With summer being in full bloom, I thought it would be nice to focus a bit on my garden: growing veggies at this period is a very popular thing to do as the ‘healthy lifestyle’ craze has taken over the entire population. I’ve been reading about all the important veggie types one should consume according to the current season, and summer is all about greens. My particular favourites: asparagus, broccoli and some good-old spinach.
A popular trend nowadays is vegetable gardening in containers; you don’t have to have an entire garden just for growing vegetables in large amounts, you just need to enjoy the activity and devote some time and efforts to it. This trend was accepted by people all around the world very fast, so now you can see urban gardens on buildings’ rooftops, on balconies and in kitchens. This way you can grow your own exotic veggies and have them within your arm’s reach whenever you need them, not having to worry whether the produce is organic and healthy, or not.
In this post, I’d like to present how I started vegetable gardening in containers in my own small garden: what were the containers like, how I made the particular choice of plants and what they needed to survive in containers.
The containers, or planter boxes if you prefer, should be large enough to allow you to plant in them. They shouldn’t be small and definitely shouldn’t be shallow. You need something to provide enough space for root growth which will enable the plants to thrive. Consider something between 18-24 centimetres deep. In addition, choose a place where you’ll place your planter box so that it gets as much light as possible. Also, if you’re leading a busy lifestyle, consider getting self-watering planters – that way you won’t have to think whether you watered your plants or not.
The next thing you need are the plants. I chose greens because, according to my nutritionist, I need to include them more in my diet. If you need to include something else, like fruits, or maybe you want to have some herbs at your disposal at all times, no worries – it is very much possible. All you will need to do is make the proper research and prepare right. Here’s what I did for my vegetable choices.
Asparagus
I chose the asparagus after reading that it’s like a tightly packed nutritious bomb of vitamins and minerals: vitamin K, C, A and the entire B-complex; potassium and iron as well as a fair dose of fibres. Also, asparagus has folate, which is a major substance in fighting cardiovascular diseases. Also, it’s an aphrodisiac, so that’s a big plus. Asparagus is great for growing it in containers because it cannot thrive if surrounded by weed. Also, it’s an amazing plant for summer since it fancies a lot of sun. I planted mine literally in the most open spot in the garden, exposing it to as much sunlight as possible. It certainly takes some time to grow, but once it does, it will be there for many years to come.
Spinach
Popeye definitely knew the secret to being strong and healthy! Spinach is full with iron and has many health benefits. The most important thing to remember about it is that it’s a type of plant that needs a lot of nutrients. So, the soil in which you’ll plant it needs to be constantly fed with quality nutrients like nitrogen, fish emulsion or cotton-seed meat. Also, before planting, the soil needs to be fed with fertilizer. The interesting thing about spinach is that it can grow together with other plants in a container. For instance, parsley goes perfectly well with it.
Broccoli
As a kid, I was not exactly the biggest fan of broccoli. And truth be told, I wasn’t until recently, when I finally tried them in a combination with avocado and some leafy greens in a salad, with cheese and mushrooms on top. Tasty, indeed! Broccoli are abundant with nutrients that I can’t even begin to list. They’re so healthy that consuming them regularly could protect you against cancer. Broccoli require a little more effort for growing, but the most important thing you need to know from the start is that they thrive best when exposed to sun and in a moist and fertile soil that’s a little acidic. Don’t forget to regularly feed their soil with quality fertilizer.