Hello lovelies, I'm so happy that the 2020 garden season has started again. In this blog post "My City Farming Paradise – All About Our Raised-Bed Garden" and all summer long, I'm taking you along into our urban garden again. In collaboration with Do It + Garden Migros * and their great city farming concept, I'm setting to work this year too, turning our patio and the area around it into a green paradise. Of course I'm hoping for lots of hours of sunshine and a big harvest, but above all that this project brings us as much joy as last summer. You can read my report on that here.
I hope I can give you a few valuable shopping tips again, as well as planting and care tips. Because already last year we were really very successful at urban gardening, and I was amazed how much grew in our raised beds. I'm absolutely no pro either, but I've already learned so much and am curious how I can put it into practice this time.
Urban Garden 2020
So I started into the 2020 garden year accordingly motivated, and like all of us was first slowed down by the exceptional coronavirus situation. I'd planned to grow some seedlings from seed myself this year. At City Farming you get matching windowsill greenhouses, little growing pots, and of course all the seeds in organic quality. So I started right away and have to say, it's harder than I thought. Not all the seeds sprouted, and I found it a challenge to keep the optimal climate for the seeds/little seedlings at all times. In the end the zucchini grew super well, the tomatoes are still going, and I was able to grow beets and kale too. My conclusion, though, is that I probably wouldn't do it again, but would buy the organic seedlings at Do It + Garden Migros instead. But it was an exciting experience, and it's a wonderful feeling to watch the seeds grow!
What worked super well, though, is a cold frame. There are attachments for the raised beds, so you can turn them into a cold frame very easily. In it I sowed cut-and-come-again and Asian salads, and they're now almost ready to harvest. I also sowed zucchini and head lettuce there directly as seeds, and both grew super and I hardly had to tend to them. I think the climate under the cover is simply ideal, so everything can grow well. You can then also "park" your seedlings there for a while, until it's warm enough to put them outside. For that I always keep old pots that I can reuse every year.
City Farming
I was of course very happy when the first coronavirus measures were eased and you could finally go into the Do It + Garden again. Because I appreciate the personal advice there so much. The staff are always super helpful with their tips, and in the City Farming area you'll really find everything you need for urban gardening. And it doesn't matter at all whether you have lots of space. Because there's a solution for every space situation, and even if you only plant a few herbs in pots on the balcony, that'll already bring you great joy. Last season I got to learn an incredible amount from the pros at Kraut & Quer, who'll be on hand for advice in certain stores again this year too. By the way, you don't have to carry your raised beds, soil, plants, etc. home yourself, because with the courier service from Anna Now you can have it conveniently delivered to your home, within an hour.
Raised Bed
This time I decided on 2 more raised beds, because I'm really a bit spurred on by last year's success. We had a super harvest especially with the tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and squash. But since zucchini and squash in particular are so-called heavy feeders, they need space accordingly, or you have to limit yourself to one plant per raised bed. The two new raised beds are made of pallet frames that you can assemble yourself. They come in 2 sizes and the height can be adjusted. The beds are lined with bubble wrap (which you should fasten), and then you can already fill and plant them.
Setup
How to optimally fill a raised bed, or any other planter, I learned last year from Kraut & Quer: first comes a layer of expanded clay, on top of that a piece of fleece, then the organic soil (or a mix of compost & soil), the fertilizer, and then the plant. This structure is important so the water doesn't pool and the plants can thrive optimally. You will also find a good overview of the right layering in this raised-bed guide.
So into the new raised beds, besides zucchini and squash, moved cucumbers, kohlrabi, beets, leeks, and peas. Peas always at the edge and near the zucchini and squash, because they supply the soil with nutrients. The peas, you see, fix nitrogen from the air and release it into the soil. And you don't even have to tie the peas up – you can just let them hang down at the edge of the bed. Between these plants, lettuces too, which are harvested first, so everything has enough space – that's what I find brilliant about the raised beds.
For the new raised beds I also found a great irrigation system from Gardena at City Farming. You get it as a starter set with all the accessories, and I have to say, the setup was really easy, even though we were a bit alarmed at first by all the individual parts. The system can be expanded as you like, and you can even connect a computer, so that you could actually water everything automatically – which is of course practical for holiday time.
Gardens with Children
The children in particular had huge fun with our garden and everything that grew, so we expanded their area and set up a real fruit paradise for them. We crafted a matching sign for it, and already now they're incredibly proud and always love to help me out. They also watch closely what's all growing and that the snails don't help themselves at their beds.
Fruit Garden
In their fruit garden now grow, besides the currants, raspberries, and blueberries from last year, also mini kiwis, gooseberries, a lemon, bush raspberries, and of course strawberries. In their bed we've already sown radishes and carrots. The berries and fruit really grow well in pots, which don't even have to be that big (double the size of the plant is enough). A special berry fertilizer also helps with optimal growth.
Raised Beds
In the other raised beds on our patio we also planted kale in green and red, kohlrabi, cucumbers, peppers, and balcony tomatoes. Plus an herb bed – there I simply made the mistake last year of planting mint. It did pleasingly come back, but completely overgrew everything. So my tip: always plant mint separately and not together with other herbs.
In the hanging pots attached to the balcony railing, we sowed the seeds from the Migros planting campaign and are already very curious what will all grow there. That's another great experiment for children too.
Against Food Waste
Here I have another tip for you: you can very easily use your kitchen scraps to grow new plants from them again. I keep a pot right by the kitchen, into which I always put the bottom of the spring onions – they then grow back from it! I also planted ginger and turmeric in a pot. These are supposed to multiply very easily too – I'll report back! 
Tomatoes
In front of the house, because that's where there's the most sun, the tomatoes have taken up their spot again. The important thing is that tomatoes don't like rain or moisture from above, so this time I'll give them a little house. As soon as it's built, I'll show it to you on Instagram and in the stories. Since we're huge tomato lovers, I planted lots of different varieties and of course hope we can harvest a lot. By the way, it's recommended to plant basil in the pots with the tomatoes, because, as in Italian cuisine, the two plants get along very well and thrive together wonderfully.
Garden Year 2020
I'm so looking forward to this year's garden season, and especially to the renewed collaboration with Do It + Garden City Farming. I hope my little peek into our urban garden and my tips help you garden successfully in a small space too. By the way, now is exactly the right time to start. The Ice Saints are over now, and even sensitive seedlings can move outside. At City Farming you'll find everything you need – just make sure when shopping that you still observe the BAG (Federal Office of Public Health) rules, to protect yourself and others.
Definitely stop by Instagram too, because I'll keep you posted there about my garden and take you along again and again – including to the harvest, of course. And once the harvest is ripe, it often goes straight into the pan here, for example into a creamy veggie pasta.
Love, Verena
If you're on Pinterest, you can find me here and are welcome to pin this picture:
This blog post was created in collaboration with Migros Do It + Garden, but reflects my own opinion. ***
