Vegetable planting genes are awakened!
Are you growing vegetables on the balcony?
Experts from the Vegetable Research Institute of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences will send you a "Strategy for Growing Vegetables on the Balcony"
The coriander that people love and hate, the leek with its own "one crop after another" attribute, and the cute and cute little tomato with its own Internet celebrity attribute... Now, the balcony is hot.
Some netizens said bluntly: "The vegetable planting gene has been awakened".
What followed is a variety of family "vegetable growing strategies". So, are these online vegetable growing strategies true or false?
The reporter interviewed experts from the balcony vegetable innovation team of the Vegetable Research Institute of the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and provided you with practical vegetable growing strategies.
Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Xu Qianqian Yu Dandan
"Vegetables on the balcony"
Ten billion scale market
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, many people forced to stay at home have begun to study growing vegetables on the balcony.
Perhaps dozens of days ago, this place was just an ordinary balcony, but now it has become a small vegetable garden.
On the Taobao platform, this market, which is biased towards the interest economy, has now formed a new ten billion market, covering the whole life cycle of vegetable growth, including fruit and vegetable seeds, flower pots, nutrient soil, fertilizers, gardening tools, etc.
According to statistics, more than 70% of consumers who grow vegetables on the balcony are from first-, second- and third-tier cities. Among them, Shanghai, Dongguan, Beijing, Suzhou, and Guangzhou are among the top five cities that love to grow vegetables on the balcony. Most of them are born in 1985. ” to “post-95s” mainly.
In the first quarter of this year, the sales of various vegetable seeds on the platform increased by more than 100% year-on-year, and coriander, chives, peppers and tomatoes became the most popular vegetable seeds on the platform.
Young people are keen on growing vegetables, and the Internet has contributed greatly to this.
Searching "Growing Vegetables on the Balcony" in Xiaohongshu, there are more than 60,000 notes related to vegetable growing knowledge, vegetable growing strategies, and vegetable growing tools.
On Sina Weibo, the #balcony growing vegetables# Weibo topic has nearly 73 million views.
Researcher Zheng Zisong, head of the balcony vegetable innovation team of the Vegetable Research Institute of the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told reporters that balcony vegetables did not become popular recently. In fact, the demand from related enterprises has been rising in recent years.
Zheng Zisong believes that many young people are following Douyin to learn how to grow vegetables.
"Modern people live under a lot of pressure. This way of returning to nature and returning to the countryside is a good way to decompress and relax." And in the circle of friends, I posted the big tomatoes I planted recently, and exchanged seeds in the group , The exchange of planting experience also endows the balcony with more social value.
Which "balcony vegetables" are suitable for beginners
Vegetable experts of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences recommend these three
On social networks, vegetable growers share their experience with new vegetable growers: iron buckets, flower baskets, and plastic boxes can be used to grow vegetables. So, are these experiences valuable to professionals?
In this regard, Zhang Xiaoqing, an associate researcher of the balcony vegetable innovation team of the Vegetable Research Institute of the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, recommended three kinds of vegetables that are most suitable for novices to grow on the balcony.
"The first type is lettuce, which is easy to manage and has a fast growth cycle. It can be served on the table in about 30 days after planting in spring and summer." Zhang Xiaoqing said that lettuce also has the advantage that it is not prone to diseases and insect pests.
The second type of leek that she recommends for home planting is leeks. "Leeks are 'lazy vegetables' and 'even eating vegetables'. They can be harvested once every 25 days in spring and summer, and can be harvested more than ten times a year." The first recommended by Zhang Xiaoqing The three are spice plants, such as basil, mint, etc., adding a little when cooking can increase the fragrance of the dish, and it is also very good to drink tea.
There is also a unique aroma such as geranium, especially in summer, it can also play a role in repelling mosquitoes, and it is a pure natural "mosquito coil".
In addition to these three, green onions, chicken feathers, and coriander are all vegetables that save space and are easy to grow. The seeds of these vegetables are also easy to buy on e-commerce platforms, and are especially suitable for "planting vegetables".
