“You are what you eat” - today, with the dominance of chemistry in the 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, it is impossible to call environmentally friendly products grown in the city, but they are always at hand, delight 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 food.
Fortunately, growing food at home is quite simple and very exciting. You don't even need seeds, as many plants can be grown from their own leftovers.
To begin with, a very inspiring example of how it is possible to grow 2,700 kg of food per year on just 400 m2 (4 ares), provide food for 4 adults and receive an income of $ 20,000 per year! As a family of 4, it became almost completely resource-independent from 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 the balcony, on a house plot in the city, on 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 the balcony or on a plot near the house.
You may be surprised, but even in a city apartment, on the balcony, you can grow a lot of different food.
Pensioner Zinaida Chistopolova has been growing greens and vegetables on the balcony in a high-rise building for 17 years:
But such a vegetable garden in the city was arranged by Henrikh Galustyan:
Gardens were set up on the rooftops of Paris (news):
CUBAN ORGANIC GREEN REVOLUTION (about urban gardens and orchards of Cuba). CUBA IS AN EXAMPLE OF A WORLD REFUSED FROM OIL! The gardens and vegetable gardens created in Cuba are an example of how you can create a gardening system aimed at feeding all people without harming the environment, how everyone (every family) can independently provide themselves with food.
Washington. Urban gardening in the American capital:
Gardener from Toronto. On the rooftop of a modest three-story home in Toronto's Parkdale neighborhood, the caring hands of city dweller Gaila Trail are cultivating a small paradise. When Gayla is not tending the plants, she posts her thoughts on her You grow girl site. Its goal is to change the attitude of people towards gardening. Gaila 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 health food restaurants across the country.
His perspective on the production of natural products in-house is interesting, and his experience in this area deserves attention and replication on a global scale.
He is an excellent speaker and is often invited to take part in various events. One of Ron's recent talks at a TED in California became an instant event, with individual quotes from his speech turning into motivators.
He managed to convey to the audience the depth of the problem of healthy eating in cities and to offer his own version of its solution.
Gardens on rooftops and in courtyards - Venezuela's anti-crisis plan, proposed by the President of the country.
An important note about planting plants in the city : Plants that you plan to eat are best planted and collected 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 will enter your body when these plants are eaten, 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 with Mikhail for the website 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 that absolutely any fruit and vegetable crops can be grown on the balcony, from fruit trees to mushrooms and herbs and herbs. The main thing: you need to choose the right agricultural technique and create optimal climatic conditions - light, day length, watering, temperature and humidity. And also prepare the right substrate and select containers of the right size for growing certain crops.
- When should you start preparing for the new season? This year, of course, it's already late, but next year our readers will already be fully armed!
- I start preparations for the new season in February. I go to garden shops and centers, buy 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 and planting time of 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 summer. Also, the sowing time is influenced by such a factor - when exactly will you be able to 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, the sowing time must be determined. I mark 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 so that an acceptable amount of vegetables can be grown there? What is the best balcony position?
- The minimum size of the balcony can be any, from 1-2 square meters. You can also grow vegetables on the windowsill, but these are still extreme conditions for most vegetables, so it is better to plant them on the balcony. It is advisable that the sun shines on the balcony for most of the day. In the latitudes of Moscow, it 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. Tomatoes and eggplants, peppers and cucumbers grow and bear fruit normally in 5-7 liter pots. BUT, the substrate needs to be nutrient-rich and fertilizing needs to be done regularly.
It is advisable to sow early-maturing varieties and hybrids, such plants will begin to bear fruit faster and are more likely to get a harvest 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 the glazing. For 1 sq. meter, it is advisable to plant no more than 4 tomato bushes, since a dense planting together with a limited food area and one-sided lighting are not the best agrotechnical conditions. At the same time, you can actively use compacted plantings: for example, you can put a pot with a minitomat or herbs under a tall tomato. It is necessary to experiment, not afraid to violate the rules and regulations, but the basis for making a decision should still be 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 fertilizers?
- Since the volume of the substrate is limited in our country, proper feeding is simply necessary to obtain a good harvest. I use mineral fertilizers, I prefer Fertika - this is the former Kemira. I dilute it in a container of 250 ml, and then add this solution in a proportion of 250 ml to 20 liters of irrigation water when watering once every 2 weeks.
You can use any fertilizers, mineral and organic, it's just convenient for me to work with such fertilizer, I know the dosage for sure and I'm not afraid to overfeed. In general, when growing vegetables in containers, underfeeding the plants is better than overfeeding 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 up very quickly. What if people want to go on vacation for a couple of weeks?
- I water my vegetables only in the pallet, so I am not afraid of overflow, the plants take as much moisture as needed. The top layer of the substrate is always dry, there is no mold, fungi, midges. The substrate remains loose and the roots have no shortage of air. The lump of the substrate does not set, remains loose and evenly filled with moisture. So I recommend watering all the crops on the balcony, even decorative flowers.
You are right, unfortunately, you cannot leave the garden for a long time, I water during the season almost every day in the evenings. But if you install an autowatering system, better than drip (for example, this option), then you can leave the planting for 3-4 days. It is possible to lengthen 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 kind of crop Mikhail is harvesting in his balcony garden
One more example - a vegetable garden on a balcony in Moscow
Lelia Zhvirblis in Krylatskoye in Moscow has strawberries, basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, chard, lavender on the balcony.
The trays are made of pallets by her husband Andrey Zhvirblis. Such a wonderful eco-family comes from EcoLoft on Pyatnitskaya.
This mini-garden is a shady balcony overlooking a bustling street, which Leli has been decorating for the third year.
In the balcony boxes there are bacopa, begonia, highlander (I think it is capitate), davallia, ficus pumila, ivy. Something is planted with seeds and curly parsley.
A pallet from a nearby supermarket, hammered and processed by Andre and Leli. There are all kinds of yummy: oregano, strawberries, rosemary, thyme and salads, incl. purslane covering the roots.
