2020 proved to be quite a difficult year for many reasons – mainly because it was the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. And we’re nowhere near being done with the pandemic either. It has changed our lives in so many ways – from major changes to small ones. “Normal” life seems like such a distant memory. Besides getting used to a “new normal” – with masks and hand sanitizer – we’ve also found a way to eke out some joy in the little things. Many of us have spent our quarantine either taking up a new hobby or getting back into a passion project we’d put off for a while.
For 29-year-old tattoo artist, Alessandro Vitale, his time in lockdown has been spent growing vegetables. The Italian native moved to London, England six years ago where he moved into an apartment that had a shared garden. He had been growing herbs and small vegetable plants on his windowsill for years, but the pandemic’s quarantine meant that he had time to really expand on his hobby.
Alessandro’s patio is 8 x 5-meters. In order to maximize his space to its full potential, Alessandro began to build garden beds and a wall trellis, eventually bringing tons of planters – even a small greenhouse! His hard work paid off as his first harvest yielded 30 different types of vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, garlic, fennel, leeks, cauliflower, and broccoli. His harvest was so fruitful, that he even was able to grow tomatoes and make his grandmother’s pasta sauce – enough to create a winter stockpile! But perhaps the best thing about his garden is that everything is 100% organic.
Alessandro has always had a passion for gardening as he grew up helping his grandfather in his own vegetable garden. This only helped to fuel his passion for nature and gardening. He has thus been inspired to start his own YouTube channel called Spicy Moustache, where he provides his viewers with plenty of gardening secrets for cultivating herbs and veggies in an urban setting.
Have you gotten into gardening since the pandemic? What are your gardening tips and tricks that you use? Let us know!