The orchard on the terrace

Grow in the city: urban gardens and terraces

What could be more beautiful than to grow vegetables, fruits, spices, and then harvest them and take them directly to the table?
It is the so-called kilometer zero, ie food that, through a few steps, and thus, in a short time, arrive to your houses with significant advantages: control of the supply chain, better quality and lower prices.



All this happens frequently in rural areas or small towns, in which the citizen has available a vegetable garden in which to grow plants and cultivate the land; in large cities, unfortunately, these realities are not widespread, due to the lack of green spaces and reduced time to devote to the cultivation.

In recent years, however, much has been done for a return to nature and has spread greater awareness to the use of land resources and the sale of local produce and seasonal: in the cities were born urban gardens or small shared greenhouses in which to give birth to products to bring directly to the table.
Thanks to the spread of the culture of good food, even those who have no time to share the design of an urban garden, try to create, at home, in spaces in which to recreate green areas: and behold, balconies and terraces become the place chosen for the construction of your garden.

While vegetables and legumes require more space, fertile land and a lot of effort, with little effort and great satisfaction you can take and grow on your own terrace small fruit plants after flowering, will give us a lot of short chain products.

Orchard on the terrace

One of the peculiarities of the Italian territory lies in the variety of products that characterize it: thanks to the Mediterranean climate, from North to South, we find vegetables, legumes, spices, that vary from season to season and that fill our tables of quality and beneficial properties for our body.
Among them, the fruit is one of the indispensable elements for a balanced diet, and our territory produces countless types: citrus fruits, apples, peaches, apricots, plums, pears, kiwi, strawberries, cherries, grapes ... not to mention all the varieties of nuts.

All these products we buy at the supermarket or greengrocer of confidence, but why, if we have the chance, not try to grow one or some of them on our terrace?
Just a small outdoor space, a few tools, a bit of a green thumb and some patience: fruit plants, as well as provide us with the products, are the species that can beautify our spaces with the bright colors of their flowers and the scent they give off.

Space, exposure and care needed for an orchard on the terrace

Contrary to the vegetable gardens, fruit trees grow in terrace, clearly, potted: having a narrow space available, they will have a development less than traditional plants. We will have, therefore, fruit plants of the type dwarf or semi-dwarf, characterized by reduced height and diameter; their growth must be controlled and regulated through appropriate pruning.

The first thing to do for the planting of a fruit tree is to choose a vase of reassuring size for a plant type and to enable them to mature, the vessel will have a diameter of at least 50 cm and variable height.
The choice of the ground is very important and determines the proper growth of the plant, depending on the fruit chosen must present specific characteristics, but, for all species, it must be a soil with excellent skills nutrients and layered with gravel and crushed stone at the base, so as to allow water drainage. A stagnation of the same, in fact, could cause the rotting of the roots.

Watering should be regular, about once a week, but not abundant and related exposure of the plant.
Some people do not like to use them, but to ensure a constant level of nutrition, you can fertilize the soil with nutrients, even natural, to be diluted in water for watering at least once a month.

The exposure is one of the key factors for proper development: fruit plants require full sun and no currents.

Choice of fruit plant for the terrace

After giving instructions about the care necessary to have one or more fruit trees on the terrace, we come to the selection criteria.

It should be conducted according to the characteristics of the place where it will be located, but especially by the time that we can devote to the plant.
There are species that require a lot of commitment and passion, and species that go without saying: the apple tree, for example, is a fruit that requires a lot of care and grows well in cold climates; citrus fruits require very little care and mild temperatures.

The decision, together with care, will ensure a long service life of the plant, a proper bloom in spring, a fruit production profitable and absence of pests that could damage the same.