First real post on garden stew! I live in Florida and currently in a apartment but wanna have a few small plants. I can't grow outside so I am forced to try growing on my back porch, it gets a few hours of sunlight but it's not very direct. I can also use the inside of my house but I wasn't sure of what kinds of plants really can survive in these conditions. Some plants I would like to grow would be: mint, oregano, chives, lettuce, roses, any shrubs, fruits, or veggies. I currently have humus (earthworm castings), compost, sphagnum peat moss, and rice hulls. I am interested in growing completely organic without using any bottled nutrients. Any recommendation for amendments I still need. I am really looking for some suggestion of some plants that will grow for me, the few I listed mainly is there to kind of show my interests! Thanks! -- Matt
Matt, so glad to see your first posting! I can't help with much on your list, although we here in Texas share much of your climate. Mint does well in lower light conditions--it is a semi-shade plant. Oregano however likes sunlight. If you can put it where it will get as much light as available, it may do okay for you. Chives and lettuce will do okay with some shade. Just don't expect too much from them. You didn't mention the type of lettuce you want, but I'd suggest a leaf lettuce, which is less picky than the heading types. Roses would be terribly difficult. The only rose I know that will grow in semi-shade is Zephrine Drouhine, and she gets much too big to be on a balcony or inside (7' or more). The Sphagnum moss won't help your plants--no nutrients, hard to get wet, and when wet it dries out quickly. You might do better with perlite or vermiculite to lighten your soil. For fertilizer I'm a big fan of well-composted manures, but you might not want to bring that into your house--well-composted doesn't smell, but you won't know if it's nice and ready until you use it, and then it's too late if it's not rotted down. Fish emulsion seems to be a favorite of organic, container gardeners. You may want to research it a bit. Other, more informed gardeners here on the Stew will be of more help. I do wish you luck, and please let us know how your plants do!
Hello Matt, You are trying to garden under very challenging circumstances. Is that an understatement? Well, I grow oregano for my bees and ornamentally in the garden. They are sitting in fairly shadowy places and are thriving, so that would be a good one for you. If you can get hold of a comfrey plant, you could grow it in a pot outside and use its leaves to make some very good organic fertilizer. It does smell bad however, so keep the bucket you are making the fertilizer in outside. Mint grows under almost all circumstances. I woukld suggest a fairly large pot for it, as it produces many roots rather quickly. It is a great plant to take toot or stem cuttings from in order to propagate. I would imagine that you could have success growing fruits there as well, though a bit of research would help you because there are "dwarf' varieties for many fruit types which would be helpful with your limited space available. You would be able to grow Swiss Chard also if you wanted. It is good because you can just keep harvesting the leaves and they grow new ones. Tomatos are perhaps a good choice as well because toms do not need light so much as they need heat. I am assuming that heat will not be a problem in Florida. Spuds are another possibility, I should think. You could grow them in a container or a soil bag. Lettuce is also good and there are many sorts. Hot peppers and Sweet peppers would also work, I imagine...once again--heat is important. As for flowers-- a bougainvillea might be a nice thing to grow in the corner of your balcony. They are quite lovely and come in many colours. I wish that our climate would tolerate them here. Gardenias might also work for you, but they would like some misting from time to time. A jasmine (Jasminum officinale) would also be a good choice. You may also want to get a flower box for the balcony railing. There are so many different types of flowering plants that you could put in there. If I do not stop now this would become an epistle, I think. There are lots of folks on here that will no doubt have plenty of suggestions for you too. Good luck with your plans there. Please do keep us informned of how it goes for you.
