Nowadays, the tendency is going back to natural things. Nature provided us the essential natural resources in life: water, natural gas, sand, stone and metals. Our job, as humans, is making a responsible use of them. But what is the issue? The pollution all over the world is massive: big factories, people´s irresponsible use at their houses, illegal fishing, excessive street contamination and more factors reduce the chance of having a healthy planet. Luckily, some groups of people are making a difference in the word. A great example is Urban Farm and Food-Growing: the new trend at home. Imagine planting your own veggies and fruits without the need of going to the supermarket? Find in this article different tips and recommendations for your own urban farm.
Let´s first explain that urban farming is the growth of plants within a city or town. That means that plants can grow on your backyard, at your house or in a container on the street. Options are multiple. The first step to create an urban farming is finding the appropriate land. But what about the ones that haven´t got a backyard? They can buy a plantable elevated garden bed. Place it inside your house or in your balcony. Going back to the first advice, gardeners recommend checking the water entrance into the land you choose to create an urban farm. Water and sun are the essential resources for your plants´ growth.
The second step in the guide: how to create an urban farm is testing the chosen soil. In gardening books you can find all the instructions to do it but I recommend hiring an experienced gardener on the subject. A soil sample is all needed to determine the nutrients, composition and pH level found in the soil. The sample results will be useful to assess the convenient products for the soil. If it is too acid, then all you need to do is buying a soil acid neutralizer. Because it can be bad for plants and also for humans.
Urban farming is beneficial because vegetables and spices can grow in there. Growing food locally is knowing that good quality is assured. That production can be given to the people who need it inside the community. The third step to create an urban farm is ensuring food safety. Attending to a workshop of best practices for crops is the best thing to do.
Aero gardens are the new tendency in the world of plants. Technology has surprised us one more time! Now everyone can have fresh vegetables and fruits inside their house. This technological gadget has different sizes: space for three, six and more crops. These crops grow with the help of led light and water. Led light replaces the sun, but in this case the sun is all day present. Growing food locally can be perfectly achieved with this modern system. Most aero garden reviews have an adjustable led light: adjust the height of the light depending on the types of crops growing in your aero garden. How does the water system works? Most aero gardens have a removable water tank.
The removable water tank is located under the crops so that they can absorb the water they need to survive. You must be figuring out how do the crops know when they need food! Well, these aero garden reviews have a led control panel that automatically waters the plan depending on the time set by the owner. The design of these aero gardens is minimalist and can be perfectly located at your kitchen or in the living room. Growing food locally has never been so easy! Some of the crops that can grow in them are: strawberries, herbs, zucchini, bell pepper and cherry tomato. Plants do photosynthesis through the led light.
At the beginning of your gardening life, the best thing to do is finding the easiest vegetables to grow available. Green seeds are on top of the list: lettuce, romaine, spinach, kale and oakleaf. Green vegetables are an excellent option to eat during lunch or dinner. They have high levels of potassium, magnesium, fiber and iron. Make a salad in three minutes with fresh lettuce and organic oil. That´s the advantage of growing food locally.
How long do greens need to growth? Since the moment you plant the seed to the moment when you cut the crop six weeks passed by. A short period of time if we think about the growth of a lemon tree for example. Radishes is another member of the easiest vegetables to grow. In twenty days from the day you plant the seeds, you will be eating delicious radishes at home.
Make a salad or croquettes: my sister looooves radish croquettes! What is their maintenance? They need regular water to grow quickly. Gardeners recommend planting them at the beginning of spring. Another easy vegetable to grow in your garden is carrots. They are not difficult to grow but the key is in the soil condition. Growing food locally requires the study of the soil. Carrots, radishes and green are great options to plant on your urban farm! What they need to grow long and with deep roots is being planted in deep soils without rocks. Carrots can be made in the oven with olive oil and curry, but you can also cook them in a pan with sugar: this combination is explosive! Leave in comments if you tried to do it!
You may be also interested at: 7 of the Best Mushroom Kits to Grown your Own at Home
Plants need fertilizers to survive in good conditions and to grow on time. If you are reading this is because you live a sustainable life. Hence, regular fertilizers are not within your map of options. That is why organic fertilizers are here for you. They are plant based: made with products like compost, soybean, cottonseed meal and sea weed Those components are full of nutrients for your plants. Why do plants need fertilizers? Plants feed themselves with different types of nutrients. They need nitrogen from the soil to grow. When nitrogen is not found in the soil, gardeners resort to organic fertilizers.
Fertilizers are great allies since crops grow bigger and faster with them. That is why testing your soil properties is so important! If you know what your soil needs, then you will know what fertilizers are required. It is a long term investment: you buy organic fertilizers and you assure a good year of good growth in your garden. Knowing about organic fertilizers may save you a headache in your urban farm: fertilizers are your friends :)
The best liquid fertilizers are the ones that provide micro and macro nutrients to the soil, as well as beneficial microbes. Let´s learn some theory about nutrients: the basic ones are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K). Secondary macronutrients consist of calcium, magnesium and sulfur. Copper and iron are other necessary nutrients. Growing food locally requires knowledge about some basic things that will save your life!
Water is the most important natural resource in the world but today water needs to be taken care of because it won´t exist forever. A great step to do so is learning the rainwater collection benefits! There are tons of options available online to buy: portable rain barrel water collectors in different sizes and designs. Place the rain water collector under a downspout and wait for rainy days. Water will be stored inside the collector, capacity depends on the collector you buy. The majority of rain water collectors have a spigot with switch and a filter. Once the collector is full, open the spigot and store that water somewhere else. Your urban farm will thank you for this incredible water!
Now it is time to explain some of the rainwater collection benefits! Families use that water to wash some clothes or small things. Another good usage is watering your plants. The rain water is free from chemicals and pesticides so it is a win-win. The rain water collectors are easy to use and to build. Some people prefer having beautiful rain water collectors so that they match with their aesthetic gardens, but others prefer buying recycled plastic rain water collectors to save the planet. Either choice would mean a change in the planet. We need to take advantage of all the available options to help the planet at the moment. The rainwater collector is a fantastic option for your urban farm: save water and reuse it to feed your garden plants.
I hope that this review is helpful for the new gardeners at beginner level. The benefits of having an urban farm are many as you could see. Revise all the tips and recommendations at your house and start planning your project: the best urban farm in your neighborhood! Leave in comments what has been your favorite tip so far.
Psssst take a look at: Here is the complete Guide on how to Composting at Home
