The joy of planting

Planting vegetables at home is not just for the elderly. It is fast becoming fashionable among young Chinese too. Young mother Ren Jing, 33, has converted a vegetable patch of just 1 square meter on her balcony into a vertical seven-tier shelf, with different vegetables growing on each shelf.

“It supplements my family’s diet,” Ren told Chinafrica. “After planting these vegetables, my fiveyear-old son got rid of bad habits of picky eating. Now he loves vegetables.”

People, especially children, in cities, know little about how vegetables are planted and where they come from. So urban farming is also about urban residents becoming more aware of the relationship between the planting and harvesting process, and the food they eat, by re-using fallow spaces in the city, including rooftops, balconies and window ledges.

“Planting vegetables at home can provide all families, especially my son, with a chance to connect with nature. Taking care of plants not only helps develop a child’s sense of responsibility, but also stimulate their curiosity and imagination,” said Ren.

Post-80s Sun Yali is also an urban farm fanatic. She updates her vegetable growth rate daily on social media. “I tried many times to grow vegetables and it cost me around 300 yuan ($43) on pots, seeds and organic fertilizer. In half a year, the