Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Growing Spinach in container at balcony


Spinach is very easy to grow in containers.If you are thinking to start your own kitchen vegetable garden Spinach is the best bet. Spinach seeds are easily available at any garden center. Spinach doesn't need full sunlight,it can be grown in partial shade. Corner of balcony or window where you can get few hours of sunlight is perfect for spinach.


  I have used a plastic planter for growing spinach. For potting I have mixed soil with coco peat and vermicompost. It is best to sow the spinach seeds in rows few inches apart from each other. Do not over water the plant after sowing seeds. Seeds will germinate in 4 to 5 days (Be patient if it takes longer than that). In few weeks you can enjoy the home grown spinach. 


You can harvest Spinach in 30 to 45 days after germination. Best thing about spinach is you can harvest the matured leaves and let other leaves grow so you can get continues supply. As you can see in the below picture I have harvested some of the spinach leaves and others where ready in a week.
I have used two big pots for growing spinach, you can see seeds germinating in second pot. In this way i can have continuous harvest.


Fresh Spinach is ready for a salad or may be Pakoda's :-) (Yummy !!!)

Spinach Harvest

Its really easy to grow spinach, give it a try. Nothing can beat the freshness of home grown vegetables.

Happy Gardening to you :)

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Basics of Container vegetable gardening

Growing vegetables in containers is an easy way to experience the flavor and freshness of home-grown vegetables.




Before starting vegetable garden you need to consider some basic requirements

1. Sun: Most vegetables need full sun that means at least six hours of direct sunlight a day.

2. Water: Growing vegetables needs regular watering. you need to keep the soil moist.

3. Soil: Good quality soil is really important for plants. You can mix coco peat and vermicompost with soil.

4. Fertilizer: Vegetables need good fertilizers in order to produce fruits. You can use organic fertilizer granules. Adding vermicompost regularly works fine for most of the vegetables like Tomato,spinach,cucumber,chilli,pepper etc.

5. Selecting right container: Good drainage is very important when you grow vegetables.You want your container to drain the excess water so that soil is not soggy. Select a container with good drainage system or just drill some extra holes at bottom for drainage. You can grow vegetables in terracotta or plastic pots. You can also use some inexpensive containers like buckets,paint boxes etc.

Below is the list of vegetables which can be easily grown in containers.

  • Tomato
  • Chillies
  • Potato
  • Pepper
  • Egg plant
  • Cucumber
  • Carrots
  • Radishes