growing in the shade (she lives in LB, so similar climate to SM)…maybe you might find some tips there…
i’m a first timer, myself, so i’ve planted some lettuce in my more shady areas…we’ll see how it goes…
i’m with you on the tomato love, i’ve planted 3 kinds!!…i get a lot of am sun, but no pm sun…
good luck!! can’t wait to see the progress of your balcony!
Comment by christina — April 7, 2009 @ 11:19 am
Yeah! What they said! ;) Leafy vegetables stands shade better, and you can find some really interesting ones. Chard ‘Bright lights’ has stems in pink, yellow and purple, which makes them decorative too.
Do you have a sunny window? Try to grow the tomatoes there. Use the variety ‘Tom Thumb’ – it doesn’t need pollination, you just shake the flowers a bit every day. I’m into my second round and they do work out well. Count on two tomato plants per person you are growing for.
Rosengeranium (Indoor Gardener)’s last blog post..They’ve started to drink
Comment by Rosengeranium (Indoor Gardener) — April 7, 2009 @ 11:37 am
I’m in the market for one of those upside-down tomato growers. Like you, I have no sun. Just a covered front porch next to a shady patch o’ dirt, and a flower bed in back which also has too much shade to grow. I’m hoping to hang the upside-down tomato thing of the side of my house or something.
Anyway, I also appreciate the comments with ideas in this post.
Comment by Meredith — April 7, 2009 @ 11:38 am
Try hanging an upside-down container in that sunny corner (right where your table is…hm.) for the tomatoes – I bet you could still get some nice ones. Cherry tomatoes also seem to be the hardiest and most tolerant of variations in sunlight – the same goes for yellow tomatoes, I think.
Swiss Chard is wonderful, and comes in many many colors. Broccoli will work, as will lots of different herbs (which love the Santa Monica weather). Also take a look at peas and other beans, vine berries, and miner’s lettuce.
Check this out:
http://www.pfaf.org/leaflets/ProbPlac.php
Cassandra’s last blog post..The Big Moveoutski
Comment by Cassandra — April 7, 2009 @ 11:44 am
Great idea, Meredith & Cassandra! I haven’t tried the upside down approach but found these configurations. DIY approach is great but I hear they’re now selling the systems for $10 at some places: http://bit.ly/t38bl
Plangarden’s last blog post..Starting “Hard Seeds”
Comment by Plangarden — April 7, 2009 @ 1:33 pm
Here’s a great list of shade loving veggies from In the Garden Online:
http://www.inthegardenonline.com/picks_10vegforshadeC21.htm
I had great success with cailiflower, chard, lettuce, broccoli raab but the aphids won that battle.
Adriana’s last blog post..What’s For Lunch?!
Comment by Adriana — April 7, 2009 @ 3:55 pm
The earlier posters are correct. You should be able to grow things where you eat the leaves – lettuce, mizuna, chard, kale, arugula… when it’s warm/hot out, basil. Possible other stuff might be onions, garlic, chard, sweet peas.
I suspect that you could get cherry tomatoes to grow there – in the sunniest spot, with branches that hang outside the balcony. Cherry tomatoes grow almost like weeds – fairly easy. I think you might have started them too late in the year. Best to plant them in March-April… once it starts to warm up, but before it gets hot. Suggest getting cherry tomato starters this week – get them into the ground this month. Plant in a fairly large pot – at least 5 gallons! Good luck!
Joe Linton’s last blog post..Whisky’s for drinkin’…desal’s for fightin’
Comment by Joe Linton — April 7, 2009 @ 5:39 pm
Hey girl – you have never heard of shadegrown coffee? ;-)
Good luck!
Comment by Gernot — April 8, 2009 @ 8:55 am
Really appreciate everyone’s input and advice! I created a map plan based on your advice — Check it out :)
Comment by Siel — April 17, 2009 @ 2:31 pm