In the corner lives and winters maiden grapes with ivy budra.
The corner with pots turned out quite by accident (freaked out): hydrangea, beans from teacher Leli - Eckart and other edible beans from Germany (Swiss 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.
A few more ideas for a mini garden
9 balcony garden ideas:
To increase the amount of space for planting plants, you can use the vertical garden option. This is a very good idea for planting different types of greenery.
Here are examples of vertical beds and gardens:
You can see how to make a vertical garden on the balcony with your own hands here:
Anti-crisis vegetable garden in bags, pots, packages - 7 options:
How to create a home garden (in English, but everything is clear from the video series):
How to turn a lawn into a self-sufficient vegetable garden in 60 days
Photographer Luke Keegan decided to plant vegetables on his lawn and photographed the whole process of the formation of the beds. As a result, there was so much harvest that Luke had to give away some of it for free. Inspired by the results, all the neighbors followed suit.
Luke, a regular wedding photographer from Oakland, USA, at one point decided to become a gardener. After several consultations at a local farming club and some wise advice from friends who are well versed in sustainable farming, he decided to build his own vegetable garden.
With the meticulousness typical of a photographer, he began to document his every step.
He built warm raised beds from the shed paneling, the neighbors gave him soil and compost free of charge.
All of his plants were grown from seeds. An irrigation system was laid to the beds.
“You cannot imagine how many people, having seen my beds, began to stop and communicate with me. They began to bring me seeds of different cultures, I got to know my whole area, ”says Luc.
For two years, the beds have been producing bountiful crops without any signs of slowing down. Luke put up a Free Vegetables sign to distribute vegetables to neighbors.
You can find out more about Luke on his page at Facebook.
"Gardens of princesses": how to create a vegetable garden in the city by the forces of the townspeople
More than twenty years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall, but the capital of Germany still amazes with the abundance of vacant lots. One of these places in the Kreuzberg district attracted two enthusiasts who decided to turn a piece of land abandoned for several decades into a blooming garden. "Princess Gardens" (Prinzessinnengärten), as Marko Clausen and Robert Shaw called their project, has become extremely popular not only in Berlin but throughout the world in just three years.
The idea arose during a trip to Havana, where subsidiary plots are very common within the city. But if Cubans are pushed to do this by difficult economic conditions and a shortage of food, then the vegetable garden in the center of Berlin has become more of a social and educational experiment.
“City dwellers have lost contact with the ground. Unfortunately, both adults and children are familiar only with vegetables from the supermarket packed in cellophane. We want to show people how vegetables grow and how they can be grown to be healthy, ”says Marco.
It turned out that it is easy to find like-minded people. After the publication of a short note in the magazine "Zitty" (an analogue of the Moscow "Afisha"), a hundred volunteers came to help in clearing the wasteland from garbage.
Today "Gardens of Princesses" is visited by more than 50 thousand people annually. The variety of useful plants is amazing. On a plot of 6 thousand sq. m grows more than 260 varieties of vegetables and berries, many of which cannot be found in a regular store. And this is not to mention the usual cucumbers, peas, cabbage, corn, strawberries ... “There are even very exotic things, for example, Japanese herbs and vegetables that our friends from Japan grow. One Russian woman grows Siberian tomatoes, which are highly resistant to climate change. We only have twenty kinds of mint, and sixteen kinds of potatoes, there aren’t even those in the supermarket! That is, we try to grow as much as possible, even things that people have never tried, ”says Robert.
No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used in "Princess Gardens", only organic matter, and the soil and seeds have the so-called "bio-certificate". For the beds, they adapted plastic containers from bottles and bags, for seedlings - the bags of milk and juice familiar to all of us. This decision was forced, because on the one hand, it is very difficult to plow a vacant lot in the city center and prepare the ground for planting, but 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 agreement, which was concluded with the city authorities for only one year and has already been renewed three times.
Apart from donations, Princess Gardens does not receive any financial aid, so they have to raise their own livelihood. There are not so many opportunities, but apparently, they are quite enough for a successful existence and development. Gardeners sell vegetables, seedlings and land, and there is also a small bar and cafe where you can have coffee and taste dishes made with products from the neighboring garden. In addition, the guys are involved in various educational projects with children and youth, which are partially funded.
In general, the socio-educational component is key in this whole story, and ecologically clean tomatoes are, rather, secondary. The Princess Gardens turned out to be a place that brought together hundreds of people. The main principle is good neighborliness, work not only for oneself, but for everyone. Any resident of the city can come here to plant seeds, weed a garden bed or harvest. Only 13 people work here on a permanent basis, but only last year, about 800 volunteers took part in the general work absolutely free of charge. Robert, Marko and their associates help everyone in organizing gardens and vegetable gardens in the urban space, hold seminars and workshops on the topic of urban gardening, participate in programs for the integration of migrants and exhibitions, among which there are no less than EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.
In addition, a lot of time is devoted to working with children. "Sady" cooperates with district kindergartens and schools, giving even the smallest the opportunity to see with their own eyes where vegetables come from, how they grow and ripen. Here you can take patronage over a garden bed or arrange an on-site biology lesson, and if your own schoolyard seems gray and dull, then "Princess Gardens" will help you fix it.
In short, the creators of "Gardens" are trying to convey to everyone a simple idea: everyone can improve the space around them. It is not at all necessary to wait until the authorities find the money to improve the abandoned territory. It is possible and necessary to act independently.
But despite its extraordinary success and popularity, "Gardens" recently encountered unexpected difficulties. The Berlin Senate announced plans to sell land to investors for development. And although the garden was originally conceived as a mobile, it seems that no one is going to move. The petition in support of Princess Gardens was signed by 23 thousand 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 wasteland” - this is how journalists wrote and are writing about the project. It is not yet known whether the authorities will listen to the voice of the public.
