Pelargoniums and duct tape

I'm sure you're all very curious if I succeeded in taping my pelargoniums to my kitchen window sill like I said I would and I can now reassure you that it was a success (the pain that I got from overstraining myself that prevented me from sitting long enough by the computer to update the blog and show you the photos was of course less of a success)



Evening photo with the curtains out of the way



How it really looks



Day time photo


(The plants on the kitchen sofa used to stand in the window but will soon move in to the bedroom)

See the old-fashioned antique cast iron irons (does that sound stupid in English or what? LOL) in the foreground? I didn't duct tape them, they ARE after all made by cast iron and HEAVY so I think they were safe anyway. This morning I woke up to a loud thud though, the itty, bitty, tiny kitty monster had knocked down the smallest one (the plants below survived) But all the pelargoniums were still firmly taped to the window sill. Yay for duct tape!

Night frost and harvest

Last night we had subzero degrees (-0.9°C = 30.38°F) for the first time this fall! *shiver* Cooooold! (in a couple of months I will consider this warm though)



Look what it did to the poor Runner Beans!


It's really time to take them down now, but since it's really cold, gray and rainy today (see photo above) I'm saving that for another day. I think I'll duct tape the pelargoniums instead. I moved them indoors earlier this week but I just put them temporary on top of a cupboard.



Cat safe pelargoniums!


Now I've gotten the duct tape I needed so now I'll take better care of them, cut away dead flowers and leaves and then tape them to the kitchen window sill. I don't worry that much about what the big cats will do to them but the itty, bitty, tiny kitty monster has already knocked down a bunch of flowers from my window sills so duct tape it is.

I've also harvested the tomatoes and runner beans this week. I doubt the tomatoes will ripen much more outdoors now and that saves me the work of having to tuck them in every night to keep them safe from frost.



Look! A tomato ghost!!!


Harvested tomatoes


Beans


Curious itty, bitty, tiny kitty monster


I got about 1.5kg tomatoes (and I've probably eaten at least 0.5kg before) and about 1kg beans (sheaths included, previous eaten beans not included though). Not bad for a balcony gardener I think!

I'll see how many if the tomatoes that will ripen indoor and then make pickled tomatoes of the rest and I'll undress the beans as well... later. I also need to harvest the radish fruits to collect the seeds. So far I've just moved them so they're not hanging on the other side of the balcony anymore, in case they decide to fall.



Radishes and look a Petunia that's still alive


My balcony is an embarrassing mess right now though. *sigh* I need to get rid of the dead plants, clean up the mess ad get some heather to make things pretty again. So much to do and so little energy to do it with. Times like this I really wish I was healthy.



Messy!



Pretty sunset from earlier this week, the sun is about to set
now as well, but today it's just dull, dark and gray.

Decay - This weekend

What a difference a week can make! We've had some cold nights, still above freezing according to the thermometer but it wouldn't surprise me if we've had a touch of night frost. The Runner Beans/Rosenbönor didn't like this AT ALL.

We've also had all kind of strange weather combinations, sunshine, rain, windy (to the point where I decided to move down the Pelargoniums to the floor for good), hail, thunder and then some sunshine again (no snow though *phew*)






Poor beans!


















The Hydrangea is still looking fine



Look how tall this red pelargonium is!






The radishes









Yummy Yellow Pear tomatoes!



The leaves have started to change color now


The summer season is over on the balcony now. All there's left to do is to clean up, take in the pelargoniums (I just need some duct tape to secure to pots to the window sill, for itty, bitty, tiny cat technical reason, if you know what I mean. LOL) and harvest seeds (beans and radishes) for next year. Because of my medical problems this will still take some time though, I can't do everything in one day, and besides, the beans are still green(ish) so they still block people's view for a little while longer.

And yes, of course I have SOME fall plans as well....

