Throughout its history, man independently obtained his own food by hunting, fishing, gathering or farming. Nowadays, for most people, these ways of obtaining food have become just a hobby, since food in great abundance can always be purchased at the store. But making your own food can also be a source of health, safety, and enjoyment for you and your family.
Determine which crops are available in your area. The main determining factors are, of course, the climate, soil, rainfall and available area. The easiest and fastest way to find out what crops can be grown in your area is to visit the nearest farm or vegetable garden. Here is a list of the main questions that you should find answers to if you are planning to start your own vegetable garden:
Understand how the growing season is organized. Growing food is not just about planting seeds and harvesting. Further, in the section cultivation we will tell you about the main stages of growing a particular crop. The process of preparing crops for planting is pretty much the same, but it is important to consider that you will have to prepare each crop separately, but, importantly, you can plant as many crops as you want.
Get to know different types of cultures. At the word vegetables You must have imagined the vegetable section of the supermarket. To some extent, you are right, but if you decide to produce your own food, you will need to provide for your entire diet and here you will not be limited to one supermarket. Here is a rough list of the crops you are most likely to choose to grow.
Choose crops and varieties that suit the climate in your area. It is impossible to provide detailed and accurate information for each specific region in this article. Therefore, we will consider only the basic requirements for growing various plants in accordance with their growing regions recommended by the US Department of Agriculture, which will allow you to roughly compare and evaluate the germination ability of certain crops in your region.
Develop a planting plan for your site. When planning, you will need to take into account many important details, such as: wildlife invasion, which may require the installation of a fence or fence, open access to sunlight, since some crops require more sunlight than others to good growth, and topography, because sowing on too embossed soils can lead to many troubles.
Consider storage options. If you're going to grow crops, you'll need barns to keep your crops dry and safe from insects and rodents. If you are going to produce food for your own consumption, then it is better to consider a combined system for storing and preserving your crop. So, the main ways to store the crop:
Compare costs and benefits. On initial stage you will have to make a considerable financial investment, especially if you are starting from scratch and do not have any equipment. In addition, growing food also involves a large physical cost, which in turn can also lead to financial costs if you leave your work in order to achieve your intended goal. Before investing a lot of money and time, evaluate the profitability of your project, local climatic conditions, an affordable choice of crops and realistically assess your physical capabilities. Your main benefit will be healthy food free of herbicides, pesticides and other additives, except for those that you decide to use.
Get started step by step. If you have at your disposal fertile land And good equipment, then you can start large-scale production, but remember that until you have sufficient knowledge and skills, the selection desired crops suitable for your land and climate will become a game of cat and mouse. Often communicating with experienced people in your area is the best source accurate information about which plants to choose and at what time to plant, and if you do not have this opportunity, then in the first year, limit yourself to a trial planting of selected crops to see if they bear fruit well. Start small, plant a small percentage of your total food requirement in order to estimate the amount you can harvest and develop your skills.
Plow the land. If the land has already been cultivated, then it will be enough to loosen it and cultivate it with a plow attached to a draft animal or tractor, and if the plot is smaller, then with a motor cultivator. On a very small plot or with limited funds, you will have to do everything the old fashioned way with a pick, shovel and hoe. It is best if someone will help you, because the process is long and laborious. Before you start plowing the soil, you need to clear it of stones, roots and branches, large shrubs and weeds.
Dig up the beds. With modern agricultural equipment, this process depends on the type of crop being planted. Here we consider the general methods that a person without such equipment and experience would use. To prepare the beds, you first need to mark the area for planting, and then, using a hoe or plow, create from loose soil low mounds. Then, using the tool of your choice, create shallow holes in the garden.
Place the seeds in the hole at the depth indicated in the instructions. It may depend on the culture you choose. As a rule, fleshy plants such as cucurbits (beans and peas) and melons, squash and cucumbers are planted at a depth of 2-2.5 cm, and corn and potatoes are planted at a depth of 6-9 cm. After you have placed the seeds into the hole, sprinkle them with earth and compact (lightly patting with the palm of your hand) so that the hole does not dry out too quickly. Continue this procedure until you have the planned number of beds.
Hill up your plants when the ground is compacted by watering or rain and weed out. By planting the plants in beds, you leave yourself the opportunity to move between them to perform these tasks (in the event that you do everything manually). You will need to be extremely careful in order to loosen the soil near the plant itself without damaging its roots. Mulch can be used to reduce or even eliminate weeds.
Make sure that insects and animals do not damage your crops. If you notice eaten leaves, you will need to identify the cause. Many animals prefer tender young shoots of the main vegetation, so you will need to protect your plantings from them, but the main problem when growing food is insects. If there are few of them, then they can simply be removed from the shoots or destroyed, but if the problem is very acute, then you will most likely have to resort to the help of special chemicals and species protection (plant nearby plants that repel insects).
To grow these culinary-indispensable plants at home, you can use either the bottom with roots (the lower white part, which we usually cut and throw away), or the whole bulb. To do this, you need to put them in glass jar With a small amount water and put on the windowsill, where the onion will receive the sunlight it needs. After a while, the first feathers will appear, which, as they grow, can be cut off and added to food. Thus, you will always have fresh herbs at hand - most importantly, do not forget to add water to the jar once a week.
The fragrant citrus spice cymbopogon or lemongrass is essentially a perennial herb, so it should be grown like any other herb. After using the stem, do not throw away the root - place it in a jar of water and expose to light. In a week, the cymbopogon will sprout and it will need to be transplanted into the ground. When the sorghum stalk grows to about 30 cm in length, it can be cut and dried.
AnastasiaR/Flickr.com These vegetables can be grown at home from the remains of their hard, thickened stems. To do this, you need to pour water into a shallow cup and place the stump in it with the roots down. Celery, bok choy, romaine lettuce and are very moisture-loving, so do not forget to add water to them. After a few days, you will notice that roots and new leaves will appear, and after another week, the plants can be planted in the ground.
Fluffymuppet/Flickr.com To grow at home, you need a piece of fresh and smooth ginger root with a couple of live kidneys. If the root is too dry, it can be kept in warm water for a while. It is necessary to plant ginger in a pot or box with earth with the kidneys up. The ideal conditions for this plant are a warm, humid, bright place, but without direct sunlight. In addition to the fact that ginger is tasty and healthy, it is also beautiful (somewhat reminiscent of reeds), so it can be grown even for decorative purposes.
1sock/Flickr.com Many townspeople simply twitch at the phrase “plant potatoes” - it’s easier to buy than to “hump” in the country all summer. And in vain, because this vegetable can be grown right at home. To do this, you will need one small potato with "eyes". It must be cut into several pieces and left at room temperature for a couple of days so that it dries and does not rot in the ground after planting. It is recommended to plant in well-fertilized soil. At the same time, it must be buried to a depth of at least 20 cm, so make sure that the planting dishes are large and deep enough.
Crispin Semmens/Flickr.com Growing garlic is very simple: take one or two cloves with roots and stick them into the ground in a warm, bright place. When the root system is strengthened, garlic will give the first shoots. They need to be cut in a timely manner so that they do not take away "energy" and do not interfere with the formation of the bulb.
Alice Henneman/Flickr.com Oddly enough, at home it is quite easy to get a crop of a “tear” vegetable: take an onion, cut off the bottom with roots and plant it in moist soil. loves the sun, so choose a warm place for him.
