Comments on: Best Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs to Grow for Beginners

By: michelle deshon

michelle deshon — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:03:22 +0000

“I am looking for a small yellow, buttery, early variety of potatoes”
I agree with the yukon gold being a good choice. Having lived all my life in Idaho where potatoes are our major crop, the yukon gold are one of my favorites. They have a wonderful flavor and will fit your criteria nicely.

By: Fern

Fern — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:40:49 +0000

Beth--Check out this list of fruits, vegetables and herbs that will tolerate shadier growing conditions.

By: Beth

Beth — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:07:09 +0000

I would like to grow some plants indoor, in an attic room with sky lights.
Are there any kind of vegetables that will grow without direct sunlight?
I am considering starting with some herbs.

By: 5 Beginner Crops to Enjoy, Even if You’re Not a Good Cook

5 Beginner Crops to Enjoy, Even if You’re Not a Good Cook — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:57:47 +0000

[...] of the most popular posts of all time here on Life on the Balcony is this list of best fruits, vegetables, and herbs to grow for beginners. So I was pretty excited to see that there was a list with a similar theme in this month’s [...]

By: Gooseneck Hitch

Gooseneck Hitch — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:50:39 +0000

Thanks a lot for this thoughtful advise. I have been looking for the right fruits and vegetables for a balcony garden – and it is all in here!

By: Kamala

Kamala — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:39:59 +0000

Thanks for all of your help, Fern! Last year was my first time planting a vegetable garden, and I planted tomatoes, basil, cilantro, mint, and hot peppers. This year I would like to be more ambitious and plant some small zucchini, small eggplant, cauliflower, and maybe some sweet peppers. I have the benefit of a balcony as well as a small plot of land in front of my townhome. I am thinking that I can use that plot to plant some of the larger vegetables.

I would love some advice on whether I should stick to buying plants or if it is realistic to grow vegetables from seeds. I tried growing my hot peppers last year from seed and very few sprouted. I wonder if it had to do with when I planted them — some time in June.

Thanks!

By: Fern

Fern — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:29:28 +0000

Kamala–Do you have bright windows? Also, what kinds of things are you interested in growing? Because there are herbs that will do ok indoors, and of course, there are indoor plants. But if you’re not going to put anything outside until April or May, you probably don’t want to start any seeds meant to be transplanted out there until 6-8 weeks before your last frost date. That means not getting started until the end of February, beginning of March.

Another option for holding you over until then is to force bulbs. You might be able to find some pretty good deals on bulbs like paperwhites and amaryllis now after the holdiay gift giving extravaganza is over.

By: Kamala

Kamala — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:05:24 +0000

According to the link below, the last frost date for Washington DC is April 10. However, I’ve also heard anectodally that people in my area wait until mid-May.

http://cdmplanning.hypermart.net/frost.html

Any ideas?

By: Fern

Fern — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:50:38 +0000

Kamala–Check back next week, because I have some posts scheduled about starting seeds. But the short answer is “yes!” there are seeds you can start indoors now. Do you know your last frost date?

By: Kamala

Kamala — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:44:01 +0000

Fern,

Is there anything that I can do at this time of year for my garden? I live in DC and it’s pretty snowy outside so I assume that the answer is no, but are there any seeds that I can grow indoors?

One idea for a future post is to create a timeline for things that we should be doing with our garden in preparation for the next season. Love your blog, thanks!