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Growing Vegetables in Urban Gardens

April 19, 2020

Urban gardening is a trend that becomes more and more interesting for gardeners for less space. Do you also want to plant fresh vegetables on your balcony? With these tips from us, you too can succeed in the art of urban gardening. No matter whether fruit tree, vegetable patch or herb bush - urban gardening is trendy. In addition to the private garden on the balcony or terrace, there are more and more projects for community gardens. 

 

Growing Vegetables in Urban Gardening

 

Urban gardening is an inspiration for green kitchens. You can use everything edible, like flowers, leaves, shrubs, for your favourite cooking recipes. Vegetables will give you even more options for the cuisine, but you should take care of the right supply first.

 

The right supply for your urban garden

Correct vessel - wrong or too small pots and boxes are among the most common beginners' mistakes. It is better to use a container that is too large than a container that is too small. If you choose wooden boxes, cover the inside with plastic so that no mould forms. Also, the plant pot should have holes so that excess water can drain off.

Provide enough sun and water - Position the garden pots where they get enough sunlight. At the same time, you should note that plants need a lot of water in summer. It is best to water your pots and beds every day. Morning is the ideal time for this because the ground is still fresh, and the water does not evaporate again.

Fitting vegetables - For the first experiences of success, we will recommend leaf lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, strawberries or herbs such as parsley, rosemary and mint. These varieties are particularly easy to grow. Radishes and spinach are also suitable because they grow quickly. Do you want a harvest that is as large as possible and that you can preserve for a long time? Then zucchini, chard and kale are the best choices.

Variety is vital - Each plant draws different nutrients from the soil. Therefore, you should alternate between vegetables and herbs when growing. In this way, the earth stays alive and has enough of all nutrients. Some types of plants, such as tomatoes, are also a matter of luck for experienced gardeners. Sometimes they just do not want to thrive - but don't let that discourage your urban garden from blooming.

 

My Facebook 'friends' don't care a bit about my achievement this year 😑 Who needs them, eh? 😁😍🍅🍅 from r/gardening

 

Compost your garden- Produce your fresh fertilizer, so you close the ecological cycle. For example, you can get a worm box. The worms transform your scraps into soil. Or try a Japanese composting method called Bokashi. With this method, even meat and other cooked foods can be composted.

 

Use space effectively with Squarefoot Gardening

A herb garden and vegetable garden in just a few square meters - that is possible if you choose the right plants and know how to use the space well. Small beds offer several advantages: They can be designed with little effort and prove to be the perfect solution when you have short time to grow vegetables, herbs and a few berries. And not only the harvest, but also the work can be divided into easily manageable portions.

The idea of ​​growing lettuce in chessboard-like areas comes from America. With "Squarefoot Gardening" each bed is divided into plots with an edge length of one foot, which corresponds to about 30 centimetres. A grid of wooden slats specifies the planting distances where herbs like dill and arugula can also be easily integrated. Perennial spice shrubs such as thyme, oregano and mint are better grown in the herb bed. They interfere with the regular change of place of the other species.

 

 

 

What you should look out for urban gardening in a store

But what if you are missing simple ingredients to build your dream garden? If you want to grow your flowers, plants and vegetables yourself and protect them from bad weather, here's what you need:

 

Garden soil

When it comes to garden soil, the so-called nutrient medium, it is important to me that it does not have too much peat. This has two advantages: Firstly, the environment is protected because less peat is broken down and secondly, the earth does not dry out too quickly in hot summer temperatures. It is sometimes best to use natural compost since it contains essential long-term nutrients and better replicates humus. You can buy soil in the garden market, hardware store or online. 

 

The right plant pot

You might hardly think so, but the right choice of planter later also plays a role in how well your crop will thrive. Most of you will now have the simple plastic pots in mind for cost reasons. The perfect choice for the plant pot is definitely "clay" or terracotta. 

Why are clay pots much better? Clay planters have the advantage that they sometimes have a better air exchange because it is a natural material, but the much more critical point is that the sun's heat is stored. The roots love that and thank you with a splendid growth. In the case of Mediterranean plants, this can determine whether the plants are successful or not.

 

Self-growing

Own breeding, what kind of adventure does that bring? It takes a bit of patience here, as you cannot start outdoors before the end of May. Seeds, growing pots, growing soil and the right plant lighting, are an advantage in the process of building new small seedlings.

 

Climbing aid, tomato support & binding wire

If you want to grow tomatoes on the balcony, you will not be able to get past a tomato spiral stick or a bamboo cane. Certain types of cucumber or zucchini can also be ranked, and there are such high nets that you can attach.  

But it all depends on your balcony and the place you want to do it. Bamboo sticks should not be missing. Thin small and long thick ones can further simplify the balcony gardener. Tomatoes need firm support. The sticks alone do not provide proper support, so you still need a suitable binding wire or the well-proven tomato clips.

 

Water can

Which is the right balcony watering? No life without water, so another essential point. If you only have a few vegetable plants and flowers, a small watering can certainly do its job.

 

Our tip for large plants

If you have to be stingy with space, you should also rely on vegetables that prefer to aim high instead of growing in width. This includes not only runner beans and peas but also less vigorous mini-cucumbers and small-fruited pumpkins. The shoots find a secure hold on poles and sticks made of wood, bamboo, metal or a decorative climbing aid made of self-woven willow branches.

 

 

The cultivation of tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and basil in large pots and tubs on the balcony or terrace is not only recommended if there is not enough space. Protected from wind and rain, the plants are spared from fungal diseases such as brown rot, grey mould and mildew and, thanks to the cheaper microclimate more fruit than in the bed.

Experience has shown that vegetables and varieties are grown individually in pots cope better with the narrowly defined root area than variants for bedding crops. And because the distances are short, the necessary maintenance work, especially the frequent watering, can usually be done casually.


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