Posted by Paul Godfrey | Posted in London balcony Project | Posted on 10-10-2010
Tags: autumn, balcony, cabbage, carrots, chillies, herbs, vegetables
So the summer is officially over and with the arrival of autumn comes the steady decrease in vegetables from the balcony. Just the perpetual spinach, savoy cabbage, chillies and herbs remain.
Looking back over the spring and summer it is almost impossible to overstate how much we have benefited from the balcony space not just as a place to grow food but also as a place to enjoy our free time and relax amongst the vegetation.
The success of the balcony space has come in many forms and nothing we tried has not worked on some level although some have been more fruitful than others. The first crop to be lifted and enjoyed was the round carrots, sown as early as late March we started enjoying them from early June as they really came on well in the early sun.
The thyme, sage, parsley, bay and oregano really flew along as well and have really helped in the kitchen, the rosemary has taken a little 
setback due to a bout of powdery mildew but with some care and treatment has started to flourish again once more.
The chili plant has arguably been the biggest success and is still fruiting now with well over one hundred chillies on the plant today.
Perhaps the biggest surprise has been the strawberry plant, a real snail it did not get above the rim of the pot until June but then came on strong and we are still enjoying strawberries from the plant now.
The tomato plants showed mix results while numbers where good with over one hundred tomatoes from two plants they found it hard to cope with some of the very high temperatures in June and we did have some problems with skin burn. Another problem was the type of plant I chose and next year will be going for a more bushy, smaller plant like a sweet one hundred or gardeners delight. Despite this I am calling the tomato 
crop a success as I do have several tubs of wonderful passata in the freezer.
Now it is time to think towards winter and start planning for next year. my mind is awash with ideas and I really can not wait to get started.
