Gudrun Ongania is the CEO & founder of 'Veg and the City'. She explains why nature makes us more resilient for everyday life, a houseplant is the beginning of everything and self-sufficiency on a Zurich city balcony is unfortunately unrealistic.
We want more nature in our lives. Where does this need come from?
It is a primal need of us humans, because nature is actually our natural habitat and extremely important for our physical and psychological well-being. Since many of us live in cities surrounded by a lot of concrete and we also spend more and more time digitally, we are further away from nature today than we were ten or 20 years ago. So it's understandable that we want more natural things in our lives again. Be it with houseplants, be it with more nature on the balcony or the desire for earth under our fingers. We can also go more into the forest. Nature relaxes us and helps to ground us. It thus makes us more resilient to the challenges of everyday life.
If we want to bring nature into our homes, what is the best way to start?
Depending on your time budget and living situation, you can start with an indoor plant that purifies the air. For those with a balcony, terrace or garden, it's best to start by choosing the plants you'd like and checking that you have enough sun for them. Fragrant Italian herbs like rosemary or thyme or even a tomato plant need a lot of sun. Mint, chives and lettuce also do well with partial shade. Edible flowers such as cornflowers, marigolds or nasturtiums are also very popular. Here, the insects also get something out of it.
Corona has increased the desire for healthy, fresh local food enormously. Do you also sense a trend towards self-sufficiency here?
Yes, we do. The demand for vegetable and herb seedlings has increased dramatically since Corona. Many people want to be more self-sufficient. But you have to be realistic here. On a 3-6m2 city balcony, complete self-sufficiency in vegetables, potatoes, cereals and herbs is not realistic. With individual varieties such as lettuce, tomatoes or courgettes, on the other hand, it is possible to grow enough for one's own needs.
Is Zurich a good city for urban gardening and urban farming? What grows particularly well here?
Actually, any city with enough sun is a good city for urban gardening and urban farming. Basically, you can grow anything - the limiting factor is certainly the size of the container. Cabbage, for example, needs a container with 100 litres of soil - that's not profitable on the balcony. Berries of all kinds such as raspberries, strawberries, currants, special tomato varieties and herbs for the kitchen are still popular. Many herbs are perennial and you can use them for a long time. Preservation methods such as fermentation are also very much in vogue. Root vegetables, for example, are good for this.
And then perennials, which are also useful for bees and insects, are of course in great demand. Last year hemp and hops were the best sellers. This year, hardy passion fruit plants are very popular.
What is your forecast for the next ten years: How will urban gardening and urban farming still change in Zurich and the world?
I wish I knew exactly! I've been observing the movement for a good ten years and believe that the trend has
trend has not yet reached its peak. I think that urban gardening in Zurich, but also worldwide, will be part of our lifestyle in the long term. Urban farming - that is, food production in the city on a large scale - will certainly increase with the issue of food security and also climate change. I think that more and more areas will be created for this. What we plant in the future is certainly also related to climate change. How scarce will water become as a resource? How hot will the summers be? What can withstand the temperatures? There will certainly be some changes in the next ten to thirty years.
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Large city garden in the Europaallee
Together with Veg and the City, Coop Bau & Hobby and SBB, FOOD ZURICH is planning an urban garden with many useful plants in Europaallee. From July to September 2021, there will be a variety of fragrant culinary and medicinal herbs, as well as different types of vegetables, berry bushes, fruit trees and perennials. For the people of Zurich, a place of relaxation will be created in the middle of an urban environment, a place to linger or to be inspired for their own balcony or garden.
