The Urban Farming movement is gaining more and more popularity around the world. Residents of big cities take the process of creating food into their own hands. In this review, we have collected 10 real examples how to grow food in a metropolis.

Niwa is a device that allows you to grow fresh vegetables all year round without leaving your home. This is a small box with glass walls, inside which you can equip a small garden.

At the same time, most of the functions of this box can be controlled remotely using a mobile phone. Using a smartphone, a Niwa farm owner can water his garden, adjust temperature and humidity readings, turn lights on and off, and even fertilize plants.

But Niwa users still have to collect the fruits manually.

The design with the name Urban Farm Unit combines two current trends in the development of cities. First, it is a compact building built from two shipping containers. Secondly, this is a store selling fresh vegetables that are grown right there.

The Urban Farm Unit consists of two levels. On the first one there is a retail outlet where city residents can buy fresh vegetables, only plucked from the garden. And on the second floor there is, in fact, a garden - compact, but effective.

Some people from rural areas who moved to big cities, sometimes you really don’t have your own garden to work on it with your hands, growing guaranteed fresh and environmentally friendly products. Ideal Solution for such people - a residential building, similar to the building called Stacking Green, built in the city of Saigon.

Stacking Green is a four-story mansion where each window is a small garden. The owner of this building can pick fresh vegetables right in the kitchen and take care of his own garden, while being in the bedroom.

However, not every fan of digging with my own hands in the garden has the opportunity to build a house with windows-beds. But similar design you can start even in the most ordinary city apartment, if you install technological agricultural structures with the name in it.

The Plant Window is a replacement for the traditional window. Instead of the usual frame and glass, this design provides for the creation of several small beds, located one above the other.

Sunlight, automatic watering of plants with water, and the ability to set the desired temperature allow you to grow fresh vegetables and herbs in the Plant Window for the needs of the kitchen.

Architectural studio SPARK has created a project for a multi-apartment high-rise building for the city-state of Singapore. This building, despite its huge size and location within the metropolis, will also be a farm for growing organic food.

Gardens in Home Farm will be located not only in the courtyard of the house, but also directly on the walls of the building, along which there are common balconies-gallery. The creators of this complex hope that its inhabitants will be people who really love working in the garden and miss this occupation in the conditions of a huge metropolis.

Italian designer Antonio Scarponi has developed a project of modular greenhouses called Farm-X, which are designed to be installed inside big cities. Their place is the roofs of apartment buildings, whose residents want to get fresh vegetables and herbs all year round.

Farm-X can be deployed on any size rooftop. In this case, the maximum possible area of ​​the greenhouse is 400 square meters.

The first urban Farm-X farm is located on the roof of an apartment building in Basel, Switzerland.

In the city of Chicago, there is an unusual youth center called the Gary Comer Youth Center. In addition to the standard activities for such institutions (learning, reading, sports and entertainment), young visitors to this place can also try their hand at agriculture.

The rooftop of the state-of-the-art Gary Comer Youth Center has a large vegetable garden that grows a variety of fruit crops. Children who take care of the beds can share the harvest among themselves. Sometimes this becomes a good addition to the modest food basket of low-income families whose offspring are engaged in this youth center.

CapsulePot is a personal home garden for even the poorest or most constrained families. The set includes sixteen small pots, each of which will allow you to grow some kind of vegetable plant or edible grass.

The pot can be placed on a desktop, window sill, cabinet shelf or just on the floor. The set includes seeds of garlic, basil, thyme, mint, marjoram and cilantro. But if desired, tomatoes or other vegetables can also be grown in these containers.

At the same time, CapsulePot pots have special caps that allow you to protect plants from dry air, temperature changes and other harmful external conditions.

The kit called Nourishmat was created for city dwellers who have never been involved in agriculture in their lives, but at the same time are not averse to trying their hand at growing fresh vegetables and herbs in their free time.

Nourishmat is a small technological rug that needs to be laid out on a free piece of land measuring a meter and a half. The area of ​​this "tablecloth-self-collection" is divided into several squares, each of which is signed and is responsible for a plant.

The Nourishmat automatically fertilizes the seeds and also waters them so that the user gets fresh vegetables and herbs at the end. The kit also comes with detailed instructions for beginners in agriculture.

One fruitful Nourishmat is designed for five to seven years of operation.

In Chinese cities, there are a large number of abandoned industrial facilities. Local urbanists suggest using these old plants and factories as urban farms.

The first such farm, , appeared recently in the multi-million dollar metropolis of Shenzhen. In it, on an area of ​​2100 square meters, there is an experimental farm, the task of which is to develop technologies for growing natural products in an urban environment.

Value Farm has become not only an agricultural enterprise, but also a new landmark of the city of Shenzhen, where they go for walks and photo shoots.

The Urban Farming movement and the solutions it offers will in the future make the existence of such a phenomenon of our life as a dacha meaningless. After all, the need for it will disappear - products can be grown even on the balcony or right in the living rooms of the apartment. And in New York, it even exists, which implies the creation of vegetable gardens right in the center of this metropolis.

Cucumbers, peppers, carrots and even strawberries! All this can be grown on a balcony or windowsill and all year round there are fresh, organic, and most importantly, free vegetables and fruits. Right now we will tell you how to set up a mini-garden in a city apartment.

