A month ago, I became very depressed about the plantless state of my balcony. I just moved into this apartment last year after I left my property behind, where I had planned a huge herb garden. So, I still had loads of seeds.
I went into a regular garden store to buy some potting soil, and I discovered they sold organic young herbs and vegetables. So, I bought some of those as well.
Normally, I would only want vegan soil, but in my current situation, this seems impossible to come by. So, I went with regular soil and tried to add other plant-based materials – even paper or kitchen scraps at the base. At the store, I also bought garden bags or produce bags.
Then I gathered hundreds of seed packages with vegetable and herb seeds, all organic or heirloom. It is important to me to avoid genetically modified seeds.
I also gathered fresh garlic, ginger, and potatoes from the kitchen that were sprouting.
For the young plants, I prepared planters and one “grow bag.” The planters or pots still needed holes at the bottom so excess water could get out. Otherwise, roots might rot.
I have grown vegetables and herbs in grow bags before, but I couldn’t find any at the garden store, and they are also expensive while not really durable. I saw some produce or garden waste bags at the store that were cheap; therefore, I thought I would give it a try. I still need a stable base for them, though.
Filling planters takes a lot of soil, which is also heavy to carry upstairs to my apartment. I can hardly move a 40 kg bag three stories. As for the store-bought soil, I got some universal soil, herb soil, another type of herb-related soil, and coconut fiber. I gathered some wood, grass clippings, and wood pellets from my home. I had wanted to get rid of the pellets anyway.
Inspired by no-dig planting and raised beds and some videos I had watched about direct composting, I decided to gather different plant-based materials to fill the lower half of the planters. I am hoping they compost themselves over time. I mixed the materials the same way as I would a normal compost: browns with greens and added soil.
Normally, one should cover the holes at the base of the planter with stones so the drainage won’t get clogged, but I didn’t have any handy.
You can make your own herb soil. One of the main differences is often that sand is added, but again, I didn’t find small bags of sand, so I bought the ready-made mixture.
I even gathered ashes from my fireplace, something I had learned in Portugal, where they put ashes around tree stems. I am not sure if this is recommended, though, for potted herbs.
Coconut fiber needs water in order to become loose, so you can make a fluffy soil out of it.
When the planters were filled with soil, I could finally plant the young plants: small leaf basil, mint, and rosemary, as well as some cauliflower and spinach.
I have sown some additional seeds around the plants.
Next, I filled small seed pots with soil as well. I mostly used little pots one can later put directly into soil in a bigger planter without having to remove the plants. I used mostly universal soil and, for Mediterranean herbs, some herb soil. I didn’t use extra soil for seeds because, in my experience, it makes them grow too fast and burns them, even though it should be the other way around. I had been very disappointed with extra vegan soil for seeds in the past. Anyway, the differences in soil aren’t that huge, and it is more important to watch their growth.
I had already prepared the labels for the herbs, a step that shouldn’t be missed. So, all that was left now was to sow.
I made holes in the middle of the small pots, sometimes three or more in a circle, depending on the type of seeds or herbs. For example, you put one seed in the middle for one chard plant, but several for basil or thyme. So, I carefully distributed the seeds, pot by pot, and in the end, covered most of them lightly with soil and then watered them with filtered water.
The first seedlings appeared about one week later; more appeared two weeks later, and most appeared one month later.
You might want to use a little greenhouse or more protection for your seedlings, but mine did well without. The most important thing is to keep the soil moist at all times.
For now, the young plants and seedlings are growing strongly, and I will soon have to prepare bigger planters.
