Apartment and Container Gardening

I have one really sad ivy plant. My mom planted the ivy sprigs from my wedding bouquet to create a new potted plant. She does this often with ivy clippings and has always had success. Seeing as it was my bouquet, I wanted to bring the plant to my apartment. I live on the 5th floor of a 27 story building with a 16 story building 100ft away to the south, so I don't get much light. Slowly, my sprigs have been drying up and dying away, which makes me sad as soon there will be nothing left to my wedding bouquet plant!

So... I decided to start a compost to create some yummy soil for the "sad plant" as I have started calling it.

I've been reading about how to create an indoor compost and what goes in it but would appreciate any knowledge that you other apartment gardeners may want to share. I looked through the tags here but found mostly worm bins and I am not really interested in having worms. Is it possible to have a compost without worms or bugs? 

TIA

Every year I tell myself that I'm going to start my garden earlier to maximize my growing season by planning my space more carefully and utilizing succession planting. And every year I get excited while it's still winter and then burn myself out a little and before I know it time has dribbled away and it's time to get the main summer plants in the pots. This year I managed to get a little bit of a head start, but even then the winter here in the mid-west was so mild that it segued into spring really early (even edging into summer in mid-March with temperatures soaring up near 90 several days), so once again I got caught a little unprepared. I did managed to get some 'spring crops' in though (Packman broccoli, bok choy, some lettuce and Swiss Chard-though that'll go most of the summer). So I decided, what the hell, I'll plan for the fall and have a solid plan in place for next spring. I'll talk about the details of my own garden when I post my first pics in just a bit.

( I'll put this first part under a cut, both to save your screens and to separate it from the rest since it's taken directly from another source. )


The above lists are (for the most part) a little more unusual, to broaden your horizons. You can, of course, substitute your preferences. Here’s something I found with lists of more common vegetables and their general planting times/seasons:

Perennial Crops (that need a permanent home:
Asparagus, Rhubarb, Chives, Horseradish, Winter Onions

Crops that occupy the ground only the first part of the season:
Early Beets, Early Cabbage, Lettuce, Onion Sets, Peas, Radishes, Early Spinach, Mustard, Turnips

Crops that occupy the ground the major portion of the season:
Bush and Pole Beans, Lima Beans, Cabbage, Celery, Sweet Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Muskmelons, Okra, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Squash, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Swiss Chard

Crops to be planted in July or later for fall and winter gardens:
Bush Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Chinese Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Endive, Kale, Kohlrabi, Radishes, Spinach, Turnips, Collards, Lettuce,


Another link that looked good: Succession Planting with Vegetables in Containers

And one more with a slide show and lovely pictures!


Would anyone be interested in ideas for 'theme' gardens in a pot (or group of small pots)? Like an herbal tea garden, an Asian or Mediterranean garden, etc?

My in-laws gave me this neat-looking flowering plant, but none of us have any idea what it is or how to care for it. All I got from them was that it was procured at their Home Depot and it had been inside. Of course it lacked tags, but it was the only purple one there (my favorite color). The others were pink. They might be seasonal because the pot was wrapped in matching purple Mylar that made me think it was for Easter.

It definitely did not like being inside over one night, as it looked near dead in the morning. Moved it outdoors ASAP and watered it.. It seemed to improve but is still looking kind sideways/wilty. I'd like to know how to avoid killing it, if I possibly can. Any help is appreciated!

i was just giving by the lady down the road a tomato plant but i have not heard of this kind she gave me a cherokee purple tomato i have never had one or heard of one so what i am trying to find out is if anyone heard of it or had them

"""becky"""

Here is a picture of my self-watering bottle garden. It took me a while to cut the bottles right. I'm still working on it. And I used cotton balls instead of string for the wicks. The chive plant needs a taller container.



I bought this chive plant a week ago and it has since grown several buds. What should I do about that? Should I cut them off now? Should I let them bloom and then use them in cooking? Should I let them go to seed?

It is a beautiful autumn afternoon in Melbourne, part of which I have spent tending to our little garden. I have potted and pruned, and sown strawberry and lettuce seeds. And now hubby is sitting on our balcony soaking up the sun and reading the paper. I think I'll join him.
Miss Indigo is sleeping at the other end of the house and is missing out. Silly bunny.

Hello, I just came in from the Spotlight, but it was good timing because I'm just starting a new gardening project.

I have a brown thumb when it comes to plants. The only plants I have right now are: an Aloe, a Hoya, and a Zamioculcas Zamiifolia. They are all hearty desert plants that put up with my neglect. I tried growing a basil I picked up at the grocery store but it died when I went away for the weekend.

I'd like to try to make a self-watering bottle garden. This is not a terrarium bottle garden. For a self-watering bottle garden you cut the bottle in two and put the neck upside-down in the base then fill the base with water and the top with dirt. You put a string from the dirt to the water to wick water up to the plant.

Has anyone done this? How did it go? Do you have any advice?

Hello apartment gardeners,

I found this comm via the LJ spotlihght, and what excellent timing it was. Until recently, I never felt the pull of gardening. The effort didn't seem worth the results. It all seemed inconvenient and messy.

Then we adopted a house rabbit, Indigo, seen in my userpic here, and I needed a way to put her waste to use rather than land fill. I was also drawn to the idea of an edible garden - not for the humans, mind you, but for the bunny!

I started tinkering and pottering, aided and abbetted by some gardening friends, and out little garden is growing nicely. And sometimes we even eat the fruits of our labours - although not often!

Next up: salad green and pak choy.

This is my second attempt at growing a garden at my apartment. Last time I bought plants from the store, and promptly killed them all (most likely from over watering). But this time, I bought seeds, pots and potting soil and BAM. I got these beauties! (And in the end, I ended up planting the entire package of seeds in each pot, because I really didn't believe they would grow!)

( Pictures of my plants )

This time around has been a lot easier, and I water them twice a week because of how warm it has been.

My inspiration to start growing again was my residents. I work at a nursing home and one of the residents tends daily to the garden that he's grown from scratch. It's gorgeous! And I will be sure to post pictures of how the garden looks. They have it so it is wheelchair accessible, and it is so neat at how much he has grown!

I just- and I mean quite literally two minutes ago -planted some herbs. I've been trying for several years to get pots of herbs going but in my last place the sunlight never seemed to be enough. I'm in a new place now, with massive windows, and I'm hoping that will help (granted I'm on the Northeast corner of the building, but I do at least get some direct morning sunlight through the kitchen window).

So I want to give my plants a really good start in life, prolong their growing and keep them nice and full rather than dried out and reedy. I use herbs to cook a lot, but always end up buying packages of half-dead herbs because I have none of my own.

( Here are my little guys, and the spot they're in (the sunlight is 3:00 PM Canadian sunlight, and the sun will be down in probably an hour, so it looks a bit dark) )

(Click to make it bigger)

Any tips for keeping them full and usable? :) I'm *terrible* with plants, so any tips no matter how beginner are welcome.

(And the herbs pictured above are specifically rosemary and thyme)