Growing food in urban areas is popular all over the world. So, Britta Riley lives in a tiny apartment in New York. She came up with a vertical hydroponics garden. It takes up little space and brings a good harvest. Britta spoke about her innovation at TED.

In the West, if a product is labeled eco, bio or organic, it means two things. Firstly, these products are grown, harvested and processed in accordance with environmental standards, that is, without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, growth stimulants and other “nasty things”. They have been certified, and serious organizations have guaranteed their quality. Secondly, bioproducts are much more expensive than conventional ones.

Our market for "clean food" is just emerging. The biocertification and control systems have not yet been formed. And the difference in prices between bio-products and ordinary vegetables and fruits sometimes reaches 1,000%! Therefore, for us, the most eco, bio and organic are products grown by our own hands.

But not everyone has dachas and relatives in the village. What should urban children do, who are used to seeing potatoes washed and in nets, and greens in vacuum packs? Grow vegetables and fruits right on the balcony or windowsill.

6 reasons to arrange a mini-garden at home

1. You can treat yourself to fresh, vitamin-rich vegetables and herbs all year round.
2. Saving. Vegetables and fruits are expensive, especially in winter. With a home garden, you no longer have to adjust to the season (we eat plenty of tomatoes only in July, and apples in September).
3. You yourself can grow a plant from a tiny seed with your own hands, you can collect fruits. This is a creative activity that charges with positive energy.
4. You can improve your knowledge of biology, gain useful skills and acquire an exciting hobby.
5. Your children will see how tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables grow and will understand that they do not miraculously materialize in the refrigerator, their cultivation is serious work.
6. You can surprise your friends and acquaintances. Imagine how you will brag about the harvest, showing the window "beds". ;)

What you need to grow vegetables and herbs at home

• Place. Usually this is a window sill or balcony. It is better if they face the sunny side. If not, lamps for additional lighting will be required. If necessary, the window sill can be expanded or shelving for "beds" can be built (the minimum distance between the shelves is 50 cm).
• Capacities. The beds for the home garden can be clay or plastic pots, wooden boxes. The main thing is that there are holes in the bottom for draining water. Containers are recommended to be placed on pallets.
• Priming. There are many potting mixes for indoor gardens. As a rule, several layers are made: peat, compost, turf. You can prepare the soil yourself, or you can buy it in a specialized store.
• seeds. Some varieties of tomatoes or cucumbers grow well at home, while others do not even sprout. Therefore, before you start indoor gardening, you need to sit on the forums, read articles on the Internet and find out which seeds to buy.

In addition, you may need fertilizer, top dressing, a thermometer and a vessel for settling water (home plants are watered with water at room temperature, separated from chlorine).

We have the inventory, now we need to decide what to plant. Lifehacker has already written about some vegetables that grow beautifully on the windowsill.

16 FOOD YOU CAN GROW AT HOME

Today we will talk about ten more such plants.

Carrot

Variety : "Amsterdam".
Temperature : 15 to 25 ºС.
Harvest : after ≈70 days.

For growing at home, you need to take miniature varieties of carrots. Can be planted in boxes, pots or simply cut plastic bottles with holes in the bottom. The soil should be taken drainage.

Seeds are placed in the ground to a depth of about 7 cm. When the carrots sprout and germinate a few centimeters, they need to be thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots at a distance of about 2 cm from each other. It is not recommended to keep the beds in direct sunlight.

You need to water carrots at home often, but you need to make sure that there is not too much moisture, otherwise the root crop will rot. From time to time, you can feed with fertilizers with a low nitrogen content (if there is a lot of it, all the growth will go to the tops). It is also very useful to occasionally loosen the soil.

Pepper

Peppers grown on the balcony

Varieties : "treasure island", "dwarf", "watercolor", "swallow" and others.
Temperature : 25 to 27 ºС.
Harvest : after 100-130 days.

Seeds are first planted in small pots, which are covered with cling film and placed in a warm place. When the first shoots appear (in one to two weeks), several small punctures need to be made in the film. After a while, the pepper will get stronger, then it can be transplanted into large pots or buckets. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the spine. The plant is rooted by a third, after which it is watered with warm (30 ºС) water.

In the future, pepper can be watered every day. This plant loves light, so in addition to natural light white spectrum lamps are recommended. It is necessary to protect home-grown peppers from drafts and direct sunlight.

You can fertilize with nitrogen fertilizers, but potassium salt and potassium chloride will destroy the roots of the plant. With proper care, pepper on the windowsill can delight with fruits for up to two years.

Cherry tomatoes

Varieties : "pygmy", "bonsai", "bead" and others.
Temperature : 23 to 25 ºС.
Harvest : after 90-100 days (depending on the variety).

The soil, as in the case of pepper, is more convenient to buy ready-made. It is recommended to take a cylindrical container: it is better filled with the root system.

First, the seeds are germinated in small pots: buried to a depth of 1.5 cm, covered with cling film and left in a warm place until the first sprouts. When the tomatoes have risen, they dive into a larger and deeper dish.

It is important that the plant receives uniform lighting. To do this, you can hang fluorescent lamps above the "beds" or regularly turn the containers to the window.

Watering should be done carefully: cherry tomatoes are easy to fill. When the plant grows, it is recommended to loosen the soil from time to time and feed it with mineral fertilizers. If necessary, the tomato stem can be tied to a support (wooden skewer or pencil). It is also important to ensure that pests do not appear on the tomatoes.