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 the crop. Shawna Coronado demonstrates that landscaping can be not only beautiful, but also edible. With her results, she tries to inspire people to create a sustainable economy near her home. And she has a lot to learn.
4 tips for organic farming success
1. Soil - For three years I have been creating soil on my site. I added a mixture of manure, compost and saturated organic soil. Good quality soil is a soil saturated with strong microorganisms that interact with plants, and it is also a soil with a high water and moisture holding capacity.
2. Mulch - I mulch my site every year. Mulch helps to retain moisture in the soil, and eventually degrades into the soil, connecting to the complex soil system. I prefer to mulch no more than 5 cm of the beds and I primarily use natural products for mulching; leaves and pieces of wood. This year I have added pine bark to the mulch and it retains moisture very well.
3. Watering - this year for the first time I have added a special hose system to my site. I usually use rainwater, but there was no rain and the rain barrels were not filled. I have two overhead sprinklers that have helped preserve the plants. I noticed that no matter how much I irrigated through the hose system, the garden did not grow significantly until it rained well and wet the ground. So some of my tropical plants are a bit stunted. On the whole, however, everything was fine.
To prevent evaporation when watering, I water before 10 am and after 6 pm. The main thing is to do this regularly so that the plants can build deeper root systems. You don't need 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 loosen the soil and it absorbs water better. During planting, I add additives to improve the interaction of microbes with the roots and thereby strengthen the plants. I also use organic fertilizers twice during the summer.
My best advice for all gardeners is to start with the soil, by strengthening the soil you are strengthening the plant. Imagine there are vitamins in the earth 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 to get a good harvest.
Use my advice when creating your garden beds next season and feel the difference.
Growing your own food for yourself is very dangerous! ...
It threatens to gain Freedom!
Another cute mini vegetable 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 herbs: various types of thyme, mint, sage. They are unpretentious, decorative, practically do not compete with each other. Leaves of different types 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. Having placed a corner for rest next to it, you can enjoy the unique aroma of herbs all summer long.
Getting an elegant green bed on your windowsill is as easy as planting it in your garden. First of all, you need to buy the "right" seeds: all varieties should be early maturing, with a short ripening period and determinant (ie, undersized). Then you need to take care of the earth (it is best to take soil such as "Violet"). Planting is very simple: first pour hot water on the ground, then crush it, make grooves (a little closer than indicated on the package), pour seeds into them 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 waste-free production on their farm and use natural biofertilizers to feed their fruit-bearing vegetable garden: drunk tea, eggshell infusion, etc. even a month. Therefore, it is better to plant new "bookmarks" according to the principle of a conveyor belt: while one is ripe and used, a new shift is growing up.
An interesting idea is to plant exotic fruit seeds at home according to the "eat and plant" principle. Thus, lemon, orange, tangerine and grapefruit trees appear in the houses 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 impressive.
Green onions, leeks, shallots and fennel
To grow these indispensable plants in cooking, you can use either the roots with roots (the white bottom that we usually cut and discard) or whole bulbs. To do this, you need to place them in a glass jar with a small amount of water and put them on the windowsill, where the onion will receive the sunlight it needs.
After a while, the first feathers will appear, which can be cut off and added to food as they grow. 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 spot for it. 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 firmly established, the garlic will give its first shoots. They need to be pruned in time 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 remnants of their hard, thickened stems. To do this, 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, 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 soil, buds 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 aromatic citrus seasoning Cymbopogon or Lemongrass is essentially a perennial herb and should be grown like any other herb. After using the stem, do not discard the root - place it in a jar of water and place it in the light. After a week, the cymbopogon will sprout and must be transplanted into the ground, such as a flower pot. Once the stem of the sorghum has grown to about 30 cm in length, it can be cut and dried.
Potato
Many townspeople simply cringe from the phrase “plant potatoes” - it's easier to buy than to go to the country house all summer and “hunchback” in the garden. And in vain, because this vegetable can be grown right at home. To do this, you 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 up and does not rot in the ground after planting. It is recommended to plant potatoes in well-fertilized soil. In this case, it must be buried to a depth of at least 20 cm, so make sure that the dishes for planting are large and deep enough.
Growing garlic is very simple: take one or two rooted cloves and stick them into the ground in a warm, bright place. When the root system is firmly established, the garlic will give its first shoots. They need to be pruned in a timely manner so that they do not take "energy" and do not interfere with the formation of the bulb.
The rules for planting and growing sweet potatoes are almost the same as usual. 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 another plant can be planted nearby, at a distance of 25-30 cm. Just make sure that slugs do not start on the lashes - they are very fond of sweet potatoes. And then after 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, for their planting, the so-called mycelium, that is, germinated spores of mushrooms, is needed. The mycelium 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 ° C, in addition, during ripening, mushrooms throw a strong allergen into the air, therefore experts do not recommend growing mushrooms in an apartment. An ideal option is a plot near the house or, in extreme cases, a balcony.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes grow well on the balcony or loggia. Having successfully selected the varieties, from the beginning of summer until late autumn, you can daily receive several beautiful red or yellow fruits of various shapes and sizes to the table.
To begin with, take care of the seeds, pots or seedling containers, film. Tomatoes come in different varieties: some bush can grow taller than 1 meter, while others are undersized. For a balcony, it is better to pick up bushes no more than 40 cm in height.
The seeds should be planted to a depth of about 0.5 cm, then carefully pour over water at room temperature and carefully cover with foil. The first shoots should appear in 3-5 days. Seedlings, when they grow up a little, 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. For this, universal fertilizers are suitable, 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 an area where the sun's rays are unimpeded. 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 of such varieties as "Malyshok", "Verlioka", "Anastasia", "Strizh", "Swallow", "Rusich") are prepared for planting using a strong solution of potassium permanganate: soaked and then washed with water. Of course, both during growth and fruiting, cucumbers and tomatoes need to be provided with uninterrupted lighting, abundant watering and feeding.
