How to grow vegetables at home in a city?
Hello, Urban gardeners!
When we decided to embark on our journey called Berry Berry Green, we had one main goal. It was to show that if we as urban dwellers, totally clueless about what a crop and urban gardening was, could grow food ourselves, it is possible for anyone.ย
Do you have a small Balcony/Terrace? If not, you sure have a window sill. More important, do youย want to experience the magical feeling of growing your own produce, no matter how small it is? Do you want to teach your kids the way of sustainable living at an early age?
If YES! ( with enthusiasm :)) then read on. Even if the answer is NO, read on, maybe you might convert.
Our garden in the village of Izgrev is tiny for the rural scale. That forces us to think like urban gardeners on how to best use our available space. Keeping that in mind, we want to help more people experience the pleasure of eating home-grown vegetables, fruits and herbs, even in the city. Did you know that Urban gardening is not something new?
What does urban gardening mean?
Until the 19th century, growing fruits and vegetables in urban areas was quite common.ย
Examples of urban agriculture date back to Egyptian societies in the Middle Ages. Gardens were also created during the modernization of cities in the 19th century. In times of crisis, city gardens helped solve state problems. During World War II, the British government set up a “Dig for Victory” campaign to overcome the lack of imported food. All the open spaces, even the lawns around the Tower of London, had been turned into vegetable gardens. Millions of leaflets had been distributed to train people to farm. Thanks to this campaign, almost 50% of the island’s fruits and vegetables were grown in small urban gardens. In Spain, during the World Economic Crisis, the area of โโurban gardens increased sixfold. Networks of municipal gardens were being set up. Many of the city gardens were run by neighborhood associations, universities and environmental groups. Today, the Cuban capital, Havana, has more than 8,000 city gardens, producing more than two-thirds of the city’s fruits and vegetables.
Home garden – how to start
Don’t think that urban gardening is all about big terrace gardens or shared neighborhood gardens. Even a few pots at home can be your city garden in which you can grow your own produce.
Everyone knows that home-grown fruits and vegetables have nothing that equals it in taste! Imagine the pride in the eyes of your child who planted the seed with their own hands and watered it. Having experienced it first hand, believe me when I say that this little effort will come back as immense satisfaction and joy.
The plants that can easily be grown in as small a space as possible (for example, in pots, large boxes, cut tubes of mineral water) are those with a shallow root system. Radishes, lettuce, cucumbers, spinach, chard and leafy herbs are just a few examples. If we use deeper pots, we can also grow beans, peas, carrots and even tomatoes. Especially the cherry tomatoes that children love. Cool aint it? ๐
Today, urban gardening is a serious social movement. An indication to this would be the fact that companies producing gardening equipment have started making specialized tools and kits for urban gardeners.
I will say that a good place to start would be to decide whether in the coming year you want to grow something on your own balcony. Or, will you give life to a garden in front of the block or shared community space (societies in India).
What can you do in Varna?
You can apply to the mayor, according to the Ordinance of the Municipality of Varna for construction, management, control and protection of the green system in the Municipality of Varna. If you get a positive answer you can sign a contract with the municipality for free maintenance of green areas . The initiative of Humana provides a plot of land, seeds, tools and everything necessary for inexperienced enthusiasts in Vladislavovo. The initiative started this autumn, so people can learn to grow vegetables and herbs in a sustainable way. You can follow similar process across the country.
For people across the globe, I am not sure if there are such local initiatives in your countries. But, the fact of matter is, you can do this and make a difference.. My family grows their own herbs on the window-sill of their apartment in the city of Mumbai. ๐ Not only that, a special committee manages and maintains the garden in the apartment block . So, there are no excuses.
As we move ahead, we will be sharing articles and videos on how you can achieve this. So do not forget to bookmark the website and take a step towards making the world a better place.
The next article will be on what and how to choose to plant in your home garden. Do not forget … – He who grows a garden, cultivates happiness!
