Green Leafy Vegetables For Terrace Gardening

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Terrace gardening is the art of developing gardens in terraces or balconies, it's origin dates back to the Mesopotamian civilization, where the popular hanging gardens of Babylon still rank as one of the world's wonders. A terrace garden has its own advantage, its saves space, add greenery to concrete jungles, control temperature by keeping ceiling and the walls cool and also have some hydrological benefits. Not just lawns but even a few green leafy vegetables like coriander, lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, mustard greens, mint leaves, aloe vera and many more can be cultivated in the terrace, making it a mini town of farmville. Take a look at how to grow green leafy vegetables in the terrace gardens.

How To Grow Green Leafy Vegetables In Terrace Gardens -

1. Season: A green leafy vegetable garden is like a powerhouse of nutrition, having such iron and antioxidant rich foods can satisfy your day to day cooking. Spring and Summer are the best seasons to grow vegetables like Spinach, Lettuce and Cabbage. Swiss Chard can be planted in May. Harvesting and mulching can happen in the winter seasons.

2. Soil Requirements: Green leafy vegetables, particularly lettuce can be grown in wide range of soils, be it clay, loam or sandy. The suitable soil should be well drained, moist and slightly acidic (soggy soils kill leafy plants).

3. Climate: Certain leafy vegetables are grown in summer and some in winter. Garden Cress, Kale and Lettuce are grown cool climates (45 to 65 F) and Swiss Chard, Mustard in summers as they are heat tolerant. Spinach, Parsley are spring and fall crops. (Note: If Lettuce are grown in summer the leaves tend to get bitter).

4. Seeds: Some leafy vegetables can be cultivated through seeds. Plants like Lettuce, and Brussels sprouts can be seeded and later can be transplanted. The seeds can be sown in Spring. These plants do not require bright sunlight so they can be indoor gardening plants.

5. Planting: the vegetable saplings should be planted in rows (at least at a distance of 20-24 inches). Every plant needs to be spaced (10-12 inches apart). Organic mulching is required to control weeds and to maintain the soil temperature. Planting small leafy vegetables under the shade of taller plants (shade gardening) will reduce bolting and support healthy growth.

6. Aquatic Green Leafy Vegetables: Leafy Watercress need no soil bed for growth. They are suited for Aquatic habitat and thus the plants are grown around limestone springs in pure, running water.

7. Fertilizers And Watering: Potassium rich fertilizers are particularly advised for the healthy growth of green leafy plants. The plants need to be watered every time the soil goes dry (preferably early morning or evening times). Pruning is required but only during harvest. Trimmed leaves and twigs can be retained in the pot as they can be a good mulch bed.