The rules for planting and growing sweet potatoes are almost the same as for regular ones. We take a tuber and send it to moist soil. After a week, the sweet potato will sprout, and when the leaves reach 10 cm, they can be cut, and next, at a distance of 25–30 cm, plant another plant. Just make sure that slugs do not get on the whips - they are very fond of sweet potatoes. And then in 4 months you will have juicy sweet potatoes.
It is difficult to grow at home, as they need special conditions - high humidity, special temperature, ventilation and lighting. For their planting, the so-called mycelium is needed, that is, germinated spores of fungi. The mushroom picker is placed in a substrate (a mixture of oats, millet, rye, barley and other cereals), where it takes the form of thin white threads, from which mushrooms then grow. Attention: for successful growth, mushrooms need 95% humidity and a temperature of no more than 20 ºС. In addition, during ripening, mushrooms release a strong allergen into the air, so experts do not recommend growing mushrooms in an apartment. The ideal option is a plot near the house or, in extreme cases, a balcony.
shawnleishman/Flickr.com But turning your home into a tropical "island", on the contrary, is quite simple. It is enough to cut off the top with leaves (do not forget to clean out the pulp, otherwise the plant will rot) and place it in a glass of water. Soon roots will appear on the outlet, which means that the pineapple is ready for planting. Remove a few lower leaves and stick the socket into the ground about 2-3 centimeters. This fruit is quite unpretentious, it easily tolerates direct sunlight and high temperature. The main thing is not to forget about regular watering. After 1-2 months, young sprouts will appear on the pineapple - this means that the cutting has taken root, and after a couple of years you can harvest the first crop.
Your success in home gardening depends on many factors - weather, soil, the quality of "seedlings" and, of course, on how carefully and carefully you will treat your green "pets". You may get bored very quickly with all these pots on the windowsill, but it's still worth a try - let your children see with their own eyes how onions, cabbage and potatoes grow.
You can save a lot of money by growing these foods at home.
Growing plants from seeds is correct and logical, but it is truly unusual to grow vegetables and fruits from their remains. Does it take more time? Yes. Does it make going to the store easier? Definitely! Let's get started then?
Green onions are the easiest thing you can grow at home. Change the water every day, and you will see the result in a week.
2. You can grow garlic sprouts (they are edible) from a garlic clove.
Or you can use just the garlic itself after it has grown.
3. You can grow a variety of romaine lettuce from the bottom.
Lettuce does not require soil to grow, but if you do grow it in soil, its leaves will be twice as large. By the same principle, you can grow cabbage.
4. Try sprouting carrot tops using only the top of the carrots.
At first glance, it looks more like a school experiment than what you're about to eat. Carrot tops can be slightly bitter, but you can chop some garlic into them, add vinegar and honey to sweeten them.
The supply of basil can be literally endless. Change the water as often as possible so that the plant does not become covered with mucus.
6. Lemongrass also grows from the bottom of its stem...
The bottom of the lemongrass stem is too hard to cook, so it can be used to grow new stock without having to throw away half of the plant. Leave the lemongrass pieces in the water for about three weeks. When you see that the roots have appeared, then transplant them into the soil and place them on a sunny windowsill.
7. ... like celery.
Looks strange, right? Leave part of the celery in the water for three days, then be sure to transplant it into the soil.
8. But the onion germinates from the bottom of the bulb.
It seems strange that you can just cut off part of the bulb, plant it in the soil, and after a while, something magical will happen.
It is grown in the same way as celery.
10. A small tree grows from an avocado seed.
A stone can only germinate from a ripe fruit, but before planting, the stone must be removed from the fruit. Growing avocados requires a lot of attention. In order for the first avocados to germinate, the plant will need from 5 to 13 years. If you are confident and have a lot of free time, then why not?
For this:
11. Sweet potatoes sprout from which new fruits will appear.
Sweet potatoes grow from shoots, not from seeds or potato pieces like white potatoes do. Sweet potatoes can be grown in both water and soil (only half of the tuber should remain in the soil).
To grow in water, place the tuber in a cup of water, but poke both sides wooden sticks(you can toothpicks) and then it will begin to grow faster. You can put a cup, both on the window and on the refrigerator - there will be no difference in the growth of the plant. When grown in water, you can get about 50 shoots from one tuber.
Over time, he will need much more space.
In the soil, potatoes also grow quite quickly. It is much more convenient to grow potatoes in the garden. If the regrown potato leaves lie in the soil for a long time, then later they can also bear fruit. These leaves can be eaten, because. they are edible and you can find recipes for making them. But when growing outside, don't forget that potatoes are very sensitive to cold.
Shoots can germinate only after a few months and only after a year expect a harvest, but at least this venture will not require special expenses.
Prepare a few rhizomes that already have buds. You will notice greenish shoots at the tops of the rhizomes. Roots should be large and healthy. Cut them into pieces so that each of them has a process. If they dry out, they most likely won't germinate. Soak ginger in water overnight.
Fill the pot with soil and plant the rhizomes upside down. Lightly press the rhizomes into the soil and pour some water. If you live in a cold climate, put the pot on sunny side, and sat down in a hot one, then on a shady one. Ginger is a tropical plant and loves the heat, but it does not tolerate too much sun in this climate.
Water the plant periodically and be patient. It may take quite a long time (from 3 months) before the first sprouts appear.
13. Try growing a pineapple from its top.
That's right, you can grow a pineapple right at home, but it will take about 3 years.
Step 1. Purchase a mature pineapple from any grocery store that has healthy, green leaves (not yellow or brown) and a golden brown skin. Your best bet is to try and grow two pineapples just in case one of them doesn't germinate. If you decide that you bought too many pineapples than you can eat, then just cut them and freeze them. Frozen pineapples taste great!
Prepare the top. Take the whole top with all the leaves and twisting try to pluck it with a small part of the stem (If you just cut off the top, you will have to remove all excess fruit pulp, otherwise the rotting processes can kill the whole fruit). After separating the stem, carefully slice off small, horizontal sections from the bottom of the top until you see the root buds, which look like small dots or circles on the cut surface. Cut as little as possible to avoid cutting off the base, which should then sprout. Once the top is done, let it dry for a couple of days before moving on to the next step.
Let the roots grow from the top. Place the top in a clear glass vase of water and change the water every few days. Place the vase further away in a neutral temperature location (not too hot or too cold), such as on top of a refrigerator. After three weeks, you should be able to see the germinating root.
Step 4 As soon as the roots appear, transplant the pineapple into a clay pot with soil mixture, at the bottom of which there should be perlite. Clay pot 45 cm in diameter with drainage system would be ideal for this. The layer of perlite should be approximately 5 cm at the bottom of the pot before adding the mixture.
The soil should always be slightly damp (not wet, which will start rotting, and not dry). It will take 6 to 8 weeks for the stem to emerge and strong roots begin to sprout. Don't speed up this process.
Over time, you will begin to notice that the leaves that were originally on the pineapple will begin to die off and turn brown, but new ones will grow to replace them. Cut off dead leaves throughout the year, and water the pineapple no more than once a week. If they grow, then everything is going as it should. As soon as a year has passed, the plant will need to be transplanted.
Step 5. Transplant.
When transplanting, avoid getting soil between the leaves. As the pineapple and its roots grow, it will also need to be transplanted into an even larger pot.
