High Rise Gardening
| 17:01 UK time, Wednesday, 29 April 2009
The agonising wait for life? I defy any gardener to not be obsessive about checking, no matter how seasoned they are. We probably should have warned you about the wait. But then why spoil the delicious rapture? The discovery that the 'little green sprouty things' have made it, and you're on your way. Sara Cox: style icon, DJ and now veg grower, we welcome you!
But let's be honest, with the help you've had from Toby and the Gardeners' World team, your patch should be a world beater! Not everyone gets that kind of a start in their gardening lives. But it did look great and made me just a little bit jealous. Although I love my balcony, more space would go down a treat. As it is, I am severely worried for the safety of those living below me. I swear the thing started to creak under the weight of pots and window boxes full of compost the other day. Imagine the irony, passer by squashed by falling squash.
However, things are looking good so far. I have some early tomatoes planted out into grow bags now, carrots finally making an appearance (only three weeks waiting for them... get used to waiting) and my squash seedlings have taken off. I planted the two biggest out this morning and they look rather grand I have to say.
As for carrot fly, I am afraid that the pessimistic Brian is right. But fear ye not. An allotment is one thing, but virgin, newly broken soil gives you an automatic advantage. As your patch has never had so much as a whiff of carrot in the past, they won't be there waiting like the killers down on Brian's allotment.
That isn't to say they won't come of course. The best thing is to leave your carrots well alone. Hopefully you haven't planted them too close together; it's when you break the delicate roots and leaves of the plants that the scent is released, so thinning carrot seedlings is a dangerous business. There are other more extreme options, but I would suggest keeping your fingers crossed and resisting the temptation to touch your carrots until you think they are ready. But then again, how will you know if you don't have a look...?
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