In addition to eating, but also beautiful.
Young people also have requirements for beautifying the landscape when growing vegetables on the balcony, especially "to look good in the circle of friends". The Vegetable Institute of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences has special varieties of fruit tomatoes and colored peppers suitable for potted balcony plants. The colors are gorgeous and bright, and they are also very good. Cultivation.
Zhang Xiaoqing said that if there is a courtyard at home, you can set up a frame to grow creeping melons, fruits, beans, etc., and you can use different types of vegetables to create a diverse vegetable ecological environment.
Can you grow vegetables with just water?
"Clear water" does not have enough nutrients and cannot last
"Everything grows by the sun", only with sufficient sunlight can green plants grow more green and vigorous.
Another thing is to prepare suitable containers for the vegetables.
Zhang Xiaoqing told reporters that you can directly buy boxes for special cultivation vegetables in the market, or you can make simple plastic boxes yourself, such as plastic pots, buckets, foam boxes, plastic bottles, etc. for waste utilization.
However, it should be noted that no matter what container you choose, you must ensure that there are drainage holes at the bottom.
When the plant is slender and does not bear fruit, the light is insufficient, and the container should be moved to a place with sufficient light.
If the plant starts to yellow from the bottom, lacks vitality, and has a dull color, it is too much watered. It is necessary to reduce the frequency of watering and check whether the drainage of the container is good.
Online, growing hydroponic vegetables on a balcony is also popular.
"Hydroponics" is a cultivation method that does not use soil for cultivation, and simply allows plants to grow in "water".
According to the "tutorial" on the Internet, such as onions, shallots, garlic and other stem vegetables, cut off the roots and put them in water. The water surface covers 1/3 of the roots. Generally, the new growth can be eaten in a week or two. of chives and garlic.
However, experts told reporters that there are not enough nutrients in water, and many vegetables will grow slowly after hydroponics and are easy to age.
Therefore, if you want to eat healthy vegetables, you still have to use the method of nutrient liquid culture.
Is "Nutritional Soil" an IQ Tax?
Not only "nutritious soil" is needed, fertilization is also very important
With the popularity of balcony planting, in addition to the huge increase in orders for various vegetables and flower seeds, nutrient soil has also become a hot-selling product at the moment.
Citizen Ms. Jiang originally knew nothing about growing vegetables. Last month, on the recommendation of a friend, she spent 27 yuan to buy 30 catties of organic general-purpose nutrient soil, and began to grow lettuce, green vegetables and other crops.
Plant nutrient soil, special soil for planting vegetables, general nutrient soil... The reporter found that there are many types of nutrient soil on the Internet platform, and "universal nutrient soil" will make many "vegetable growers" think that buying this "universal" soil Nutrient soil can be used to grow both flowers and vegetables.
"Compared with growing flowers, growing vegetables requires more nutrients from the soil." Zhang Xiaoqing told reporters that there are many types of vegetables, such as leafy vegetables, root vegetables, melons and fruits, and their needs for soil nutrients are also different. .
"Lettuce, cabbage and other leafy vegetables with a short growth period can be planted with special nutrient soil for planting vegetables. However, fruit vegetables such as cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes need to be fertilized and supplemented with nutrients during the flowering and fruiting period to be successful."
Zhang Xiaoqing also reminded that it is not advisable to arbitrarily use the soil in the community garden and roadside, as the soil is easy to harden and breed pests and diseases in the later stage of planting.
As for whether or not to fertilize vegetables, even vegetable growers hold different opinions.
"Although it is said that 'container, nutrient soil, and crops' are the three elements of growing vegetables on the balcony, fertilizer is also a very important link." Zhang Xiaoqing said that the use of fertilizer can increase the fruit setting rate and quality of vegetables, and growers' sense of harvest also will be full.
"Zhang Xiaoqing said that everyone can buy compound fertilizers online, fertilize them with water, and water the vegetables after adding water. It is simple and convenient to use. As long as the fertilizers are qualified products, it is no problem to use them to grow vegetables.