Hmm, a vegetable garden on a balcony facing east. The east exposure should not be any barrier to good growing...the morning sun that is at least 4 - 6 hours directly can grow most plants that can take full or partial sun. Have you cleared such garden with the owners and your neighbors who might object to seeing such use on a ground floor. We all love plants, and color, but sometimes a vegetable garden is not considered something to show off. Reflective material may take the place of sunlight in the growing season, but it can also burn if hit directly by hot sunlight. This too can happen in winter when combined with wind. Wind is the major cause of drying out of foliage and soil causing possible major increases of water use. Further barriers to such wind should be contemplated.

Great pics everyone!!! I've been slowed down a bit lately, but will hopefully catch up with the assignments soon. Xtreme, that is what these assignments are about...trying new things and learning as we go. Laurie, the solution to get yourself out of the reflection is to use a tri-pod and the timer on your camera.....or a remote cable release. Your reflection of the Amaryllis is very good....looks like an impressionists painting. We usually get that effect with multiple exposures.....who would have known a triple pain window would work as well. :) Sierra

As long as you have moist soil in the root zone, you don't need to water. (Looking at the forecast for southern OK for the next few days, I'd say you probably won't need to water since rain is likely anyway.) Just stick your finger into the soil a couple of inches beneath the soil surface and don't water unless the soil that deep is almost completely dry. Right now, more water is the absolute last thing most veggies need--they have had more than enough. If you have very fast-draining sandy or sandy loam soil that drains very well no matter how much moisture has fallen from the sky, you might need to water. But, if your soil still feels moist, then your soil really is not that fast-draining. For what it is worth, many more veggie plants die from overwatering than from underwatering. Experienced gardeners refer to the overwatering/overfeeding syndrome as "loving your plants to death". So, hold off on the watering. Corn can tolerate some very soggy soil up to a point. In fact, corn generally doesn't "need" raised beds the way some other more moisture-sensitive plants do. Whether the corn survives or thrives in moist soil is dependent on many factors, including just how wet the soil is and how long it stays heavily saturated. I have two separate corn patches--both planted at grade level in clay soil that has been amended with organic material like compost, and both of those corn patches stalled because of the recent heavier-than-usual rainfalls. The corn in the higher patch of ground started showing visible new growth and an improvement in its coloring about this past Tuesday or so. The corn in the lower patch of ground that was much more heavily saturated has only begun to show some improvement in the last 24 hours. The only issue with sweet corn/excessive moisture at this point is that severe stunting of the plant could slow down the growth of the plant to the extent that the corn will pollinate in high temperatures and, if the temperatures are high enough, you may have issues with sterile pollen. The yellowing of the corn leaves is generally the corn plants' way of telling you they are too wet and/or cannot take up nitrogen from the soil because their roots are waterlogged or because the soil is lacking in nitrogen. It also could mean that there is nitrogen in the soil, but it can't reach the corn plants at the present time because excess water is clogging up the plant's root systems. Dawn

gmom- Yes it is a coconut. I think she split it with a saw. She had all kinds of tools for rocks as she was a rock hound. Possibly she used some of them. Scooped it out then glued it together. Painted it, glued little cork feet on it and thin leather ears. Pipe cleaner tail. Go for it!! Good luck.