By the way, not only cherry tomatoes grow well in home gardens, but also ordinary tomatoes.

cucumbers

Cucumbers grown on the window

Varieties : “room Rytov”, “miracle on the window”, “ant” and others.
Temperature : 21 to 24 ºС.
Harvest : after 35-45 days.

For cucumbers, rather large containers are needed, with a volume of at least 6 liters. The soil should be loose, with peat or compost.

At home, self-pollinating varieties of cucumbers grow well. First you need to prepare the seeds: they are poured into a weak saline solution, those that have surfaced are thrown away. Then, suitable seeds are soaked for 20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate, after which they are washed on wet gauze and planted in the ground (under the film). When the seedlings sprout and grow up, they can be planted in large containers.

Water homemade cucumbers with warm water every day, but with caution. Leaves can also be sprayed with a spray bottle. Potassium nitrate is recommended as top dressing.

When the lashes of cucumbers form and grow, supports should be built for them so that the plant can trail.

Radish

homegrown radish

Varieties : "carmen", "white fang", "celeste F1" and others.
Temperature : 18 to 20 ºС.
Harvest : after ≈40 days.

It is recommended to plant radishes in wooden or clay containers, but you can also use ordinary ones. plastic cups. Loose, well-drained soil is needed. Seeds can be checked for germination before planting, like cucumbers. After that, they need to be buried to a depth of 1-3 cm.

After planting, the soil must be watered and covered with a film. When shoots appear, the "greenhouse" is removed. Radishes, as a rule, do not dive. But sometimes they put it for two or three days in a lower temperature regime- about 15 °C. This hardens the plant and contributes to a better harvest.

Five days after the appearance of the first shoots, organic top dressing is carried out, and two weeks later - mineral. Water the radish abundantly as it dries. It is also important that the air in the room where it grows is not dry.

Spinach

homemade spinach

Varieties : "virofle", "gaudry", "gigantic" and others.
Temperature : 15 ºС.
Harvest : after ≈40 days.

Spinach belongs to vegetable greens and is considered very useful. To grow it at home, you need containers 15–20 cm high. You can use ready-made soil mixtures. The main thing is that peat is included in their composition.

It is recommended to soak the seeds in water for a day before planting. Sowing is carried out to a depth of 1–2 cm. To accelerate germination, containers can be covered with a film. Spinach germinates about a week after planting, then it can be dived.

In winter, when the heating is on in the apartment and when the daylight hours are short, it is recommended to illuminate the plant with lamps and spray it with a spray bottle (in addition to watering).

The crop can be harvested when the spinach reaches 7–10 cm in height.

Basil

Varieties : "Marquis", "lemon", "Baku" and others.
Temperature : from 22 to 24 °C.
Harvest : after 50-55 days.

Basil is one of the most fragrant and favorite spices. At the same time, it is quite unpretentious and grows well on the windowsill.

Basil is planted immediately in large containers (with a volume of at least 1.5 liters). First you need to prepare the soil for planting: pour twice with mineral fertilizers with an interval of five days. The seeds are deepened by 1–1.5 cm. Until the plant sprouts, it must be watered every two days. Further watering is carried out daily, preferably in the morning.

green garlic

Varieties : "Kharkiv", "anniversary" and others.
Temperature : from 18 to 25 °C.
Harvest : after 15-20 days.

As a rule, garlic bulbs are used in cooking. But the green shoots (arrows) are also suitable for gastronomy: they are suitable for making marinades and sauces.

Varieties of garlic are divided into two groups: winter and spring. The latter usually do not give arrows, therefore they are not suitable for growing at home.

For those who have ever grown onions on a windowsill, garlic will not be difficult to deal with. You need to take winter-grade garlic cloves, preferably with sprouted sprouts. Any soil mixture can be taken. Each clove is planted to a depth of 2-3 cm and at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other. Once planted, be sure to water.

The container with garlic should be kept on the most lit window in the house. Water as the soil dries out. From time to time, you can feed with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

Mint

Temperature : 20 to 25 °C.
Harvest : after ≈60 days.

Mint has a fairly branched root system, therefore, for its landing, you should take a deep and wide container. The soil is recommended to use peat, varieties - any.

There are two ways to plant mint: seeds and cuttings. The latter is shown in the video below.

To grow mint from seeds, you need to plant them in the ground to a depth of about 5 mm and water. To create a greenhouse effect, you can use a film. Before germination (about two weeks later), the ground should be sprinkled with water every day. After germination, mint must be planted.

Mint is unpretentious. In summer, it must be protected from direct sunlight, and in winter from lack of light and excessive watering. From time to time, the plant can be fed with organic mixtures.

Mature plants can reach a meter in height. As a rule, they have a lot of leaves - there will almost always be mint for tea or homemade mojito.

Strawberry

Varieties : "autumn fun", "home delicacy", "garland" and others.
Temperature : from 18 to 20 °C.
Harvest : after ≈30 days.

Ampel remontant varieties of strawberries are suitable for a home garden. They bear fruit all year round and are not too picky about light. Strawberries can be planted in any soil mixture. But first, drainage (expanded clay, small pebbles) should be poured to the bottom to protect strawberries from stagnant water.

Strawberries can be grown from seedlings or seeds. Both are sold in gardening stores.

