The balcony vegetables garden: homemade tomatoes, zucchini and eggplants

We know, Spring has come a long time ago but in a "home" period like, it’s impossible to enjoy the beautiful days in the nature. But don't worry, here is an all-green activity to which we can dedicate ourselves by taking advantage of the only open space of our house: the vegetables garden on the balcony.

Growing vegetables and greens could be a good way to pass the time, learn a lot about agriculture and grow zero-kilometer products that will do very well for the nutrition of the whole family. Here is a #OriginalAtHome guide to create a small vegetable garden on your balconies.

THE SEEDS

For our Homemade vegetable garden we can recover the seeds of the vegetables that mum cooks us every day. For example, if you want to grow beautiful red tomatoes, you need to cut them in half and, with a teaspoon, collect the gelatinous inner part, the one that contains the seeds, put it in a glass of water and after three days with the help of a strainer, remove the impurities and you're done. If you are fond of zucchini to get the seeds of this delicious vegetable you must leave a zucchini for 10 days in a dark environment and let it mature as much as possible. Then cut it in half and always with the help of a strainer, take the seeds and rinse them. Finally, let them dry on a plate for two weeks. Here is a tip: you can use the same procedure to obtain the seeds from an eggplant, make sure that the vegetable is ripe and the seeds are dark brown in color.

 

THE PERFECT POT

Do you think that creating the garden on the balcony is a mission for expert farmers, wrong! Contrary to what you may think, it is much simpler than doing it in the countryside, as long as you respect some simple rules. Each pot must have the right size to allow optimal plant development. Tomatoes, zucchini and eggplants like 40-50 cm x 30-40 cm containers. It is also essential to put a layer of potsherds or gravel at the base of the pot to allow optimal drainage and use a soil rich in nutrients. If you don't have any pots available, we can use "alternative" remedies such as fruit boxes or glass jars.

 

THE CARE OF THE SEEDLINGS

After about a week we could already see the sprouts of our seeds peeking out from the soil. Our home garden is taking shape but at this stage pay the maximum attention because the plants need maximum care. Make sure that the soil is always humid and well drained and you will see your plants grow visibly so that a transplant of the cultivation in larger and more spacious pots may be necessary: no panic, water the plants well and traplants them being careful not to damage the roots.

In conclusion, with the right patience and with a little favorable climate you will have a small vegetable garden on your balcony which at the beginning of summer will give you a lot of good vegetables. We are sure that a pasta dish with our homemade tomatoes will have an even more special flavor. Enjoy your meal!