apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have to recommend against the use of garden soil in containers. It will not drain properly. You should always use potting soil - which doesn't actually contain any earth.

And another container idea - paper egg cartons!

Erin C, thanks for the paper egg carton tip! I'm going to dig around in my recycle bin and see what else I can find...

I've already started several types of seeds and they are thriving! I started some in a few small terra cotta pots and some in an egg carton (with potting soil). I misted the soil thoroughly with a spray bottle once of twice a day, depending on the sun. the terra cotta ones sprouted easily. I realized the egg carton seeds were staying too dry, so I covered them with seran wrap. they sprouted soon after I did that. I actually transplanted mine sooner than you recommended, but they are doing well. I moved the terra cotta ones (which were in quite shallow pots) to deeper pots and spread them out more, once they were about an inch tall. they've doubled their size in a week and are putting out many new leaves. the first type to sprout in the egg carton I translplanted as soon as I saw leaves, and they also appreciated it. now a few more (that had longer germination periods) have sprouted in the egg carton and will be transplanted soon.

I can't wait for the weather to warm up permanently so I can move them outside to my balcony!

Just want to share my fave garden blog...
The writer is an urban gardener.. rooftops, community gardens, and tiny sidewalk-side strips... Definitely a must read for anyone lusting for green but short on space.

http://www.yougrowgirl.com

We live in Southern California. Just about everything will grow here. So why link to a blog in Canada? You can take great gardening courses through the Extension Service.
http://dir.gardenweb.com/directory/uccemg/

Plants dry out too quickly in terra cotta. Plastic makes more sense.

I grew a garden on our balcony last year all from seed and it went fantastic. First time growing anything from seed, although that's how my dad does his garden every year.

Ours went great though, and i grew most of my wife's food for the summer, she's a vegetarian.

My tips would be.

Potting Mix - Erin C is right on with this one, you do not want any real dirt in your containers. Potting mix is made up of different kinds of moss. I also added extra pectolite (i think?).

Self watering container - these are amazing, i have a big daddy from agardenpatch.com and it has a 4 gallon reservoir in the bottom of it. I grew 2 cherry tomato plants, 1 redskin pepper, and an 8 ball zucchini. I also have some cheaper ones from walmart that did ok but the resevoir is much too small

Research - if you are growing in containers, find out what grows best. Lots of resources online, and there are specific plants that do better. It helps a lot.

More research - read this book "Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers" our library had it.

In my botany course I learned how to make my own mini version of a greenhouse: a plastic bag filled with carbon dioxide. It works great! Just make sure there's plenty of moisture in the bag.

You can reuse old pots, but whatever you use you should clean them well and then rinse them in a bleach solution (1/2 c of bleach to 4 1/2 c of water).
A great container is cut off milk or orange juice cartons, with several holes punched in the bottom.
Until the seedlings emerge, you can cover the container with saran wrap secured with a rubber band. This keeps the potting mix damp, and prevents your seeds from drying out. After the seedlings touch the plastic you should remove it.

We make containers out of newspaper. I can't really describe how fold them, but you can google newspaper seed starter pots and get lots of links. I like the oragami like ones that don't use staples. They're quick and we can just plant the whole pot when it's time.

I think it is less traumatic for the plant than transplanting. Newsprint is somewhat acidic, but I've never had it affect my seedlings at all and have started dozens in it. Best of all, it just disappears into the soil during the growing season: cheap, green, available.

Palmetto, you may live in SoCal, but not all of 'we' do. AT often has Canadian content, and even Canadian Cure groups this spring, so why not post a Canadian blog?

Thanks for sharing your local link too... more info for people interested in growing their own food is always a good thing. ;)

Thanks for the origami newspaper tip, jenney - total motivation to plant the nasturtium seeds I bought yesterday.

"I grew a garden on our balcony last year... most of my wife's food for the summer..."

Wow, jmorey. You must have a sizable balcony.