Seeds are planted in small containers (for example, plastic glasses), watered abundantly and covered with cling film. After the appearance of the first shoots, the film is removed and the seedlings are placed in a well-lit place. When three or four leaves are formed, strawberries dive into larger containers.

This plant loves light. When days are shorter than nights, artificial lighting should be used. Watering and spraying are carried out as the soil dries. Strawberries are easy to fill.

Solutions with a significant iron content are used as top dressing. During active growth, strawberries become overgrown with mustaches, they need to be tied to supports.

As you can see, growing vegetables, herbs and even berries in a city apartment is not difficult and even exciting.

Estonian startup offers its own automatic mini-farms for growing greens

Estonian startup Click & Grow is working on a technology for growing greens in urban areas. An automatic, refrigerator-sized, vertical smart farm keeps track of the amount of water, nutrients, and lighting that plants need. Minimal maintenance and a drastically reduced amount of water required for growth are interesting features of the farm that can make it popular.

Click & Grow are no strangers to growing plants in cities. A few years ago they had a super-successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, and now they offer "smart pots" and "smart gardens" to everyone. These devices are also designed for growing plants at home. One plant grows in a pot, three in a garden. This is not much, but they take up space, as usual flower pot. But, unlike the pot, everything is done automatically.

Smart garden from C&G

Vertical Mini Farm

The unique Smart Soil technology, in the development of which Russian scientists also took part, allows the use of sponge material instead of ordinary earth. It does not compact over time, nutrients are not washed out of it, and it is well permeable to oxygen, which is necessary for plant growth. The smart gardens are equipped with LED lighting, ideal for plant growth, and supply them with just the right amount of water, which only needs to be topped up once a month.

instead of a refrigerator. Vegetarian joy.

While vertical farms are not yet available for general sale, prototypes are already being assembled on order. If it is as simple and cost-effective to operate as the startup's previous products, then the potential for its use is very wide. After all, agriculture is the largest consumer of fresh water, for example, in the United States, farmers use up to 80% of all water consumed by residents. In parts of the world where water is scarce, or in large crowded cities where fresh greens have to be delivered from afar, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bconserving water, coupled with growing greens "in place" will certainly receive support. After all, even if it is useless to drink yogurt, then no one will argue about the benefits of consuming greens.

Vertical farms in urban areas have long been planned to be built. And they can indeed use 70-80% less water than conventional farms. But their cost, due to the high complexity of the hydroponic system, is tens of thousands of dollars. Smart Farm, on the other hand, the creators promise to deliver at a price of only $1,500. And if not everyone can put such a farm next to the refrigerator, surely large supermarkets will be interested in the opportunity to sell super-fresh greens grown right in the warehouse.

Click on the picture to enlarge the image and try to guess what the queue is in the photo. It is unlikely that anyone will succeed if they have not seen this photo before. Below I will explain what it is and how it relates to the header.

For the second year now, I have been tirelessly trying to convey to everyone: there will be a big and long crisis, we must learn to survive, there will not be enough reserves, we must have land and feed ourselves from it, because there will not be enough wages for food. At first, few people believed in it, now, however, they believed in the crisis - and it’s hard not to believe when it is already in front of your eyes, but most still believe that this will not last long, in a year or two it will settle down. Well, somewhere in the third or fourth year of the crisis, they will begin to guess that this is more serious than they thought before. And they will rush to look for a piece of land somewhere nearby. Yeah, two months ago they also rushed to buy dollars at 78 rubles, now they bite their elbows. The same thing will happen to the land around megacities - they will buy at exorbitant prices and curse themselves for not doing it sooner.

This photo is especially for stubborn optimists: look at what is happening today in other countries, and tomorrow it may happen here. This is the grocery line in Caracas, Venezuela. Literally kilometers. Despite the fact that the authorities forbid spending the night in queues, and in general, each citizen is allowed to stand in them only 2 times a week - on other days they simply won’t sell anything to him.

But Ukraine is very close, and we still have to go through the crisis and disasters that are taking place there - I just hope that we will not have a war. We are just 2-3 years behind them in terms of economic ruin, so there is still a long way to go.

The inevitable global crisis will spur the decline of our economy, the decline in living standards, and the growth of unemployment. People will save literally on everything, including food, but you still want to eat every day. And here the further development of the situation is possible according to two scenarios.

The first is the one you see in the photo. If populist socialists come to power, they will keep prices low for products, and as a result they will simply be swept off the shelves. As it was under Brezhnev. And as it is now - in a hypertrophied form - in Venezuela.

The second is what is happening in Ukraine now. If the liberals remain in power, for whom the invisible hand of the market and the right to private property are above all else. Store shelves will literally burst with goods, but people simply will not have money for them.

Something similar happened during Khrushchev's time, when salaries were still relatively low. The stores had everything, and no queues. People looked at this abundance, but bought mainly bread, milk and margarine. The poorest - combiner (there was such a mixture of animal fats for frying). Butter cost 3.20-3.50 and not everyone could afford it. So that it does not disappear, it was added to sour cream - then all sour cream was 30% fat. Bored salesgirls, having nothing to do, lined up huge pyramids of canned food on shelves and showcases: stew, condensed milk, cream, saury and other delicacies.

Then, dear Leonid Ilyich, in order to make the people love him more, he began to raise wages at a rate exceeding the growth in the production of consumer goods. The shelves were empty, sour cream was "lowered" to 15% (the people were very indignant), the pyramids were built from unnecessary seaweed. Of course, there was no hunger, but in order to fill the refrigerator, it was necessary to spend many hours in lines. Particularly passionate battles flared up for sausage.

