Get ready to grow your own vegetables and you will gain physical and emotional health.

Being in touch with the land, vegetation and nature is essential in our lives. There is evidence that regular contemplation of nature boosts the immune system and helps people live longer and healthier lives.

Steps to set up an urban garden

1. Light. If it gets a lot of sunlight, plant tomatoes, peppers or aubergines. If it gets less than 4 hours of direct light, use lettuces, leeks, lamb’s lettuce or spinach. They grow in semi-shade.
2. Land. Ready-made growing media made of coconut fibres and compost are available. You can make your own with rehydrated coconut fibre (60%), vermicompost (30%) and garden soil.
3. Water. Opt for irrigation systems with localised drip hose and automatic timer. This way you rest assured that your plants don’t go thirsty, even if you go away for a few days.
4. Seeds. Most vegetables that can be grown on a balcony are easy to propagate by direct sowing. Seeds are more rewarding than rooted seedlings.
5. What to grow? It is the season to plant carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, beetroot, marigold lettuce and cherry tomatoes. Although they tolerate the heat well, they need to be watered daily.
6. Add variety. Between lettuces, tomatoes or peppers, plant radish, rocket, turnips, onions, leeks or garlic. They take up little space and stimulate each other.
7. Protection. Control aphids and bugs by moistening the plants with a liquid prepared by crushing 3 cloves of garlic and 3 chilli peppers and diluting them in a litre of water.

Did you know that for every kilogram of vegetables we grow in an urban garden we stop producing 2 kilograms of greenhouse gases?

Source:

The organic home garden. Bueno, Mariano. 25/02/2016 RBA Integral.

This post is also available in: Portuguese (Portugal)