North-Facing Window, Manchester
A phone-in with listener Gemma Whitlow, who has a cold north-facing windowsill in Manchester and wants to grow something edible. Ines builds her a realistic plan for the year.
The Three Pots Everyone Should Start With
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Show notes
The Three Pots Everyone Should Start With
For the first episode Ines keeps it to three containers: a herb pot, a cherry tomato in a 30 litre tub, and a salad trough. She explains why these three teach almost everything a beginner needs and walks through sowing a pot of basil on the balcony while recording.
- Why drainage holes matter more than the pot you choose
- The compost mix she uses and the one she avoids
- Watering by weight rather than by schedule
- Where to put each pot if your balcony only gets afternoon sun
Next week: a listener in Manchester with a north-facing windowsill and a lot of determination.
Transcript
Hola, and welcome to Balcony and Bucket. I am Ines Cabrera, and I am recording this on a fourth floor balcony in Valencia with a lemon tree behind me that has been sulking since March. This is a gardening show for people who do not have a garden. If you have a balcony, a windowsill or a fire escape, you can grow food, and today I will tell you where to begin. Not with thirty pots. With three. A herb pot, one cherry tomato in a big tub, and a salad trough. I will explain the drainage and compost mistakes that kill most first plants, and halfway through I am going to sow a pot of basil while you listen so you can hear exactly how little fuss it takes. Grab a coffee. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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