And so the people beckoned from behind the hillock with an abundance of this very sausage, like a donkey with a carrot. And the people were seduced, and sank their teeth into this sausage, and turned a blind eye to the plundering of the country, to gangster grabbing, to sweet speeches about capitalist happiness. And now this same sausage is being taken away from him again, capitalist happiness turned out to be short-lived. But then everyone was still at school explained: crises are the inevitability of capitalism.

Well, we have already passed a few minor inevitability, we are used to it. But now the ninth wave is coming, it will sweep away everything. Hoping for government help is stupid. The socialist state was obliged to help the people, and did this, although at the expense of the people themselves: it did not pay the hard workers in full, but supported the poor. There were no particularly rich, just as there were no particularly poor. Leveling.

And now we have a capitalist state, and we already know from past crises who it helps: bankers and oligarchs. Billions of dollars are spent to support banks and monopolies, and the people get a penny. Therefore, the salvation of drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves. If you don’t take care of personal food (and not only) security today, no one will do it for you.

Stocks will run out, money will burn in the fire of inflation. And only the land will give a harvest to its owner every year. Growing a crop is like printing money for the same amount as it is worth. To sew a dress is also to print money for the cost of this dress in the store. Knitting socks or a sweater is the same. Print money at home to reduce your dependence on external adversity. This is the only way to survive in the coming years, and maybe even decades. The more money you print, the less government money you need. Anyone can print their own. To get government, you must at least have a job, and not everyone will have it. Social payments (pensions, benefits) will be negligible.

And the last. Printing your own money (growing food, sewing, knitting, crafting) is not as easy as it might seem. You have to be able to do this, and to be able to do it, you have to learn. And you need to study now, then it will be late and hard, and without the right to make a mistake.

Throughout its history, man independently obtained his own food by hunting, fishing, gathering or farming. Nowadays, for most people, these ways of obtaining food have become just a hobby, since food in great abundance can always be purchased at the store. But making your own food can also be a source of health, safety, and enjoyment for you and your family.

Steps

Planning

Determine which crops are available in your area. The main determining factors are, of course, the climate, soil, rainfall and available area. The easiest and fastest way to find out what crops can be grown in your area is to visit the nearest farm or vegetable garden. Here is a list of the main questions that you should find answers to if you are planning to start your own vegetable garden:

• Climate. In some regions, the harvest period lasts a very short time, such as in Northern Europe and Africa. Therefore, they prefer fast-growing crops that can be harvested and stored in winter. In other regions, where there are no harsh winters and the weather is warm all year round, vegetables and grains produce crops all year round.
• The soil. Soil type is very important when choosing crops, as some crops can be very rich while others are very poor. Therefore, it is best to use as the main crop those vegetables and grains that are best for your type of soil and set aside a small area for crops that need special care and fertilizer.
• Precipitation. Few crops can be grown without constant watering and therefore most of them require constant watering or natural irrigation. Consider your area's average rainfall and irrigation opportunities when choosing crops. If you live in an arid region, then you should consider building a rainwater harvesting system.
• Territory. If you have a large plot of land at your disposal, then you can grow a large number of crops in the traditional way, if the territory is limited, then to obtain big harvest you may need to look for alternatives such as hydroponics, container growing, renting land from farms or vertical gardening.

1. Understand how the growing season is organized. Growing food is not just about planting seeds and harvesting. Further, in the section cultivation we will tell you about the main stages of growing a particular crop. The process of preparing crops for planting is pretty much the same, but it is important to consider that you will have to prepare each crop separately, but, importantly, you can plant as many crops as you want.

   Meet to various types cultures. At the word vegetables You must have imagined the vegetable section of the supermarket. To some extent, you are right, but if you decide to produce your own food, you will need to provide for your entire diet and here you will not be limited to one supermarket. Here is a rough list of the crops you are most likely to choose to grow.

   • Vegetables. This includes legumes, greens, root vegetables, cereals, and cucurbits (zucchini, cucumbers, melons, and squash). This food will be an excellent source of many nutrients and vitamins, such as:
     • Squirrels. Legumes are very rich in proteins.
     • Carbohydrates. Potatoes and beets are rich sources complex carbohydrates and many minerals.
     • Vitamins and minerals. Greens such as cabbage, lettuce, spinach, etc., as well as cucurbits such as cucumbers and squash are rich in essential vitamins and minerals.
   • Fruit. Almost everyone knows that fruits are a valuable source of vitamin C, but in addition to it, they bring many other vitamins and minerals to your diet, and add flavor. Fruit can be stored dried or canned, so for long-term storage your harvest you do not need a refrigerator.
   • Cereals. Of those who decide to grow their own food, few people think about growing crops and in vain, since grains are the basis of a healthy diet. They are rich in carbohydrates and fiber and can be stored for a long period of time. In many early civilizations, as well as in many modern countries, cereals are the main food of the population. This category of crops includes:
     • Corn. Often consumed as a side dish and as a vegetable in meals, corn is a versatile food that is easy to store. Some varieties, once matured, can be stored whole on the cob, in grains, or ground, for later use in making bread or dishes such as hominy. Corn is very unpretentious, and it is especially easy to grow it in latitudes with long daylight hours. Freezing is the easiest way to prepare corn for the winter.
     • Wheat. Most of you are, of course, familiar with wheat, which is the main source of the flour you use every day to make bread, pies, pastries, and more. Wheat is well preserved after harvest, but the harvesting process itself is much more laborious than harvesting corn. To do this, the wheat stalks are cut, folded into sheaves, then the grains are released from the ears and ground into flour.
     • Oats. Another grain often eaten, the processing of which is as laborious as for wheat. However, this crop can also be considered as an option in those regions where its cultivation is not expensive.
     • Rice. For humid regions, often flooded or prone to flooding, rice is the primary crop. Rice is grown on flooded soils and is as common as wheat.
     • Other grains include rye and barley, which are similar to oats and wheat.