In winter, pineapple stops growing, but with the onset of spring, growth should resume. If this does not happen, then gently pull it out of the soil and check the roots. Change the soil mixture if necessary.
Pineapple is a tropical plant and cold temperatures can easily kill it.
Pineapples need at least 6 hours of bright light each day. IN summer time, put the plant on the sunny side of the windowsill or even in the garden.
"You are what you eat" - today, with the dominance of chemistry in Food Industry and the spread of genetic modification, this phrase of Hippocrates is more relevant than ever. You can feel completely safe, perhaps, only by growing vegetables and fruits on your own. Of course, environmentally clean products grown in the city cannot be named, but they are always at hand, pleasing to the eye with greenery, and sometimes flowers, and give pleasant moments of communication with nature. And, secondly, in the current economic situation, this will help save on products.
Fortunately, growing food at home is quite simple and very exciting. You don’t even need seeds, because many plants can be grown from their own remains.
To begin with, a very inspiring example of how you can grow 2,700 kg of food per year on just 400 m2 (4 acres), provide food for 4 adults and earn an income of $ 20,000 per year! How a family of 4 became almost completely resource independent of the System. Of course, not everyone has 4 acres of land, but this example is very revealing, it can show perspective and expand your views on the opportunities that you have or that you can find. Further in the article there will be many examples of how you can grow food in your apartment, on a balcony, on a house adjoining site in the city, in flower beds, etc.
For those people who do not have their own plot, or there is not enough space on the plot to grow vegetables, there is a great idea - growing food in an apartment on a balcony or on a plot near the house.
You will probably be surprised, but even in a city apartment, on the balcony you can grow a lot of various food.
Pensioner Zinaida Chistopolova has been growing greens and vegetables on the balcony in a high-rise building for 17 years:
But such a garden in the city was arranged by Heinrich Galustyan:
Vegetable gardens planted on the roofs of Paris (news):
THE CUBA ORGANIC GREEN REVOLUTION (about the urban gardens and gardens of Cuba). CUBA IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE WORLD THAT DID NOT HAVE OIL! The orchards being created in Cuba are an example of how a horticultural system can be created to feed all people without compromising environment How can everyone (each family) independently provide themselves with food.
Washington. Urban gardening in the American capital:
Grower from Toronto. On the roof of a modest three-story house in Toronto's Parkdale neighborhood, the caring hands of city dweller Gayla Trail are growing a little paradise. When Gayla isn't tending her plants, she posts her thoughts on her You Grow Girl website. Its goal is to change people's attitude towards gardening. Gala inspires many people to grow plants in the city in free places, she launched a whole movement.
"Gangster Gardener Ron Finley and Guerrilla Gardening in South Central". Ron Finley is a revolutionary gardener from Los Angeles. He grows vegetables and fruits right on his front lawn and plans to open a chain of restaurants healthy eating countrywide.
His perspective on the production of natural products in his own hands is interesting, and his experience in this area deserves attention and repetition on a global scale.
He is a great speaker and is often invited to take part in various events. One of Ron's speeches took place recently at the TED site in California and immediately became an event, and individual quotes from his speech turned into motivators.
He managed to convey to the audience the depth of the problem of healthy eating in cities and offer his own version of its solution.
Gardens on the roofs of houses and in courtyards are Venezuela's anti-crisis plan proposed by the country's president.
An important note about planting plants in the city : plants that you plan to eat are best planted and harvested in places far from highways and other places where there is a large accumulation of exhaust gases. Substances from exhaust gases settle on plants and soil (this is the entire periodic table), and all these substances, when these plants are eaten, will enter your body, which is undesirable and even dangerous for your health!
Another great example of how you can grow food on the balcony of a city apartment is shown by Mikhail, the owner of a very prolific balcony garden and the blog "Garden on the Balcony", in which he shares his experience and knowledge in the field of balcony gardening.
You can see what Mikhail's balcony garden looks like in this video:
Here is a short interview of Mikhail for the site www.my-dream-garden.ru:
- Mikhail, please tell our readers, first of all - what is a "garden on the balcony"?
- First I want to note - on the balcony you can grow absolutely any fruit and vegetable crops, from fruit trees- to mushrooms and herbs and herbs. The main thing: you need to choose the right agricultural technology and create optimal climatic conditions - light, day length, watering, temperature and humidity. And also prepare the right substrate and choose containers right size for growing certain crops.
When should you start preparing for the new season? This year, of course, it's too late, but next year our readers will already be fully armed!
- I start preparing for the new season in February. I go to garden shops and centers, buying pots, substrate, fertilizers and, of course, seeds. There are still few people in these departments, although the assortment is also not as large as in the season. But you can always buy something later.
Each plant has its own growing season, sowing time and planting seedlings. Strawberries need to be sown early - in early February, and tomatoes - on the contrary, closer to April, when there is already enough light. And greens and cucumbers can be sown in the summer. Also, such a factor affects the timing of sowing - when exactly can you transfer the garden from the windowsill in the apartment to the balcony? If the balcony is glazed, then they sow earlier, if not, then it is better to wait. Based on these dates, you need to determine the time of sowing. I mark out on paper in advance which crops will grow and where, in what containers. Based on this, I form the procurement budget.
What is the minimum size of a balcony to grow an acceptable amount of vegetables? What is the best position for a balcony?
– The minimum size of a balcony can be anything, from 1-2 square meters. You can grow vegetables on the windowsill, but it's still extreme conditions for most vegetables, so it is better to plant on the balcony. It is desirable that the sun illuminates the balcony for most of the day. In the latitudes of Moscow, this is the southern, southeastern or southwestern side. It is advisable to place all landings closer to the wall of the house, since this is the most illuminated part of the balcony.
How to choose the right varieties of vegetables for planting?
On the balcony, I prefer to grow full-fledged varieties and hybrids for open ground and greenhouses, rather than mini versions. In pots of 5-7 liters in size, tomatoes and eggplants, bell peppers and cucumbers normally grow and bear fruit. BUT, the substrate must be rich in nutrients, and you need to feed regularly.
It is advisable to sow early ripe varieties and hybrids, such plants will begin to bear fruit faster and are more likely to get a crop before the onset of heat or the appearance of pests and diseases. You also need to take into account the size of the balcony and the area of \u200b\u200bglazing. For 1 sq. meter, it is desirable to plant no more than 4 tomato bushes, since dense planting, together with a limited supply area and one-sided lighting, are not the best agrotechnical conditions. At the same time, you can actively use compacted plantings: for example, under a tall tomato, you can put a pot with a mini-tomato or herbs. You need to experiment, not being afraid to break the rules and regulations, but the decision should still be based on common sense.
- Here, of course, many readers will have doubts - will it not turn out that growing vegetables in small containers on the balcony will require an excessive amount of fertilizer?
- Since the volume of the substrate is limited, then proper feeding essential for a good harvest. I use mineral fertilizers, I prefer Fertika - this is the former Kemira. I breed in a container of 250 ml, and then I add this solution in the proportion of 250 ml per 20 liters of irrigation water when watering every 2 weeks.
You can use any fertilizer, mineral and organic, it's just convenient for me to work with such a fertilizer, I know the exact dosage and I'm not afraid to overfeed. In general, when growing vegetables in containers, it is better to underfeed the plants than to overfeed them. The use of fertilizers is absolutely safe for humans, naturally, within the limits recommended by the manufacturer.
