May two-four is the traditional start of outdoor planting in Toronto, since it normally signals the start of adequately warm weather for tender plants. Being downtown and slightly elevated above ground means that we’re a little warmer and sunnier and can cheat some extra time – and we have, with some of our herbs and cucumbers going outside a couple of weeks earlier. Still, we took the opportunity to clean up the mess outside and train the peas and cucumbers to the trellises.
We’ve put the peas and cucumbers against the wall and half of the balcony door, and they’re looking pretty good so far. The cucumbers just went in their big pots yesterday (along with a couple of lettuce thinnings – though I don’t know whether those guys are going to make it).
The Vietnamese herb garden is establishing itself pretty well, too. I’m a little worried that I should have planted the Thai basil deeper – I put the plants in at the same depth they were in the peat pellets, but the leaves don’t start for another couple of inches, so they look a wee bit straggly right now. I guess we’ll see what happens.
The basil’s along the right-hand side of the pot with two Korean mint plants at the top and the perilla taking up the bottom left.
We were supposed to plant out our tomato, too, since it’s outgrown its pellet, but we’ve run out of compost, so until we get some more, we’re just going to have to keep it alive.
Adventures in Clueless Urban Balcony Gardening 