Children love to eat fresh fruit straight from the bush. Here you will find tips for creating your own snack garden that will delight young and old.
What inspires young and old alike in summer? That's right - sweet berries and fresh fruits. Of course, the he althy treats taste best when you can pick them directly from the bush in your own garden, which is why the snack garden is a great way to introduce children to gardening in a playful way. In addition, the colorful fruits not only taste good, but are also in no way inferior to flowers and co. in terms of appearance. So it's no wonder that the snack garden is an absolute must not only for children but also for adults. But how do you create such a paradise for those with a sweet tooth and which plants are best suited? In this article we explain the best way to create a sweet corner in your garden.
Create a snack garden
A snack garden is very popular with children, after all it provides sweet and he althy treats all summer long. Fortunately, creating such a bed is also very easy if you follow a few tips.
1. The right time
One of the most important questions when creating a snack garden is choosing the right time. It is best to start planting in autumn: berry bushes and fruit trees should be planted at this time so that they have more time to form new roots - at the same time they show stronger growth overall. Should additional vegetables such as carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) or radishes (Raphanus sativus var. sativus) can easily be overseed in the spring in a reserved area of the garden.
The location is of particular importance for a successful snack garden that also produces a rich harvest. Most plants suitable for a snack garden love the sun. Especially berries can not get enough of itand bear not only more, but also sweeter fruits in a light-flooded location. The soil should be well loosened and supplied with compost before planting - a heavy, nutrient-poor soil is a nightmare for most sweet plants. If you only have little space or no suitable location, you don't have to be sad: numerous suitable plants for the snack garden can also be cultivated in pots on the terrace or balcony. The Plantura organic universal soil is an optimal choice for cultivation in pots. It provides your plants with ideal nutrients and is also sustainable and completely animal-free.
3. The Planning
Once you have found the right location, a large part of the planning is already complete. However, one important question remains: Which and, above all, how many plants should you have in your snack garden? When choosing the plants, you should only go according to your individual taste - fruit and vegetables that nobody nibbles on only take up unnecessary space. You should show a little restraint when it comes to the number of individual plants: all too quickly you place the plants too close together in order to make the best possible use of the space. But if the plants are too close together, they quickly deplete the soil and are more susceptible to diseases. Finally, you should determine the exact placement of your plants. Not every plant gets along with each other - so make sure to place plants next to each other that have the most positive effects possible on each other.
4. Preparation and sowingBefore you start planting or sowing seeds in your snack garden, you should thoroughly remove weeds and loosen up your bed. In nutrient-poor soils, compost or a biological long-term fertilizer - for example the Plantura organic universal fertilizer - can also be worked in to provide the new plants with a good supply basis. Whether the plants are sown or planted in the ground as early plants is a matter of taste: In the case of berry bushes and fruit trees, however, it is advisable to buy early plants, because propagation from seeds is often difficult and time-consuming. Many types of vegetables, on the other hand, can easily be grown from seeds. However, pay attention to the correct sowing depth: Depending on whether it is a light or dark germinator, the depth can vary.
5. Care and Harvest
Even a snack garden needs regular care if its fruits are to thrive. Regular watering is particularly important here - in summer you can depending on theAdd a little water to the plant species almost every day. In order to reduce evaporation somewhat, it is worth working with a layer of mulch, especially with berry bushes. This has the additional advantage that weed pressure is reduced considerably. Don't rake, however - since most berries are shallow-rooted, this could injure their delicate roots. In addition, berry bushes should be pruned regularly so that they can still bring a good harvest years later.
It is harvested as soon as the fruits are ripe and you have an appetite for something sweet - after all, this is a sweets garden. But no matter how tempting the quick treat looks in between, you should always wash the fruit before eating it: residues from pesticides, dirt, insects and (especially in rural areas) the fox tapeworm can otherwise spoil your appetite.
The right plants for the snack garden
You are spoiled for choice: When you create a new snack garden, you are quickly confronted with a seemingly endless selection of different plants. However, below you can find out which plants are best suited for a snack garden.
1. Berries for the snack garden
Berry bushes are an absolute must in the snack garden: The sweet treats are ideal in summer and are especially popular with children. The classic is of course the strawberry (Fragaria). It is particularly advisable to choose a strawberry variety that will bear fruit several times - this way you can nibble all summer long. Raspberries (Rubus idaeus), currants (Ribes) and blackberries (Rubus) are also great for the sweet garden suitable. If you prefer something a bit sour, gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa) are a good choice. Blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) are also great sweet plants, but you should make sure that the plant has a preference for acidic soil.
Fruity is also a hit with children in summer. Unfortunately, the trees often take up a lot of space and the branches with the fruit hang too high to pluck them in passing. Dwarf fruit trees or columnar fruit can help: Due to their weak growth, they only reach a small size and can therefore be wonderfully integrated into a snack bed. Particularly sweet cherries (Prunus), but also apples (Malus) orPlums (Prunus domestica) become the highlight of the sweet bed.
3. Vegetables for the snack garden
Many children stubbornly refuse to eat vegetables - unless, of course, they are allowed to try the home-grown vegetables from the snack garden. The best species are those that can be eaten immediately after harvest due to their size and taste. Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and carrots are therefore particularly popular. Also so-called mini vegetables, i.e. the smaller version of peppers (Capsicum), cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and zucchini (Cucurbita pepovar. giromontiina), cuts a fine figure in the sweet bed. Adults, on the other hand, enjoy the tart radishes or freshly picked lettuce (Lactuca sativa).
Herbs to eat right now? Yes, there really are. Especially the aromatic mint (Mentha) can also find its way into the mouth unprocessed, although it is also wonderfully suitable for all kinds of summer drinks and dishes. Sweetleaf (Stevia), also known as Stevia, lives up to its name and can also serve as a sweet temptation raw. But also lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) or parsley (Petroselium crispum ssp. crispum ) are a real treat.