Q. I have a balcony with very little space for a garden. Can you give me some ideas for growing plants in a small space?
L.B., Fort Lauderdale
You can try growing a garden using a wood shipping pallet. Herbs and annual plants will do well using this method. It’s also a great way to recycle pallets.
You can paint the wood to enhance its appearance or leave it au naturel. Stand the pallet upright with the boards horizontal. You can use the boards from another pallet to form the bottom for each “plant shelf” you are creating. Add potting soil and your plants. If your garden is in full sun for most of the day, choose sun-loving plants. Otherwise, plant shade-tolerant or partial shade-tolerant annuals. Herbs and leaf lettuce do well in sun but do just as well if they get some shade. If your balcony is subject to salt-laden breezes, choose salt-tolerant plants.
The wood used in pallets is untreated and will rot over time. You can line the inside where the soil will be placed with thick plastic sheets with a few holes on the bottom for drainage to help preserve the wood.
Insect Samples
Send undamaged (live or dead) insects in a crush-proof container such as a pill bottle or film canister with the top taped on. Mail them in a padded envelope or box with a brief note explaining where you found the insects.
Do not tape insects to paper or place them loose in envelopes. Insect fragments or crushed insect samples are almost impossible to identify.
Send them to the address of your county extension office, found in the blue pages in the phone book under county government.
Adrian Hunsberger is an entomologist/horticulturist with the UF/IFAS Miami-Dade Extension office. Write to Plant Clinic, 18710 SW 288th St., Homestead, FL 33030; e-mail dade@ifas.ufl.edu.
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Article source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/18/2697635/growing-a-small-space-garden-in.html
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