LIFESTYLE
These Balcony Farms Will Make You Want To Grow Your Own Sky Garden
Yes, grow all the things. Eat all the things.
Space is a luxury one just can't afford these days and buying veggies and kitchen ingredients is an obligation you cannot ignore if you cook.
Most of us go the easy route and eat at our parent's house, or tapao from the local mamak. But some of us are turning to urban farming, planting veggies and herbs in small spaces, on their balconies and windows.
Growing greens on your tiny balcony
"Come on la, where can?" Can. Just look at these growers. We reached out to the Facebook group Malaysian Gardeners and humbly requested for Malaysians who are actually growing plants on their balconies. Not just any plants but plants that they can harvest and use in the kitchen.
The balcony above belongs to grower Samantha. She is a home-based pastry supplier and uses the herbs from her sky garden for her dishes. Her balcony is 8 feet in diameter with 4 feet of depth. She uses rosemary and basil leaves for her cooking, and she also has ginger, spear mint, pepper mint, and Thai basil among others. Not pictured above is a kale, which she has grown and harvested at least 3 – 4 times already.
Like Samantha, Jenny's balcony houses herbs that can be used in the kitchen. Her balcony measures at 11 x 4 feet. She used to grow leafy vegetables that can be cooked as well but they were eradicated by spidermites. The road to growing your own veggies is a tough one indeed.
Finally, Lily lives in a condo in Penang and she has managed to grow this gigantic sawi from her balcony alone. There's a healthy amount of individuals who are already into urban farming so the question is:
How the heck do I start growing my own veggies?
To answer this question, we asked the good folks at the social enterprise Eats, Shoots, and Roots. Founded in 2012, they aim to "Empower urban communities with the skills and tools to grow their own food." They help design edible gardens, garden programmes, and products for communities of all shapes and sizes.
We managed to get a hold of one of their co-founders, Beatrice, who gladly clued us in to the world of farming for your food. She gave us the full who, what, how to growing so here's your starter pack:
What to grow?
To start, some tropical lowland perennial plants because they require less energy in replanting, but if you wanted to plant annuals as well, it's not an issue, just more care.
Examples of tropical lowland perennial plants: leafy greens - kangkung, malabar spinach, brazilian spinach, sweet potato leaf; herbs - mint, curry leaf, turmeric, ginger, lemongrass, kesom leaf, fake dill (redstem wormwood); fruits - peria katak; legumes - winged beans
Examples of tropical lowland annual plants: leafy greens - kailan, pakchoy, sawi, amaranth / bayam; roots - radish; fruits - okra, brinjals, chili, rosella, peria katak; legumes - long beans, french beans; herbs - basils, tarragon, ulam raja
Tip for smaller spaces: Grow vines such as malabar spinach which can feed an army if you grow it vertically with a trellis!
Tip for spaces with less sunlight: Grow shade tolerant plants such as pandan, kadok
You can start even with some of the things you've bought from the supermarket, don't throw the stems away, just put them in a glass of water and change the water daily. Watch the roots grow and then transplant it into soil. e.g. sweet potato leaf stems, kangkung stems, malabar spinach stems, mint stems, gingers, onions, garlic, turmerics, raw ground nuts (with shells)
What kind of pots do I need to grow in?
Bigger is better, so that roots can expand and grow, at least 30cm high and 30cm width is good to start. Ensure there is a hole at the bottom for water to drain out. You can use plastic pots, or ceramic pots, galvanised steel pots or anything that is easy for you to move around as you live on a balcony!
What kind of soil do I need in my pots?
To create the perfect environment for growth your pot will require three equal parts: sand, cocopeat, and compost. The sand allows water drainage so it doesn't get flooded, the cocopeat allows moisture retention, so that it won't dry out so fast, and the compost gives nutrients to the plants and builds healthy microorganisms in the soil.
Finally, how the heck do you grow plants?
Depending on the type of seed, you will choose a planting method. Big or hardy plant seeds should be planted in a pot or in the ground. Fruiting or flowering plants can be planted in seedling trays, and any other seeds can be planted in peat pellets (which can be found in hardware stores or garden centres).
To start you off, Eats, Shoots, and Roots, sells seed boxes that contain three vacuum-sealed seeds that are easy to grow. They come conveniently with peat pellets, plant markers and an instruction leaflet.
The instructions in their pack is pretty self-explanatory but we'll go through it:
1. Prepare the peat pellets. Those round hockey-puck-looking things by soaking the pellet in a shallow tray. Make sure it's a cool day (morning or evening).
2. The pellet will expand and you can plant the seed into the pellet. Plant it twice as deep as the size of the seed. Put about 2 – 3 seeds in there.
3. Store it away from direct sunlight for 1 – 2 weeks.
After that, prepare your pot, and transfer your baby plant into the pot.
Finally, here are some pro tips for caring for your new 'baby'.
Mulch
Cover the soil with a one-inch layer of small dried leaves to prevent weeds from growing, and to help soil stay moist.
Water Daily
Install an irrigation or self-watering system if you will not be around for long periods.
Feed Weekly
Nourish soil with some good compost or natural fertilizers.
Pests
Use natural pest concoctions like neem and chili-garlic sprays to keep bugs away.
Prune
Prune to keep neat and to encourage the plant to form new branches.
Save Seeds
Leave fruits and flowers to mature and dry on plants, if you wnat to obtain the seeds.
Harvest
Harvest when young and tender, otherwise they may get too old and hard to eat.
Replant
Don't fret if your plants die; even experienced gardeners will go through this. It is normal for annual plants to die off after 2 – 3 harvests, as it is part of their life cycle. Just start the planting cycle again.
Looks like it's not that difficult to grow your own tiny nursery. Send us pictures of your balcony garden and show us the results! There are so many areas that we've missed out and just can't cover in one post so let us know if you'd like to know more!