I heard you started growing vegetables? Here are some vegetables I recommend...

What are you doing at home during this lockdown? Why not take advantage of this beautiful spring weather and grow your own vegetables!

Let us make full use of the compound interest effect of "lettuce" to solve the urgent needs at hand~

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When it comes to growing vegetables, you don’t have to worry about the location. A yard, a terrace, a balcony, a windowsill or a few flower pots will all do. You don’t even have to worry about the material and size of the pots.

Choose vegetables that suit you

Growing vegetables is a professional job that requires high skills and experience. Growing a variety of vegetables well is similar to producing an industrial product. We amateurs do not have complete facilities and equipment, professional skills and experience, so we must recognize our shortcomings and start with varieties with low barriers to entry.

(It’s best to sow the seeds without asking any questions!)

1. Choose a plant with a short growth cycle

Solanaceous vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants have a long growth cycle, which takes more than 60 days from sowing to harvesting. If they are not managed well during this period, they are likely to fail.

Plants with a short growth cycle are more likely to succeed, such as radish, water spinach, amaranth, spinach, etc., which can be harvested about 30 days after sowing. However, if you are past the novice stage or have a small yard, eggplant, pepper, okra, etc. are also good choices.

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2. Choose a place that is not easy to attract insects

Some vegetables are naturally more attractive to insects, such as greens, Chinese cabbage, cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables. It is not recommended to plant them during the period when the temperature is relatively high and pests and diseases occur. Some vegetables are not eaten by insects, so they are very suitable to be planted at home, such as chrysanthemum, lettuce, water spinach, amaranth, lettuce, celery, etc.

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3. Choose a long harvest time

We hope that the vegetables we grow can be sown once and harvested multiple times, so leeks, chives, coriander, etc. are on the list of must-grow balcony vegetables.

In addition, vegetables that can be picked and harvested, such as amaranth, water spinach, and chrysanthemum, can also be harvested multiple times. In addition, some edible aromatic plants such as basil, rosemary, nepeta, and colorful water celery can be smelled, appreciated, and eaten for a long time.

It is important to note that you should choose the right variety at the right time and in the right place. When planting leafy vegetables such as spinach and cabbage, pay attention to the phenomenon of "bolting". Bolting is the phenomenon of flower stalks growing and blooming at the base of vegetables, which is a sign of the transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. Bolting is affected by the length of sunshine and temperature. After bolting, the edible part of the leafy vegetables stops growing (except for edible cabbage), which will also lead to a decline in quality.

If vegetables bloom before they grow up, their nutritional value will be greatly reduced. This means all your hard work is wasted. Therefore, when purchasing vegetable seeds, you should read the labels carefully, understand the suitable planting areas and planting times, and choose suitable varieties according to the sowing time and area.

Just plant it

During the anti-epidemic period, we were confined at home, and online shopping express delivery could not be delivered in time. What should we do if we can't buy seeds? Who says that only seeds can be used as breeding materials? We use the existing vegetables at home and use lettuce.

01

Vegetable stems

The aromatic plants we eat, such as water spinach, wood ear vegetable and basil, are very easy to survive by cutting. When picking vegetables, leave some stems and cut them into the substrate to grow into a new plant.

For example, when taking cuttings of water spinach, you should choose thick stems and retain 3-4 nodes, which can be harvested in about a month.

For wood ear vegetable cuttings, choose thick stems and retain 2-3 nodes. If you want them to take root faster, you can put them in water for about 4-5 days.

02

Planting vegetable roots

Break off the leaves of green vegetables, celery and coriander and eat them, leaving some of the core on the roots. Cut off the upper part of onions and chives, leaving 1/3 of the lower half. Bury the roots in the soil and they will take root and grow leaves in a few days.

For example, you can keep the roots of celery and put it in water to take root. After 3-5 days, celery leaves will grow in the middle of the cut surface. At this time, you can transplant it into the soil.

Onions can also be placed in water to bacon, and then planted in the soil. When they grow strong onion seedlings, you can eat them! However, if you want to wait for onions to grow, you have to wait for half a year, planting in autumn and harvesting in spring.

However, the leafy vegetables of this season will begin to grow, such as celery and green vegetables. If you continue to plant them, they will not grow many stems and leaves before they bloom. However, looking at green plants is also a good way to enjoy life.

