Vegetables from the Container Garden
Several good films to get you excited about vegetable gardening are two documentaries about food. One is Supersize Me, and the other is Food, Inc. Supersize Me is the famous 2004 documentary that follows director Morgan Spurlock on a 30-day MacDonald’s-only diet. He had gained 24.5 pounds and some unexpected physical and emotional effects from the 30-day junk food binge. Food, Inc. is a 2008 documentary about the way our food is produced and marketed. Vegetable gardening in a balcony kitchen garden is one way to know where your food comes from and how it was grown. It is also a more healthy and delicious alternative to eating prepackaged foods.
Learning about the food you eat and where it comes from will help you make healthier and more eco-friendly choices. This knowledge will inspire you and remind you of the delicious plants you can eat from your own balcony container garden. It's unfortunate that balcony container gardeners can't have whole plots of land to grow food crops, but there are container plants you can grow in your balcony garden.
Some good vegetables for container gardening include tomatoes, lettuce, beans, bell peppers, potatoes, garlic, onion and a lot more. The most successful container vegetable gardens will have a lot of sunlight.
If you are lucky enough to live near a co-op where you can grow vegetables, or if you have a friend or family member willing to loan you a bit of land, all the better! You can enjoy your own balcony garden, but also produce even more edible foods. If you are sharecropping (planting on another person’s land), make sure you and the landowner understand and agree on the following things before any gardening begins:
The Harvest. Will you be splitting the harvest? If so, how much?
Expenses. Who pays for water, fertilizer?
The Work. Who does all of the garden chores? Is the work shared?
The Plants. Where will the plants be grown? Who decides which plants will be grown? For more vegetable garden inspiration, watch Food, Inc. and Supersize Me. Not only are vegetable gardens useful, they are beautiful, providing lush growth and even flowers.