Cucumbers will also grow well on a glassed-in balcony. When choosing a variety, give preference to self-fertile greenhouse hybrids. The plant pot 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 better on the east side. On the south one cannot do without protection from the scorching rays of the sun. They also like high humidity. To do this, you can put containers with water 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 to choose for sowing varieties of cucumbers that do not need pollination ("April", "Zozulya", "Moscow greenhouse"), and for faster germination of seeds before planting, warm them up and germinate in wet gauze.
Both sweet and hot peppers can be grown in the loggia. But in this case, it is necessary to plant them at different ends of the loggia, at a distance of 3-4 m, otherwise the bell pepper will become bitter. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in a cloth soaked in warm water and kept in a warm place for a couple of days. Then pots 12 by 12 cm in size 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 placed in a warm place until shoots appear, which germinate slowly for 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, and the others are removed or planted. Pepper care is the same as for tomatoes. But it should be remembered that fertilizing solutions and water for irrigation must have an elevated temperature - up to 30 ° C. This contributes to the very rapid development, flowering and fruiting of the pepper.
Red hot peppers can be grown. There are seeds of ornamental pepper in stores, but it is in no way inferior to ordinary hot pepper, on the contrary, it seems to me even hotter than usual. It grows very well, since it is intended specifically for home conditions, and it looks very nothing on the window, small peppercorns look very original and cute, as if such an original flower. This pepper can be added to adjika or other dishes in which you prefer to put it. And you can just leave it on the window, let it grow as a decoration for your window!)))
Peas are always indispensable in different salads and dishes. First, buy pea seeds (I personally bought Dinga peas), take them out of the package, wrap them in cheesecloth and put them in 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 out when you already see that sprouts have appeared. After that, plant it in a small pot and water it 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 antennae appear, stick some kind of support into the ground on which they could trail. And keep watering. Peas from the very "childhood" need to be accustomed to fresh air (since there is dirty air in the city, take it to the balcony for a short time). And if it trails well along the supports, if enough sun gets on it, then after a while it can start up 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 too ). When it ripens, you need to carefully cut it off with scissors and eat it.
Dill is also an integral part of various dishes. It will be easier with dill than with peas, because the main thing here is to buy good seeds and a good large pot. Pour soil into the pot and plant the seeds at a depth of 1-1.5 cm. And then gently sprinkle with earth and water. And after a certain time you will see the first shoots. With good lighting, dill will grow better and more beautiful, while it should be watered periodically with settled water. And when the dill is already very large, you can tear it. It is best to pry the dill with a knife, carefully trimming it. Then you will not vomit or damage the root of the plant.
Since lettuce is a cold-resistant plant, it can be sown quite early, from 15 to 20 April. You can sow directly into boxes on the loggia or balcony.
To grow salad 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. The optimal size of the boxes is 60 by 60 centimeters with a height of 10 -12 centimeters.
Keep the box in the shade until shoots emerge, sprinkling the soil daily. When shoots appear, the box must be placed in a bright, permanent place. Caring for a salad is quite simple. It is unnecessary to do any fertilizing. The main thing is to water the salad often, after 1 - 2 days.
Strawberry
Strawberries can be grown in both pots and crates. The only condition is the presence of a hole for the drain of excess water. If you approach the choice of varieties wisely, and plant both early and mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties, then the harvest will delight you all season.
Optimal is a balcony on the south side or one that is illuminated by the sun in the afternoon. On such balconies, strawberry bushes will bear fruit until the first frost appears, 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 feeding. 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 for the good development of young plants.
Strawberry whiskers should only be trimmed if they are in the shade. For the winter, with the onset of stable frosts, the plants are completely covered with sawdust. On warm days, they are ventilated, and at the beginning of March they are freed from shelter.
Strawberry
Many people love strawberries, especially their enchanting smell. Growing it will certainly be harder than peas, but it's worth it.
Buy strawberry seeds first, or you can buy sprouts right away. I can advise you "Golden Strawberry", it is sweeter than red strawberry and its smell is stronger. Prepare a long pot for her to grow in. Sprinkle the soil there and at a depth of about 2 cm, sprinkle the seeds evenly and sprinkle on top of the earth. Then pour it over with settled water. Provide the strawberries with sunlight (you cannot deprive them of this, as it will grow poorly), but you don't need much either, as it may begin to dry out. Water it periodically, and then you will have it well. It is best to immediately plant the strawberries in a large pancake pot, since further they may not withstand transplanting. Only if you have already grown a large strawberry, then it can be done. At least once every six months, strawberries should be transplanted to another land. Since from the previous earth, it draws into itself many different minerals, while weakening the earth. Alternatively, you can simply add fertilizer to the pot. And when it already begins to bear fruit with you, you can carefully remove the fruits and eat calmly, realizing that you grew it yourself without any GMOs.
Even pineapple can be grown in an apartment. It is enough to cut off the top with the 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 some of the lower leaves and stick the rosette about 2 to 3 centimeters into the ground. 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 stalk has taken root, and after a couple of years you can harvest the first crop.
Kiwi is just a magic 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-hardy kiwis, as they will tolerate cold weather on the balcony. Frost-hardy kiwis are considered one of the best species as they can withstand the cold. But there is one drawback, the fruits of this kiwi are not as big as ordinary kiwi. But they are edible anyway. After purchasing 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. Sprinkle the earth, and mix the top ball with the sand that contains the seeds.
It is best to spray the ground every day, but not too much, and water at room temperature. Then cover the seed pot with glass and place 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 spray it. When the first sprouts appear, be sure to transplant each sprout into a separate large pot. 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 it will need a place. Then, when the fruits appear, you can safely pluck them from the tree, peel and eat. And one more thing, all types of kiwi shed their leaves for the winter, so this should not be scared.
Lemons and tangerines are also often grown from fruits. Lemons really grow very large, half a room is occupied by a lemon tree.
