This past weekend, Beijing ushered in the lowest temperature since the beginning of winter, located in Lucheng Town, Tongzhou District, in the Zhongnong Futong Science and Technology Park, the snow has not yet melted, 65-year-old miser Jumei is tending to fruit and vegetables in a warm greenhouse. "They, like children, need to be cared for to thrive. ”
Miserly Jumei is a staff member of the park, usually responsible for taking care of the fruits and vegetables and flowers in the greenhouse, there are citizens to buy in the shed, she will enthusiastically introduce the characteristics of each fruit and vegetable, so that they can live in the balcony or office building of the citizen's house, can better adapt to the "new home".
According to Zhen Bian, the person in charge of Zhongnong Futong Science and Technology Park, in recent years, the park has developed more than 300 kinds of characteristic packaged seeds, creating a "rich vegetable flower source" and "one-meter vegetable garden", which are specially designed for the public's balcony vegetable garden. The Beijing News reporter learned in an interview that now, in some farms on the outskirts of Beijing, products and equipment specially designed for citizens to grow on their balconies are constantly being innovated. The idyllic dream of having a small vegetable garden at home is becoming easier and more feasible.
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From seeds to nutrient solutions, all are independently developed
On December 15, when the snow was falling, the reporter drove to the Zhongnong Futong Science and Technology Park in Lucheng Town, Tongzhou District, and explored the "secret vegetable gardens" in the greenhouses. In one of the hydroponic planting greenhouses, celery, leaf lettuce, and leaf wolfberry grow on three-dimensional white pipes, and Liu Shengkai, an accompanying staff, picks up a lettuce with a very developed root system. "There is water and nutrient solution in the pipe, and as long as the public has a small water circulation system at home, they can maintain it as well as this. Liu Shengkai said that all the fruits and vegetables, flowers, and Chinese herbal medicine varieties in the park are spontaneously developed, from seeds, soil to nutrient solution, and management technology are exclusive to the park. ”
In the Zhongnong Futong Science and Technology Park, Liu Shengkai inspects the growth of crops planted in the pipeline. Photo by Beijing News reporter Xue Jun
The reporter saw a variety of common or uncommon fruits and vegetables in the greenhouse, and some even Liu Shengkai, who was doing seedling work, had to look carefully for a while to give accurate answers. "There are about 1,000 varieties of varieties in the park, and we are constantly innovating, and after the variety trial planting is successful, we will plant them on a large scale in other greenhouses to supply the market. Some of these varieties are suitable for planting on balconies and in offices. ”
On one wall of the greenhouse, there are different varieties of green plants hung, which are very literary and beautiful after being freely combined and matched. "Some citizens are Xi to traditional planting, they will choose this kind of substrate soil, which contains substrate cocoir, vermiculite, perlite, etc., compared with ordinary soil, this substrate soil can provide plants with richer and sufficient nutrients, easy to manage." Liu Shengkai said that in the park, citizens can choose different crops to decorate the balcony according to their preferences, which can be a seed, or they can directly bring a pot of finished products home.
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More than 30 kinds of special vegetables constitute a "one-meter vegetable garden"
"Young people like fresh varieties, and middle-aged and elderly customers are more traditional and like celery and lettuce, which are common and often eaten. While monitoring the temperature and humidity in the greenhouse in real time, Mi Jumei gave each crop a "physical examination" one by one, and removed the dry leaves in time. Every time a customer visits and buys in the shed, Mi Jumei will tell the customer about the management experience without reservation.
