Ever imagined rising with the sun and tending to your crops, all before you try and beat morning traffic? While you might have shrugged the idea off, thinking that to go grow vegetables in the city is nearly impossible, you should know that there’s plenty of greenery that can thrive in the urban space. And you don’t even need a backyard. Your balcony would do, and even your kitchen.
This way you can get fresh produce without having to worry about the nasty pesticides and chemicals that used to grow plants these days. So here’s a short list of edible plants you can start growing in your home today, even if you’re an urban dweller.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a great and nutritious food source, especially in summer when you might want to take a break from eating stake every day. And while it’s true that they tend to favor the outdoors, you can still grow tomatoes indoors.
One thing you need to do, though, is to make sure your plants are placed facing the window in direct sunlight. Start by selecting a pot for each plant, the proceed to fill it with a potting mix and plant seeds. Make sure they are buried about ¼ inch deep.
The pot should always be placed in an area that gets substantial sunlight. Don’t forget to water the plant, as the soil should always be kept moist. Leave the seeds to germinate around 5 to 10 days. Once the seedlings are about 10-inch tall, think about moving them into a potting soil. As they reach maturity, tomato plants need to be watered 2 to 3 times a week.
Herbs and spices
Herbs are the key ingredient for any tasty meal. But they can be quite expensive when purchased from the supermarket. Not to mention that you need quite a few, if you truly want to experiment with your cooking.
The good news is that you can easily grow plants like thyme, sage, rosemary, parsley, mint or marjoram in a container on your balcony or kitchen window.
Indeed, each of these herbs has different requirements, but most of them just need a sunny spot (just like tomatoes) and regular watering to grow and flourish. The best part is, you don’t even need seeds to start growing these spices in your home. For example, cilantro and ginger can be grown from starter plans.
Avocado
Avocado is a versatile fruit that’s shouldn’t be missing from your kitchen. That’s why it would be super handy to have it growing in your apartment.
You don’t to buy seeds to plant your own avocado either. Simply eat the fruit and keep the pit. Rinse it clean and stick a few couple of toothpicks in it. Using these toothpicks suspend it in water with the pointed side upwards. Keep it like that for a few weeks. Then transport it into a pot.
Note that avocados are rainforest plants, so they need to be protected against extreme heat and cold when young. If you live in an area affected by very high temperatures, you might want to water them as much as twice a day.
