Is it worth starting a winter garden: dubious benefits
Fresh greens are a worthy decoration for any table, both festive and everyday. Of course, you can buy a bunch of parsley or lettuce in the store, but it is much more pleasant to grow greens yourself.
However, according to the expert of the online publication BelNovosti, scientist-agronomist, landscape designer Anastasia Kovrizhnykh , to get a good harvest at home you will need a lot of things - special shelves, since the plants freeze on the windowsill, a high-quality lamp necessary for additional lighting, etc.
You will also need soil – perhaps the most consumable material, and in order to save money, many “creators” of a garden on the windowsill reuse it.
In this case, you will have to spend money on good nutrition with fertilizers, if, of course, you want the greens to grow well in the same soil.
In addition, it would not hurt to freeze the soil, for example, on the balcony - this procedure is necessary to destroy all kinds of pathogens.
And with top dressing, not everything is so simple: due to the repeated use of soil, the nitrate content in it can be increased, in connection with which it is better to replace mineral compositions with organic matter, and even it should be applied only at half the recommended rate.
Therefore, if you compare the result obtained with the efforts made, and also calculate the cost of seeds, soil, lamps, electricity and other expenses, the benefit turns out to be questionable.
However, this only applies to gardeners who grow elite indoor cucumbers, tomatoes, and even watermelons (this happens) on their windowsills, while greens are a completely worthy option, because they are not demanding of soil, do not require expensive professional lamps, and their seeds are an order of magnitude cheaper.
Previously, we published a selection of the best tomato varieties.