Fall cleaning - Last weekend

I know, I'm way behind with the updates now but for various reasons I haven't been able to update for a while. These photos are from when I did a bit of fall cleaning/preparing last weekend (Sept 19-20)



The corner


The Deadly Nightshade/Belladonna and the Pansies/Penséer


As you could see some of the plants had started to look REALLY tired nearly dead. I got rid of the Nightshade and the Pansies and cut down most of the Petunias (except few stems that still had flowers)

I also replanted the Strawberries and the Wild Strawberries/smultron since I will try to keep them alive during the winter. I decided not to cut away the baby plants from their mothers until I know they're fully rooted.

I will also replant the chive/gräslök and parsley but I ran out of soil.



Strawberry - Before (Isn't it pretty?)



Strawberries - After



Yellow Pear


Tiny Tim


The tomatoes are still doing well and have actually started to ripen a lot as well, especially Yellow Pear. (Yellow Pear is BTW a very tasty tomato that I can highly recommend. Please remind me to get in next year as well)



The window sill is starting to look quite empty,
but the pelargoniums are still beautiful

Yuuummmmmmmmmm

Home grown tomatoes are goooooood!!! I wish you could buy tomatoes tasting like this in the shops as well, but you really can't (at least not here in Sweden).

I didn't take any photos, I was too busy munching (and besides, it was dark outside) but in case you're curious I can tell you that Tiny Tim tastes quite sweet and Yellow Pear is more spicy. Yummmmmmmm!!!

(I've only eaten one of each so far, but I look forward to the rest)

Look! Pretty colors!!!

Look!!! Red tomatoes!!! And yellow!!!



Tiny Tim



Yellow Pear



Oddly shaped Yellow Pear


Just as I'd pretty much given up on the tomatoes ripening this year they've started to change colors. Yay!!! Now I LOVE pickled green tomatoes so I don't see it as a problem if all of them don't ripen (which I really doubt they will) but I would be really sad if I wouldn't be able to eat SOME homegrown, ripen tomatoes this summer. They taste sooo much more and sooo much better than the bland, watery store bought ones. (Well, I don't know how THESE tomatoes will taste since I haven't tried them yet but home grown tomatoes in general I mean)

This has been an overall bad year for tomato ripening. Everyone I or my mom have talked to (including people with green houses) have had the same problems. But as long as some of the tomatoes will ripen I'm happy.





Just a photo of the view. They've stopped blowing things up now (that said, they still make a lot of noise)

Early fall on the balcony!

I have to accept that it's fall now! I just can't pretend it still summer even when its nice and sunny weather. The air is more crisp and the balcony season is nearing it's end. This will (no matter computer problems and kittens) mean that I will eventually update the blog less often. I prefer documenting growth instead of decay! And I even plan to take a looong blog break during the late fall and winter (with maybe a FEW snowy updates or posts about my plans for next summer). But we're not quite there yet... It's fall on the balcony but it's still early fall and even though the plants have started to look more and more tired the balcony is still lush and I still plan to keep on updating (but probably less often than I did during the summer) While decay is less fun to document fall is still a part of the natural seasons on the balcony.

Today I've done some early fall cleaning, I've put the insulation in the plant box and started to cut down dead or withering plants (mostly Petunias). A clean up was very much needed but now the balcony looks good again (if not quite at it's prime any more)



Before I started



This Petunia really didn't look as fun any more



I've put a double layer of insulation on the floor and
along threeof the walls. The back wall only has one layer
since I hope to be able to "borrow" some heat from the wall.



I've also got insulation left to put on top of the box later. It's
standing behind the box for now. I really like the shadow pattern.



A more tidy looking petunia (I saved the part that still had flowers)



The window sill, now with flowers again. I wonder how long that will last?



The table area



The Corner



The Corner taken from the balcony door



My Busy Lizzy/Flitiga Lisa



The newest Pelargonium



Pelargonium



Pelargonium and Petunias



Look!!! One of the Tiny Tim Tomatoes have finally started to blush



The Yellow Pear ones are still as green as always though



The gigantic Runner Bean is even more gigantic now



It's 36 cm long (about 14.4 inches)...



...and 6.5 cm (2.6 inches) wide. Huuuge!!!



The fall has reached the bonus flower bed as well



And finally a photo of the view. They've stopped blowing things up now.