Over the past few years a trend for growing potted vegetables has been taking root on balconies throughout urban Japan. Driven by an increased interest in organic produce, many have been deciding to have a go at growing their own produce on tiny strips of sun-kissed balcony. Now with the crisis at Fukushima utmost in many people¡¯s minds, the idea of growing your own vegetables is even more attractive.

Since the mid-noughties, a bumper crop of books containing the words ¡°veranda saien¡± (balcony vegetable garden) have been published. Indeed, March this year alone saw three new titles hit bookstore shelves. ¡°,¡± for example, shows budding gardeners how to grow veggies including cress, carrots, egg plants and cucumbers. According to who reported on the ¡°boom¡± back in summer 2008, one of the easiest plants to grow on a balcony are baby tomatoes, but as we reported a little while back, ¡°¡±?grown from goya have also been popular with those who want to use foliage to provide natural shade for their windows.

, a British resident of Japan,?teaches classes in Tokyo on how to grow organic vegetables. Moore says that he has noticed a significant rise in the number of pupils recently. ¡±The numbers to our workshops have been increasing for the past three years. Safe food, safe DNA for the next generation and clean safe living is foremost in Japanese people¡¯s minds, and also in the minds of overseas customers of food from Japan,¡± he said in a recent email interview. ¡°On balconies, or inside the house in various places, good food can be safely grown, no insects, no climate worries, no nuclear worries, etc.¡±

As concerns about the safety of produce mount and grows in popularity we think the trend looks set to spread even further. Japan¡¯s cities are notoriously short on green spaces, so this is trend also has the advantage of making the concrete jungle look that little bit more leafy and pleasant.