I got a mint plant from B&Q in Taoyuan, not sure if it was the right kind of mint, but it grew like crazy in our kitchen window, until we went on a weeks holiday…
Papaya trees are about the easiest trees to grow. I have three of them in my garden, one of them in a large container on my roof. I bought mine as a seedling. Ask around for the dwarf variety, they’re easier to manage as they grow. I am in Taichung, so I don’t know where you’d find them in Taipei.
Happy growing.
Used to have a balcony that had good sunlight. I bought some containers and cherry tomato seedlings. When they started to produce, I was so pleased. Then, I discovered that everytime a Taiwanese female friend would visit (ya - I do have some) the tomatoes would disappear. Even the green ones would be devoured. Hell, it can’t be hunger. Just seems that some people can’t resist home - soon to be grown - food. I replanted with poseys. Nice to look at but, I never did get a tomato.
EDIT: BTW. if you try this with tomatoes in a highrise, I found that I had to pollinate with an old toothbrush from one flower to the other. I didn’t get much, soon to dissapear fruit, until I hand pollinated. No joke intended.
We bought a house with a rooftop last fall, which means two things: barbecue and gardening. We’ve got a few tomato plants, a sweet red pepper, hot chili pepper, giant mint bush, tarragon, basil, carrots, roses other flowers, a miniature orange tree and strawberries. The carrots and other flowers are from seeds, all others from seedlings/plants. So far, everything’s growing like crazy.
We’re very fortunate to have a nice 3 foot overhanging roof up there, which I place all the plants under, so they get plenty of sun but don’t get drenched by the pouring rain. Not too hot now so I only water them every couple of days, but I’m sure in a month or two they’ll require once or twice daily waterings. And, I’ll leave town in August for over a week and suspect my wife won’t water enough then, so they’ll be near death when I return. But for now, things are looking great. 
We’ve now got several kinds of basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, daikons, cherry radishes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, colored corn, cat grass and a bunch of other stuff growing. The daikons and radishes do well if you check them meticulously every day for butterfly eggs and caterpillars. If you don’t, they will be completely shredded and destroyed. The caterpillars don’t touch the other stuff. Now we’re planting broccoli and cabbage, and next we’re going to try strawberries, Brussel sprouts and other kinds of tomatoes and basil.
The Neihu flower market and BlankOrangeSpace (fka B&Q) normally have mint. At the former it can be found just outside the market, on the western edge, along with other herbs.
So where are the invites to the bbq? 
On a more serious note, where do you get the soil from? Flower pot soil doesn’t really do the job imho and most of the bagged stuff here is that or worse.
I got potting soil from B&Q that wasn’t particularly good: light brown colored and very dry and lightweight. I got a big bag of Canadian soil from Jienguo flower market that was much better: dark, heavy, moist, with white pellets in it. The plants seem happy.
As for mint, basil, thyme, tarragon and other herbs, there’s one stall in Jienguo flower market with a very nice selection of big healthy plants.
I’m curious where Jaboney got his blueberries. I’d like to give them a try.
Pictures?
Papaya trees are about the easiest trees to grow. I have three of them in my garden, one of them in a large container on my roof. I bought mine as a seedling. Ask around for the dwarf variety, they’re easier to manage as they grow. I am in Taichung, so I don’t know where you’d find them in Taipei.
Happy growing.[/quote]
Back home, we have the belief/idea that papaya trees attract lighting. 
There are male papaya trees and female papaya trees.
Back home, planting a papaya tree in your home, is considered inauspicious and it is said the family almost always falls into ruin.
There’s a large plant market on Wenlin North Road in shihlin, in front of Wenlin Elementary School, near the corner of Mingde road. A few of the 20-odd shops specialize in trees, and a few have several kinds of mint and other spices.
Ok, I’ll start, but don’t laugh, the season is just beginning. These are works in progress.
Started these carrots from seed. Tiny seeds, planted too close, will need to thin them, but they’re doing fine.
Mint & basil (soooo aromatic 
)
'maters, maybe 4X the size when I bought them, two weeks ago. Need to buy more soil this weekend for #3.
I randomly spread seeds of different herbs in all my flower pots a few weeks ago. So far only the marjoram has surfaced and tiny tiny thyme (but its still too small to tell, could be some other weed). Still waiting for lavender, rosemary and basil. Got a half-dead mint plant a month ago. Is now growing really fast. Seems to like this climate.
Which other herbs are most easy to grow on a very sunny and hot balcony? Any recommendations?
for those of us with small cluttered balconies this maybe worth considering http://www.windowfarms.org/
Nice pics MT.
The plants are all doing great. Tomatos are now three times the size shown above, with a half dozen small 'maters. Picked a handful of basil and threw it in with some pasta and tomato sauce (not my tomatos) topped off with fresh grated parmesan for dinner tonight.
And, been trying all kinds of ways to get rid of the mint, which is growing like crazy. Mixed in with chopped mangos and yellow kiwi last night topped off with HaagenDaz summer berry flavor ice cream. :lick:
And I’m exploring for other mint recipes. (If anyone has any i’d love to hear them.)
But I’m really looking forward to mint juleps next weekend. Here’s one basic recipe that looks pretty easy. Should go nicely with a rooftop bbq.
[quote]Ingredients
* 2 fluid ounces Early Times® Kentucky Whisky
* 1 tablespoon simple syrup
* Mint sprigs
* Crushed ice
*
* Simple Syrup:
* 1 cup water
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 bunch fresh mint sprigs
Directions
- Crush a few mint leaves in the bottom of an 8-oz. glass, then fill with crushed ice. Add one tablespoon of simple syrup and one tablespoon of water. Add 2 ounces of Early Times. Stir gently until glass frosts. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig, sip and enjoy.
- Simple syrup directions: Combine sugar and water. Boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Pour mix over a handful of mint leaves, and gently crush the mint with a spoon. Refrigerate overnight in a closed jar. Remove mint leaves, but continue to refrigerate. Stays fresh for several weeks.[/quote]
Lookin’ good, MT!
At the store fka B&Q, they also sell steel frames which hang over the edge of your balcony wall that can take a planter tray or pots, and also pots which can hang from a hook, screw or nail in the wall, so you can add quite a bit of planting space to a small balcony. I’ll put up some pics later showing some of ours.
Good job MT.
The main herbs I am trying to grow are:
Parsley, Chives, fennel, thyme and hopefully bay leaves.
I already have rosemary and basil.
I’m psyched. We bought a mango tree today. We won’t have any fruit this summer, but hopefully next year. In any event, I think it’s a great looking tree and I just love the idea of having my own mango tree.
Got it at JianGuo flower market. They’ve also got guava trees, grapes, figs (I was tempted by those as they appear to bear a lot of fruit), lemons, peaches, cherries, etc. We also got another tree with large fragrant white flowers. And we’re still strongly considering a banana tree. I wouldn’t expect it to bear fruit on our roofop, and don’t care if it doesn’t, because I just want it for the cool tropical look and the little shade and privacy it will provide.
Anyway, I’ll show a pic of the mango tree one of these days.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]I got potting soil from B&Q that wasn’t particularly good: light brown colored and very dry and lightweight. I got a big bag of Canadian soil from Jianguo flower market that was much better: dark, heavy, moist, with white pellets in it. The plants seem happy.
As for mint, basil, thyme, tarragon and other herbs, there’s one stall in Jianguo flower market with a very nice selection of big healthy plants.
I’m curious where Jaboney got his blueberries. I’d like to give them a try.[/quote]
Hi MT,
Do you mind telling me where in Jianguo Market you found the Canadian soil? The only potting mixes I’ve found here have been very lightweight-not much to them.