I started a balcony garden 3 summers ago when I lived in a perfectly-situated south west corner apartment. All day sun exposure allowed me to grow tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, basil, more basil, even more basil, Thai red chili peppers, and green beans. Last May, I downsized to an apartment with a dismal northern exposure. I grew nothing last summer, instead taking note of what limited sunlight my balcony received.

Mere days after the official start of Spring, the weather cooperated enough do a few hours of weekend gardening. I pulled out a few dusty pots, opened a fresh bag of dirt, and dug in (pun intended). I planted romaine and spinach from seed and potted a starter-cilantro (an impulse buy from Home Depot). We’ll get these little guys going with the use of a grow light inside for a few weeks, then hopefully move everything outside by the end of April. While I won’t be able to grow full-sun plants like tomatoes and bell peppers this year, I can still grow something.

Home Depot was filled with people grabbing gardening supplies early this afternoon, so I imagine that we weren’t the only ones feeling the urge to get dirty. Did anyone else take advantage of the early spring weather to do any garden/yard work? What do you look forward to planting? Any tips on what a north-facing balcony with limited direct sunlight starting in June can grow?