The last few weeks have been about re-starting my balcony garden. When I moved house a few years ago, I got caught up in other priorities and never got a proper balcony gardening happening. The main obstacle for me was that buying all the components from a hardware mega-store  (potting soil, mulch, compost, etc) seemed to counteract the goodness of growing food. When I learnt about a great way to make compost and got a good recipe for potting soil, thanks to a workshop by Anne Gibson of Green Journey, I had the info that I needed to balcony garden more sustainably. I started composting on Christmas Day, waited a few months, bought the few extra things I needed from a local garden store, and balcony gardening has begun again.

My initial list of basics is: mint, Italian parsley, sage, basil, chives, lemon balm, thyme, oregano, marigolds, comfrey. Next came sweet potatoes that had sprouted in the back of the pantry (the leaves are delicious, and were ready for eating within 2 short weeks). Then heirloom lettuces, basil, tomatoes, rainbow chard and more parsley. And lemongrass. I picked up some sprouting potatoes at food co-op so they’re planted too.