warren@pluto.UUCP (Warren Burstein) (12/29/85)
For the last two years I've been growing vegetables on the roof of a small apartment building, about 20 8-gallon crates. Mostly I've been following "The Apartment Farmer" by Duane Newcomb. The beans and peas are pretty successful, but the tomatos never get any larger than cherry tomatos (maybe I should only plant cherries so as not to be dissapointed), the zucchini is not very happy, and the corn was a dismal failure (I didn't *really* expect it to work). The strawberries grew lots of runners but few flowers and no fruit. In past, I used the run-of-the-mill seed packages (priced 55 cents, sold 6 for 99 at the 99-cent store) This year I'm going to look thru the seed catalogs for varieties designed for limited space. Birds ate a lot of things (whole plants!) until I covered each box with a cone of chicken wire. I don't think urban birds would be deterred by scarecrows or flashing aluminum foil. If anyone is doing the anything similar, let's compare notes. -- The Maxwell R. Mayhem Institute for Quandary Requiem and Maternal Sciamachy Accept no substitutes.
arnold@hpfcla.UUCP (12/30/85)
If you are on an apartment top the plants are probably getting sufficient sun; however, you might consider checking your soil quality in the planters. This is especially true if you are using potting soil which is often lacking in nutrients and trace elements. Other things to consider include drainage, temperature, and sufficient space for root expansion. I've found that a lot of my plants in potting soil start to look extremely malnourished after a few months in the same soil -- they could use some fertilizer. Anyhow, good luck and let us know how things turn out. hpfcla!hpfclr!arnold
kolling@decwrl.DEC.COM (Karen Kolling) (12/30/85)
> For the last two years I've been growing vegetables on the roof > of a small apartment building, about 20 8-gallon crates. Mostly > I've been following "The Apartment Farmer" by Duane Newcomb. The > beans and peas are pretty successful, but the tomatos never > get any larger than cherry tomatos ..... In past, I used the > run-of-the-mill seed packages (priced 55 cents, sold 6 for 99 at > the 99-cent store) When I lived in an apartment, I grew tomatoes (and rosebushes) successfully in planters on the patio. The planters were the redwood tubs about two feet wide and two feet high. I believe the tomatoes, which all grew to full size, were Ace and {Better, Best} {Boy, Girl}.