Hail

This was a few days ago. We get hail maybe once or twice a year. This time it felt a little heavier than usual but nothing damaging. I don't have much growing on the balcony this year. A few tomato plants, green onions, cucumbers, basil and cape gooseberries.

Spring has Sprung

Spring is finally here although it doesn't feel like we had much of a winter. The grass is green and the trees are budding. My raspberry plant survived the winter and has lots of new growth sprouting out along last year's canes. A few new ones coming up through the soil as well.

I haven't made any plans to grow on the balcony this year. I'd like to but maybe I'll dial it back a bit this summer. Maybe just some tomatoes and melons, or cucumbers. I might actually plant flowers instead of onions and beets. I'm not really sure yet. The clock is ticking though. If I'm going to grow anything I better get started on it.

Last of the Raspberries

I did a bit of cleanup on the balcony today. Tomato and melon vines went without water for over a week and they were drying out nicely. So I chopped them down and stuff them into a bag, ready for the composter. But there is still life on the balcony. My peppers are ripe enough to pick. The kale still has a few leaves on it. And I've got more raspberries which was kind of a surprise. I didn't think this cluster of flowers would produce anything this year.

Picked the Radish

This is the lone radish I planted this year. It's a China Rose and it doesn't look that bad. The top inch of the root was exposed above the soil surface and it shows. I pulled this 60 days after seeding. The kale planted next to it was happy to see it go as the radish top was dominating the container.

My dwarf kale is doing fine. Every morning a few leaves are removed to contribute to a green smoothie. There are three plants here and at the current rate of consumption, they should be depleted by the end of the week. I seeded more a couple of weeks ago but it's getting colder outside and I think it might be too late for those plants to mature in time.

Jimmy Nardello Peppers

I picked the last of the Jimmy Nardello peppers. I only had one plant and it was looking pretty bad. Earlier this summer I picked about a dozen peppers from this plant so it did alright. The aphids thrived on this plant but it tolerated the invasion.