China: Balcony gardening becomes growing trend as lifestyle
Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong province’s Dongguan are among the top five cities for urban vegetable growers, who are mainly in their 20s and 30s.
By Zhao Yimeng
China Daily
2022-05-12
Excerpt:
In a video posted by an online vegetable seed buyer, a couple and their three children portray vegetables in a skit they perform amid eggplant and tomato plants that they’re cultivating in a mini-farm on their apartment’s balcony.
The video was shared in a group chat of online store Marseed.
Growers in the group typically exchange tips and share the results of their balcony gardening efforts.
After the video garnered several likes from buyers in the group, the mother asked if she could get some new seeds for free because her children were becoming obsessed with growing vegetables at home.
A colorful balcony decorated with fresh vegetables and fruits may be turning into a common sight this year. In the first quarter, sales of vegetable seeds on Tmall doubled compared with the same period last year, according to a report on balcony gardening released by Alibaba, the popular e-commerce platform’s parent company.
Last month, seed sales and products such as nutrient soil and gardening tools tripled from the level set in April of last year, the report said.