- Mikhail, how is the issue of watering solved in your garden? Still, in small containers, the soil dries out very quickly. And if people want to go on vacation for a couple of weeks?
- I water my vegetables only in the pan, so I'm not afraid of overflows, the plants take as much moisture as they need. Upper layer the substrate is always dry, there is no mold, fungi, midges. The substrate remains loose, and the roots do not lack air. The lump of the substrate does not seize, remains loose and evenly filled with moisture. So I recommend watering all crops on the balcony, even decorative flowers.
You are right, unfortunately, you can’t leave the garden for a long time, I water it almost every day in the evenings during the season. But if you install an automatic irrigation system, it is better to drip (for example, this option) - then you can leave the planting of the day for 3-4. It is possible to extend the period without watering by increasing the volume of the substrate, adding agrogel, organizing wick watering, etc. In any case, the gardener makes the final decision.
You can see what harvest Mikhail is harvesting in his balcony garden
One more example - garden on the balcony in Moscow
At Lelya Zhvirblis in Krylatskoye in Moscow, strawberries, basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, chard, lavender grow on the balcony.
The trays are made from pallets by her husband Andrei Zhvirblis. Such a wonderful eco-family comes from EcoLoft on Pyatnitskaya.
This mini-garden is a shady balcony overlooking a noisy street, which Lely has been decorating for the third year.
In balcony boxes bacopa, begonia, mountaineer (I think capitate), davallia, ficus pumila, ivy. Seeds planted something and curly parsley.
A pallet from a supermarket nearby, knocked together and processed by Andre and Lely. There is all sorts of yummy: oregano, strawberries, rosemary, thyme and salads incl. purslane covering the roots.
In the corner lives and winters girlish grapes with ivy-shaped bud.
The corner with pots turned out quite by accident (freaked out): hydrangea, teacher Lely's beans - Eckart and other edible ones from Germany (chard, salads, spinach).
Here is such a variegated balcony garden!
Now the garden is very fragrant, and bright-smelling plants such as lavender / thyme / oregano and the same marigolds drive away pests.
More Mini Garden Ideas
9 balcony garden ideas:
To increase the amount of space for planting plants, you can use the option of a vertical garden. This is a very good idea for planting various greens.
Here are examples vertical beds and gardens:
How to make a vertical garden on the balcony with your own hands you can see here:
Garden-anti-crisis in bags, pots, packages - 7 options:
How to create a home garden (in English, but everything is clear and so on the video series):
How to turn a lawn into a self-sustaining vegetable garden in 60 days
Photographer Luke Keegan decided to plant vegetables on his lawn and photographed the whole process of becoming beds. As a result, there were so many crops that Luke had to give away part of it for free. Inspired by the results, all the neighbors followed suit.
Luke, an ordinary wedding photographer from Oakland, USA, at some point decided to become a gardener. After several consultations at the local farming club and some wise advice from friends well versed in sustainable agriculture, he decided to start his own vegetable garden.
With typical meticulousness for a photographer, he began to document his every move.
From the lining of the shed, he knocked together warm raised beds, the neighbors gave him soil and compost for free.
All of his plants were grown from seed. An irrigation system was laid to the beds.
“You can’t imagine how many people, having seen my beds, began to stop and communicate with me. They started bringing me seeds from different crops, I got to know my whole area,” says Luke.
For two years, the beds gave bountiful harvest without any signs of slowing down. Luke put up a "Vegetables Free" sign at his place to hand out vegetables to neighbors.
You can find out more about Luke on his page at Facebook.
"Princess Gardens": how to create a garden in the city with the help of the townspeople
More than twenty years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall, but the capital of Germany still amazes with an abundance of undeveloped wastelands. One of these places in the Kreuzberg region attracted two enthusiasts who decided to turn a piece of land abandoned for several decades into a flowering garden. “Princess Gardens” (Prinzessinnengärten), as Marco Clausen and Robert Shaw called their project, in just three years became extremely popular not only in Berlin, but throughout the world.
The idea arose during a trip to Havana, where part-time farms within the city are quite common. But if Cubans are driven to this by difficult economic conditions and food shortages, then the garden in the center of Berlin has become more of a socio-educational experiment.
“City dwellers have lost contact with the ground. Both adults and children, unfortunately, are only familiar with vegetables packed in cellophane from the supermarket. We want to show people how vegetables grow and how they can be grown healthy,” says Marko.
It turned out that finding like-minded people is easy. After the publication of a short article in the Zitty magazine (an analogue of the Moscow Afisha), a hundred volunteers came to help clear the wasteland from debris.
Today, more than 50,000 people visit the Princess Gardens every year. Diversity useful plants strikes the imagination. On a plot of 6 thousand square meters. m grows more than 260 varieties of vegetables and berries, many of which you will not find in a regular store. And that's not to mention the usual cucumbers, peas, cabbage, corn, strawberries ... “There are even very exotic things, such as Japanese herbs and vegetables that our friends from Japan grow. One Russian woman breeds Siberian tomatoes, which are very resistant to climate change. We only have twenty varieties of mint, and sixteen varieties of potatoes, they are not even in the supermarket! That is, we try to grow as many things as possible, even things that people have never tried, ”says Robert.
Princess Gardens does not use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides, only organic matter, and the soil and seeds have a so-called "bio-certificate". Plastic containers from bottles and bags were adapted for the beds, for seedlings - familiar milk and juice bags to all of us. Such a decision was forced, because on the one hand, it is very difficult to plow a wasteland in the city center and prepare the soil for planting, and on the other hand, the whole project was originally conceived as a kind of “mobile garden”, which can be taken and moved to another place at any time . This was due to the lease, which was concluded with the city authorities for only one year and has already been extended three times.
Apart from donations, Princess Gardens does not receive any financial assistance, so they have to earn their livelihood on their own. There are not so many opportunities, but apparently, they are quite enough for a successful existence and development. Gardeners sell vegetables, seedlings and soil, and there is also a small bar and cafe where you can drink coffee and try dishes prepared with products from the neighboring garden. In addition, the guys are engaged in various educational projects with children and youth, which are partially funded.
In general, the social and educational component is the key in this whole story, and organic tomatoes are rather secondary. Princess Gardens turned out to be a place that brought together hundreds of people. The main principle is good neighborliness, work not only for yourself, but for everyone. Any resident of the city can come here to plant seeds, weed the garden or harvest. Only 13 people work here on a permanent basis, but only last year in common work about 800 volunteers took part absolutely free of charge. Robert, Marco and their associates help everyone to organize gardens and orchards in the urban space, hold seminars and workshops on urban gardening, participate in migrant integration programs and exhibitions, including EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.
In addition, a lot of time is devoted to working with children. "Gardens" cooperate with district kindergartens and schools, giving even the smallest opportunity to see with their own eyes where vegetables come from, how they grow and ripen. Here you can take patronage over the garden or arrange an off-site biology lesson, and if your own schoolyard seems gray and dull, then Princess Gardens will help fix it.
In a word, the creators of "Gardens" are trying to convey to everyone a simple idea: to improve the space around is within the power of everyone. It is not at all necessary to wait until the authorities find money to ennoble an abandoned territory. You can and should act on your own.