On December 15th, Mi Jumei checked the growth of crops in the greenhouse. Photo by Beijing News reporter Xue Jun
"In the past, I also grew vegetables at home, but they were all planted in the field, which is still different from this kind of thing, and I also followed the experts in the park to work, learn and ponder. The favorite temperature of these fruits and vegetables in the shed is more than 20 degrees Celsius, which is about the same as the temperature in our home, so it is suitable for raising at home. In this kind of heavy snow and low temperature weather, the temperature in the shed is generally about 13 degrees Celsius to 14 degrees Celsius during the day, and the minimum temperature at night is not less than 5 degrees Celsius. She said that she has worked in the park for more than three years, and in the past two years, there are often parents with their children or middle-aged and elderly people living in the urban area who come to the park to buy fruits, vegetables or flowers and raise them at home. "Now people live in the city, especially children rarely come into contact with agriculture, some parents in our garden to build a vegetable garden to experience farming, some parents are willing to plant vegetables on the balcony, so that children understand some agricultural knowledge, know that food is not easy to come by. ”
"You can't live without the city, you can go back to the idyllic life. Zhen Bian, the person in charge of the Zhongnong Futong Science and Technology Park, told reporters that since 2008, the park has done some product research and development services for the public's balcony vegetable garden, China Agricultural University, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing Agricultural Technology Extension Station, etc. are all science and technology support units in the park. At present, the newly created "Rich Vegetable and Flower Source" brand for the balcony vegetable garden has covered more than 300 varieties. "According to the growth cycle of each fruit, vegetable and flower, we regularly introduce new varieties and new varieties. "If it is inconvenient to purchase in the park, citizens can also pick it up at the community centralized distribution point or order it online through the WeChat mini program.
Zhen Bian said that in addition to the "rich vegetable and flower source" brand, the park also set aside 160 square meters of space in a greenhouse, and set up more than 10 kinds of "one-meter vegetable garden", planting more than 30 kinds of special vegetables such as coriander, noodle vegetables, cabbage, perilla, okra, chayote, etc. "Compared with the traditional vegetable garden, the 'one-meter vegetable garden' makes full use of the space and reasonably sets up the planting forks, so that each grower can fully feel the joy of being close to nature, enjoying labor and harvesting in a small space. Zhen Bian said that many citizens or enterprises will directly move this "one-meter vegetable garden" to the balcony or rooftop.
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Grow edible purple vegetables at home
In farms and agricultural parks on the outskirts of Beijing, new varieties and equipment of "balcony vegetable gardens" are also blooming everywhere. In another Oriental Purple Garden (Beijing) agricultural professional cooperative in Tongzhou, the reporter saw a "vegetable planting tray". According to Yang Fan, the person in charge of the cooperative, in recent years, she found that many citizens began to grow vegetables on the balcony, and the cooperative took the opportunity of cooperating with a plant factory enterprise to customize a vegetable planting tray. "The farm mainly grows purple vegetables, including purple spinach, purple rape, purple chicory, etc., and now the purple chicory is in full harvest. By planting the purple vegetable seeds and vegetable seedlings on the farm into this planting tray, the public can grow purple vegetables with high appearance, high nutrition, and edible and appreciative at home. "At present, there are two varieties of red celery and wild purple celery planting trays in the park, which are more favored by the market.
"The purple seedlings are placed on the balcony, and the sun is shining, which is beautiful. A citizen who bought the cooperative's purple vegetable planting tray said that she usually likes to plant flowers on the balcony, and in the past two years, she has begun to try to plant some beautiful vegetables on the balcony, which can be planted with flowers, which is both beautiful and edible. "The feeling of planting vegetables is different from planting flowers, planting flowers can be appreciated, planting vegetables can taste the fruits of their own labor, and there is a sense of achievement. ”
According to agricultural expert Cao Hua, compared with field agriculture, balcony agriculture has more special requirements for varieties, such as preferably short stature, short life cycle, easy management, and ornamental varieties. "A few years ago, we did some research and found that with the upgrading of balcony vegetable garden varieties and the continuous improvement of equipment and technology, the public's acceptance of balcony vegetable garden has become higher and higher, from the initial 6.5% to 40%. ”
In Cao Hua's view, the balcony vegetable garden has actually become a kind of culture, so that parents and children or neighbors have a common topic of communication after dinner, and at the same time, in the fast-paced urban life, the balcony vegetable garden has become a corner of the soul.
Beijing News reporter Cao Jingrui
Edited by Zhang Shujing and proofread by Lu Qian