Hey, Robert! Glad you stopped by to say hi.

Just the other day, we ate the first ripe Sugar Ann Snap Peas from the seeds you sent me, so thanks again for sharing.

Hope you have room to garden again soon!

Bonnie

Well, I'm glad you haven't fallen into a well! although, with this rain, stepping into a pothole is almost like falling into a well :)

Welcome back!

If you click the link then scroll down a ways, you'll see a post titled "Step by step tips for creating a garden on a shady balcony."

Ya never know, could be good stuff in there.

J.

Here is a link that might be useful: shady balcony plant tips

Robert, I want to say Hi and get you to thinking about a garden plan. It is all based on the idea of gardening-on-other-people's-property (GOOPP).

Here's how it works: let everyone you talk to know that you are looking for a piece of land to have a garden . . .

Don't ya know, you'll get offers and some of them will be too good to believe! I've lived on a normal size lot for the last 25 years. My first GOOPP garden was across the alley, on a vacant lot. I just went down to the courthouse and told them I was a neighbor and asked who pays the taxes on that land. It was vacant in 1987, it is vacant today. The guy on the phone said, "Just don't make a mess."

After I moved to another home, I went looking again. A retired school teacher was a friend of a friend. He was a terrific gardener with a rental - 1 house, 1 garage, 3 lots. But, he was tiring of all the upkeep. I have the equivalent of 1 lot there and only pay for the water.

Another place, I gardened on a bench above a river for 6 years, I think. Strange little triangle of level land on the other side of a swale. The landowner couldn't incorporate that ground into his very large lawn. He was tired of trying to keep the weeds down. It was about 1/4 acre and just a beautiful location.

Finally, my current big garden was used by the family there until the 5 kids were grown and gone to the 4 corners of the country. The old folks are always heading to NY or TX or vacationing in FL or outside the US. Meanwhile, they are trying to keep their acres irrigated and cut for hay. I think I could have as much ground as I care to have - actually I do. There's absolutely no reason for me to begin encroaching on the hay fields.

What are all these folks out is suburbia to do? I mean, not everyone wants a "hayburner" to care for - you see horses, lamas, alpacas, sheep . . . My Gosh! Just take a drive thru these neighborhoods and scratch your head at what's going on there. I've got one neighbor who sprays herbicide on about 3 acres everysingle·year·without·fail. Since he moved in about 6 or 7 years ago there hasn't been 1 green plant on that ground!!

The garden above the river and my current big veggie garden are in water districts where the property owner pays for the water whether it is used or NOT. I've paid one "overage" charge in more than 10 years of doing this (cost, $14 ;o).

I wouldn't GOOPP if I had to rent the ground. I pay the full cost for water in one location and that's enough. And, I don't venture off my ground to do any "yard work" for anyone. But, the interests of the property owners come first in my approach to things in the garden. They do not want to see weeds and want something pretty to look at. That's fine by me!

Each garden has a shady spot for me to sit and have lunch or just take a break. About the only drawback to this approach to gardening is that I'm a commuter! But as long as the pickup runs okay and I can grow enuf to pay for gas, this isn't a problem.

Good to see you here!

Steve, digits and all the rest of him

Hi Meteor,

It's so good to see you're still around. I was just wondering how you were doing a couple weeks ago.

I second Digit's idea of a GOOPP garden---tho I sure can't say I ever would have come up with that acronym--or that I'd ever remember what it stood for! But you never know where you might find a spot that somebody would love to have you garden, maybe in exchange for a few veggies.

And if you decide to stick to the balcony garden, I can give you starts for a couple different hostas and some Anemone sylvestrises (yeah, I know that's not a real word!) Let's see! I could throw in a start for Lamium maculatum 'Pink Pewter', which blooms repeatedly if you keep it deadheaded, and a few of my omnipresent purple violas!

You know where I live! Just let me know if you're interested!

Really nice to see you posting,
Skybird

Yeah, I've wondered if I couldn't come up with something with a better sound to it:

WHOOPP: working-hard-on-other-people's-property

Nah, sounds like hard work . . .

COOPP: cultivating-on-other-people's-property

Nah, looks too much like a co-operative relationship. I'm not overly selfish with produce but have a coop with laying hens for extras.

STOOPP: shared-time-on-other-people's-property.

Nah, the backbreaking bondage of a sharecropper comes to mind . . .

POOPP: puttering-on-other-people's-property

Nah, . . .

digitS'

Hah ha ha, you said "poop"!

Thanks for all the responses! I had considered (and the boss would have let me) making a little plot behind my shop for my squash and toms. The soil is crap, so it will take some serious work, but I might pick a spot, and start prepping it this fall for next year. Lot's of good input Digits.

And Bonnie, glad the Sugar Annes worked for you! How do you like them? I thought they were quite good until the heat went up last season.

And Skybird, I'm not big on ornimentals (sp?). As my Dad used to say, "If you can't eat it, why are you growing it?". At my old house, I liked what I had, but it was just maintaining what the previous owners had started.

I'm considering buying one of those aero-gardens thingies as it's to late this year for what I mentioned above, and it would be nice to grow SOMETHING!

I know you're mostly into veggies, Meteor, so the "something factor" is what I had in mind when suggesting the stuff I did. A couple big pots would work, and I was just thinking at least youd have somewhere to stick your fingers in the dirt, and something to water and pet. And the answer to your dad is: To look at and play with! Thats why youre growing something you cant eat! Nourishment for the soul, if not the body!

The other thing is that when it cools in late summer, I bet you could grow some lettuce or spinach on the balcony, if you have any direct sun at all. And if you dont, you could always pick up a couple lamps of some sortfluorescent works welland keep them on for several hours during the day (dont guess your neighbors would like it too well if they were out there glaring down on them at nite!) Just one more possibility to help with the Something Factor!

And go for it with the garden-at-work! Most of us start out with crappy soil, and you could just improve the soil a lot in the individual planting areas, rather than trying to improve it all. How cool would it be to be able to go out and pick a fresh tomato to eat with your lunch!

Glad youre still thinking about gardeninghowever you wind up doing it!
Skybird

If you start a little lasagna garden behind your work you can just add to it bit by bit and it may seem like less work...

My FIL and MIL bought us an Aerogarden just a month or so ago. Not much difficulty in terms of gardening, but we have nice fresh clean herbs for cooking with! I think you can grow some sort of small tomato and/or salad fixins instead of herbs, if you prefer.

I have been having pretty good luck so far in my 5-gal buckets. They don't take up much room, and are easy to care for, but I still (or I hope I will) have veggies! No soil prep, either. Just potting mix & a lil fertilizer. :) Two types of toms, basil, marigolds, cukes, peppers, and jalapenos. Not too bad for 4 buckets!