I'm new to this site and I absolutely love it. Here's a question I have for you. I have a balcony on the second floor that's about 5X15(if my memory serves me right) that I think faces east. There's a tree right infront of it but I was able to have it pruned to let in a little sun. I want to grow mostly practical plants- plants you can eat, spice, or use in some other way but it all must be contained and my budget is ridiculously small, but I'm open to recycling or other improvisation. I have some seeds already growing in a seed starter: cilantro, zinnia, squash, mustard and garlic. These were mostly experiments but I have no idea what I'm going to do with them over the winter. I have virtually no quality indoor light aside from an old photography lamp. What plants should I grow and when? I'm thinking about using cut milk jugs for larger pots, will these leak any toxins that I should be aware of? How should I treat my japanese maple seedlings that came from my home in Connecticut? I feel like I'm acting quite ignorantly, partially because we also have a tree and a couple shrubs in their pots that were on clearance.
