New Watering Spikes

I purchased these last year as part of my never-ending pursuit for a reliable way to water my plants while I'm not around.

The idea is simple. Cut the bottom off a plastic bottle and jam the uncapped end of the bottle over the top of the spike. Insert the spike into the soil and fill the bottle with water. These spikes have a flow control setting so in theory you can control the rate at which water flows through the spike and into the soil.

I've used similar less fancy products in the past. They're good for getting water down into the soil near the roots which avoids soil compaction. But they're not so good as a set-and-forget tool for watering. As with the cheaper and less advanced versions, the output holes on these get clogged. The opening at the top has a filter to prevent the spike from getting clogged but of course, the filter gets clogged over time and needs to be cleaned occasionally.

The seal with the plastic bottle was excellent. No leakage. It's just a press-on fit.

When I first set these up, I set the flow knobs to maximum and they would drain a 2 litre bottle in a few hours. Set on minimum it took about a day for one to empty down to half and the other to empty to a quarter. Then they stopped working. I could play with their placement in the soil and they'd starting working again but after a month, even set to maximum flow, they stopped working completely. I guess they got clogged up. I'm not really sure because at that point I stopped using them.

Scarlet Runner Beans

This is my first time growing scarlet runner beans. I seeded the container a couple of weeks ago and all but one seed came up. The other day I added some cord to the trellis to give them something to climb. I'm looking forward to the wall of green with red flowers that this will turn into.

Garden Update

Almost everything I wanted to grow on the balcony this year is planted and growing well. The strawberries are off to a good start and the celery that I thought wasn't going to do much is taking off.

I've also got Spanish Onions, leeks, Hungarian hot wax peppers, tiny tom tomatoes, scarlet runner beans and cantaloupes growing. The beans I seeded barely two weeks ago and they are already nearing that stage where they are ready to climb.

Strawberries from seed

This strawberry plant has a long way to go before being planted outside. I've grown strawberries from seed once before but it was quite a while ago. My expectations for the few seedlings I have started this year are really low and my hope is that at least one plant grows to maturity. I think I'll also purchase some plants later this spring and see how those grow on the balcony. That is something I haven't tried before.

This years I also want to grow some onions from seed. I have some Spanish onions started and I plan to grow some scallions as well. And some kale, leeks and scarlet runner beans. For the past couple of years I've tried and failed to grow melons. This year I want to try a musk melon hybrid that is tolerant to a number of diseases. Maybe that will better my odds. And I'll grow tomatoes but I'm not sure which.

Last Tomato Harvest

I've been neglecting the tomato plants all week and now they look terrible. The black cherry tomato plant is starting to get mouldy. So I picked the last of the tomatoes and if the weather looks good tomorrow morning I'll start chopping down plants. Still a few green tomatoes out there. Maybe I'll save them. I guess I could keep that one plant around a little while longer. But at this point I'm pretty much done on the balcony for this season.