2. Choose crops and varieties that suit the climate in your area. It is impossible to provide detailed and accurate information for each specific region in this article. Therefore, we will consider only the basic requirements for growing various plants in accordance with their growing regions recommended by the US Department of Agriculture, which will allow you to roughly compare and evaluate the germination ability of certain crops in your region.

   • Beans, peas and other legumes. These crops are planted after frost recedes and there is a risk of frost. They take 75 to 90 days to produce their first harvest and can, if proper care, continue to bear fruit until the onset of autumn cold weather.
   • Pumpkin. This group of plants includes squashes, cucumbers, melons and pumpkins. These plants are planted after the last frost and take 45 (cucumbers) to 130 days (pumpkins) to mature.
   • Tomatoes. This fruit (often classified as a vegetable) can be planted in containers (provided it is kept warm) and then transplanted into soil after the threat of frost has passed. Tomatoes also bear fruit all season.
   • Cereals. Growing grain crops is very different from vegetables, since there are several types of them - winter and spring, which are sown at different times of the year. Simply put, spring crops such as wheat and corn are sown at the end of winter, when sub-zero temperatures should last only a couple of weeks, then they need about 110 days to mature and another 30-60 days to dry enough to be in subsequently collect and store as seeds for future sowing.
   • Fruit trees. Apples, pears, plums and peaches in most regions are considered as perennials and they do not require annual planting. These fruit trees require pruning and care, and the first modest harvest can be obtained in 2-3 years. When the trees reach the fruitful phase, the yield will increase every year and later, from mature trees, it will be possible to harvest several bushels (boxes of 18 kg) per year.

3. Develop a planting plan for your site. When planning, you will need to take into account many important details, such as: wildlife invasion, which may require the installation of a fence or fence, open access to sunlight, since some crops require more sunlight than others to good growth, and topography, because sowing on too embossed soils can lead to many troubles.

   • Make a list of all the crops that can be grown on your site. Your list should be varied and consistent with the nutritional values ​​mentioned earlier. By talking to other farmers and by studying information from seed producers, you can roughly estimate the potential yield from each individual plant. Using your list and the planting plan you developed earlier, you can roughly calculate the number of seeds you need. If the area allows, sow additional seeds in case some of the main ones do not sprout or the plants die due to improper care, because you are just starting and are not yet sure of the results of your work.
   • If you have a small plot, then try to plan so that all the land is used rationally. In some regions, except for regions with severe winters, it is possible to grow and harvest spring, summer, autumn and winter crops. This will allow you to enjoy fresh produce all year round. Beets, carrots, cauliflower, peas, cabbage, onions, turnips, mustard greens and many other crops prefer cool but not frosty weather. In addition, winter varieties are much less affected by insects. If you are very limited on space, then consider alternative options (see Tips).

4. Consider storage options. If you're going to grow crops, you'll need barns to keep your crops dry and safe from insects and rodents. If you are going to produce food for your own consumption, then it is better to consider a combined system for storing and preserving your crop. So, the main ways to store the crop:

   • Drying. This method is very useful and effective for storing fruits and some vegetables. Drying can be done in any dry and warm climate, without any high-tech gadgets.
   • Canning. This method requires containers (which, with the exception of lids, which may eventually become unusable, are intended for repeated use), as well as careful preparation, kitchen equipment and skills. Salting is also considered a preservation method, although, in fact, it is not.
   • Freeze. This method also requires careful preparation of the products as well as freezer and suitable container.
   • Burtovanie. This method has not been mentioned before, but it is very effective for storing root crops such as potatoes, beets, rutabaga, etc. The essence of the method is that vegetables are folded in the form gable roof in trenches in layers on a bed of straw, and then covered with layers of densely combed hay.
   • On the ground: Many root vegetables and cabbages (like turnips and cabbages) can overwinter in the garden and the main thing here is to keep the ground from freezing. In more temperate climates, this may only require a covering material, but in colder climates, up to 30 cm of mulch and a protective film may be needed. This storage method will help you save space and keep food fresh.

5. Compare costs and benefits. On the initial stage you will have to make a considerable financial investment, especially if you are starting from scratch and do not have any equipment. In addition, growing food also involves a large physical cost, which in turn can also lead to financial costs if you leave your work in order to achieve your intended goal. Before investing a large amount of money and time, evaluate the profitability of your project, local climatic conditions, available crop options, and realistically evaluate your physical capabilities. Your main benefit will be wholesome food without herbicides, pesticides or other impurities, except for those that you decide to use.

