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James and I had toyed with the idea of making window boxes and growing flowers and herbs in small pots for a few years but we were always turned off by the cost and the fact that I have a track record of killing everything green I touch. I even made us a fake window box so we could enjoy the idea of flowers without the effort. That window box was awesome and other than being a little bit dirty, it was exactly the same a year later as when I put it out there. Winner!
Anyway, off we went to The Reject Shop and Daiso and way over-bought on supplies. We didn’t end up having enough potting mix so we did a second trip and bought a lot more tiny pots too. I can’t say no to cute pots!
Basically all you really need for this project is potting mix, a window box and seeds but James was really into it so we also bought a lot of matching accessories etc too. It was a really fun way to spend an afternoon putting it all together!
We began with a pre packaged strawberry kit.
The basic premise is the same for all of them:
1. Line the bottom of the pots with empty tea bags so dirt doesn’t fall out of the holes. (Not necessary if you don’t live in an apartment.)
2. Fill the pot with potting mix.
3. Add fertiliser. We used Blood and Bone which sounds super gross but is apparently very good for plants. Eww.
4. Mix the fertiliser through the top 5cm and wet the dirt the appropriate amount for the particular seeds. It should say on the back of the packet how wet they need to be.
5. Sprinkle the seeds in and poke them down into the dirt. Seeds need to be under at different depths depending on the plant so refer to your packet again for this.
That particular one was a big strawberry making kit. I don’t suggest growing strawberries, they take FOREVER and are really fussy. Ours still haven’t even sprouted so I’m considering just replacing them with some other pre-grown plants from Bunnings. I did that once when we were living in Brisbane, but they may or may not have died due to neglect… Then James brought them back to life! But then I killed them again. I’m so glad Lottie asks for food and water and doesn’t just sit there and die like a stupid strawberry plant.
Before we started filling the big window box, James poked holes through the plastic so we could put the hooks in. You can just place the box on the hooks but seeing as we’re very high up I wanted to be extra sure it wasn’t going to fall on someone below.
If you’re going to try this out make sure to buy potting mix not just regular dirt as it apparently is blended for use with potted plants rather than just outside plants.
Lottie wanted to help put the dirt into the big one. I’m just imagining her thinking “OMG our house smells like outside!”.
 
We picked out the plants to put in the big window box alternating between herbs/food and flowers. The smaller other window boxes are both also flowers and then all of the little pots inside are a mix of all the left over seeds.
 
Lottie has been really into the garden in general actually, she likes to sit and stare at them at the window. Sometimes there are a few little flies around them which she chases too, it’s so cute.
Then it was just a matter of actually planting them!
 
And of course giving them the first drink of water.
I used MT Tape and some blank name plates from Daiso to make little signs for each pot.
After that was all done we hung the big boxes off the balcony.
And I put the white fencing back up again.
We left all of the inside pots next to the window so they could get some sun and fresh air easily.
It was just a matter of waiting then… I really hate waiting. During the wait I regretted buying seeds and wished I had just bought actual plants and repotted them >_>
First to sprout was the radish.
Then chives…
Gypsophila…
And everything else followed soon after!
Almost all of them have sprouted now, we’re just waiting on Lemon Balm, Snapdragons, Chilli, Strawberries and Swan River Daisies. All of those ones have much longer germinations times though and the wait is killing me!
The Coriander is the tallest out of everything at the moment, it looks like a mini forest!
My personal favorite is the radish though and it’s the quickest to grow, the entire area is covered now!
We’re waiting for the little pots to grow big enough that they can be put all around the apartment and really brighten things up.
I love waking up and seeing the progress that all of the plants have made! I think it will be really exciting once they get big enough to cook with!
So there you go! We haven’t killed anything yet and it’s definitely providing a lot of entertainment! Have you guys ever grown a garden? What did you grow? What else should we put in ours? |
