The coronavirus pandemic and the state of emergency have turned many Serbian citizens to agriculture in an unusual way. Instead of flowers in jardinières and pots, they planted medicinal herbs, spices and even vegetables “in the sky under the clouds”. As the year is noble, this seed was accepted by them, so now they are in the phase of harvesting cucumbers, tomatoes, primroses, mint, peppers, beets, spinach…
“I miss the garden, the smell of the bed, the plants. I sometimes miss cultivating the land. When the pandemic was declared, my pots were my garden. In May, I planted basil, before that lavender, I also have rosemary. And then it occurs to me to sow cucumber seeds. And it sprouts. Now I have a dozen cucumbers in a bag, full of flowers. He likes the 17th floor of the solitaire.”
With these words, Stojanka begins the story of gardening in one of the highest solitaires in Zemun. The fact that they are on the 17th floor, at a height of over 50 meters, which is surrounded by concrete and glass – does not bother the plants at all.
“Gardening requires a planter or a large pot and good soil – it is best if it is mixed from a real garden with humus. And love,” says Stojanka.
Cucumber like from the garden
In May, she also sowed the seeds of cucumber, which made a sapling in two months, and now a dozen fruits on it. It rose to a height of about three and a half targets, green leaves dotted with yellow flowers and fruits. He enjoys the sun and attention.
“In previous years, I also sowed tomatoes, and they gave birth. I first sow the seeds in room conditions in March and then transplant them. In recent years, however, it has been “burned” by flamingos. Now I have lavender and peppers on the terrace, which I will string and dry. The basil grows up to half a meter and we have it for the consecration of the water for the glory of Saint Nicholas when the priest comes,” says Stojanka.
From the celery seedlings, which he buys on the market at the end of May and the beginning of June and plants on the terrace, the leaves are nicely picked, which he dries and later uses as a spice.
The sun of the capital pleases the plants
At the other end of Belgrade, her fellow citizen Natasha grows herbs on the terrace of the second floor. He also likes the sorcerer’s sun.
“I planted basil, mint, primrose, rosemary, lemon balm, and I never did without lavender. The terrace is sunny and the plants are growing, although I carefully choose the side, where I put what. Because, two ends of the terrace, two microclimates,” points out Natasha.
She is good at growing. Literally everything that is sown is received in concrete jardinières that hold 300 kilograms of soil. Although they give birth to plants in smaller pots. Proof of that is – a magnificent ivy.
At the invitation on the social network Twitter to write their experience about gardening on the terraces, a fellow citizen under the pseudonym Azdajac also contacted us. He, as he wrote, tried to grow beets, spinach and arugula.
“There was nothing from arugula, but that’s why beetroot and spinach leaves were for salad. I sowed in early July. It grew until the end of August. I cut the leaves gradually. I used liquid fertilizer, I had problems with small green bugs (maybe plant lice?). I did not manage to fix them with a mixture of water and tobacco,” Azdajac selflessly shared his experience and documented it with photos with excellent yield from the terrace on the second floor of the building in Jagodina.
Ilija Aralica noticed that the corona this year made many fellow citizens think about their piece of land.
“I founded the group ‘Little Garden in Straw’ on Facebook four years ago, where we teach people to grow their own food. To date, over 13,000 Belgraders have approached us!”, Ilija Aralica called through his Twitter account, BiF reports.
