I moved back into an apartment block.block of flats about a month ago, leaving my garden behind. I’d given up on the garden there anyway. I’d come home from work to find that my flatmate had pulled things, transplanted things(and any time she did this, I’d lose at least one plant…and she’d ‘transplant’ from the garden back into pots…because they were ‘crowded’(I never could get her to understand the concept of sq-foot gardening). I ended up adopting and taking with me a stray cat that had moved herself in, and although she was one of the prime offenders using the vege patch as a litterbox, she isn’t overly inclined to go outside these days so that hopefully won’t be a problem.

Anyway now that there’s no-one to interfere, I’m setting a raised bed garden up on my balcony. Two 3 square foot ‘beds’, plus a couple of pots holding a cape gooseberry bush, and some leaf lettuces. That’s about as intensive as I can get and still have room to stand on my balcony. I have sown beetroot, swede(rutabaga), perpetual silverbeet, a round variety of carrot, and ‘French Breakfast’ Radishes. The swede are a late sow, I hope they do germinate. For that matter, I hope all of them germinate. It’s been very cold with hard frost, and they’re only undercover on 3 sides. Nowhere suitable inside. I have two of the sows placed in a polystyrene box, but it isn’t big enough to hold everything.

I want to grow elephant garlic, and also 3 or 4 strawberry plants, which will be in the gardening stores soon. The (ordinary) garlic I grew out of season did well, considering, so I’m hoping to get quite a decent size if I plant in the correct season this year.