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.

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. Coriander, chives, chili peppers and tomatoes are the most popular choices, it added.

Lu Zhipeng, who heads Tmall’s flower department, said balcony gardening is now worth tens of billions of yuan. Enthusiasts can go the traditional route of planting seeds with soil and fertilizers, while others opt for automated growing machines.

“Even a novice can become an urban farmer, just by pushing a button,” he said.

Han Yijun, director of the National Agriculture Research Center at China Agricultural University, said he used to grow watermelons and scallions on his balcony.

However, growing vegetables in balcony gardens is more than just an accomplishment, Han said. It is becoming a lifestyle trend, and one that requires suitable equipment that is easy to use.

Zhang Min, who is in her 20s, said she has harvested small tomatoes three times from her balcony garden in Beijing. Red peppers and coriander are regulars in her garden, and she adds them to her dishes when cooking.

She only spent several yuan for a seed package and dozens of yuan for soil and flowerpots to build a “farm” on her 6-square-meter balcony.

“I feel like young people growing vegetables on balconies is as popular as square dancing is for our parents’ generation,” Zhang said.

(China Daily)