Like most of us, the space I have available in Singapore to grow food is very small. Recently, as I was scrolling my Instagram feed I came across @thefrenchiegardener. Patrick Vernuccio, the owner of this profile, does gardening on his 18sqm balcony. The results are really impressive! 

In his videos, Patrick shows how to create an ecosystem that will support your project.  Everything is in English, videos are short and pragmatic, and Patrick is a nice character. 

Let me share with you some of his useful Summer gardening tips :

Zucchini: How to grow beautiful zucchini harvests in pots?

Place your zucchini in a 18L pot giving them the sunny spot. Mulch them for better water retention, and when they start producing, give them some organic phosphorus fertiliser. Hand pollinate zucchini to obtain them. The male pollen (thinner stem) needs to be placed into the female flower (larger stem). Simply use a q-tip to pollinate them. In warm weather, they will grow faster. In Singapore, do not place them under the rain: you need to control the quantity of water they will receive. 

Radish: When is the right time to harvest radish? 

Usually it takes 3-4 weeks for radish to grow. If you put them in the pot/container with rich soil and  water regularly it can grow fast. However,  knowing the right time to pick them is not easy.

It is better to pick radish earlier rather than later. Radish grows fast in warm temperatures and can bolt into a flower. This bolting process gives radish a different texture and taste.

In case your radish has already bolted, check how it tastes and if it doesn’t taste right use it for composting.

Strawberries: How to multiply strawberry plants?

Runners (the long stems of the strawberries that go out of the pot) search for soil to create new strawberry plants. Therefore they won’t create new fruit. What you need to do is place them into another pot and bury them slightly, so that new roots can grow. And voilà, you have a new strawberry plant! 🍓

Happy gardening everyone! 🌱👩🏼‍🌾😊