We are increasingly concerned about our health, the quality and traceability of the food we eat and good habits. A good solution for these three questions is based on growing our own vegetables at home. Perhaps for this reason there is an increasing number of what are known as urban allotments.
The first step to be taken into account to set up an allotment of this type is the situation. Light is the basic requirement for vegetables and therefore any balcony or terrace that has direct light for at least 6 hours per day will provide us with a good crop.
The second point to take into account is watering. In the case of wanting to go on holiday or not having enough time each day to water, you must install an automatic watering system. It sounds complicated but it isn’t really, and you can find everything you need in any DIY shop. Even by recycling a micro-perforated plastic bottle we can obtain a practical watering system of this type, for specific moments.
If we have the issues of light and watering sorted out, we must now decide on the container. It is important that it fulfils the following requirements:
- It must be light to make it easy to move on the balcony and not overload the structure of the building.
- It must have good drainage.
- The bigger the volume the better.
- It must be impermeable to the changes of temperatures of roots, above all in small pots.
The final stage will be the choice of earth, also called soil. Some garden soils may contain residues of purifier mud which may contain a high content of heavy metals. Don’t trust the cheaper soils or without labels where you can’t read all the ingredients. Coconut fibre is a good soil since it is light, with high porosity and great stability.
In the coming months we will give you planting and growing tips so that it is a great success.