But despite its extraordinary success and popularity, the Gardens have recently run into unexpected difficulties. The Berlin Senate announced plans to sell the land to investors for development. And although the garden was originally conceived as mobile, it seems that no one is going to move. The petition in support of the Princess Gardens was signed by 23,000 people in just a month and a half. “Biotope and sociotope in one”, “mini-utopia”, “laboratory of the city of the future”, “paradise instead of a wasteland” - this is how journalists wrote and write about the project. Whether the authorities will heed the voice of the public remains to be seen.
Vegetable plot near the house. 4 tips from Shauna Coronado
This small multi-colored lawn of vegetables near the house helps its owner to harvest up to 70 kg of crops. Shawna Coronado demonstrates that landscape design can be not only beautiful, but also edible. With her results, she tries to inspire people to create a sustainable economy near their home. And she has a lot to learn.
4 tips for success in organic farming
1. Soil - For three years I have been creating soil on my site. I added a mixture of manure, compost and rich organic soil. Quality soil is soil rich in strong microorganisms that interact with plants, as well as soil with a high water and moisture retention capacity.
2. Mulch - I mulch my yard every year. Mulch helps retain moisture in the soil, and eventually decomposes into the soil, connecting with the complex soil system. I prefer to mulch no more than 5 cm of beds and I primarily use natural products for mulching; leaves and pieces of wood. This year I added pine bark to the mulch and it retains moisture very well.
3. Watering - this year I added a special hose system to my garden for the first time. I usually use rain water, but there was no rain and the rain barrels were not filled. I have two overhead sprinklers that have helped keep the plants going. I noticed that no matter how much I watered through the hose system, the garden did not grow significantly until a good rain came and wet the ground. So some of my tropical plants are a little stunted. In general, however, everything was fine.
To prevent evaporation from watering, I water before 10am and after 6pm. The main thing is to do this regularly so that the plants can build deeper root systems. You don't have to water every day, but a big sip of water helps the roots grow deeper and stronger.
4. Organic Additives - In the spring I add groundbait to attract worms, they help to loosen the soil and it absorbs water better. During planting, I give supplements to better interact microbes with the roots and thereby strengthen the plants. I also use organic fertilizer twice during the summer.
My best advice for all gardeners - start with the soil, strengthening the soil you strengthen the plant. Imagine having vitamins in the ground that help your organic vegetables grow strong and healthy. Especially in drought conditions, properly prepared soil and mulch will go a long way in helping you get a good harvest.
Use my advice when creating beds in the next gardening season and feel the difference.
Growing food for yourself is very dangerous! …
It threatens to gain freedom!
Another cute mini garden:
Garden planning. Ideas and rules:
And now in more detail how and what edible plants can be grown at home on a balcony or windowsill.
On the balcony, not even glazed, in the summer you can grow spices: various types of thyme, mint, sage. They are unpretentious, decorative, practically do not compete with each other. The leaves of different species have different colors, and by combining them, you can create very beautiful compositions. A spice garden is suitable even for a very small balcony, it can be made very compact. By placing a corner for relaxation nearby, you can enjoy the unique aroma of herbs for the whole summer.
Starting an elegant green bed on the windowsill is as easy as planting it in the garden. First of all, you need to buy the “right” seeds: all varieties must be early ripe, with short term maturation and determinant (i.e. undersized). Then you need to take care of the ground (it is best to take soil like "Violet"). Planting is very simple: first pour hot water on the ground, then crush it, make grooves (a little tighter than indicated on the package), fill them with seeds and pour another centimeter of earth on top. Water every other day - in two doses and in small portions. Thus, parsley, dill, celery, watercress, lettuce, spinach, arugula, basil, mint, lemon balm, coriander, rosemary, mustard, radish can be grown on the windowsill.
Some arrange non-waste production on their farms and use natural bio-fertilizers to feed their fruit-bearing vegetable garden: sleeping tea, eggshell infusion, etc. then a month. Therefore, it is better to plant new “bookmarks” according to the conveyor principle: while one has matured and is used, a new shift is growing up.
An interesting idea is to plant seeds of exotic fruits at home according to the principle of "ate - and planted." Thus, lemon, orange, tangerine and grapefruit trees appear in the homes of apartment gardeners (sometimes they even bear fruit), luxurious coffee bushes (which, by the way, bloom very beautifully) and even a tropical avocado, which does not bear fruit in an apartment, but looks very effective.
Green onion, leek, shallot and fennel
To grow these indispensable plants in cooking, you can use either the bottom with roots (the white lower part that we usually cut and throw away) or the whole bulb. To do this, you need to place them in a glass jar with a little water and put on the windowsill, where the onion will receive the sunlight it needs.
After a while, the first feathers will appear, which, as they grow, can be cut off and added to food. Thus, you will always have fresh herbs at hand - the main thing is not to forget to add water to the jar once a week.
Onions love the sun, so choose a warmer place for them. Garlic is also easy to grow: take one or two cloves with roots and stick them into the ground in a warm, bright place. When the root system is strengthened, garlic will give the first shoots. They need to be trimmed in a timely manner so that they do not interfere with the formation of the bulb.
Celery, bok choy, romaine lettuce and cabbage
These vegetables can be grown from the remains of their hard, thickened stems. To do this, you need to pour water into a shallow cup and place the stump in it with the roots down. Celery, bok choy, romaine and kale are very moisture-loving, so be sure to add water to them. After a few days, you will notice that roots and new leaves will appear, and after another week, the plants can be planted in the ground.
To grow ginger at home, you need a piece of fresh and smooth ginger root with a couple of live buds. If the root is too dry, you can soak it in warm water for a while. It is necessary to plant ginger in a pot or box with earth with the kidneys up. Ideal conditions for this plant are a warm, humid, bright place, but without direct sunlight. In addition to the fact that ginger is tasty and healthy, it is also beautiful (somewhat reminiscent of reeds), so it can be grown even for decorative purposes.
Cymbopogon
The fragrant citrus spice cymbopogon or lemongrass is essentially a perennial herb, so it should be grown like any other herb. After using the stem, do not throw away the root - place it in a jar of water and expose to light. After a week, the cymbopogon will sprout, and it must be transplanted into the ground, for example, into a flower pot. When the sorghum stalk grows to about 30 cm in length, it can be cut and dried.
Potato
Many citizens simply cringe at the phrase "plant potatoes" - it's easier to buy than to go to the dacha all summer and "hump" in the garden. And in vain, because this vegetable can be grown right at home. To do this, you will need one small potato with "eyes". It must be cut into several pieces and left at room temperature for a couple of days so that it dries and does not rot in the ground after planting. It is recommended to plant potatoes in well-fertilized soil. At the same time, it must be buried to a depth of at least 20 cm, so make sure that the planting dishes are large and deep enough.
Growing garlic is very simple: take one or two cloves with roots and stick them into the ground in a warm, bright place. When the root system is strengthened, garlic will give the first shoots. They need to be cut in a timely manner so that they do not take away "energy" and do not interfere with the formation of the bulb.
The rules for planting and growing sweet potatoes are almost the same as regular ones. We take a tuber and send it to moist soil. After a week, the sweet potato will sprout, and when the leaves reach 10 cm, they can be cut, and next, at a distance of 25-30 cm, plant another plant. Just make sure that slugs do not start on the whips - they are very fond of sweet potatoes. And then in 4 months you will have juicy sweet potatoes.