It is imperative that when growing vegetables and fruits at home, you need to provide them with access to light and regular watering. Another very important thing is that they should all be self-pollinated (there are no bees in the house, and naturally there will be no one to pollinate them). Therefore, during flowering, you will need to shake the plants a little so that the pollen in the flowers mixes.
Both monoculture gardens and different types of vegetables look good. Usually, varieties bred for growing in a small area grow well together, but there are a number of subtleties that must be taken into account 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 - the weather, soil, the quality of the "seedlings" and, of course, your efforts, how carefully and carefully you will treat your green "pets".
We drive out everything
Plant breeders have such a concept - forcing. This is when plants are grown not from a seed, but from a root crop or even from a branch. This method is most often used when growing vegetables on a windowsill. The simplest thing is, of course, greens. Who among us in childhood did not plant an onion in a jar of water, then to pick fresh green "arrows" from it?
You can also plant onions in a box with soil: just place them in their bottoms on damp ground. Until the first shoots (by the way, they 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 a 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 feeding 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 look bright, they must be artificially illuminated during forcing. If you take care in advance, you can prepare various root crops yourself for their subsequent planting in boxes (they must be stored in a cool place). This can be the roots of all of the above plants from your garden or the roots of wild plants (for example, dandelion, chicory, burdock). A plant such as linden is also driven out to obtain vitamin greens: an ordinary branch is placed in water, and then fresh leaves are "eaten".
How to organize a garden on the balcony?
You can grow vegetables and herbs both in ordinary flower pots and in wooden boxes (the most optimal length is 40-50 cm, width - 20-25 cm, height - 12-15 cm, wall thickness - 20-40 mm). It is necessary to put drainage on the bottom - broken brick, gravel, coarse river sand. It is advisable that your greenhouse is located on the 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 (by the way, they come with illumination, which is very useful). It turns out something like a mini-greenhouse behind glass, which looks very decorative, and in addition, creates additional protection. It is very important to observe the temperature regime: plants equally dislike both cold and heat.
To prevent the mini-vegetable 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 containers with salt between the frames). And dry heat from the battery can be reduced by using a face shield and a humidifier (or simply covering the battery with a wet cloth).
Containers for growing vegetables and fruits on the balcony
Let's take a look at the main aspects of choosing and using different containers for growing vegetables on the balcony. It would seem 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 volume of capacity
Tank height
The choice of material from which the containers are made
Choice of container color
Selecting the shape of the container
The volume of the growing container is perhaps the most important parameter. The volume 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 met (well, or almost met, with the exception of lighting). Substrate moisture, temperature, nutrients - all this can be maintained in an optimal ratio. And the volume of the container is a permanent home for our plants.
There are no scientific rules here, the optimal volume can be selected only based on personal experience and agricultural technology. If someone cannot water often, then there should be more substrate, someone is limited by the balcony space, which means that 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 pepper, eggplant, 5 liters are enough
For cucumbers, zucchini, watermelons and melons, for Indets - you can use 7-8 liter pots
Tank height is another important parameter. Most ordinary pots have a height equal to or slightly larger than the diameter, but there are also tall ones - up to two diameters in height. There are also very low ones - half or a third of the diameter of the pot.
Growing root vegetables in a low pot will deform the root, roses and raspberries develop normally in tall pots and may be inhibited in regular pots. Solanaceous plants grow well in regular pots, while greens and herbs can be safely grown in low pots, saving on substrate.
The choice of material from which the container is made is influenced by the gardener's habit and agricultural techniques. Materials are porous and inert. Porous - this is wood, clay, inert - plastic, glass. Usually it is more convenient to work with plastic pots, since they have obvious advantages - low price (for technological pots), long service life, low weight, do not absorb salts and fertilizers, they are easy to wash, do not evaporate water through the walls and do not absorb irrigation water. The tree rots quickly, and clay pots made of non-glazed clay absorb salt into the pores, they are difficult to wash, they are fragile and fragile, heavy. And they are not cheap with a volume of 5-8 liters.
The color of the container affects the aesthetic perception of the garden. Someone wants the colors to be cheerful. But there is another important point - containers of different colors are heated in different ways in the sun. The lighter, the less they heat up (an important point!), And if the root overheats, the plants may develop serious diseases. Therefore, dark pots should be wrapped with light-colored material, such as paper.
The choice of the shape of the container 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 seedling pots save space on the windowsill. Plants can be planted in a permanent place 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 should be done often when the balcony is not glazed - frost, overgrowth of plants, wind, etc.
There is a lot of information on how to arrange a garden on a balcony, windowsill or on a plot next to a house on the Internet. So you can easily find it.
15 life hacks for gardeners (not all tips are good, but in general you can extract useful information from the video):
We wish you Health, Love and blooming gardens!
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Sometimes I want to go out onto the balcony, like Jamie Oliver, pick up my own grown vegetables and herbs and stir up something stunning from them. And the balcony, by the way, looks much nicer if it does not store old pieces of iron, which it is time to send to the landfill, but aromatic herbs and vegetables.
site chose several interesting plants that take root well on the windowsill or on the balcony.
Pepper
On the windowsill, you can grow a hot pepper for diablo pizza. It will require a warm, bright place and varieties suitable for home cultivation: "Carmen", "Flint", "Ogonyok", "Ryabinushka", "Bride", "Indian Summer", etc.
The bushes are very cute and do not require large pots. Up to 50 fruits can be set on one plant. The optimum temperature is 25-27 degrees Celsius.
Carrot
For growing carrots at home, it is better to take mini-varieties such as "Parmex", "Sophie", "Vnuchka". They grow in 80-90 days and do not require a lot of space - they will be fine with a pot or container. You can also take a funny round variety "Round baby".
The soil for the carrots should be light and well-draining. The vegetable can be grown in cut plastic bottles. The optimum temperature is in the range of 13-24 degrees Celsius.
