While I only needed a short break and hope to establish a career of my own soon, my new VISA status after quitting my job did not allow me.
Being a full-time housewife is a tough job. However, the current workload as a housewife without any kids around is quite light and mundane. There simply isn't much to clean everyday. In order to make my life more fruitful and exciting, I started exploring and doing things I would consider luxurious and impossible if I were still working.
Having a garden of my own has always been at the back of my mind. However, my rental apartment so far never included a garden space in the package. With so much time in hand, I decided to put the the research ability I earned into good practice in gardening.
Being a greenhorn in gardening, I researched online and came up with a few points I thought to be important to share before starting the actual gardening process.
Realizing the advantages of utilizing a balcony for gardening
I have a balcony of the size that fits a outdoor grill and a few folding chairs (it's not a scientific way to describe the size of the area. However, I don't have much clue on the exact square feet measurement). Container gardening is a great option to allow me to stretch over the limitation of land. Apart from its great elevated location (second floor) which will protect my vegetation from potential unwelcome predators, another great thing about my balcony is that it gets plenty of sunshine. Sunshine is the one big element required for plants to perform photosynthesis so that light energy can be converted into chemical energies necessary to sustain their growth. Having seen these advantages, I gave myself a "Go" to realizing my dream of owning a small garden this summer.The choices of containers
There are many varieties of plant containers available in places like Walmart, Lowes, or Home Depot. You can choose whatever styles that fit your personal tastes. The key thing to bear in mind when choosing a container/pot is a good drainage and aeration system, which ensures the health of root growth. Another thing to note is the size/material of containers required for your plants. A larger plant will need a larger container made with stronger material to ensure that the roots will not outgrow and crack the container. A little research on how big your plants will become might be worthy-done ahead of time.The plants I chose to grow aren't large ones and thus won't require humongous pots. To jump start my gardening project, I purchased a few Mainstays plastic planters of different sizes at Walmart Patio and Garden department.
If you really don't want to spend too much money on gardening, one way to save money on plant container is to make your own. I did make a couple of container using Styrofoam boxes and 1-gallon milk plastic bottle.Here are two examples of the planter I made. To allow proper drainage and aeration, I punched many small holes at the sides and the bottom of the boxes/containers.
The choices of soil mixes for pot gardening
Once again, we have to consider the factors of good drainage and aeration when choosing the types of soil mixes for container plants. The soil needs to be able to well-drain and well-aerate while maintaining sufficient moisture for healthy root growth.After some research online, I decided to go with Scotts Miracle-Gro Potting Mix, which is claimed to serve the purpose very well, in addition to providing nutrients for plants.
The choices of fertilizers
I found information on this website very useful when considering what types of soil mixes to choose (http://urbanext.illinois.edu/containergardening/soil.cfm). To stay consist with the choices of soil mixes I picked, I decided to give Scotts Miracle Glo All Purpose Plant Food a try.Well, I will next give you a timeline of the growing process of each plant I have been working on throughout the summer.
First, here is a highlight of the current status of my balcony garden using tomato plants as examples:
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