02/05/2019
Great job! This is an innovation from our existing backyard vegetable garden system. It can provide solutions to and .
In a small space, anyone can grow food. Let's check out the problems in conventional agriculture that we are able to solve through by observing this raised bed home garden,soil completely recovered naturally.
1. Monocropping into diversity. Unlike the usual planting in single crop in rows, first off, we plant in groups according to function. Squash leaves cover the newly sprouted pechay and lettuce from the sun and serve as sacrificial plants to leaf-eating insects. Second, group the plants according to height we call layering. This allows us to optimize the space. Like okra and mongo beans at the back, ampalaya on the vertical DIY trellis. Think of it like the way we arrange ourselves in our graduation photo so we can squeeze in the camera lens. Also, layering is also a smarter way to harvest. Diversity of crops promotes stable soils because it allows microorganisms below ground and different plants exchange food to each other keeping off nutrients to leach.
2. High water usage to minimum use of water. Because different plants are densely planted, the leaves cover the ground keeping the soil moist which means less amount of water use. That also means number 3.
3. High energy input to reduced energy use. 70% of the world's water is used in agriculture. But in a home garden, because it's only small scale, we don't use machines. If we do, that is our human muscle(hauling water cans or pails or using the water hose) it's very minimum. Also in a home garden, we are able to get away with chemical fertilizers which are made using huge amount of fossil fuel.
4. Less nutritious produce to high quality ones. Because we grow it naturally under healthy soil, we get good quality produce. That also means we are healthier.
5. Health and economic crisis to health freedom and community resilience. is one of the results of . Imagine millions of Filipino homes with home gardens as small as this can revert big crisis. The country cannot always feed us all especially in this environmentally critical moments but combined, our produce can act as a buffer to the food supply system.
Wait.. Okra, squash, pechay, lettuce, Mongo beans, ampalaya, spring onions...what possible recipes can you make from this garden? They must be healthy for sure.!