Mushrooms are difficult to grow at home, as they need special conditions - high humidity, special temperatures, ventilation and lighting. Mushrooms reproduce by spores, therefore, their planting requires the so-called mycelium, that is, germinated spores of fungi. The mushroom picker is placed in a substrate (a mixture of oats, millet, rye, barley and other cereals), where it takes the form of thin white threads, from which mushrooms then grow.
Attention: for successful growth, mushrooms need 95% humidity and a temperature of no more than 20ºС, in addition, during ripening, mushrooms emit a strong allergen into the air, so experts do not recommend growing mushrooms in an apartment. The ideal option is a plot near the house or, in extreme cases, a balcony.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes grow well on a balcony or loggia. Having successfully selected varieties, you can get several beautiful red or yellow fruits of various shapes and sizes every day from the beginning of summer to late autumn.
To get started, take care of the seeds, pots or containers for seedlings, film. Tomatoes come in different varieties: some bushes can grow above 1 meter, while others are stunted. For a balcony, it is better to pick up bushes no more than 40 cm in height.
Seeds should be planted to a depth of about 0.5 cm, then carefully pour water at room temperature and carefully cover with foil. The first sprouts should appear in 3-5 days. Seedlings, when a little older, should be thinned out.
Transplant the grown seedlings into separate pots so that the plant has room to grow. Pay more attention to young sprouts, do not forget to pamper and loosen the ground, water and feed. Universal fertilizers are suitable for this, but it is much better to purchase those that are specially prepared for tomatoes. This also applies to the choice of land on which you will grow tomato seedlings. Now you can buy a special prepared substrate, with trace elements and natural minerals.
Tomatoes love an abundance of light, so they need to be grown in a place where the sun's rays freely fall. In a couple of months you will see the first fruits.
Small cherry tomatoes grow and ripen well. You can enjoy your harvest for about 5 months, if you're lucky and longer.
Tomato seeds (preferably varieties such as Malyshok, Verlioka, Anastasia, Swift, Lastochka, Rusich) are prepared for planting with a strong solution of potassium permanganate: soaked and then washed with water. Of course, both for the period of growth and fruiting, cucumbers and tomatoes need to be provided with uninterrupted lighting, abundant watering and top dressing.
Cucumbers also grow well on a glazed balcony. When choosing a variety, give preference to self-fertile greenhouse hybrids. The pot for the plant must be at least five liters. Be sure to lay drainage at the bottom: expanded clay, clay shards. The soil should be loose, fertile and not acidic. It is advisable to pre-soak the seeds, and then sow one by one in a pot.
Cucumbers do best on the east side. In the south you can not do without protection from the scorching rays of the sun. They also like high humidity. To do this, you can put water containers on the windowsill, and on hot days, humidify the air from the sprayer.
You need to start feeding the plant with special fertilizers a month after planting.
Experienced owners advise choosing varieties of cucumbers for sowing that do not need pollination (“April”, “Zozulya”, “Moscow greenhouse”), and for faster germination of seeds, warm them up and germinate in wet gauze before planting.
Both sweet and hot peppers can be grown in the loggia. But in this case, they should be planted at different ends of the loggia, at a distance of 3-4 m, otherwise the sweet pepper will become bitter. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in moistened warm water fabrics and keep a couple of days in a warm place. Then pots measuring 12 by 12 cm are filled with the same soil mixture as for tomatoes, spilled with boiling water and after a few minutes swollen seeds are sown - two or three in each pot.
Then they are put in a warm place until shoots appear, which germinate slowly up to 12 days. During this period, it is necessary to water the soil with warm water every couple of days. When shoots appear, the pots are placed on the windowsill.
When the first 5 leaves are formed, one or two stronger plants are left in each pot, while the others are removed or planted. Care for peppers is the same as for tomatoes. But it should be remembered that dressing solutions and water for irrigation should have an elevated temperature - up to 30 ° C. This contributes to the very rapid development, flowering and fruiting of pepper.
You can grow red hot pepper. There are decorative pepper seeds in stores, but it is not nearly inferior to ordinary hot pepper, on the contrary, it seems to me that it is even hotter than usual. It grows very well, as it is designed specifically for home conditions, and it looks very personal on the window, small peppercorns look very original and pretty, as if such an original flower. Such pepper can be added to adjika or other dishes in which you prefer to put it. Yes, and you can just leave it on the window, let it grow as a decoration for your window!)))
Peas are always indispensable in various salads and dishes. To get started, buy pea seeds (I personally bought Dinga peas), remove them from the package, wrap them in gauze and put them in some water (so that the water covers them to the top). Change the water periodically (so it doesn't stink) and check the peas. You need to get it when you already see that sprouts have appeared. Then plant it in a pot large sizes and water periodically. After a while, when sprouts appear, transplant them into separate large pots (you can have several branches in one large pot). And when the first tendrils appear, stick some kind of support into the ground, along which they could trail. And keep watering. Peas from the very "childhood" must be taught to fresh air(since the city has dirty air, take it out to the balcony for a while). And if it trudges well along the supports, if enough sun hits it, then after a while it can start the first pod (in the future it may grow and the peas may not be able to hold it, so make a small support for the pod ). When it ripens, you need to carefully cut it with scissors and eat it.
Dill is also integral part various dishes. It will be easier with dill than with peas, because the main thing here is to buy good seeds and a good big pot. Pour the earth into a pot and plant seeds at a depth of 1-1.5 cm. And then carefully sprinkle with earth and water. And after a certain time you will see the first shoots. In good light, dill will grow better and more beautiful, while it should be periodically watered with settled water. And when the dill is already quite large, you can tear it. It is best to tear the dill with a knife, carefully cutting it. Then you will not tear out and do not damage the root of the plant.
Since lettuce is a cold-resistant plant, it can be sown quite early, from April 15-20. You can sow immediately in boxes on the loggia or balcony.
To grow lettuce on the balcony and loggia, it is better to use square-shaped boxes. Since this plant has a shallow root system and a large leaf mass, it needs an increased amount of moisture, and in narrow boxes the soil dries out very quickly. Optimal size boxes - 60 by 60 centimeters with a height of 10 -12 centimeters.
Until seedlings appear, keep the box in the shade, spraying the soil daily. When shoots appear, the box must be put in a bright permanent place. Caring for lettuce is pretty easy. There is no need to do any dressing. The main thing is to water the salad often, after 1 - 2 days.
Strawberry
Strawberries can be grown in pots and boxes. The only condition is the presence of a hole for draining excess water. If you approach the choice of varieties wisely, and plant both early and mid-season, and late-ripening varieties, then the harvest will delight you all season.
A balcony on the south side or one that is lit by the sun in the afternoon is optimal. On such balconies, strawberry bushes will bear fruit until the first frosts, and strawberries - until the end of the year. It is best to arrange flower boxes and pots by hanging them from the inside of the balcony, because. These plants do not like the wind.
Do not forget about abundant watering and top dressing. You can use special fertilizers for strawberries or strawberries, or you can use a regular mineral complex. An important point is the removal of the first peduncles in order to good development young plants.
Strawberry whiskers should be trimmed only if they are in the shade. For the winter, with the onset of persistent frosts, the plants are completely covered with sawdust. On warm days they are aired, and in early March they are released from shelter.
strawberries
Many people love strawberries, especially their enchanting smell. Of course, it will be harder to grow it than peas, but it's worth it.
