Terrariums

The frost finally did come to kill my balcony garden (December 2 or 3 I think). In the meantime, I've been enjoying the green my houseplants offer inside, as well as becoming more and more enthusiastic about terrariums. I made two really awesome terrariums at the end of November after seeing some on Etsy.

Last spring the university was clearing out an old biology lab, so I brought home a bunch of cool glassware like this huge 2.8 L flask, not knowing exactly what I'd do with it but knowing that it was very cool. A terrarium seemed like the perfect use for it.

I had the great fortune to get some moss from an intro bio lab at school that was going to be discarded at the end of the week, so I used that. They probably got it from Carolina Biological Supply. I was thrilled to get such thick, lush moss because you just don't see moss like that in Chicago outside of the Garfield Park Conservatory!

First I laid down a layer of small rocks (collected from the shore of Lake Michigan in the fall), with a few larger ones mixed in.

Then I put down a small amount of sphagnum moss that I took from a potted plant...

...and then covered that with a layer of potting mix. I used a Cacti and Succulent Soil Mix that I had.

Then I started adding the moss. Sometimes it was a squeeze to fit the chunks of moss through the flask opening.

The sides of the flask were dirty when I finished, so I took a rag and chopstick to wipe around the inside.

Having gained some confidence using the flask with a relatively large opening, I decided to try a large bottle.

This bottle shows layers more nicely than the flask, so I layered different rock sizes.

I made a paper funnel out of junk mail that I used to help direct where the little pebbles landed. This is key if you want nice layers.

Then I added a layer of potting mix (again, using the funnel to keep it from going all over the place. When I was ready to add the moss, I used chopsticks get the moss into the jar and move it into the desired place.

Now I just need to find the photos of the finished terrariums! More about moss and terrariums in the near future.

Still no frost on my plants

My lettuce and everything else looks the same as I left it on Tuesday night. I think they'll make it into December. Weird, huh?

Last harvest?

Aside from the one frost we had in October during that cold spell, it's been pretty mild. We haven't yet had another frost, but I think we might over the Thanksgiving weekend. I'm getting ready.

You see, I seem to have a great gardening microclimate on my balcony. It's south-facing and covered. That means the low sun heats the brick wall all day, and then the roof traps some of the heat- enough that none of my plants were killed in the first frost. It's November 24 in Chicago, and I still have tomato plants. Oh and peppers. The peppers have been protected from the cold by a thriving nasturtium plant (not exactly the most cold-hardy thing!). Global warming?


Here is a photo of my big nasturtium plant with the peppers peeking out to the right and bottom (you might have to enlarge the photo to but the leaves are clearly a different shape). In the foreground is a decorative sweet potato vine in a different pot (purple leaves). From November 22, 2009.












Here are my tomato plants on Nov. 22. Not exactly thriving, but not dead either. I kind of stopped watering them, but there are still tomatoes. Blooms even.















Tonight I picked all of the remaining tomatoes (there were orange/pink/red ones but they were split) and the peppers. Not bad for November in Chicago, huh?











Four days ago I harvested most of my remaining lettuce (back planter). The planter in the front has a big parsley plant, an ailing oregano of some sort, and a mystery plant that tastes like lemon (on the right). Any ideas what kind of plant that might be? It has spinach-like leaves.







In case there's a frost this weekend when I'm gone, I covered the lettuce plants. I wouldn't mind getting another salad out of it.

Cold frame

In September my handy husband built me a cold frame out of an old window frame.

Last weekend (Oct 31) I moved some of my plants inside. I'm hoping that my prickly pear and sedums will survive the winter, but it's harder to get container plants through the winter. The cold frame should help.

great ideas in urban gardening

Fellow Chicago gardener/blogger Mr. Brown Thumb posted some great photos of a planter/table designed to make the best use of a small outdoor space such as a balcony. Go check it out here!

Moving plants inside for the winter

I wanted to post some photos of transplanting my window box plants to their new lives as houseplants. Some of their root systems were really impressive!

Below: Cordyline. The roots just kept going!

Asparagus fern 'springeri'. I had a hard time getting this one out of the window box.

Sweet potato vine. They really do make little potatoes! But don't eat them.