   Get started step by step. If you have fertile land and good equipment at your disposal, then you can start large-scale production, but remember that until you have sufficient knowledge and skills, choosing the right crops suitable for your land and climate will become a game of cat and mouse. Often speaking with experienced people in your area is the best source of accurate information about which plants to choose and when to plant, and if you do not have this opportunity, then in the first year, limit yourself to a trial planting of selected crops to see if they bear fruit well. Start small, plant a small percentage of your total food requirement in order to estimate the amount you can harvest and develop your skills.

   cultivation

   1. Plow the land. If the land has already been cultivated, then it will be enough to loosen it and cultivate it with a plow attached to a draft animal or tractor, and if the plot is smaller, then with a motor cultivator. On a very small plot or with limited funds, you will have to do everything the old fashioned way with a pick, shovel and hoe. It is best if someone will help you, because the process is long and laborious. Before you start plowing the soil, you need to clear it of stones, roots and branches, large shrubs and weeds.

      Dig up the beds. With modern agricultural equipment, this process depends on the type of crop being planted. Here we consider the general methods that a person without such equipment and experience would use. To prepare the beds, you first need to mark the area for planting, and then, using a hoe or plow, create low mounds from loose soil along the width of the plot. Then, using the tool of your choice, create shallow holes in the garden.

      Place the seeds in the hole at the depth indicated in the instructions. It may depend on the culture you choose. As a rule, fleshy plants such as cucurbits (beans and peas) and melons, squash and cucumbers are planted at a depth of 2-2.5 cm, and corn and potatoes are planted at a depth of 6-9 cm. After you have placed the seeds into the hole, sprinkle them with earth and compact (lightly patting with the palm of your hand) so that the hole does not dry out too quickly. Continue this procedure until you have the planned number of beds.

      • Alternatively, you can start germinating the seeds at home, thus preparing seedlings, or in a greenhouse, and then transplant them into beds.

   2. Hill up your plants when the ground is compacted by watering or rain and weed out. By planting the plants in beds, you leave yourself the opportunity to move between them to perform these tasks (in the event that you do everything manually). You will need to be extremely careful in order to loosen the soil near the plant itself without damaging its roots. Mulch can be used to reduce or even eliminate weeds.

      Make sure that insects and animals do not damage your crops. If you notice eaten leaves, you will need to identify the cause. Many animals prefer tender young shoots of the main vegetation, so you will need to protect your plantings from them, but the main problem when growing food is insects. If there are few of them, then they can simply be removed from the shoots or destroyed, but if the problem is very acute, then you will most likely have to resort to the help of special chemical and biological types of protection (plant plants that repel insects in the neighborhood).

food… at the present time it is exchanged by means of money with its producers for our services. if our countries are covered just a shadowBP in the form of financialcrisis, then real values this world will be valued several times higher. food is real. nowhere else)..
survival sites regularly offer hunting and gathering options. grazing is a little serious when it comes to survival duringdecades. hunting in the not so numerous Ukrainian forests, the population of wild animals will be quickly reduced to nothing, at least in my area.hence my conclusion - learn to grow food yourself.
getting one kilogram of plant food requires several times less cost than one kg of meat. besides, you won't get meat without plant food.hence my conclusion - learn to grow food yourself.

knowing the principles of business is much more important, simpler, more reliable than knowing the rules, ways, recipes, tricks and tricks. this is true for ANY area of ​​life: engineering, construction, physical, military training, self-defense - any. knowing the principles, you yourself will figure out the rules, recipes, tricks .... now to the point:

PURPOSE of growing. - according to a further application, food is grown for the sake of: consumption by people, livestock, the earth itself for the sake of maintaining fertility.

- in terms of the effectiveness of body parts, food is grown for the sake of: seeds, tubers, flowers, stems with leaves.

- in terms of caloric content and content of protein, trace elements and vitamins, the most valuable are seeds, then tubers, then flowers and stems with leaves. in the fruits of peas and beans, the protein content is about 8 times, and in wheat and buckwheat 4-5 times higher than in the tubers of potatoes, carrots and Jerusalem artichoke.

- some crops are economically profitable to grow for seeds, others for tubers and stems with leaves. no one grows plants for the sake of flowers, but they can be collected by 1) thinning the beds, 2) collecting wild plants.

SEEDS. Most crops are grown from seed. but some - potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke - are much more profitable to grow by planting tubers. and some - onions, garlic - are grown in a mixed way: for the first year, small bulbs are obtained from seeds. in the second year, large bulbs are obtained from them. although garlic can only be grown by planting cloves from full-weight heads.

- if crops grown from seeds - tomatoes, peppers, cabbage - require long term growth, then it is more profitable to grow them in seedlings.

- on average, seeds can remain viable for a couple of years. the cooler and drier the storage conditions, the longer the germination lasts. in a dry, ventilated room at a temperature of 7-10 °, the germination of seeds of onions, dill, parsley, carrots, eggplants and peppers lasts two to three years; cabbage, radish, radish, turnip, beetroot, lettuce, spinach - up to four; legumes, pumpkin and tomatoes - up to five to seven years. cucumber seeds, if stored at a temperature not lower than 15 °, do not lose their germination for up to ten years.

growing conditions. TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY. Seeds germinate with sufficient heat and moisture. if there is not enough heat and enough moisture, the seeds rot. the cold-resistant culture, the longer it can lie in damp ground without rotting, waiting for heat.