First, buy strawberry seeds, or you can immediately sprouts. I can advise you "Golden Strawberry", it is sweeter than red strawberry and its smell is stronger. Prepare a long pot in which it will grow. Pour the earth there and at a depth of about 2 cm, pour the seeds evenly and sprinkle on top of the earth. Then pour settled water. Provide strawberries sunlight(you can’t deprive her of this, as it will grow badly), but you don’t need much either, as it can begin to dry out. Water it periodically, and then it will take you well. It is best to immediately plant strawberries in a large and pancake pot, since then it may not withstand transplanting. Only if you already have large strawberries grown, then this can be done. At least once every six months, strawberries should be transplanted to another land. Since from the previous earth it draws many different minerals into itself, while weakening the earth. Or you can just add fertilizer to the pot. And now, when it starts to bear fruit with you, you can carefully remove the fruits and eat calmly, realizing that you grew it yourself without any GMOs.
IN apartment conditions you can even grow a pineapple. It is enough to cut off the top with leaves, before that do not forget to clean the pulp, otherwise the plant will rot. After - place the top in a glass of water. Soon roots will appear on the outlet, which means that the pineapple is ready for planting.
Remove a few lower leaves and stick the socket into the ground about 2-3 centimeters. This fruit is quite unpretentious - it easily tolerates direct sunlight and high temperatures. The main thing is not to forget to water regularly. After 1-2 months, young sprouts will appear on the pineapple - this means that the cutting has taken root, and in a couple of years you can harvest the first crop.
Kiwi is just a magical fruit, it is both tasty and healthy. But growing it is very difficult. First you need to buy kiwi seeds, it is best to buy frost-resistant kiwi, as they will endure the cold on the balcony. Hardy kiwis are considered one of the best varieties, as they can withstand the cold. But there is one drawback, the fruits of this kiwi are not as big as ordinary kiwis. But they are still edible. After buying the seeds, they need to be mixed with not very wet sand. Then after 3-4 weeks you can plant in pots. When filling the pots, you need to put expanded clay on the bottom, this must be done. Pour in the earth, and mix the upper ball with the sand in which the seeds are located.
It is best to sprinkle the earth every day, but not too much, and water with room temperature. Then cover the seed pot with glass and place it in the sun or in a bright, warm place. But at least once a day, the glass must be removed so that the earth is ventilated and at the same time sprinkle it. When the first sprouts appear, be sure to transplant each sprout into separate pot large sizes. But transplant carefully, as the horse system is very delicate.
Then choose a place where the kiwi will grow, but keep in mind that this is a large vine and she will need a place. Then, when the fruits appear, you can safely pick them from the tree, peel and eat. And one more thing, all types of kiwi shed their leaves for the winter, so there is no need to be afraid of this.
From fruits, lemons and tangerines are also quite often grown. Lemons really grow very large, half a room is occupied by a lemon tree.
When growing vegetables and fruits at home, it is imperative to provide them with access to light and regular watering. Another very important thing is that they must all be self-pollinating (there are no bees in the house, and naturally there will be no one to pollinate them). Therefore, during flowering, it will be necessary to shake the plants a little so that the pollen in the flowers is mixed.
Both gardens from monocultures and from different types of vegetables look good. Usually varieties bred for growing on small area, grow well together, but there are a number of subtleties that must be considered when planting a balcony garden. For example, peppers are easily pollinated, so only bitter or only sweet varieties should be preferred within the same balcony.
Your success in home gardening depends on many factors - weather, soil, the quality of "seedlings" and, of course, your efforts, how carefully and carefully you will treat your green "pets".
Throwing everything out
Plant breeders have such a concept - distillation. This is when plants are grown not from a seed, but from a root crop or even from a branch. It is this method that is most often used when growing vegetables on the windowsill. The simplest is, of course, greens. Which of us in childhood did not plant an onion in a jar of water, in order to then pick off fresh green “arrows” from it?
You can also plant onions in a box with earth: just place it with the bottoms on the damp earth. Until the first shoots (they, by the way, cannot be broken off), the box must be kept warm, and only then put on the windowsill. You can also expel parsley and celery from root crops (when buying planting material in the store, make sure that the apical buds from which the shoots will grow are not damaged). It is recommended to plant in well-moistened soil in rows every 6-8 cm, with a slight slope. With moderate watering and fertilizing with special fertilizers, such a bed will last 1.5-2 months - after that you need to lay a new one.
Ordinary beets are planted in the same way (at least for the purpose of obtaining leaves): medium beets are planted in pots and half covered with earth. To make the leaves bright, they must be artificially highlighted during forcing. If you take care in advance, you can prepare various root crops yourself for their subsequent planting in boxes (you need to store them in a cool place). It can be the roots of all of the above plants from your garden or the roots wild plants(e.g. dandelion, chicory, burdock). A plant such as linden is also expelled to obtain vitamin greens: an ordinary branch is placed in water, and then fresh leaves are “eaten up”.
How to organize a garden on the balcony?
You can grow vegetables and herbs as usual. flower pots, as well as in wooden boxes(the most optimal length is 40-50 cm, width - 20-25 cm, height - 12-15 cm, wall thickness - 20-40 mm). Drainage must be placed at the bottom - broken brick, gravel, coarse river sand. It is desirable that your greenhouse is located on a south or southwest window, but if this is not possible, the lack of light can always be supplemented with the help of special lamps (for normal growth, plants need light for 12-16 hours a day).
Some people use such an unusual container as an old aquarium for growing greenery (they, by the way, come with backlighting, which is very useful). It turns out something like a mini-greenhouse behind glass, which looks very decorative, and in addition, creates additional protection. Observe temperature regime very important: plants equally dislike both cold and heat.
To prevent the mini-garden from freezing, you should take care that the glass does not freeze (it is recommended to rub them on the inside with a mixture of one part of glycerin and 10 parts of denatured alcohol, and put salt containers between the frames). And the dry heat from the battery can be reduced with a protective shield and a humidifier (or just cover the battery with a wet cloth).
Containers for growing vegetables and fruits on the balcony
Let's look at the main aspects for choosing and using various containers for growing vegetables on the balcony. It would seem that a simple thing - plant in whatever you want, but nevertheless there are nuances. First of all, you need to pay attention to the following capacity parameters:
Choosing the optimal container volume
Tank height
The choice of material from which containers are made
Tank color selection
Choice of container shape
The volume of the growing container is perhaps the most important parameter. The amount of substrate for the development of the root system is the most important limiting factor when growing vegetables on the balcony. After all, all other conditions are easily observed (well, or almost observed, with the exception of lighting). Substrate moisture, temperature, nutrients - all this can be maintained in an optimal ratio. And the capacity is permanent home for our plants.
There are no scientific rules here, the optimal volume can only be selected based on personal experience and agricultural technology. If someone cannot water often, then there should be more substrate, someone is limited by the space of the balcony, then the volume of the pot is needed less. There is a certain objective minimum in the size of the pot, less than which, in my experience, it is better not to choose.
For mini-tomatoes and mini-peppers, a volume of 2-3 liters is enough
For determinant tomatoes, bush peppers, eggplant, 5 liters are enough
For cucumbers, zucchini, watermelons and melons, for indets - you can use 7-8 liter pots
The height of the container is another important parameter. Most regular pots are as tall as or slightly larger than the diameter, but there are tall pots that are up to two diameters high. There are also very low ones - half or a third of the diameter of the pot.
