Our co-op board recently approved the purchase of ‘grønnsakskasser’
to be placed in the inner yard of our co-op so that those residents who want to
grow vegetables/fruits, can do so. The word grønnsakskasse is translated into English
as vegetable crate, and I guess it’s as good a translation as any, except that
these crates have no bottoms, only sides, and they are much more solid that
supermarket vegetable crates. They are made of thick wooden slats that connect
at all four corners with interweaving metal pieces that have holes in them, so
that when they are lined up, a long metal pin can be inserted through them to
hold them all together. Once the crates are placed where they shall stand, you
fill them with a lot of earth and then plant what you want to plant.
There were two of us in our co-op who were interested in
getting one crate each in order to plant vegetables, so the co-op board bought
two such crates. The other woman chose a variety of vegetables (and one fruit)
to plant—cabbage, brussel sprouts, lettuce, chili peppers, and melon. I chose
to plant three cherry tomato plants (technically tomatoes are fruit, but often fall under the vegetable label) and parsley. And I may plant a few herbs as
well, but I want to see how all of the different plants grow before I invest
more money in this project. So far, the tomato plants are doing fine and we are
picking cherry tomatoes each day to have with dinner. (see photos)
It was raining lightly (more of a drizzle) the day we sat
out the crates and planted our vegetable plants. Both of us were in a very good
mood; we didn’t mind the rain or getting wet. We found
a really old metal watering can in the cellar to water the crates; it is better
than most of the new plastic ones that don’t have spouts with tiny holes. I am
hoping this project takes off, because I can envision planting other types of
vegetables next year—cucumbers, squash, broccoli. But we’ll need more crates,
and that won’t be a problem if the outcome is successful this year. So far, the
birds have left the crates alone, ditto for the cats that wander through the
neighborhood. I’m hoping the human animals that wander through the yard will
leave the crates in peace, but you never know. We’re hoping for the best.
Eventually, our co-op may also allow the addition of
balconies to some apartments, and ours will be one of those lucky enough to get
a balcony. At that point, I will be on cloud nine, because then I will be able
to plant even more vegetables and flours in pots on our balcony. I’m looking
forward to that day. In the meantime, our vegetable crates suffice. The
take-home message is that is possible to develop a ‘green thumb’ even if you
live in a city apartment building. And many cities around the world have common
urban gardens for apartment residents, who enjoy working and tilling their
little plot of land so that it yields produce. Oslo is no different, but the
waiting lists to get such a plot are long. We are on one of those lists to get
a plot in a city garden not far from where we live; we applied for one in 2009
and there were one hundred people ahead of us. The organizers contacted us last
year to ask if we were still interested in getting one, and we said yes. At
that point, we had moved up the list and were at place number 39. So perhaps by
the time we are retired, we’ll have our own little plot of land to till and
enjoy. Until then, I’m happy with my vegetable crate and eventual balcony
plantings.
