I imagine for many gardeners, life changes may also come with garden changes. For instance, maybe you relocate and the sunny plot you once had is now a tree-covered shady oasis. Maybe the time you were able to devote to your garden shifts with the expansion of your family. New babies are a welcome addition, but boy, do they take a lot of time! Believe me, I know! That first week the weeds took over. Your job may change and now you have a longer commute or different work hours. You may decide to introduce a new pet that loves to dig or doesn’t respect that new shrub you are trying to establish. I have experienced many of these changes, which have allowed for a variety of gardening scenarios. Each life change has brought a new gardening challenge to explore and I welcome them all!
How it started…
I started my mid-Atlantic gardening life in 2011 with about 1/3 of an acre in a typical suburban neighborhood. I grew up in Northern New York (mostly zone 3-4) and then spent a few post-college years in the Southwest, so I found it exciting to learn about the planting palette of the Piedmont Region. At the time, I was working at a local garden center. That employee discount was a big bonus! I transformed a lot of turf and compacted construction soil into vibrant garden spaces. They showcased native plants, various edibles, and some fun non-invasive ornamental species. I introduced multiple trees to the barren backyard. I built some raised-bed veggie gardens and I finally found a happy spot for rhubarb to grow, after relocating it about five times. (Rhubarb prefers cooler climates but there are some heat-tolerant varieties if you’re like me and can’t live without it!) I also added the all-important gardener’s gold: a compost pile.
How it changed…
A recent life change had me relocating to an apartment, resulting in a drastic reduction in my gardening space in 2023. But when life gives you a balcony, you start container gardening! I can’t live without dirt under my nails, or in this case, potting mix. Therefore, the balcony had no choice but to come alive with shades of green! It faced east and also received some shade from a large deciduous Magnolia. This was a change from the full sun, southern-facing backyard I was used to.
I scoured my local thrift stores for plant containers or something that could be repurposed as one. If I could drill a drainage hole, it would be fair game! Fun plates became container saucers to put underneath draining pots so they wouldn’t drip on my downstairs neighbor. Surprisingly, I found self-watering containers for a low cost at a dollar store. To further save money for plants and seeds, I used recycled food containers for seed starting. I optimized space by thinking vertically and splurged on a self-watering railing box. Adding hooks for some hanging plants was a must, too!
I’m a self-proclaimed native plant nerd, so there had to be some natives incorporated. I missed popping out my back door to my herb garden. Being able to clip whatever aromatic additive I wanted for an evening cocktail or our dinner was such a luxury. So, ignoring the eastern-facing orientation, I planted sun-loving Mediterranean herbs in various pots. I love fresh salad greens to harvest in the cut-and-come-again method. With the shadier location, this meant I was able to grow them all summer long in the railing box. Despite the lower light conditions, I tested a spicy pepper and a few cherry tomato plants as well. Guess what? They all grew!
Challenges
Every gardener knows there is always something to learn from. Here are some challenges I faced:
Every gardener knows there is always something to learn from. Here are a couple of challenges I faced:
- Cats – We love our cute kitties, who we rescued from a sewer drain at 4 weeks old, but cats and potted plants are a tough combination. Living in 900 square feet, it was important stimulation for them to explore the balcony and get some outside time in a safe setting where they couldn’t hunt wildlife or get hurt. Link liked to eat radish tops, and Zelda nibbled all the Carex (sedge) in my native plant container. (Yes, Link and Zelda – named by my 2 pre-teen boys who like to play video games.) Any open soil became a convenient litter box, so I learned to keep it blocked or covered. Chopsticks from the occasional takeout became repurposed soil blocking stakes. Any container not large enough or heavy enough had the potential to get knocked over (and many did). We learned to live with the nibbling, and I grew lots of wheat grass for them to keep them from eating MY plants. It didn’t totally work, though.
- Heat and watering: Containers dry out much quicker than soil in the ground. I used many watering bulbs or those terra cotta watering spikes with bottles to help keep plants watered on the hottest days of the summer. If you have access to a hose bib, you can invest in a small drip irrigation system set on a timer, which would be more regulated for water hogs like tomatoes.
- Plant waste: Where does it go to decompose? I didn’t want to add more waste to the garbage bags we had to haul out to the dumpster, and for environmental purposes, composting is preferred. I ended up using a 5-gallon bucket to collect spent potting mix, leaf clippings, and deadheaded flowers. On occasion, I added old potatoes, moldy fruit, or veggie scraps to balance the greens and browns. They slowly broke down, and if it didn’t get reused, at least it was easier to carry down 3 flights of stairs. My city had a compost collection service that you can sign up for, but unfortunately, they didn’t pick up from the apartment complex.
How it’s going…
Another life change has now brought me back to a yard. Since we are renting for now, I will continue container gardening, but with much more space! [Insert grow bags!] And just in time for our Grow it Eat it Year of Container Gardening! I’m excited about what this growing season will bring!
Thus far, I have overwintered spinach from the balcony garden; how it survived multiple freezes and probably fully frozen potting media, I have no idea, but that’s why plants are so cool! We’ve planted arugula and some mixed salad green seeds that are starting to show signs of life, peas that can climb our porch railing, and plenty of culinary herb transplants from the local garden center. I needed something instant to harvest!
We have a bit more sun now, and the kitties are confined to their screened-in “catio”, so some challenges have been addressed. My native plant container that Zelda liked to lounge in succumbed to heat and lack of watering while on vacation and then the freezing temperatures over the first winter, so I replanted with more drought-tolerant native shade perennials late last fall. Happy to report that they all survived and are returning vigorously! I’ve added a container variety of thornless raspberry, Bushel and Berry® Raspberry Shortcake®, to experiment with and excite our kids. Tomatoes, carrots, Thai peppers, and container-sized cucumber varieties are to come! We’ll see what our yields will bring and what interesting native plants I can add to aid in pollination and beneficial insect populations. Now, to just keep the cats from eating the house plants….
Takeaways:
- Just because you don’t have a plot of land doesn’t mean you can’t grow something!
- Lack of full sun does not equal zero veggies – I had that cherry tomato producing well into late October!
- Challenges provide good, thought-provoking scenarios that keep you interested in growing! Don’t give up if a few plants die.
- Cost doesn’t have to be a deterrent either – a gallon milk jug with drainage holes and the top cut off worked great for leafy greens.
Wherever life takes me next, I know my garden will follow. We’ll continue to grow and adapt to our new environment, and no matter what, harvest something we can eat!
Happy Spring!
Additional Resources:
By Emily Clark Waterson, Certified Professional Horticulturist & Coordinator, University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center.