First Planting

Well, now that there's soil out on the balcony, it doesn't seem like there's much reason to not have plants growing out there as well.
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A friend stopped by and gave me four seed potatoes he had left over, which was a mighty nice thing for him to do. Later, I went to Newfie Speed & Sport (aka Canadian Tire) and bought a few more plants - some Great Lakes Lettuce, Mesclun Mixed Greens, two tomato plants (one cherry), and a few Red Russian Kale plants.
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Photo from Spike55151 - click picture for link.

I also bought some Wave Petunias. I grew some flowers on the railing last year, but the year before I grew herbs in there and I was planning on growing herbs again this year. Then I read that plants like carrots, cucumbers, kale, peppers and radishes are dependent upon bees and other insects for pollination, so you should try to have a few flowers in between your vegetables to attract "pollinator insects." It makes sense to me. Several years ago now, when I was attending school in Alberta, I worked as a beekeeper for two summers. It was a fascinating job. I remember as well, how farmers would sometimes seek out my boss and ask him to start a bee-yard on their properties, because bees were so important in making the land produce well. The more bees hopping from plant to plant, the better things grow. Therefore, bring on the bees! In fact, I might buy a few more flowers to stick in between here and there. I have lots of little pots kicking around that I could use for flowers as well as herbs. Once I have the main garden going, we'll see about what else can be grown in between. 

I also bought one strawberry plant to fill in "the patch." I had three strawberry plants left over from last year in the one container, and it had room for one more. I actually got a lot of strawberries out of those three last year. I love strawberries, num num num, but regrettably I get an allergic reaction to them if I eat too many. Well, last year, there was always a few strawberries to pick every day and it didn't take more than a couple of weeks and I must have eaten too many. Wham! I broke out - just in time for guests from out of town to arrive too! Still, who can have a garden without strawberries? It would be an abomination! I'd like to grow more actually, and try to do other things with them than just pluck and eat them fresh, although that's pretty good too. They're fairly easy to grow and I could have more by getting a hanger or something that holds multiple pots and attaching it to one of the pillars on the side of the balcony. Another thing for next year's garden - these four will have to suffice for this year.