Growing and consuming your own nutritious veggies at home
In the heart of the city, you can still cultivate a bountiful garden. Here's a comprehensive guide to growing your own vegetables and herbs, using natural methods and appropriate techniques for urban spaces.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes can be grown from seeds or bought as young plants from a garden centre. For juicy, aromatic tomato fruits, occasional doses of hornspans and regular watering are recommended. Remember, no additional fertilizer is required when using this special compost, but it should always be kept moist.
Growing Tomatoes in Small Spaces
Tomatoes can thrive in pots or buckets on a balcony or terrace, even under a small plastic greenhouse.
Radishes
Radishes are easy to grow, even in flower pots using organic garden soil. Before sowing, you can work hornspans into the soil for better results. Seed tapes, with seeds in the correct distance on thin fleece that dissolves after a short time, are also available.
Carrots, Spinach, Parsnips, and Leeks
These root vegetables are sown in rows. Proper soil management is key: loosening the soil before planting promotes root growth and moisture retention.
Onions
Growing your own onions is uncomplicated but rewarding. They require no special care, except occasional soil loosening and weed removal.
Salads
Salads can be sown under a plastic tunnel in March, providing an early harvest.
Cabbage, Cauliflower, Red Cabbage, and Brussels Sprouts
These are easiest to plant as young plants. They are heavy feeders, requiring manure, available in the trade in granular form from composted cattle manure.
Pumpkins
Winter pumpkins like Hokkaido or Butternut ripen in the fall. Pumpkins can be grown in an ideal high bed with at least one square meter surface area. Remove leaves from the fruiting shoots to allow more sunlight to fall when the first small pumpkins form.
Soil Improvement
For soil improvement in the garden, a soil analysis can provide valuable insights. Enrich and improve the soil with natural means such as rock dust, which enriches the soil with valuable minerals and trace elements, and dolomitic lime, which activates soil life and eliminates soil fatigue.
Natural Pest Control
In urban gardens, pests can be a challenge. Natural pest control methods include thin nets to prevent egg-laying of butterflies, collecting caterpillars and snails by hand, and relocating them to places where they can do no harm.
Raised Beds and Layered Substrates
To ensure careful soil management when planting vegetables in the city, consider building raised beds with layered substrates. A coarse, airy base layer for ventilation and faster decomposition, followed by layers of smaller branches, compost for nutrients, and a top layer of high-quality soil refreshed annually, can help maintain soil fertility and reduce pest problems.
Promoting Growth
Promote the formation of side shoots and female flowers by cutting off the tips of the main shoots as soon as they are about 45 cm long. This encourages bushy growth and more fruit production.
Herbs
Chives, parsley, basil, and cress can be grown in pots filled with seed-raising compost. These herbs not only add flavour to your meals but also attract beneficial insects to your urban garden.
With these tips and techniques, you can cultivate a thriving urban garden, enjoying the benefits of home-grown vegetables and herbs all year round. Happy gardening!
