2011 Found Spaces Gardener Container Farm!!

I have posted a few things without even sharing my garden this year and all the things I have learned with my first adventure in container farming.  So without further adieu this is my garden!

I am blessed to have two spaces, the balcony gets part sun and the roof gets full sun.  Here is what I planted and where:

Balcony:
Thyme (6” container):  This plant exploded in the part sun.  I still can’t quite believe its size!
Basil (6” container):  This plant has also produced well.  The grasshoppers eating on it definitely reduced the leaves I wanted to eat, but it did well overall
Spring Green Mix (window box):  Loved the balcony, but died after all the rain we received in July.  It was too wet which turned into a breeding ground for fungus gnats.  More on that later

 

Roof Top Garden

Roof:
Arugula (window box):  It did really well until after the first cutting, then the lovely aphids appeared.   For the second planting that started a month ago I moved it to the balcony and it was way happier with less sun and heat


Container one (15” square container):
-I wonder if the mixture of marigolds, creeping jenny, parsley and tomoatoes has caused my tomatoes to not have enough food to ripen the tomatoes. 
Tomatoes:  I used the Patio Princess variety and have been very happy with its size.  My only issue is that the tomatoes don’t turn red very quickly.  I have a bunch of green tomatoes, but only get two red one’s a week. 
Italian Parsley:  It loved this space.  I should have only planted one plant because I have been overtaken with parsley!  I don’t even like parsley that much.


Container two (15” container):
Carrots (need name):  I have yet to pick them, they were very slow growers.  I started them in the spring and they are still really small.  I am wondering if I didn’t thin them enough.  The one’s I have pulled to check their size, they are sooo yummy.
Jalapeño’s:  These bloomed well and have produced peppers, but peppers are taking forever to get big.  

Container three (12” container): 
Green beans:  This is sad… I got nothing edible.  They did produce little tiny pods, but nothing to pick or eat.  I am super bummed.  I planted three in this container, and I think I should have only planted one or two plants

Container four (17” container, no drain hole and used rock on the bottom): 
Jalapeño, cilantro, petunia’s, and creeping jenny
Jalapeños:  Same issues as the jalapeño’s in container number two. 
Cilantro:  It hates the heat and I didn’t realize that until later.  I planted my first plant in the front of the container where it would get the most sun.  It seeded out pretty quickly.  I picked up two additional plants and put them in the back shaded by the jalapeño and they are super unhappy.  I am thinking next year the cilantro has to be planted by itself and regulated to the balcony.

I do think this was a very successful first attempt at container farming and I am excited!