These were my biggest plants that came indoors (two cordyline, two asparagus ferns, and two sweet potato vines- one pictured).

This is my herb box. I moved it inside when I thought it was going to frost, but then I moved it back out. From left to right it has: sage, basil (scraggly), and lemon balm. The boxes behind it have dusty miller, which I gave away on Freecycle.

My nasturtiums are also inside now. I never noticed what a lovely scent they have until I brought them inside. They aren't doing quite as well as before, but hopefully I can enjoy them a while longer and then save the seeds for next year.

the real first frost

Just kidding. Two weeks ago when I thought we might have our first frost, it only got down to about 36° F, and then we had more wonderfully warm weather! But last night was the real deal. For the past few days the lows have been hovering in the mid-thirties, but last night it was 28° F at Midway Airport.

Amazingly, I still have tomatoes. On November 10. In Chicago. Two weeks ago I went out and picked everything I could find, but it was dark and I missed some. I've actually got another round of cherry tomatoes. I think there's a strong microclimate effect on our porch. It faces south and gets direct sunlight all day. But most importantly I think, there is a roof over the porch. I think this, combined with the sun on the bricks all day, probably keeps our porch just that little bit warmer that keeps my tomatoes from freezing. Here's two cherry tomatoes:

I took this photo this morning before I went to work.

Today was also the first day this fall that I wore a scarf over my face to bike to work. I might do a post soon about cold weather biking.

Gosh, writing about those tomatoes reminds me that I didn't actually pick them and it's supposed to get cold again tonight. I should probably get out of my nice warm bed and go get them (this morning I did retrieve a few plants that really shouldn't have stayed outside last night)!

last farmers market and first frost

Today was the last Pilsen farmers market of 2008. Neither of the regular produce vendors were there, so sadly I was unable to stock up on winter squash and apples as I'd planned. I wish I'd been able to go last week but I was out of town! According to the other people I talked to, the farmers didn't have enough produce left to make it worth the trip. It sounds like next year they'll end the market sooner.

There were pumpkins for sale and most of the regular neighborhood food vendors (Cafe Aorta, Soy Organic, Kristoffers) and of course the honey vendor.

(Photos to follow next week- I don't have space on my hard drive to download the photos from my camera!) ***UPDATE: Photos added November 10, 2008***



As I write this post it is 38° F at Midway Airport with 16 mph winds, 29 mph gusts, and some rain drops. It is fiercely windy and cold. The forecast calls for a low of 35° F but a chance of snow tonight and tomorrow morning (How does that work? Snow above 32° F?). So, I did a lot of pre-frost container garden work this evening.

I brought my window boxes into the kitchen to transplant my springeri ferns, cordyline, and sweet potato vines like I said I would eariler. I'm also going to try keeping my nasturtium inside.

I did all of the most important transplanting, but I still have to finish cleaning the window boxes because there's a lot of dirt left in them.

Then I went outside and cut all of the basil that wasn't already brought inside. We'll make our last pesto batches of the season tomorrow. I picked all of the tomatoes, ripe and unripe. My last two brandywines still aren't quite ripe, nor were my roma tomatoes. The plant finally produced some tomatoes without blossom end rot and I had to harvest them green. (photos in another post next week)

There's no denying it now- winter is upon us :-(

still no frost in sight

We ate another batch of pesto with cherry tomatoes for dinner tonight (our fourth or fifth this year) and the basil is still growing. There's still no frost in the forecast, so I think I'm clear at least through the weekend. I've been putting off the final basil harvest and transferring many of my window box plants inside. Hopefully I can get them transplanted this weekend. I think we'll harvest all of the basil the night before the first forecast frost.

Photos to follow later this week, I hope!

Windowbox plant to houseplant?

Our new apartment has more space and better light for houseplants, so I'm trying to expand my collection (anyone else in Pilsen want to trade cuttings?). I'm thinking about bringing some of the plants from my windowboxes inside.

You might have noticed from my pictures that none of my windowboxes are actually in windows. Well, they were, when we lived on the north side of the building facing the street.
We moved them to our current alley-view apartment (much to the disappointment of our neighbor) but haven't mounted them so they're all at foot level.