Growing root crops in a low pot will result in root deformation, rose and raspberry grow normally in tall pots and may be oppressed in normal ones. Solanaceae grow well in ordinary pots, and greens and herbs can be safely grown in low ones, saving on the substrate.
The choice of material from which the container is made is influenced by the gardener's habit and agricultural practices. Materials are porous and inert. Porous - wood, clay, inert - plastic, glass. It is usually more convenient to work with plastic pots, as they have obvious advantages - low price(for technological pots), long service life, light weight, do not absorb salt and fertilizers, they are easy to clean, do not evaporate water through the walls and do not absorb irrigation water. Wood rots quickly, and clay pots made of unglazed clay absorb salt into their pores, they are difficult to wash, they are fragile and break, heavy. Yes, and they are not cheap with a volume of 5-8 liters.
The color of the container affects the aesthetic perception of the garden. Some people want colors to be fun. But there is more important point- containers of different colors heat up differently in the sun. The lighter, the less they heat up (an important point!), And when the root overheats, serious diseases can appear in plants. Therefore, dark pots need to be wrapped with light material, for example, use paper.
The choice of container shape is perhaps the last important parameter when choosing. You can grow vegetables on the balcony in round and square pots, in bags, in long boxes, etc. Square pots for seedlings economically take up space on the windowsill. In a permanent place, you can plant plants in round pots - they are easier to buy. It is inconvenient to grow in bags on the balcony, since it is almost impossible to move them from place to place without disturbing the root system. And this, with an unglazed balcony, needs to be done often - frosts, plant growth, wind, etc.
There is quite a lot of information on how to arrange a garden on a balcony, window sill or on a plot near the house. So you can easily find it.
15 life hacks for gardeners (not all tips are good, but in general useful information you can extract from the video):
We wish you Health, Love and blooming gardens!
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food… at the present time it is exchanged by means of money with its producers for our services. if our countries are covered just a shadowBP in the form of financialcrisis, That real values this world will be valued several times higher. food is real. nowhere else)..
knowing the principles of business is much more important, simpler, more reliable than knowing the rules, ways, recipes, tricks and tricks. this is true for ANY area of life: engineering, construction, physical, military training, self-defense - any. knowing the principles, you yourself will figure out the rules, recipes, tricks .... now to the point:
PURPOSE of growing. - according to a further application, food is grown for the sake of: consumption by people, livestock, the earth itself for the sake of maintaining fertility.
- in terms of the effectiveness of body parts, food is grown for the sake of: seeds, tubers, flowers, stems with leaves.
- in terms of caloric content and content of protein, trace elements and vitamins, the most valuable are seeds, then tubers, then flowers and stems with leaves. in the fruits of peas and beans, the protein content is about 8 times, and in wheat and buckwheat 4-5 times higher than in the tubers of potatoes, carrots and Jerusalem artichoke.
- some crops are economically profitable to grow for seeds, others for tubers and stems with leaves. no one grows plants for the sake of flowers, but they can be collected by 1) thinning the beds, 2) collecting wild plants.
SEEDS. Most crops are grown from seeds. but some - potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke - are much more profitable to grow by planting tubers. and some - onions, garlic - are grown in a mixed way: for the first year, small bulbs are obtained from seeds. in the second year of them receive large bulbs. although garlic can only be grown by planting cloves from full-weight heads.
- if crops grown from seeds - tomatoes, peppers, cabbage - require a long period of growth, then it is more profitable to grow them in seedlings.
- on average, seeds can remain viable for a couple of years. the cooler and drier the storage conditions, the longer the germination lasts. in a dry, ventilated room at a temperature of 7-10 °, the germination of seeds of onions, dill, parsley, carrots, eggplants and peppers lasts two to three years; cabbage, radish, radish, turnip, beetroot, lettuce, spinach - up to four; legumes, pumpkin and tomatoes - up to five to seven years. cucumber seeds, if stored at a temperature not lower than 15 °, do not lose their germination for up to ten years.
growing conditions. TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY. Seeds germinate with sufficient heat and moisture. if there is not enough heat and enough moisture, the seeds rot. the cold-resistant culture, the longer it can lie in damp ground without rotting, waiting for heat.
- if the seeds have awakened to growth, there is no turning back: they either develop further or disappear. so be careful and respectful of the seeds. therefore, be aware of the germination temperature of the main crops. refers to the temperature of the earth:
rye, winter wheat - 1-2 C. peas, beans, parsley, carrots, onions, garlic, many salads, sorrel, dill - 3-5 C. These crops tolerate spring frosts.
potatoes - 5-6 C. beets, buckwheat - 6-8 C. These crops are worse, but they tolerate spring frosts. beans, corn, zucchini - 9-12 C. cucumbers - 15-18 C. They die during frosts.
- at these temperatures, these crops have very different germination times: from a couple of days for wheat, rye and peas to three weeks for carrots and parsley. all mentioned cultures germinate at 18-25 degrees and grow several times faster than at germination temperature.
Crops vary greatly in their moisture requirements. as a rule, root and heat-loving crops require more moisture than cereals and cold-resistant crops.
- there are two ways to maintain a sufficient level of moisture: by bringing rain or hands from the outside and by mulching the soil. about it - a little lower.
growing conditions. THE SOIL. - the soil is the "place of registration and residence" of cultivated plants, as well as the "processing shop, kitchen and pantry", from where they regularly take food and water for themselves. if we plant in “anyhow” land, then it will grow with us either “anyhow”, or “almost nothing” and we will ask ourselves “how is that? we planted, worked, watered.
- three factors of the soil must be at a sufficient level: mechanical composition or friability, nutritional value or fertility, moisture supply. As a rule, the more heat-loving the plants, the better the culture requires in all three parameters. tubers are more demanding in these parameters than cereals.
- soil fertility and friability are providedthree ways: natural, accelerated and perverted. natural way: plant bodies fall and die on the soil surface, being processed into nutrients soil bacteria and worms, and thus serve subsequent generations of plants.
fast track: plant bodies are either fed to animals and returned to the soil as manure or piled up in a compost heap and returned to the soil as humus. in the latter case, decay can be accelerated by a factor of 10 if we attack the heap with a special unit "EM team fighters". about the accelerated path, with reference to my story about these daring fighters, I already wrote: “ .
perverted way: by introducing mineral fertilizers into the soil. they are like khachiks, they do not allow local bacteria and worms to conduct business normally and are constantly “roofed” by the owners, whose goal is to “cut down” the crop in a couple of seasons, and then at least the grass does not grow. Learn more about it in the video below.
growing conditions. LIGHT. for the flow of photosynthesis, i.e. processes of saturating themselves with nutrients from receiving light, plants require different duration and intensity of illumination. according to this parameter, they are divided into light-loving, shade-tolerant and shade-loving. as a rule, the lighter the leaves of the plant, the more light-loving it is. salads are more shade tolerant than cucumbers and beans, potatoes are even more resistant. and onions and parsley, with their dark green leaves, are even more shade tolerant.
PESTS. - there are two types: vegetable, better known under the nickname "weeds", and animals. weeds "survive from the territory" green manure. I already wrote about this: "".