Mint
Mint is a non-capricious and undemanding plant. It can grow on your windowsill or balcony, even in winter, if you arrange additional lighting. It can be grown from cuttings and seeds. If there is an opportunity to dig up a stalk in the country at home or from friends, it is better to use this method. Mint, grown from seeds, is not taken as actively, and it will take longer to wait for the harvest.
It is important to remember that the plant loves well-moisturized soil. And when choosing a place for it, keep in mind that the lighting should be good, but it is better to avoid direct sunlight. The optimum temperature for mint is 20-25 degrees with a plus sign.
Green onions
Growing green onions at home does not require any special dexterity. But nevertheless, it is worth considering some nuances: the bulb that you will plant should be round, dense to the touch and free from signs of rot, the root cup should be well-formed.
Immediately after planting, it is worth putting the onion in a cool, dark place so that the root system is better formed, and only then the feather will need a lot of light. The optimum temperature is 18-20 degrees, you should not overheat, because then the growth of greenery will stop.
Basil
Any kind of basil grows well in flower pots and boxes. It is better for him to allocate a sunny place, water well, keep warm and provide good drainage. For planting, you can use both cuttings and seeds. At the same time, the cuttings will quickly give the first harvest, but they will not last long, since they will bloom quickly. You will have to wait longer to harvest from seeds, but such a bush will also last longer.
The optimum temperature for basil is 20-25 degrees Celsius. In winter, backlighting is required for about 3-4 hours to increase daylight hours.
Cucumbers
To grow cucumbers on the windowsill or on the balcony, you should take a closer look at the hybrid varieties that are marked with the F1 icon. If all conditions are created for a plant, it can give 3-4 dozen fruits. Here you will have to tinker a little with the seedlings, but after transplanting into boxes, you will only need to water and cut the antennae.
Plants are planted in containers with a volume of at least 5 liters. It is important to remember that cucumbers are large water loaves and the ground should always be moist. The optimum temperature is 21-24 degrees Celsius.
Tomatoes
Dwarf varieties are usually chosen as home-grown tomatoes: Minibel, Florida Petit, Balcony Miracle, etc. You will have to assign the most illuminated place in the apartment to this miracle. You will need to start with seedlings, then plant them in containers, tie them up, feed them and protect them from the cold. This is one of the most troublesome balcony crops, but pride in the work done and gardening talent is attached to the crop.
It is important to remember that tomatoes, like all plants, love water, but they can be easily poured over. Therefore, water should be done carefully. The optimum temperature is 23-25 degrees Celsius.
Sorrel
Sorrel, in addition to its wonderful taste, is distinguished by the fact that it calmly tolerates shaded areas. It can be grown from rhizomes of 2-4-year-old plants with buds or from seeds of such varieties as "Maikop", "Altai", "Odessa broadleaf".
It can grow at 5 and 20 degrees Celsius and even withstands small frosts. So you can keep it on the balcony until the last, and if the balcony keeps heat well, then you can not clean it for the winter. The leaves are cut at a height of 8-10 cm, this must be done carefully so as not to damage the growth buds.
Ginger
Ginger is not only a delicious seasoning, but also a beautiful plant. If you plant it at home, the shoots can grow up to a meter in height. Pieces of ginger root are planted, consisting of at least a couple of sections with live buds. If the root is dry, you can hold it in warm water for several hours to wake up the kidneys.
The root should not be planted very deeply, and until the first shoots appear, it should be watered very sparingly. Keep ginger in the light, but away from direct sunlight. The optimum temperature is 20-25 degrees Celsius.
A pineapple
Text
Artem Luchko
Growing food yourself is a forgotten, but incomparable pleasure. In conditions when fruit and vegetable products from the EU countries, as well as the USA, Australia, Canada and Norway were banned, we risk being left without our favorite vegetables, fruits, salads, herbs and other things. To prepare for the fact that the government will ban the import of anything else, we decided to figure out how to provide ourselves with food and whether it is possible to conduct a subsistence economy in an apartment. The lack of a suburban area, extra time and a suitable climate does not mean at all that you cannot grow vegetables, fruits, salads, mushrooms and even edible insects.
Grow Your Own Pizza
With the Grow Your Own Pizza kit, you can help sanctions use only the freshest ingredients in your Italian cuisine without the hassle or fuss. Just place three prepared pots in a sunny spot and water them. After a while, you will have the main ingredients for pizza: tomatoes, peppers and basil, grown by your own hands.
The Woolly Pocket is a device that can create eternal spring in your home space. The area of our apartments does not allow us to organize a full-fledged greenhouse, but the problem is solved by hanging modular pockets that turn the inner walls of the house into hanging gardens. Woolly Pocket is well ventilated but water resistant. The wonder material they are made from is made from recycled plastic bottles.
The Auxano hydroponic system is specially designed for townspeople who want to grow vegetables, fruits within a confined space. Auxano is a practical solution that mounts directly to the window frame from the inside, allowing plants to access sunlight and converting unused space into a vertical garden. The built-in Oxygenating system maintains water circulation without being connected to the mains.
Click and Grow is another simple system for growing cherry tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, basil, coriander and more at home. The electric smart pot eliminates the need to water and feed the plants. It is enough to activate the built-in cartridge, and Click & Grow will automatically measure the necessary parameters and will accurately give the plants metered access to the right amount of water, fertilizer and air, depending on their needs. The Palo Alto company raised the money on Kickstarter last year to launch its second device, the Smart Herb Garden. The new model features LED backlighting.
The AeroGarden system will allow you to grow herbs, vegetables, lettuce thanks to aeroponic technology, which directly feeds the plant roots with water, oxygen and fertilizers. The tabletop garden is equipped with automatic lighting and indication on the display, where prompts will appear on when to top up water or add nutrients. It will be enough for you to install the sown pots and observe the growth of the plants. The AeroGarden comes in several sizes, and in addition, cartridges for growing different plants can be purchased.