This Cordyline is a houseplant candidate. I have two of them, and they remind me of New Zealand.

These soft-looking plants are asparagus fern 'springeri' and can live for years as houseplants according to the internetz.

I decided this year that I really like nasturtiums. I planted this one really late and it hasn't bloomed yet (those are petunias peeking out on the right). I didn't find much about them as houseplants. It sounds like it might do ok as long as it gets a lot of light.

This is a terrible picture of my purple sweet potato vines because I had to stick my arm out over the railing and point the camera at the plants. Not recommended. Anyways, I think they might do ok as houseplants too.

Any suggestions, wise readers? None of these are hardy through Chicago winters, so I figure I might as well give it a shot.

my balcony tomatoes

I have five tomato plants: one Roma, one Brandywine, and three Cherry. My cherry tomatoes have been the best by far- I've been eating them for weeks now and haven't harvested a single ripe Roma or Brandwine. My tomatoes all started somewhat late as transplants in early July.

Three of them are growing in a tub that I got for free when my lost luggage was returned to me (the tub is actually the reason I have any tomatoes at all- I hadn't considered it when I had nothing to plant them in).

Three tomatoes (July 11)

I planted the other two cherry tomatoes upside down in reused grocery bags (photo July 11).

I put one in a black bag and the other in white. I recommend white (absorbs less heat).

I planted basil seed all around the tomatoes and on top of the upside down ones because I love basil and I read that tomatoes and basil are good companion plants.

Here's the basil on top of the white-bag upside down plant.
The upside down plants didn't get very big (I don't think I gave them enough soil), but they have been producing a respectable amount of tomatoes.

The tomato plants in the tub got much bigger.

But the cherry tomatoes did the best. I love the way they look in bunches with varying stages of ripeness.

This is my biggest brandywine.

Although I didn't have this problem with the other two tomato plants right next to it, I've lost nearly every roma tomato to blossom end rot which is caused by calcium deficiency in the developing fruit.

I think I might manage to get a couple without blossom end rot. After doing some research online I trimmed a lot of the foliage and put crushed eggshells around the bottom of the plant.

I still have lots of flowers on my tomato plants.

I expect to have tomatoes until frost!

The cherry tomatoes seem to be sweetest when it is hot and sunny.

Losing the battle with powdery mildew

After several weeks of trying to rid my cucurbits (squash, zucchini, & cucumbers) of powdery mildew, I cut my losses and put basil in their place.

I have to admit my plants didn't have an easy time. My squash started late (from seed in May) on the north side of the building (we moved to a different apartment on the south side of the same building in August).

Here are my plants on June 28.

And again on July 13. The keen squash grower would note that you can already see powdery mildew spots on a few of the leaves, but I didn't notice.

The leaves started to yellow, so we moved it to the south side of the building on our kind neighbor's porch. There are also beans growing in the box (July 26).

But the plant finally had a female flower! I had hopes of squash!

But the leaves got worse...

...and worse (July 26).

But I had some beautiful squash flowers

And my little squash was growing (August 2).

In the meantime, I'd also planted some late zucchini and cucumbers that were in close proximity to the squash once I moved it to the porch (far right by the bike tire).

And I even had some female flowers on my zucchini! (note powdery mildew on stems)

Meanwhile, the squash was only making male flowers, probably because it was terribly stressed.

But the zucchini and cucumbers got powdery mildew too.

And so did my bee balm (Monarda) that I bought at the first Pilsen farmer's market.

You can see the dead and dying zucchini leaves (Aug 25).

This is the same squash from the earlier picture, but this is as big as it got. The vine leading to it is all dried up (August 25)

So with my one hope at a squash squashed and the other cucurbits dying...

I decided to yank them out (cucumbers shown)...

And transplant some basil in their place (September 3).

So ends my attempts at cucurbits this year. If I plant them again, I'll definitely use powedery mildew resistant varieties. This time I just used some seeds I had lying around from previous years when I lived in a place where I could garden in the ground. I think my squash might have survived if it were in a bigger container (I knew it was probably too small, but I wanted to try...), if I'd caught the powdery mildew earlier, and if it had more ground to put down extra roots off of the vine. Oh well. At least the basil is growing fabulously.