Your Backyard Farm

Madeline from  http://madelinekelly.umwblogs.org says: 

 I have a 3.5 x 8 foot balcony to work with, not to mention the lovely New England climate, so I'm proud to report I have:

2 cucumber plants

2 cayenne pepper plants (loaded with green fruits)

3 beefsteak tomato plants (more than a dozen green whoppers so far...)

7 or so basil plants

8 or so green bean plants

about two dozen carrots (little though they may be)

about a dozen beets

3 baby catnip plants

1 mint plant

1 oregano plant

a small patch of kale

a smattering of lettuce plants

2 marigolds

2 nasturtiums

2 flat-leaf parsley plants

A few of the main challenges I face are (a) watering (because it's hard to reach some of them, and they dry out so fast), (b) pollination (the tomatoes, peppers, and beans are fine, but the cucumbers have been a real challenge -- I pollinate them myself with a small paintbrush) and (c) support for the more gangly plants -- I don't have any cages, so mostly I support the tomatoes and peppers with chopsticks and twine. The balcony railings help, too.

I've attached a few photos of the "farm." The photo that is landscape was taken out our bathroom window and shows our kitchen window on the right. That's where I do all my gardening. The other two photos (one of tomatoes, one of cukes/pepper/catnip/basil/beans) were taken from the kitchen. It's pretty handy to have the garden right next to the cooking room! Oh -- and I attached one last-minute picture of our cat, Akimbo, watching me garden. It's nice to have a garden for her to look at out the windows. (And us, too.) :)