Open Source Bug Farm Kit
Insects are an excellent source of protein and will soon have a chance to become part of our diet. A couple of years ago, UN representatives gave a report in which eating insects was called a real way to fight hunger in the world. Now everyone has a chance to taste the food of the future. , developed by Tiny Farms, allows you to create a personal farm with everything you need to start raising edible meal beetle larvae at home. The kit costs $ 114 and includes two main containers, a mounting frame, a selection kit, and an incubator. The company also offers free access to all the blueprints so that you can assemble the same farm on your own.
The Kitchen Mushroom Garden
The Kitchen Mushroom Garden is a simple kit for growing mushrooms in your own kitchen. The $ 19.99 kit includes everything you need to harvest fresh oyster mushrooms in two weeks. To do this, you just need to add water to the box. Mushrooms grow in a compact container filled with coffee grounds. As the producers of Mushroom Garden say, after picking ripe mushrooms, there remains nutritious compost, which will definitely come in handy as a top dressing for indoor plants.
The Urban Farming movement is gaining more and more popularity around the world. Residents of large cities take control of the process of creating food. In this review, we have collected 10 real-life examples of how you can grow food in a metropolis.
Niwa is a device that allows you to grow fresh vegetables all year round without leaving your home. This is a small box with glass walls, inside which you can equip a small vegetable garden.
At the same time, most of the functions of this box can be controlled remotely using a mobile phone. Using a smartphone, a Niwa farm owner can water his garden, build temperature and humidity readings, turn lights on and off, and even fertilize plants.
But Niwa users still have to collect the fruits manually.
The design called Urban Farm Unit combines two modern trends in the development of megacities. First, it is a compact building constructed from two shipping containers. Secondly, it is a store selling fresh vegetables that are grown on the spot.
The Urban Farm Unit has two levels. On the first one there is a sales point where city dwellers can buy fresh vegetables, only plucked from the garden. And on the second floor there is, in fact, a vegetable garden - compact, but effective.
Some people from rural areas who have moved to large cities sometimes do not have enough of their own vegetable garden to work on it with their hands, growing guaranteed fresh and organic products. The ideal solution for such people is an apartment building similar to the building called Stacking Green, built in the city of Saigon.
Stacking Green is a four-story mansion in which each window is a small garden. The owner of this building can pick fresh vegetables right in the kitchen and take care of his own garden while in the bedroom.
However, not every fan of digging with his own hands in the garden has the opportunity to build a house with window-beds. But a similar structure can be started even in the most ordinary city apartment, if you install technological agricultural structures with a name in it.
The Plant Window is a replacement for the traditional window. Instead of a conventional frame and glasses, this design provides for the creation of several small beds located one above the other.
Sunlight, automatic watering of plants with water, as well as the ability to set the desired temperature allow you to grow fresh vegetables and herbs in the Plant Window for the needs of the kitchen.
Architectural studio SPARK has created a multi-storey apartment building project for the city-state of Singapore. This building, despite its huge size and location within the metropolis, will also be a farm for the cultivation of organic food.
Gardens in Home Farm will be located not only in the courtyard of the house, but also directly on the walls of the building, along which there are common balconies-galleries. The creators of this complex hope that its inhabitants will be people who truly love to work in the garden and miss this occupation in a huge metropolis.
Italian designer Antonio Scarponi has developed a project for modular greenhouses called Farm-X, which are intended to be installed inside large cities. Their place is the roofs of apartment buildings, whose residents want to receive fresh vegetables and greens all year round.
Farm-X can be deployed on any roof size. The maximum possible greenhouse area is 400 square meters.
The first urban farm Farm-X is located on the roof of an apartment building in Basel, Switzerland.
In the city of Chicago, there is an unusual youth center called the Gary Comer Youth Center. In addition to the standard activities for such institutions (teaching, reading, sports and entertainment), young visitors to this place can also try their hand at agriculture.
The state-of-the-art Gary Comer Youth Center has a large vegetable garden on the rooftop with many fruit crops. Children who take care of the beds can share the harvest. Sometimes this is a good addition to the modest grocery basket of low-income families whose offspring are engaged in this youth center.
CapsulePot is a personal home garden for even the poorest or cramped families. The set includes sixteen small pots, each of which will allow you to grow a vegetable or edible herb.
The pot can be placed on a work table, windowsill, cabinet shelf or just on the floor. Includes garlic, basil, thyme, mint, marjoram and cilantro seeds. But if desired, tomatoes or other vegetables can also be grown in these containers.
At the same time, CapsulePot pots have special caps to protect plants from dry air, temperature extremes and other harmful external conditions.
The set with the name Nourishmat was created for city dwellers who have never been involved in agriculture in their life, but at the same time do not mind trying their hand at growing fresh vegetables and herbs in their free time from their main work.
Nourishmat is a small technological mat that needs to be laid out on a free patch of land measuring one and a half meters. The area of this "self-assembled tablecloth" is divided into several squares, each of which is signed and is responsible for a plant.
The Nourishmat automatically fertilizes and water the seeds so that the user gets fresh vegetables and herbs at the exit. The kit also includes detailed instructions for beginners in agriculture.
One fruitful Nourishmat mat is designed for five to seven years of use.
There are a large number of abandoned industrial facilities in Chinese metropolitan areas. Local urbanists suggest using these old factories and factories as urban farms.
The first such farm, appeared recently in the multimillion-dollar metropolis of Shenzhen. There is an experimental farm on an area of 2,100 square meters, the task of which is to develop technologies for growing natural products in an urban environment.
Value Farm has become not only an agricultural enterprise, but also a new attraction in Shengzhen, where people go for walks and photo shoots.