Onions grow very fast and the leaves can be harvested within a few days of planting.

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03

Nostoc seedlings

If you have bought too much soybeans, mung beans, peas, and garlic at home, you can change the way you eat them and eat them as sprouts. Soak beans in water to make bean sprouts, and bury garlic in the soil to cut garlic sprouts. Peanuts can also be grown as peanut sprouts. They are rich in nutrients but are prone to mold and produce toxic aflatoxin. Don't try it lightly.

To grow mung bean sprouts, you need to do a good job in selecting beans, keeping them moist, keeping them breathable, and keeping them away from light. I believe many people are experts in growing mung bean sprouts, so I won't go into the details of the process.

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Growing garlic is also relatively simple. You can eat the garlic sprouts. If you want to eat the garlic sprouts, you can place the flower pots in a darker place (such as in a gray-black turnover box).

04

Turning waste into treasure

Do you often forget to eat potatoes or sweet potatoes at home? If they sprout, don’t rush to throw them away.

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Sweet potatoes can be grown in water or in the soil as a good vine. Cut the stems and grow them by cuttings. You can eat the sweet potato leaves. If you have enough space, bury them deeper and you can dig the sweet potatoes after 5 months.

The same goes for potatoes. Cut the sprouted potatoes into several pieces, leaving the sprout on each piece. Dry them in a cool place, and bury them in the soil for more than 3 months before digging up the potatoes. But remember to bury them deeper.

Soil is the foundation

You don't need to pay attention to the location when growing vegetables, but you must pay attention to the soil. Choosing the right soil is a crucial issue. The soil must retain water and fertilizer, and be loose and breathable. These are two aspects that restrict each other, and the key is to strike a balance.

Water and fertilizer retention, loose and breathable

You can buy professional cultivation substrates or mix them yourself with peat, coconut coir, perlite, vermiculite and other media.

During the epidemic, people may use the soil dug downstairs to grow vegetables urgently. However, it should be noted that the soil is heavy and has too strong water retention, so it needs to be properly improved to increase air permeability.

For example, you can add the above media to the soil. Among them, coconut bran is loose and breathable, clean and sanitary, and is inexpensive and worth recommending. Since coconut bran contains natural salt, it is best to rinse it before use.

Leaf mold

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If you don't have these media, try to use the leaf mold under the tree. You can expose it to the sun for two days to disinfect it before use. If that doesn't work, add some foam crumbs to the soil to make it loose and breathable.

Fertilizer is important

The success of crops depends on fertilizer. For those who are not professional growers, the importance of fertilizer to vegetable growth is far beyond your imagination. In the process of home vegetable cultivation, we generally only need to add three macronutrient fertilizers: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen fertilizer mainly promotes leaf and stem growth, phosphorus fertilizer mainly promotes flowering and fruiting, and potassium fertilizer mainly promotes root growth.

According to the different periods of use, it is divided into basal fertilizer and topdressing. Basal fertilizer is the fertilizer mixed in the soil before sowing or planting seedlings. Generally, organic fertilizer or slow-release fertilizer is used as basal fertilizer; topdressing is the fertilizer applied during the growth process to meet the large demand for fertilizers of vegetables in a certain period or to supplement the shortage of basal fertilizer. Generally, quick-acting fertilizer is used for topdressing, and small amounts and multiple applications have good effects.

Spread organic fertilizer

Many growers insist on using organic fertilizers, or even composting their own. Organic fertilizers do have many benefits, including improving soil, providing comprehensive nutrition for plants, and improving the quality of vegetables.

However, the organic fertilizer used must be fully decomposed, otherwise it may burn the seedlings and have a bad smell that attracts flies and mosquitoes. Commercial organic fertilizer is clean and odorless, safe, convenient and easy to use. As for composting, if you have a yard, a compost bin, and the skills, you can try it, otherwise it may become a source of odor in your home.

In this critical period of home quarantine and anti-epidemic, growing vegetables is not only about growing vegetables, but also a way to heal. By growing vegetables, you can get a delicious meal, a pleasing sight, and you can also enjoy the joy of working with your family.

This gives us the warmth of home and the most soothing smell of fireworks.

What other vegetables have you grown? Share your vegetable growing experience in the comment section~

Edit: Send a bowl

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