For garden owners, growing fruit and vegetables in their own garden is a true fulfillment, because in addition to the impeccable ecological aspect, the gardener can be sure that their harvest has been treated 100% without chemicals. After sowing and harvesting the various varieties, it is also a special pleasure to prepare the vegetables – because, in fact, home-grown produce tastes much more intense and usually fresher than the stocks in supermarkets. Why might that be? If we expect strawberries or zucchini in the winter months, it may well be that these goods were grown in greenhouses. The artificially generated heat cannot in any way compare to the sun, because only through UV rays do vegetable varieties get their aroma. That is why the tomato that we buy in stores, especially in colder seasons, seems rather watery and boring in taste.
However, since this method of cultivation is more complex and the offer to import foreign goods seems lucrative, we also receive exotic fruit and culinary vegetable varieties in winter. Due to the detour via middlemen and the long transport route, a) the goods usually become disproportionately more expensive and b) the products also lose plenty of vitamins. How can one now find a healthy and acceptable middle ground?
Growing your own vegetables in the garden
For those who own their own garden, growing their own vegetables is ideal. Whether in a normal bed or a raised bed, a variety of different vegetable types can be grown, which, thanks to good care, yield abundant quantities at harvest time. Whether cauliflower, radishes, tomatoes, kale, zucchini, carrots, pumpkin, or bell peppers – the selection of seeds is diverse, and you can also find a proud assortment of pre-grown small plants on the market, such as lovage or cherry tomatoes, which you practically just need to plant from the pot into your garden.
Planting vegetables on the balcony
Even for those who do not own a garden, there is the possibility of a small balcony garden – various herbs, tomatoes, carrots, or radishes can also be grown excellently in boxes. If it is still too cold, let the young plants grow in the apartment and put them on the balcony when it is really warm. It also looks great when juicy red tomatoes bloom on the balcony. Some vegetable plants also have great side effects, such as basil keeping wasps away or mosquitoes not liking tomatoes.
Tips for growing vegetables
For the garden owner, it is now also important whether they are planting annual or perennial vegetable varieties. Anyone who wants to use a vegetable for two or more years will leave the tubers in their gardens over winter in order to benefit from them again next year. Since the soil also loses minerals and other nutrient-rich components over time, it is advisable to change the vegetable varieties at least every 2 years so that the soil can recover. In order not to have to do without good quality, one can help oneself with various fertilizers. It is advisable to enrich the soil with nitrogen before sowing to guarantee a successful growth phase.
As a rule, the gardener is rewarded annually with plenty of vegetables for their work and effort, thanks to their intensive care. Usually, the harvest is so abundant that good advice for processing is expensive before everything spoils. Of course, most of it should be used immediately for consumption – nothing is healthier than freshly harvested vegetables. What has not been used can also be frozen or preserved in various portions. This way, the vegetable varieties last for months and delight us in the winter months with their taste, and there is no need to buy boring vegetables from abroad.
Photo by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
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