Spring Planting 2013

It's that time of the year. I finally get some warmth and sunshine. Out with the old crops and in with the new. Let's take a look at what each of the bins will be planted with.

Left side of balcony currently

First thing I need to do it remove all the plants which I accomplish by carefully pulling them up. I then installed my irrigation system in each by removing some soil, drilling holes in the side of each bin, placing the pipes and refilling with soil.

Irrigation system

The first bin I did, the smaller 18 gallon one, I planted a new variety of peas and a variety of beans from 20 cent seeds I bought. I'm using Dwarf Gray Sugar peas and Cherokee Wax Yellow Bush Beans. I built a trellis for my peas out of sticks, string, and a few zip ties.

Peas are along the black line (Trellis)

Radishes will be added in later

Bin #2 and 3 I did over spring break. In number 2, I did a combination of Swiss Chard and Bush Beans.

Bin 3

Number 3 I planted the three sisters, corn, beans and squash. I have selected Early Sunglow Sweetcorn, Romano Pole Beans, and Dark Green Zucchini as my varieties. (For those that weren't aware, zucchini is a member of the squash family.)Problems that could arise from this is that the corn only grows to about 5' tall, while the beans can grow up to 8' tall. Also, the zucchini vines could end up taking over more than just the bin they are in. I'm mainly doing this bin for show, as people who look up and see corn will be puzzled, but I think it should all come out fine in the end.

Right side of balcony

In addition to my main bins, I have purchased more which I plan to use on the lower balcony for experimental hydroponics. I will discuss those later and will update later as plants begin to germinate.