Full details of weekly harvests at bottom of page.
Week 1: 1 – 7 May
Total for week = £7.04 / 390g
- Here we go, the first week: a total of a quarter a kilo of salad, a bunch of radishes and a couple of bunches of herbs.
Well, it’s hardly self sufficiency! But it’s added flavour and colour to our salads and stir fries .Yields should get better in a few weeks time when more containers are productive – all the salad is currently coming from one 60cm box, picture below.
Week 2: 8 – 14th May
Total for week = £4.49 / 310g
Growth on the balcony has been slow, hampered by cold North-easterly winds.
This week’s highlight: my first ever rhubarb harvest! Enough for a delicious pudding for two – as well as a novel toy for my son, Leo. And particularly satisfying as it was grown from seed planted last year.
Week 3: 15 – 21 May
Total for week = £10.85 / 475g
Harvests are improving with the warmer weather. Pea and bean shoots are particularly delicious.
Week 4: 22 – 28 May
Total for week = £8.93 / 800g
The first coriander, what a bright and cheerful herb. Delicious salads, too:
Harvest Details for May 2010
Week 1: 1 – 7 May
Saturday: 8 radishes, 40g pea shoots, 30g salad leaves
Sunday: 50g salad leaves
Monday: 30g salad leaves, 5 sprigs parsley
Tuesday: 50 g salad, 10 sprigs parsleyWednesday: 10 sprigs of mint
Friday: 40g salad leaves, 5 radishes, 5 sprigs mint
Total for week = £7.04 / 390g
Week 2: 8 – 14th May
Sunday 9th: Salad leaves (30 g), Mint (10 g), Parsley (10 g)
Monday 10th: Parsley (15g)
Wednesday 12th: Broad bean shoots (15g), salad leaves (30g)
Friday 14th: Rhubarb (195g)
Total for week = £4.49 / 310g
Week 3: 15 – 21 May
Saturday: Broad bean shoots (60g), salad (20g), herbs (20g)
Monday: Pea shoots (15g), Radishes (40g), Mint (10g)
Tuesday: Salad (40g), Thyme, mint & parsley (30g), bean shoots (25g)
Wednesday: Pea shoots (20g), Mint (20g)
Thursday: Salad (45g), Bean shoots (15g)
Friday: Salad (45g), Pea shoots (55g), Mint (10g)
Total for week = £10.85 / 475g
Week 4: 22 – 28 May
Monday: 45g salad; 65g pea shoots; 10g parsley; 15g rosemary; 10g chives
Tuesday: 130g salad; 90g pea shoots; 40g mint
Wednesday: 130g salad; 10g baby herbs (fenugreek & dill)
Thursday: 50g salad; 20g pea shoots; 10g coriander
Friday: 170g salad; 30g parsley; 20g mint; 10g coriander
Total for week = £8.93 / 800g
This is a really great project…….when I look round and see all the balconies and little bits of garden (and common land) I feel we could be self sufficient in the veg department all Summer.
Did you use any special compost or feed as I notice your crops were very close together?
I hope your little boy is a Seed Agent……he certainly qualifies with all he has learned about growing food this Summer.
Sheena – I use worm compost as the main fertiliser, but also occasionally seaweed, manure, nettle tea, comfrey tea and chicken manure pellets. I do plant the less nutrient hungry plants pretty close together – particularly the salads. If you thin them as they grow and pick the outer leaves, you can probably get higher yields this way (as long as you are growing in very fertile soil). But the heavy feeding plants like tomatoes, squash and courgettes need plenty of space and large containers if they are going to thrive. Nice to hear from the Secret Seed Society!
Very great. more people should follow the venture for fresh and home grown veggies.Good luck
Hello Mark.
Now that I’ve seen just how tight a space you are growing in vertically, I think its a brilliant experiment you are conducting. Its going to be price that persuades people the wisdom of growing vertically so orientating your experiment this way is the most persuasive as far as I’m concerned.
The higher food costs climbs (no limit to this really) the more converts there will be to vertical growing methods. I shall keep track of how much you are saving in the peak summer months and also the rather neglected winter months as well.
Good luck with the project.
Thanks v much for your comments, Liam. Yes winter on a NW balcony will be the big challenge. I’m going to rig up more plastic closhes this year to give a bit more protection and see if that helps. Would love to ask your advice at some point on how else I can improve yields in those cold months.
Am looking forward to seeing your bee video!
Mark