You can be productive even with limited resources — as long as there is soil, anything is possible, said Alejandro Badilles, Northern Marianas College’s program coordinator on Rota.
He is promoting container gardening, which he describes as a “miniature” farm that aims to make limited space productive.
It allows families to grow crops right in the backyard, the front lawn, the terrace or even in the kitchen.
All you need is a considerable amount of soil, water, proper care and, of course, a container.
You can improve the condition of your soil by simply adding better soil. Container gardening is ideal in areas where soil condition is very poor, Badilles said.
He employs two types of container gardening. One is called raised bed. It uses hollow blocks or any solid materials that can be lined around to form a rectangular farm plot. Depending on the kinds of crop that one wishes to plant, the size of this “household farm” varies.
Common raised beds, he said, are four feet wide, with the back-filled soil three and six inches thick. The plot can be long as the amount of crops that will be planted.
Some of the vegetables ideal for raised bed gardening include lettuce, pechay, kangkong, eggplant, okra, pumpkin and many others green vegetables. In building raised beds, make sure the box does not allow the water to leak too fast — just long enough to hold the moisture needed by the crop.
The other type of container gardening is the use of recyclable containers like five-gallon water containers, paint pails, wooden barrels or even plastic cups and soda bottles.
Red pepper, eggplant, okra, and any kind of leafy vegetable can be grown in these containers which can be kept inside the kitchen so when harvest time comes the vegetables and spices you need for cooking are already in front of you.
Container gardening, Badilles said, is easy to maintain. Your crops can be better protected from pests, animals and invasive plants. In case these problems appear, they can be addressed easily and quickly.
“It feels rewarding every time you get off your car and see your ‘farm’ bearing fruits,” Badilles said.
Many of the dishes he cooks every day have vegetables he picks a few steps away from his kitchen.
The only disadvantage is the limited number of crops you can grow. Container gardening is also for short-term crops production only.
How to choose a container
• Avoid containers with narrow openings.
• Cheap plastic cups or pots may deteriorate when exposed to sunlight for a long period of time. Glazed ceramic pots are excellent choices but require several drainage holes.
• Wooden containers may rot. Avoid wood treated with creosote, penta or other toxic compounds since the vapors can damage the plants. Wooden containers can be built to sizes and shapes that suit the location of the garden.
• Use containers with a 15 to 120 quarts capacity. The size and number of plants to be grown will determine the size of the container used. Deep rooted vegetables require deep pots.
• Make sure your pot has adequate drainage. Holes should be 1/2 inch across. Line the base of the pot with newspaper to prevent soil loss.
• In hot climates use light-colored containers to reduce heat absorption and discourage uneven root growth.
• Set containers on bricks or blocks to allow free drainage.
