Pallet Garden Project

Ok, so I was thinking that this Pallet Garden project was going to be an inexpensive way to have more flowers on my balcony.  I love the idea of a virtical garden!  But I was surprised on how much it actually ended up costing.  My mother and I went to Blomidon Nurseries in the valley and they had exactly what I was looking for!  I ended up getting Purple and Snow Crystal Alyssum, and the bushy one with tiny pink flowers is Gypsy Deep Rose Gypsophila.  When the clerk rang it in it ended up being almost $100.  I thought that's ok it only calls for two bags of potting mix, which I already have, and plants for the top. 

It ended up taking three days to get it started.  One day was was stapling the landscaping fabric on the back of the pallet.  The second day was planting most of the pallet (I ran out of soil, bought two more bags and ran out again).  The third day was finishing the top 2 rows.  So far I have used five bags of soil which can be pretty pricy, but I think it looks great so far. 

Now I just have to wait for the roots to take so that I can put it against the wall behind my balcony door.  It seems to be pretty heavy though, probably due to the extra soil.  I am a bit nervous about when I have to put it up that either the soil will pour out of the front, or that it will be so heavy that the staples will come out of the landscaping fabric.  I hope it doesn't end up being a big mess!

Finally Some Green!

I was a bit nervous about this step, but once I made a few decisions (and a few trips to Walmart) things began to come together.  I wanted flowers, but from reading Fern Richardson's blog, Life on the Balcony, I realized that I might be able to grow some edibles too!  I love both strawberries and tomatoes so I thought I would start there and see what I could find.

Progress on my seedlings: Morning Glory (left) and Moonflower (right)

My first trip was to Walmart where I found a strawberry pot, strawberry plants, small Roma Tomato plants, some panzies, and cute ceramic pot.  They have so much gardening stuff!  They also have something called Fire Pots which I might look into later on.  At Canadian Tire I found large bags of Miracle-Gro Potting Mix on sale for $4.99 so I bought two of thoses, and a large plastic pot for my tomato plant.  I actually ended up finding a Bush Early Girl Tomato plant at Sobey's that was more established.  Instead of taking the Roma Tomato plants back for the $3, I decided to give them to my mother.

I got everything home and went to work.  First I put the Panzies in their cute little pot, then came the strawberry plant.  This took a bit more time.  The instructions said there were 10 plants in it and I would have to soak the roots in warm water to untangle them.  This took some time, but it was actually kinda fun!  I didn't get the 10 plants as promised, but I was able to get 8 out of it.  I was hoping for at least nine because I read that strawberry plants do well in groups of three and I wanted 1 plant for each opening of the strawberry pot and three on top.  I had to settle for two on top.

Left to right: strawberries, panzies, tomato

Next was the tomato plant.  I was really glad that I was able to find the determinate hybrid Bush Early Girl because I don't have a lot of space on my balcony and I would be growing it in a small container.  From what I've read it would only grow to around three feet tall and produce medium sized tomatoes.  I've read that tomato plants need well-drained soil and realized that the plastic pot that I bought did not have drainage holes.  I ended up making my own drainage holes with a nail and hammer.  I also planted it up to the first branch because I read that doing this would force the tomato plant to create a better root system.

My balcony thus far <3

I am also very excited to say that I found a pallet!  On my first post I had posted a Pallet Garden that was made by Fern Richardson.  I thought I would try it if I happened upon a pallet, then it happened.  On my way up to work on the 13th floor someone got off on the 6th floor and I saw two just outside of the elevator.  I continued up to work, dropped off my lunch, and went back down.  I asked someone if I could take one and they said as long as I can carry it I could have it :)

Some Assembly Required..

I've been busy this week.  I was going to put the deck box together in my apartment.  The person at Canadian Tire told me that it would be simple, pre-drilled holes and an Allan Key.  This was definitely not the case.  I dumped everything out in front of me and then looked at the instruction.  I would need a drill, exterior caulking, and wood glue, all of which I did not have.  So I packed everything up and took it down to my parents place in Brooklyn over the weekend. 

It suggested treating/staining the wood before assembly so that's what I did.  The staining took the longest because I wanted to make sure the stain got into all of the cracks and notches.  With the help of my sister, we used two coats so that pretty much killed our Saturday.  On Sunday, everything was ready for assembly.  That part actually didn't take very long and my mother helped me hold everything together.  Here is the finished product:

I think it turned out pretty great!  I had to get my sister to help me carry it up to my apartment.  It wasn't very heavy, just awkward.  I'm just glad it fit into the car :)

This week I was also on the hunt for cushions.  I figured out online that for the top of the deck box I wanted 24" x 24" floor cushions.  From what I was seeing online it seemed like they were going to be expensive.  On a whim, I went to Superstore and found everything I needed at a decent price!  I hate how they don't everything on their website.  The floor cushions were only $19 each as opposed to the $50 cushions I was seeing online, score!  I found matching pillows there too.  I ended up taking over an isle to set up different colours and patterns to see which ones looked best.  I even found replacement cushions for my bistro set!

I started some Morning Glory and Moonflower seeds that I will be putting in the planter beside the deck box.  I've decided that I will be putting the planter on the wall side of the balcony instead of the railing side due to the high winds we get, and it just seems to fit better this way with the bistro set.

Balcony Design Idea

Taking the three images I've found from my last post, I believe I have a basic layout in my head of how this is going to look.  The idea is to have a bench-like seat with comfortable cushions and pillows on one end of the balcony (like the first image in my last post).  Beside the bench I would like to grow some type of ivy or climbing plant on the railing side of the bench so that it would create some shade and maybe hang over the bench a bit (similar to the second image in my last post).  I also have an old bistro set to go against the wall, and a BBQ for somewhere near the door, probably across from it on the railing side. 

For the bench I was thinking of something that I could store the cushions in when the weather isn't so nice.  Then my mom came up with the idea of a deck box!  I would need something that is sturdy enough to sit on though so those plastic ones would just not do.  Then we found a wooden one on sale at Canadian Tire for $99!

I measured my balcony and it will fit perfectly with room to spare for the planter on the side of it so I bought it last night!  It needs to be assembled and painted with a wood protectant, but I figure this will give me something to do and I can pick out a colour of stain I would like.  I'm thinking something on the darker side.  Hopefully I'll be able to get this baby put together this week.

Pinterest Sparked an Idea

I found my way onto Pinterest not long ago and so came the flood of inspiration:  Decor, gallery walls, hairstyles, makeup ideas, fashion, and gardening ideas.  Gardening.  Hmm, I've never considered that.  I didn't really think it was an option living in an apartment and only having a balcony to work with.

With the impending completion of the construction of my balcony I thought, why not?  My mother has been gardening for years, and I can remember having a small vegetable garden as a child.  I had just never really considered container gardening on a balcony.  I thought that was something that would have to wait until my first home, or at the very least, a yard.

These three images are the ones that really inspire me to start designing my balcony.  I should be able to use it again in a week or two.  This give me time to formulate a plan!