- if the seeds have awakened to growth, there is no turning back: they either develop further or disappear. so be careful and respectful of the seeds. therefore, be aware of the germination temperature of the main crops. refers to the temperature of the earth:
rye, winter wheat - 1-2 C. peas, beans, parsley, carrots, onions, garlic, many salads, sorrel, dill - 3-5 C. These crops tolerate spring frosts without problems.
potatoes - 5-6 C. beets, buckwheat - 6-8 C. These crops are worse, but they tolerate spring frosts. beans, corn, zucchini - 9-12 C. cucumbers - 15-18 C. They die during frosts.

- at these temperatures, these crops have very different germination times: from a couple of days for wheat, rye and peas to three weeks for carrots and parsley. all mentioned cultures germinate at 18-25 degrees and grow several times faster than at germination temperature.

Crops vary greatly in their moisture requirements. As a rule, root and heat-loving crops require more moisture than cereals and cold-resistant crops.
- there are two ways to maintain a sufficient level of moisture: by bringing rain or hands from the outside and by mulching the soil. about it - a little lower.
growing conditions. THE SOIL. - the soil is the "place of registration and residence" of cultivated plants, as well as the "processing shop, kitchen and pantry", from where they regularly take food and water for themselves. if we plant in “anyhow” land, then it will grow with us either “anyhow”, or “almost nothing” and we will ask ourselves “how is that? we planted, worked, watered.

- three factors of the soil must be at a sufficient level: mechanical composition or friability, nutritional value or fertility, moisture supply. As a rule, the more heat-loving the plants, the better the culture requires in all three parameters. tubers are more demanding in these parameters than cereals.

- soil fertility and friability are providedthree ways: natural, accelerated and perverted. natural way: plant bodies fall and die on the surface of the soil, being processed into nutrients by soil bacteria and worms, and thus serving subsequent generations of plants.

fast track: plant bodies or fed to animals and returned to the soil as manure or piled up in compost heap and return to the soil in the form of humus. in the latter case, decay can be accelerated by a factor of 10 if we attack the heap with a special unit "EM team fighters". about the accelerated path, with reference to my story about these daring fighters, I already wrote: “ .

perverted way: by introducing mineral fertilizers into the soil. they are like khachiks, they do not allow local bacteria and worms to conduct business normally and are constantly “roofed” by the owners, whose goal is to “cut down” the crop in a couple of seasons, and then at least the grass does not grow. Learn more about it in the video below.

growing conditions. LIGHT. for the flow of photosynthesis, i.e. processes of saturating themselves with nutrients from receiving light, plants require different duration and intensity of illumination. according to this parameter, they are divided into light-loving, shade-tolerant and shade-loving. as a rule, the lighter the leaves of the plant, the more light-loving it is. salads are more shade tolerant than cucumbers and beans, potatoes are even more resistant. and onions and parsley, with their dark green leaves, are even more shade tolerant.

PESTS. - there are two types: vegetable, better known under the nickname "weeds", and animals. weeds "survive from the territory" green manure. I already wrote about this: "".

- against insect pests, the most reliable way is to mask the smell. idea: the eyesight of these smallest creatures is useless. they follow the scent. if in the garden 1) a mixture of different crops grows and 2) rotting mulch lies, which brings its own - quite powerful - wave into the Babylonian pandemonium of smells, then insects will not fly there.

Certain insects also dislike certain smells. for example, the carrot fly does not like the smell of onions, and onion pests do not like carrots. conclusion: plant carrots and onions mixed.

- monthly cycles are not only for lovely ladies, but also for insects. wisely adapt to them. for example, if you plant carrots either 1) early in the spring, or - even better - 2) in the middle or end of June, then the carrot fly 1) will fall on the root crops that have already grown stronger, or 2) will not find anything in late May or early June, when she is very active.

- the most harmful booger for 4 years of gardening was definitely a bear. Smell disguise doesn't work against her. if we don’t want to poison with poison or we don’t have it, then we do this: in early October we allocate a couple of places in the garden, where we bring about half a bucket of fresh horse dung. and sprinkle with herbs to maintain the smell and heat. Medvedka rushes from these aromas and under this heap of holes will dig herself to spend the winter. when frosts come, you need to open this pile, throwing the earth from above with a shovel. and the bear will die. and for the same reason it is not necessary to leave heaps of rubbish and grass in the garden.

HARVESTING. « not the crop that poly has, but that sho in komori". Ukrainian proverb.
- when our crop is almost ripe, they begin to threaten it: various birds, bugs and boogers, moisture and specific diseases. the less we allow a ripe crop to stand, the less risk there is. in principle, cereals can also ripen when cut, feeding on stems and leaves. it won't work for root crops. if we remove the root crops ahead of time, they will be stored worse.

- signs of ripeness of root crops: potatoes - yellowing and dying off of tops. its ripening can be accelerated by mowing the tops 6-10 days before harvesting, this also contributes to the formation of a rough crust on the tubers, which increases their resistance to mechanical damage during collection and transportation. garlic - yellowing of the lower and tips of the remaining leaves, straightening arrows with boxes. if harvested when the boxes began to open, then the garlic will be stored worse, if the heads of garlic in the hands break up into cloves - the garlic is overexposed in the ground. onion - lodging and yellowing of the feather, dried thin neck.

I RECOMMEND TO WATCH this 24-minute video
« Fundamentals of organic farming».