The ‘giant’ squash weighs more than 34 kg on the Saigon terrace garden

After 3 years, Mr. Liem’s ​​garden produces many large-sized vegetables and fruits. Including squash up to more than 34kg.
Mr. Phan Van Liem (46 years old, in Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh City), self-employed, has 3 years of experience in gardening on the terrace. The area of ​​​​the balconies and terraces on the 4th floor is about 60m2, which he makes full use of planting trees.

Previously, he planted ornamental plants to decorate the balcony. After that, when participating in online tree planting associations and groups and visiting some friends’ gardens, he decided to buy pots and land to plant to have clean vegetables and tubers to provide for family meals. The largest squash that Mr. Liem planted weighed 34.4 kg. “At first, it was quite difficult for me to create a garden because I just started doing it, there were still many things to be surprised about. Besides, it is not easy to transport land and materials to the 4th floor by stairs, “he said. He grows plants in paint buckets because they are durable. Before adding soil, he lined the bottom of the barrel with a layer of coal slag, punched holes in the side, about 5cm from the bottom. The coal slag layer is used to retain water and nutrients. If you are busy with work or away from home for a few days and don’t water your plants, naturally, the roots will find themselves at the bottom to absorb water, so you are not afraid of the plants wilting. Regarding the problem of water seeping into the ceiling, Mr. Liem said: “The pots are all raised by me. The barrels are perforated across the side so that if too much water flows out, I know to stop watering. From there, I avoid the phenomenon of water seeping into the ceiling.” Mr. Liem also advises families who want to plant trees on the terrace, right from the start, they should invest in waterproofing ceilings for peace of mind when starting to work. The biggest fruit in Mr. Liem’s ​​garden is squash. Normally, he gets more than 10kg of fruit, the largest fruit is more than 34kg. However, he said, the large fruit is often pale, not good to eat, so he uses it to make jam or cook squash juice to drink every day. In addition to squash, he also planted “terrible” gourds, kale, and American figs… “Kale is a foreign variety, then imported to Vietnam. I found it interesting and researched on my own how to make cabbage grow well. With American figs, currently, the tree has given fruit to eat. Every day the tree gives about 5-7 fruits, very delicious and sweet”, he said. The white bitter melon is almost as big as a 1.5 liter plastic bottle. Seeing that there were friends in the vegetable growing group showing off white, large fruits of bitter melon, he asked for seeds to plant. Each of these bitter melons can be as big as a 1.5-liter plastic bottle. Mr. Liem spends 2-3 hours/day in the morning and 1-2 hours/day in the afternoon for the garden. He usually watered in the morning and afternoon and limited watering in the evening. In his experience, watering in the evening, drenched in water, will become the ideal environment for pests to develop. “Every day, I have to go up to check for pests. Want less pests, you must treat the soil well, helping pathogens from the ground reduce. To prevent pests and yellow flies from damaging the plants from the outside, I hang more camphor balls to keep them away.” At first, the wife was worried that he would have a hard time planting a garden, but now she is more supportive of her husband because the garden makes him happy. In addition, in recent years, their family no longer has to buy vegetables and fruits from the market. Even if he couldn’t eat it all, Liem’s ​​family also brought gifts to friends and relatives. See more pictures of Mr. Liem’s ​​terrace garden: Oversized squash requires a stand. Mr. Liem also planted “terrible” gourd varieties. Bitter melon is almost as big as a 1.5 liter plastic bottle. Not only big, the rig is also very wrong. My figs give very delicious and sweet fruit. The garden also has very large aloe vera plants. The melons are very long. For many years, Mr. Liem’s ​​family did not have to buy more vegetables and tubers at the market. He also gave it to neighbors and relatives. The kale plants planted by Mr. Liem also give very large leaves. His secret is to focus on quality over quantity, planting only one plant in each pot.