Urban gardening gains popularity

One year ago, Phan Thi Hue, 45, in HCM City worried when doctors told her that she had health problems and advised her to follow a vegetarian diet.



“After several months of eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, I feel much better,” Hue reported. “I have a vegetable garden of my own on my terrace. I can use vegetables from my garden at any time and I do not have to go to the market.”



“I have everything I want, from amaranth to cabbage and even sweet potatoes,” she added.



Nguyen Van Cong in Thu Duc district related that he was shocked when he witnessed firsthand how farmers sprayed pesticides on vegetables.



“With their way of farming, I’m afraid that we cannot have clean vegetables with no toxic chemicals,” Cong explained. “I dare not purchase vegetables at supermarkets since that time.



I decided to grow my own vegetables on the third floor balcony,” he added. “With my own garden, I can save money on vegetables, and more importantly, I have clean vegetables to eat.”



Cong’s vegetable garden was small at first, about three square metres. Now he is using every square metre of space.



“I have the pleasure of watching my vegetable grow,” he said of his favorite work. “I care for the vegetables every day and water them each morning. Sometimes I have to clear the plants of caterpillars.”



“I rarely use chemical fertilizers for my vegetables,” he observed. “I just use a little of urea two weeks before harvesting.”



Most “urban farmers” grow vegetables using hydroponics. With this method, farmers do not use soil, so they are not afraid of insects and they do not have to spend a lot of time caring for the plants. Hydroponics also allows farmers to grow vegetables even when they do not have large space. A 3-4 square metre garden can provide clean vegetables for an entire family.



Many young mothers grow vegetable themselves, because they want to provide safe vegetables for small children.



Thuy Lnh in Binh Thanh district works for a car trading company and said that she is afraid to purchase vegetables from the market for her 8-month old child.



“I accidentally learned from Internet that everyone can grow sprout vegetable at their homes with simple tools and I decided to grow vegetables myself. The health of my child is the most important thing for me now.”



A director of a company specializing in providing sprout vegetable seeds revealed that urban gardening is a growing trend. He told a Tuoi Tre reporter that his main clients are educated and many are office workers, accounting for 80 percent of total clients. Most of them are male, aged above 30.