Wow! Thanks to both of you! It sounds like mint may be a good first choice. Marlingardener, I appreciate the advice. I have heard good things about peat moss, I'm surprised to hear you don't like it. I'll take your advice. I thought the rice hulls could be used as an aeration amendment? I have been considering getting some kelp, alfalfa, neem, and some rock dust. I have also heard good things about espoma tomato tone. Any advice? Sjoerd, I can't really think of a harder place to grow! I have thought about getting a small grow tent and a light bulb but usually pretty high price tag. I would rather just grow outside! I have never heard of "dwarf" fruit plants that sounds really interesting! As I said I think I'm going to start with a mint plant, but Swiss chard, tomatoes, and lettuce sound good too. When you said spuds do you mean potatoes? I didn't expect that, would that include sweet potatoes? Bouganvelia and gardenia's would be great! Any chance hibiscus could work? I appreciate your long list I can't wait to get started I'll be sure to let ya know how things go! Thanks :-D :-D
Hi Matt, what part of Florida do you live in? Since south Florida very seldom gets any real winter weather more will grow there than in north Florida where temps can get close to or below freezing. How many is 'few hours of sun'? Full sun requirement means 6+ hours of sun, only 3-6 hours works on plants that grow well in Part Sun also sometimes labeled as Part Shade. Any thing less than 3 hours you need to concentrate on Shade plants. Sweet potatoes require 90-170 days of very warm temps to mature in full sun. If you can't provide that then stick with some of the early producing white or red potatoes instead. Tropical Hibiscus is an evergreen with dark shiny leaves and will probably be the best in your location since they prefer some shade. The Hardy Hibiscus requires full sun and lots of heat to flourish and a shady patio probably will not provide that.
Hi Toni thanks for the help. Sorry, I should have specified most of that in the OP. I actually do live in northern Florida, around the Jacksonville area to be specific. It has gotten close to freezing a couple of times this winter but in another month or so I should not have to worry about that. The sun varies, and I should probably watch my porch the next few days to give a more accurate time, but I would estimate around 6 hours of sunlight. My porch is covered and screened in which probably doesn't make it the most direct sunlight. When the sun comes up in the morning it is sure bright on the porch though. I will definitely have at least 90 days of warm/hot weather once summer comes around, but I will be lacking the full sun. Sound like I should stay with the earlier producing potatoes. The tropical Hibiscus also sounds like a good match for my environment! Thanks again for the help
Which side of the building is your patio on? That will have a lot to do with how much sun your plants will get. East will get morning sun, West will get the warmer afternoon sun. South will get less and less sun as the sun travels back to the north and North will get more sun during the Spring and Summer.
One fruit that might do well for you is Kumquat. One of the members here gave me some seed which I have grown and they do well with an east exposure and a large pot. You could leave it on the patio year round. The most common variety is hardy to 20 degrees but I would give it some protection any time it gets below freezing. I am in Texas so we have about the same temp range as you do. They will get about 4 ft tall in a large pot and are evergreen so they will make a pretty plant. And excellent fruit I am told. Mine are going outside this year but many just keep them in the pots. With a good compost all they need is an addition of nitrogen 2 or 3 times a year. Just go buy a started plant, seed takes several years to start making fruit. MG is right,, don`t use peat moss of any kind.
Yes, by "spuds", I meant potato's. I have grown them and tomato's in soil sacks on my little balcony. There are hibicsus types that you can grow on the balcony, but this has been addressed by other members. There is much to read about peat. I personally do not use it because I have alternatives and I do not want to contribute to global climatic changes. I mean these natural places hold enormous amounts of CO2, and disturbing them and processing peat releases enormous amounts of the gas. The internet is full of documented studies and opinions. Here is one: http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-a ... -peat-moss You heard correctly that it is a good potting medium...that's not the issue. I guess you could say that it is more of an ethical/moral issue. Everyone has to make their own choice about this subject, but like all other disputed subjects--one ought to read a bit about it before making a decision.
Shrubs like Gardenia, Jasmine, Roses should do well. I don't think you'll need to mist anything outside in FL. What you described would be a bit too much sun for most traditional house plants, though many could be acclimated to that much. I don't use any packages of stuff for plants either, with the exception of some house plants. My fav fertilizer is pureéd, diluted banana. The peel or the whole thing. In FL, growing edibles is nearly backwards from the rest of the country, mostly because of the heat. Your success (or failure) with most plants of this type will be in regard to timing. The intense sun also makes it necessary for more shade for some plants than traditional advice might say. Tomato plants don't do well here baking in the sun all day. Sweet potatoes grow fine here in mostly shade. Mint and lettuce would need some shade from mid-day sun. Most lettuce can't survive in the south during summer. I would encourage you to investigate edibles by seeking info specific to your location on veg forum. I don't use peat in pots either, the particles are much too fine and, like said, there are many other materials that don't have the environmental issue inherent with harvesting peat and moving it all around the world.
