In the garden with… Carmen Ferreira
With the vegetable gardens Minigarden winning over an increasing number of fans, the Minigarden team decided to pay a visit to a number of customers who have the Minigarden system installed. The Minigarden now forms part of the daily lives of so many families, it is intriguing to see up close the development of their vertical vegetable and flower gardens. On this occasion, we paid a visit to Carmen Ferreira, a mother who 7 years ago chose to put a Minigarden on her balcony. In addition to installing the modules, she opted for our drip irrigation system (giving each plant the water and nutrition it requires), along with a programmer, a fertilizer feeder and a filter/pressure reducer, thus automating the irrigation and nutrition system. Carmen explains that “In the summer, the vegetables have to be watered every day, and on the hottest days, sometimes twice a day, which justified the investment. It proved a fantastic solution, since we have little spare time”. Over the years, Carmen decided to change the kitchen decor, and the balcony was included in her plans. In these hectic times of increasingly scarce spare time, Carmen chose to create a different space, where she could enjoy a cosy lounge environment with her family and friends. “I decided to bring the city garden into our home”. Carmen explains further, “At that point, we spent little time at home. I wanted to enjoy all our free time and a vertical garden requires less time and maintenance than a vegetable garden”. Since the family already had the Minigarden system installed, the decision was easily implemented. After 6 years with...
Horticulture Workshops for Children and Grown-Ups – Vertical Kitchen Garden
Last June, we saw the end of another workshop series on HORTICULTURE FOR CHILDREN AND GROWN-UPS, at the Dolce Vita Tejo (the biggest shopping centre in Europe). These workshops were facilitated by Associação Chão da Terra, with support from Minigarden. The main goal of Associação Chão da Terra is to spread environmentally friendly growing techniques and foster contact with soil and nature. For a few days, people had the chance to discover the benefits of urban kitchen gardens and learn about growing horticultural and aromatic plants. In an urban setting, the use of raised seed beds and vertical systems with low space requirements may be the best solution to build a kitchen garden. All the participants had the opportunity to discover the Minigarden Vertical system. Everyone was able to feel the soil with their hands and thoroughly follow the suggestions to make a Minigarden Vertical kitchen garden without ever forgetting the general principles of sustainable agriculture. It was a moment of dissemination and learning for all the attendees. There was plenty of fun for grown-ups and kids. … And so the workshop series ended, with due credit to Associação Chão da Terra. Welcome to the Urban Green Revolution! [inpost_nivo slide_width=”800″ slide_height=”600″ thumb_width=”75″ thumb_height=”75″ post_id=”2092″ skin=”default” transition_effect=”fade” transition_speed=”600″ autoslide=”5000″ control_nav=”1″ control_nav_thumbs=”0″ direction_nav=”1″ direction_nav_hide=”0″ controlNavThumbs=”0″ random_start=”0″ pause_on_hover=”1″ show_description=”1″ box_rows=”4″ box_cols=”8″ slices=”15″ start_slide=”0″ id=”” random=”0″ group=”0″ show_in_popup=”0″ album_cover=”” album_cover_width=”200″ album_cover_height=”200″ popup_width=”800″ popup_max_height=”600″ popup_title=”Gallery” type=”nivo” sc_id=”sc1499960000002″] A tip from Associação Chão da Terra: HOW TO GROW A KITCHEN GARDEN – step by step 1. Place the vertical kitchen garden in an area with at least 4-5 hours of daily solar exposure;...
In the kitchen garden with… Joana Lobato
This time, the Minigarden team visited the kitchen garden of Joana Lobato, a young woman with a great passion for her four-legged friends. She always wanted to have a kitchen garden at home, but the lack of time and space had always made it impossible to fulfil that wish. Joana tells us that “I tried to grow things in flowerpots, but with no success”. Joana always had an interest in health and food safety. Aside from being produced without chemicals (harmful to health and cause of many diseases), organic food is more tasty and nutritious. “I care about the environment. Pesticides are quite harmful to water, air and soil, as well as to our health, both directly and indirectly. When I stopped eating meat, vegetables became part of my routine. Actually, I could buy them in the supermarket, but they are more expensive and I can’t always be certain they don’t have chemicals or preservatives”. “At a time in which we increasingly hear about kitchen gardens, especially the organic kind, I decided to look for the best solution. That’s when I found Minigarden… I decided to place the kitchen garden in my balcony”, says Joana while picking some spearmint for her tea… “I wanted to be able to grow my own kitchen garden, ensuring the quality of the products I eat and give to my pets. They love carrots, and this way I can be certain they won’t take in any chemicals”. Joana loves to use aromatic herbs in her dishes and, in her opinion, fresh herb packets in the supermarket are a little overpriced. “I decided to be...