Windowbox gardening

Parent Cafe
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<p>hey everybody
thanks for the word on the non deadheading mini petunia’s!
Mollie
Just had this conversation w/D last night…she has a smallish landing/balcony and wants to grow something edible.We settled on cherry tomatoes in a large urn/pot and a trough/box of basil. Shes in St Louis where its already warmer than here (NY).We usually wait till Mothers Day to plant.</p>

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<p>cathymee, if you grow tomatoes be sure to get “determinate” not “indeterminate”. Some cherry tomatos grow six feet tall. Basil I should have mention basil as a must have herb! (Didn’t think of it as it’s not out in my garden now, while I can still harvest the sage in the snow.) In Germany I bought a book called “Der Nutzgarten auf dem Balcon”. (Literally “The useful garden on the balcony.”) I grew all sorts of stuff on our German balconies (we had two terraces!) There were even directions for growing potatoes in a pot. (Only in Germany.)</p>

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<p>^My mother-in-law grows veggies and herbs in her decorative gardens (European thing…) and these plants always look beautiful, as if they belong in the design. She has been growing grape tomatoes successfully next to her cherry tomatoes these last couple of years. But be forewarned, the vine tends to ramble and get tall. Hers vines are growing on a lattice support so it looks lovely. Would be very nice if you have the room. Tomatoes are such ‘good for you’ snacks!</p>

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<p>Try herb gardening and enhance your cooking at the same time. I have window sills full of thyme, basils, dill, etc.</p>

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<p>if you go to your local garden store you can get plenty of free advice, they will be selling the things that grow in your area at the time that is right for planting them. Pick the ones you think are pretty ;)</p>

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<p>Geraniums, supertunia’s, and an annual ivy! Remember, those window boxes dry out fast, so you need plants that can take it.</p>

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<p>mollie,
Make sure you buy potting mix with plant food(Osmacote is good) as container plants lose so many nutrients as water drains off. Also add some moisture crystals to the mix when you plant to help them to retain water. You won’t have to ask someone to water for you so frequently while you are honeymooning!</p>

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<p>mathmom
Im an old garderner from way back.Here in NY I grow lots of herbs/tomatoes/peppers,etc.I’m partial to daylillies. The D I was telling about is probably close to Mollies age (shes about to be 24) lives in St Louis for Grad school,has a new apt with a sort of balcony and has never expressed any interest in growing things or cooking things until this year!</p>

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<p>bookiemom, if the rest of your home is as absolutely charming as your windowboxes sound, I’d like to book a room with a private bath :)</p>

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<p>cathymee, is the spiky plant you mentioned Dracena? </p>

<p>ldmom, I’ve admired the sweet potato vine in others’ yards. Does it require full sun?</p>

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<p>worrywart - I’ve grown two varieties of sweet potato vine, Sweet Caroline Red and Sweet Heart Purple…putting them both in containers and in beds, and in the blazing Texas sun and in filtered sun/shady beds. Both varieties did fine in both locations.</p>

<p>The sunny locations really needed a lot of water starting in July until it cooled off in November…so it may be easier to find a spot with filtered sunlight, or that at least gets some shade part of the day. But this also may not be a problem if you are located further north.</p>

<p>I love this vine…so hardy and dramatic. And it grows amazingly fast!
Check this link for some of the other varieties…the pink and green tricolor is really neat.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.provenwinners.com/plants/default.cfm?doSearch=1&searchKeywords=sweet+potato+vine&btnSearch=go[/url]”>http://www.provenwinners.com/plants/default.cfm?doSearch=1&searchKeywords=sweet+potato+vine&btnSearch=go&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>also…look how pretty the tricolor is in this urn. I think I’m going to have to find this one!!</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.provenwinners.com/plants/closeup.cfm?photoID=6739&imgName=http://www.pwcertified.com/photolib/MediumJPG/PW-B_14.jpg[/url]”>http://www.provenwinners.com/plants/closeup.cfm?photoID=6739&imgName=http://www.pwcertified.com/photolib/MediumJPG/PW-B_14.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thanks for your reply. I’m on the provenwinners email list so I’ve been receiving their newsletters. Do you find it’s necessary to order these vines from them or are they readily available in your local nurseries?</p>

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<p>I use a few nurseries here in Houston. One is a big chain…there I usually find the more common varieties of sweet potato vine (‘Sweet Heart Purple’, 'Sweet Caroline Red and ‘Blackie’). When I need to find more exotic things, I usually go to a couple of nearby specialty nurseries, Plants for All Seasons or Cornelius. I have a feeling the tricolor is something I’m going to have to look for there.</p>

<p>I’ve never had to order directly from Proven Winners. But I’m on a landscaping committee for our neighborhood, and we have talked about special ordering color if our contractor can’t find what we need. Have you ordered from PW before?</p>

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<p>Anyone else drooling over the catalogs that have been arriving daily? Any great new “finds” for shade this year?</p>

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<p>Nasturtiums. Great for salads. Do grow something you can eat besides enjoy.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/05/289408.shtml[/url]”>http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/05/289408.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I mostly grow herbs on my porch-
I am planting nasturiums and marigolds in my veggie garden this year</p>

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<p>My property is sun-deprived. I was under the impression that all herbs require a healthy dose of sun. How 'bout nasturtiums?</p>

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<p>I also have my stuff on the porch in pots- our house faces south- so still gets a bit of sun- and with pots you can also move them around- I will move them down into the yard often times, to give them a good watering without worrying about water on the porch</p>

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<p>I tend to do geraniums in windowboxes because you really have to be vigilant about watering and geraniums are pretty forgiving. I like something trailing was well. I agree 100% about growing herbs. In fact in Germany where I had 20 feet of window boxes on a top floor terrace I grew lettuce, radishes and a bunch of herbs as well as flowers. I even had a mini-compost pile on part of it. (Mostly coffee grounds and eggshells.) I also love to have hanging pots of fuschia.</p>

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<p>ldmom06, you still hanging around these parts? I tried to bond with the trailing sweet potato vine last summer based on your recommendation but mine had holes in every leaf throughout the summer. Where did I go wrong? Looks like I’ll have to go back to trailing vinca in my pots.</p>