First Lemon Blossom

New edible gardeners are in for many surprises along their journey to grow some of their own food. Yes there will be edible delights to enjoy but also unexpected blooms and scents. My favourite flowers are lemon blossom. Their fresh citrusy fragrance is heady and intoxicating - and bees can't keep away. My first lemon bloom flowered this morning signalling that Spring is just round the corner.

Micro- Winter green sprouts

Give these a try. In just 4 weeks you'll have some tasty nutritious micro-winter greens for your salads, sandwiches or to garnish your soups. The Diggers seed mix I used includes beetroot, mustard greens, kale and tatsoi. I sowed them straight into this pot using a good organic potting mix and a little cow manure to give my seedlings a boost. An occasional water and let the sun do the rest!

First pea flower

The balcony plants are lapping up this tiny burst of early Spring sun. They are twisting and turning to the warm light. The meyer lemons are heavy with juice, another flush of strawberries are peeking through their petals and the vines of the heirloom peas are curling their way up the trellis. Enjoy it while you can - a cool change will soon be upon us.

Lemon Delicious

People are always surprised to discover that I've managed to keep a lemon tree alive on my 20 metre square balcony.

And it hasn't always been easy.

It's a dwarf Meyer lemon variety that grows well in pots and I can recommend it for small space gardeners.

It's three year's old now and has been successfully fruiting for two years.

This season's crop is the most bountiful so far 10 lemons which are now all almost ripe.

My lemon growing tips - don't over water, fertilise in autumn with some dynamic lifter and use a slow-release fertiliser the rest of the year. Douse with pest oil if scale, leaf miners and aphids take hold. Citrus loves heat but hates wind so keep your tree in a sunny,sheltered position. And enjoy!

The Edible Balcony - May 8th

Well winter has really set in here in Sydney. I've been watering the plants in the mornings wearing ugh boots, mittens and a beanie!

Amazingly there are still some San Marzano tomatoes on the vine, and some capsicums struggling to turn fire engine red.

The warrigal greens on the vertical wall all soaking up the winter sun and I'm harvesting them every week. My favourite snack at the moment is mixing up some finely chopped warrigals with chickpea flour, some baking powder, Indian spices and a little water and frying them into little crunchy pakoras . So addictive.

The chives in the hanging basket in the corner have erupted requiring almost a daily haircut to contain them.

My four varieties of basil are still bushy providing me with my secret elixir - pesto!

As soon as the tomatoes and capsicums are truly done I'll clear those pots and plant some heirloom carrots, radishes and maybe some onions.

Balcony life isn't too bad.

Costa visits the Edible Balcony

Ok. I've almost stopped hyperventilating. Costa Georgiadis, the new host of Gardening Australia, visited the Edible Balcony this morning. And his verdict? He said he was inspired. My guru said he was 'inspired'!!! How to melt a girl's heart Costa!

Costa met my capsicums, San Marzano tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, lemons and herbs. They were a little star struck but behaved themseleves.

Then it was time to sample my produce. Using the tomatoes and basil I whipped up a buffalo mozzarella salad. And yes maybe one day there may even be a buffalo on my balcony. Who knows?

The mozzarella was creamy and chewy, the balcony tomatoes were sweet and juicy and the pesto from balcony basil packed a bit of punch with some garlic.

It made Costa's eyes pop!

Even the TV crew enjoyed the balcony bounty!

Tune in to Gardening Australia at 6.30pm on Saturday June the 2nd to see the full story.

The Big Feed

Keeping your plants healthy can seem
like a constant battle. Too much rain, not enough sun, pests undermining all your good work.

As a balcony gardener I've found that keeping your plants well-fed strengthens their root systems and defences so they are better able to tolerate fluctuating conditions.

This morning every pot got a good dose of Dynamic Lifter. This fertiliser comes in pellet form and needs to be well-watered in. It's a little pongy at first because it contains nutritious chicken manure, seaweed and fish emulsions - everything a hungry edible loves. But the smell disappears within a few minutes after application.
My plants are already glowing.

Balcony Basil Bunch

The flush of balmy weather over Easter has sent my basil bush ga-ga.

A few quick snips and it was transformed into some garlicky pesto.
Recipe on page 47 of my book The Edible Balcony.

Tomato love

The first ripe Black Russian tomato from my Edible Balcony vine.

Capsicum Porn

Watching last night's episode of Q&A about pornography reminded me of my balcony capsicums.

Look at these seductive glossy curves. Now THIS is porn.

What's for dinner tonight?

An Edible Balcony salad - that's what. Somehow this bounty managed to survived a caterpillar offensive and the monsoonal rains. Fire engine-red capsicum, tomato berries and some fresh basil,chives and parsley.

Edible Balcony - Red Hot Peppers

Well summer may be technically over but this heat and wet is sending the balcony veggies crazy.

7 pots of late season tomatoes are already ripening and the capsicums are turning red and voluptuous. Ive been fattening them up with worm juice supplied by my neighbour on the 15th floor who has a worm farm.

The big advantage of balcony gardening in pots on wheels is when the rain sets in you can move your crop to a more sheltered position - unlike our poor inground garden cousins!

Here are a few snaps of the balcony this morning and those luscious capsicums.

Edible thief

(photo by Mark FitzGerald)

When you garden organically, it's a constant battle dealing with pests.

You win some. You lose some.

I'd had my eye on this delicious Tioga strawberry - ripe and luscious from our recent bout of hot weather in Sydney. But a cunning native slug beat me to it.

He'd burrowed deep into the stawberry eating at least three times his weight in strawberry juice.

Of course once he was discovered, the game was up. This little slug had to go.

At least he died happy.

Edible Balcony - Weekend Harvest

Look what grandma is getting this weekend from The Edible Balcony ! Two kilos of cherry and beef tomatoes, a red capsicum, ruby and golden chard, sweet basil, Greek basil, rosemary, sage and curry leaves.

With the weather heating up in Sydney I'm going to try my luck by planting a second crop of tomatoes. They should ripen in mid March.The cherry and sweet bite varieties have been so successful, I think I'll plant them again. No white fly problems and they seemed to survive the wind and rain of December. So next week it's out with the old bushes and in with the new!

Edible Balcony - Hello Big Boy!

During our overseas travels a very generous neighbour on the 16th floor has been looking after my balcony garden. Despite the heavy rain, wind storms and cold snaps the garden is thriving.

This little beauty - a red capsicum - will find its way into a summer salad on the weekend.

The Edible Balcony - today

This is what the Edible Balcony looks like 60 days later on November 19th.

The tomatoes are sprawling barely contained by their stakes

The first juicy fruit will be ready to harvest in a week

The lemon tree flowers have turned into new fruit buds and the herbs are thriving in this burst of early summer heat..

And a new tenant - courtesy of Eden Gardens - is a pomato. It's a plant created by grafting a tomato vine onto a potato plant. When the tomato has flowered and fruited, you can dig up your crop of potatoes!

Perfect for small space gardening.