The Urban Farming movement and the solutions it offers will in the future make the existence of such a phenomenon in our life as a dacha meaningless. After all, the need for it will disappear - products can be grown even on the balcony or right in the living rooms of the apartment. And in New York, it does exist, implying the creation of vegetable gardens right in the center of this metropolis.
food ... currently it is exchanged with its producers for our services by means of banknotes. if our countries are covered just a shadowBP in the form of financialcrisis, then real values this world will be valued several times higher. food is real... there's nowhere further)..survival sites regularly offer hunting and gathering options. pasture is a little serious when it comes to survival fordecades... hunting in not so many Ukrainian forests, the population of wild animals will be quickly reduced to naught, at least in my area.hence my conclusion - to learn how to grow food yourself.
getting one kilogram of plant food requires several times less costs than one kilogram of meat. besides, you can't get meat without vegetable feed.hence my conclusion - to learn how to grow food yourself.
knowing the principles of business is much more important, easier, 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 - whatever. knowing the principles, YOURSELF can figure out the rules, recipes, tricks ... now to the point:
PURPOSE of cultivation... - according to further application, food is grown for the sake of: consumption by people, livestock, the land itself for the sake of maintaining fertility.
- according to the efficiency of body parts, food is grown for the sake of: seeds, tubers, flowers, stems with leaves.
- in terms of calorie content and the content of protein, microelements and vitamins, the most valuable are seeds, then tubers, then flowers and stems with leaves. in fruits of peas and beans the protein content is about 8 times, and in wheat and buckwheat it is 4-5 times higher than in tubers of potatoes, carrots and Jerusalem artichoke.
- some crops are economically profitable to grow for seeds, others for tubers and stems with leaves. for the sake of flowers, no one grows plants, but they can be collected by 1) thinning the beds, 2) collecting wild plants.
SEEDS... - most of the 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: in the first year, small bulbs are obtained from seeds. in the second year, large bulbs are obtained from them. although garlic can only be grown by planting cloves from full heads.
- if crops grown from seeds - tomatoes, peppers, cabbage - require a long growth period, 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 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, beet, lettuce, spinach - up to four; legumes, pumpkin seeds 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... - with sufficient heat and moisture, the seeds germinate. if there is not enough heat and enough moisture, the seeds rot. the more cold-resistant a culture, the longer it can lie in moist soil without decay, 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. meaning 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 easily 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. when frosts die.
- at the indicated 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 the above cultures germinate and grow several times faster at 18-25 degrees than at the germination temperature.
- Crops vary greatly in terms of 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 moisture level: by bringing it in from the outside by rain or by hand and mulching the soil. about it - just below.
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, it will grow in our country either "anyhow" or "almost nothing" and we will ask ourselves "how is this? we planted, worked, watered ”.
- three factors of the soil must be at a sufficient level: mechanical composition or looseness, nutritional value or fertility, provision of moisture. as a rule, the more thermophilic a plant is, the better the crop requires in all three parameters. tubers are more demanding in these parameters than cereals.
- fertility and looseness of the soil are ensuredin three ways: natural, accelerated and perverse... the natural way: the bodies of plants fall and die on the surface of the soil, being processed into nutrients by soil bacteria and worms, and thus serving the 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 10 times if we attack a bunch of special forces "EM team fighters". about the fast track, with reference to my story about these daring fighters, I already wrote: “ .
perverse way: the introduction of mineral fertilizers into the soil. they are like khachiks, do not allow local bacteria and worms to do business normally, and are constantly “covered” by their owners, whose goal is to “cut down” the harvest in a couple of seasons, and there - at least the grass will not grow. more details about it - in the video below.
growing conditions. LIGHT... for photosynthesis, i.e. processes of saturating oneself 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 a plant, the more light-requiring 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" by green manure. I already wrote about this: "".
- against insect pests, the most reliable way is to mask it with a smell. idea: the eyesight of these tiny creatures is worse. they fly to smell. if a mixture of different crops grows in the garden bed 1) and 2) there will be rotting mulch, which introduces its own - rather powerful - wave into the Babylonian pandemonium of odors, then insects will not fly there.
- certain insects also dislike certain smells. for example, the carrot fly dislikes onion odors, and onion pests dislike carrots. Conclusion: plant carrots and onions mixed.
- monthly cycles are not only for lovely ladies, but also for insects. it is reasonable to adapt to them. for example, if you plant carrots either 1) early in spring, or - which is even better - 2) in mid-late June, then the carrot fly 1) will fall on already strong root crops, or 2) will not find anything at the end of May or early June, when she is especially active.
- the most harmful booger in 4 years of gardening was definitely a bear. disguise by smell does not work against it. if we don’t want to poison with poison, or we don’t have it, then we do this: at the beginning of October we set aside a couple of places in the garden, where we bring about half a bucket of fresh horse dung. and sprinkle with herbs to maintain the smell and warmth. The bear is hiding from these aromas and under this heap will dig holes for itself in order to winter. when frosts come, you need to pick out this heap, throwing the earth from above with a shovel. and the bear will freeze. and for the same reason, there is no need to leave heaps of garbage and grass in the garden.
HARVESTING. « not that harvest, sho at poly, and that sho in komori". Ukrainian proverb.
- when our harvest is almost ripe, it begins to threaten: various birds, bugs and boogers, moisture and specific diseases. the less we allow a ripe crop to stand, the lower the risks. in principle, grains can also ripen in cut form, feeding on stems and leaves. for root crops it won't work. if we remove the roots ahead of time, they will be worse stored.
- signs of ripeness of root crops: potatoes - yellowing and dying off of the tops. Its ripening can be accelerated by mowing the tops 6-10 days before harvesting, this also contributes to the formation of a coarse crust on the tubers, which increases their resistance to mechanical damage during harvesting and transportation. garlic - yellowing of the lower and tips of the remaining leaves, straightening the arrows with bolls. if collected when the boxes began to open, then the garlic will be worse stored, if the heads of garlic in the hands disintegrate into chives - the garlic is overexposed in the ground. onions - lodging and yellowing of the feather, dried thin neck.
I RECOMMEND TO WATCH this 24-minute video
« Organic farming fundamentals».