A 2-square-meter enclosed balcony can grow 20 kinds of vegetables, enough for a year!

The first step in growing vegetables: space utilization

For a small balcony of 2 square meters, the first thing to consider is the use of space. Various iron and wooden racks are the basic tools for growing three-dimensional vegetables.

Specific operations:

For example, a location near the window has good light and high utilization rate, and you can set up a two-layer wooden shelf, which can be customized with anti-corrosion wooden boards. Use waterproof cloth as the lining inside, and plant leeks, small peppers, and cherry tomatoes. In order to prevent overheating due to direct sunlight near the window, reflective heat-insulating aluminum film can be applied to the surface close to the window.

Two rows of movable iron frames can be set on both sides of the balcony. One row of frames is made into a single-layer hanging type, which is used to plant climbing vegetables such as cucumbers. It can simulate the method of a greenhouse and use white thin wire as a traction rope to allow the vines to grow upward along the rope. There are multiple layers of partitions on the sides of the shelf for placing small potted plants and growing strawberries.

Another row of shelves can be used to set up multiple layers of hydroponic vegetables, using hydroponic pipe cultivation to grow some leafy vegetables such as lettuce, water spinach, and chrysanthemum. Hydroponic leafy vegetables are planted one after another, clean and soilless, and grow quickly.

The second step of growing vegetables: light and ventilation

The biggest problem with enclosed balconies is that the sunlight exposure time is too short and there is a very fatal ventilation problem.

illumination:

Living in a building with a small balcony, it is not possible to get more than 10 hours of natural light a day. However, in order to meet the growth needs of the plants, we can provide artificial lighting. Install LED fill lights on each row of shelves to increase lighting.

ventilation:

If the ventilation is not good, you can also install equipment. Install two solar panels on the top of the window and connect the fans installed at both ends of the rack to keep the entire closed environment in a state of air flow to prevent the balcony temperature and humidity from being too high, which may easily cause pests and diseases.

The third step in growing vegetables: the trouble of pests and diseases

When growing vegetables on the balcony, the breeding of pests and diseases is inevitable. Some are small insects flying in from outside, and some may be pathogens or insect eggs carried in the soil.

When it comes to pests and diseases, the most important thing is to observe them regularly, detect them early and deal with them early, remove the plants affected by pests and diseases, and prevent them from further harming other vegetables. In serious cases, a small amount of pesticides can be used to eliminate the pests.

If you don't want to use pesticides, you can catch insects manually by hanging yellow insecticidal boards next to the vegetables, or make your own chili water. Choose particularly spicy red peppers, add water and boil for half an hour, then spray it on the surface of the vegetables after it cools down.