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Post by rikita on Jun 25, 2011 10:16:30 GMT
Okay, will try to show my balcony a bit - but so far I only have old photos, and only of details. will try to get an overview picture at some point, but for now i can only post what i have... Tomatoes, late in fall, early in the morning: and the same, without the flash: detail of one of my flowers:
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 25, 2011 11:49:49 GMT
Yay, Rikita! Which way does your balcony face? Also, when does Spring begin and Fall end in your area?
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Post by rikita on Jun 25, 2011 12:30:57 GMT
it faces south. well official start of spring is march 21st and official end of fall december 21st. when they really start and end - who knows, how do you define that?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 25, 2011 13:16:23 GMT
Well, what I should have really asked is: what is the beginning of planting season and the end of the growing season there?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2011 15:18:30 GMT
Wow, Rikita, stunning photos. I had to keep looking at that first one over and over again. Amazing.
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Post by mich64 on Jun 25, 2011 16:08:54 GMT
Incredible pictures Rikita, is photography what you teach? Cheers, Mich
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Post by rikita on Jun 25, 2011 18:11:13 GMT
thanks... no, i teach languages (german, english, spanish)... with photography i still have loads to learn myself (well with languages too, you never stop learning new things, there)...
hm, not really sure in fact, about the planting season. the time you can have things outside without worrying about frost is may, but i usually start planting indoors before that, and radishes before that too... i think the time that things stop growing is around october?
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Post by rikita on Jul 1, 2011 15:33:03 GMT
peppers never grow very well on my balcony, but i usually get at least a few... bees like my balcony...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 1, 2011 18:57:29 GMT
Wonderful pictures, Rikita! I don´t recognize the variety of pepper. Speaking of which, I read the other day that the bell pepper was developed in Hungary.
I recognize basil in the 2nd bee photo, but what´s the herb with the first bee? Do you have many herbs?
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Post by rikita on Jul 1, 2011 20:31:31 GMT
dunno what the variety was called, but it was a sweet one, and yellowish-greenish...
not sure anymore what herb it was, that picture is a few years old and a lot of my herbs die faster than i plan... not many, but a few different ones...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2011 23:37:40 GMT
I have a phobia of bees, those look too real!
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Post by rikita on Jul 2, 2011 16:31:05 GMT
oh... didn't mean to scare you... mr. r. has a bit of a phobia of wasps, though i guess he might feel the same about bees...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 2, 2011 16:41:12 GMT
Rikita, over in the Weather board you said it was cold & rainy today. I've been meaning to ask if your balcony is covered, or completely open to the elements.
I don't know if this is still accepted wisdom or not, so maybe one of the other gardeners here can comment. Supposedly you can put aquarium-grade charcoal in the bottom of pots to keep the soil ''sweet'', and of course it also adds a bit of drainage. This might help potted herbs, especially, in times of too much rain.
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Post by rikita on Jul 2, 2011 19:57:18 GMT
it's not covered - i live on the top floor, so nothign above it...
hm, interesting with the charcoal, might try that...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2011 15:08:03 GMT
I think if I had a balcony for growing vegetables, I would try some cucumbers. I was always fascinated to watch them getting bigger and bigger in my grandparents' garden.
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Post by rikita on Jul 9, 2011 7:29:31 GMT
hm, i always thought cucumbers aren't good for balconies, space wise? i wish i had a big balcony though, like my dad - then i could try out growing lots of things...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 15:31:06 GMT
Well, I saw that the new varieties of cucumbers are grown as climbing (or hanging) vines, which is why they are so straight in the shops -- it's all a matter of gravity.
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Post by rikita on Jul 9, 2011 18:01:42 GMT
hm those i might try, but then i can't grow beans anymore... will see... or i need to move to a place with a bigger balcony...
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Post by rikita on Jul 9, 2011 18:04:07 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2011 18:11:16 GMT
The snow doesn't stop the mushrooms from flourishing!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 9, 2011 19:48:35 GMT
;D
Beautiful, Rikita. The stalwart rosemary in the snow is great, and every garden should have at least one mushroom or toadstool.
Are you in an old, central part of Berlin?
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Post by rikita on Jul 10, 2011 10:08:51 GMT
it is more or less central these days - like, half an hour by bike from the touristy areas. i think it used to be one of the areas built for housing factory workers or something like that.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 26, 2011 20:23:35 GMT
i think the time that things stop growing is around october? I'm curious, Rikita. It is autumn now and maybe getting colder where you are. What do you do with the pots on your balcony that you want to winter over? Everything must be in its final flush there. Looking good?
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Post by rikita on Nov 5, 2011 20:52:18 GMT
well this year for the first time i am giving it seriuos thought actually. last years, i just took things inside and put them in the staircase. it is kind of warm there though so everything started coming back in february already...
right now it is still quite sunny and well above zero, but i started preparing some stuff... and reading up online what to do... so this is what i learned:
my geraniums i will take out of the pots, cut off everything green, and then put the roots in plastic bags and hang them upside down in the cellar (i hope the cellar isn't too moist)...
my new bonsai, my other young trees, the thyme, rosemary, the roses and various other things will go with their smaller pots into bigger pots with more earth around it, then standing on a styrofoam mat (with holes in it), while the pot is wrapped in bubble-wrap, and a kind of flower-blanket on top of it all - i hope that is warm enough. the bonsai will be closest to the wall, and if it gets really cold i might take it inside.
the rest of the plants are one-year things...
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Post by rikita on Apr 15, 2012 14:12:36 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 21, 2012 6:57:12 GMT
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