Home Garden Secrets. Part 1

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Well, the next summer season is coming to an end. And what saves the summer resident-gardener-gardener on long winter evenings from longing for his native piece of land outside the city? Of course, he is a home garden. Several artificially created beds in their own apartment, a separate room, given over to a home greenhouse. We propose to talk about the intricacies of maintaining and following such a hobby in a series of articles - the secrets of the home garden. And I would like to start with a discussion of the benefits of a "green" window sill and the first steps to its foundation

The benefits of a home garden in winter

Many people may have a question - is such a home garden needed in an apartment in winter? Maybe you should not bother, go to the store and buy the same greens or vegetables, berries that are now in every supermarket?

But for those who adore gardening and gardening, for restless-minded summer residents who longingly think about the winter period in their life and their lack of demand during it, such a home green window sill can add a special charm to their leisure time. Moreover, they can watch with interest how their favorite cultures develop in the unusual conditions of a city apartment. So after all, the products grown at home will be real, free from harmful additives, fresh, grown, as always, with our own hands!

Isn't it worth the effort spent on a home garden? We are not talking about the fascinating process of growing useful plants and products, when they are laid from seeds in the ground to growing them into a full-fledged healthy, delicious product.

So, it has been decided - we start a home mini-vegetable garden. Where do we start to act if such a home mini-greenhouse is being organized for the first time?

Let's start with inventory

You will need a container for growing plants. For example, plastic containers. You can also buy more expensive ceramic, clay - according to your taste and budget. The main thing is that this container has a pallet and holes at the bottom for the drain of excess moisture from them. Although zealous owners may not buy containers, but make them themselves or use improvised materials - cans, boxes made of thick cardboard, old plastic dishes, and so on. The main thing is to make holes in such containers and organize the plants that will grow in them, good drainage.

Container primer

Mix for the container is now so easy to purchase at any gardening store. There is a desire? Take the soil from your summer cottage in the fall if you think it is safe and suitable for growing garden crops in your home.

From the types of purchased soil in the store, we advise you to stay on organic, based on vermicompost. You will need soil for seedlings of horticultural and horticultural crops. Or it should be a versatile soil for growing indoor plants and vegetables. It is good if the soil is packed in containers in your area.

You will also need to purchase drainage for containers, which will prevent mold and mildew from appearing in them, help circulate the air inside the container, and saturate the soil with oxygen. Small expanded clay is suitable as drainage. Or you can make it yourself (drainage) from a broken clay pot, torn cardboard mixed with pieces of styrofoam, small pebbles, aquarium gravel.

The first work on the arrangement of the home garden

Drainage must be poured into the bottom of the container, filling one third of its volume with it. Now we sprinkle the drainage with soil. But only a little. Literally sprinkle it lightly with soil. Now add another layer of drainage one centimeter thick. Next, we fill in the soil in two steps. Fill half of the container with soil and tamp it lightly. Pour the rest of the soil up to the top into the container, but do not tamp it anymore so that the soil is loose.

Do not pour the soil into the container "under the neck", otherwise you will have a difficult time with watering the plants afterwards. And the seeds introduced into the soil can be washed out of the container. At the top, the distance from the edge of the ground to the edge of the container should be about two centimeters. In fact, the place for planting the seeds of future home garden crops is ready. In the next issue of the secrets of the home garden, we will talk about the types of greens that can be planted in prepared containers.