H e r b and the City

By Jacqueline L. Agatep

IF you’re longing for more country and less concrete in the city, then this urban plot is for you. Grow herbs, veggies, and more in your own container — and see how your garden grows.

Organic farmer Ronald Costales believes that container gardening is the answer to sustainable living. “Container gardening is the way to practice agriculture in the heart of the city where land resource is limited,” he says.

Costales owns a five-hectare certified organic farm in Laguna which conducts a series of seminars every month promoting ecological and balanced farming techniques by growing plants and raising poultry and livestock in a healthy way while protecting the environment without the use of chemicals.

A former telecoms executive, Costales is now reaping his agriculture success when he was named as the Most Outstanding  Organic Farmer of Laguna and Region IV-A for 2011 by the Department of Agriculture’s Gawad Saka and a national contender for the 2011 Most Outstanding Organic Farmer of the Philippines, awarding ceremonies of which to be held next month. Here, Costales shares his green wisdom to black thumbs. 

MOD: What plants or herbs are ideal for growing an edible garden in the city?

Ronald Costales: Almost all  kinds of veggies and herbs may be grown for an edible garden

in the city, like veggies for pinakbet dish such as eggplant, tomato, okra, ampalaya, garlic, onion, and ginger. For salad, you may plant lettuce, arugula, and high-value veggies such as French beans, carrots, and spinach. From the grass family, there’s corn. If you want herbs, you may choose from rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme, dill, tarragon, mint, basil, and more. 

What are the basics of container gardening? What materials and equipment are needed?

Almost all kinds of vegetables, herbs, and even fruit trees are planted with the use of a container.

The size of container varies depending on the type of plant to be grown.

For materials:

• Containers – preferably used plastics, styrofoam boxes, tin cans, mineral water bottles, a broken pail, bamboo, sacks, old tires, or any material that can hold the planting medium.

• Planting medium (Potting soil/garden soil)

• Seeds/Seedlings

• Manual sprinkler or watering can

• Scissor/knife for pruning/harvesting

What type of soil, herb, and plant is best to use and where can one buy it? 

A good potting or garden soil should be porous, rich in plant nutrients, free from pathogens, has good water holding capacity, and should have lots of microbial activity to keep plants healthy, robust, and thus, have higher resistance to pests and diseases. A lot of potting soil is available from garden supply stores. You just have to ask the ingredients they use in mixing. Some garden soil has lots of pathogens that may cause problems in growing your vegetables that may lead to high mortality in plants. These pathogens are present in manure, especially raw chicken dung, which hasn’t undergone processing (decomposition).  

For garden soil, look for these ingredients:  

• Top soil – nutrient-rich soil

• Vermicast – humus and provides complete organic fertilizer with trace minerals. It also has auxin, a natural growth hormone found in plants. When mixed with soil, the nutrient content will last for three years.

• Carbonized rich hull - provides porosity and harbors good microbes

• Coir dust – provides good water-holding capacity

• Bokashi – a Japanese term for ‘fermented organic matter.’ It is a powerful organic fertilizer rich in microbial activity. It inoculates the soil with beneficial microorganism, which provides food to the plant. It also makes it healthy and free from pests and disease. The process of making bokashi may be found at our website.   

These five main ingredients are mixed together and fermented aerobically (fermentation with air) with Effective Micro Organisms (EM-1) and molasses for a week before it can be sold and used in gardens. 

For seedlings and herbs, there are readily-available seeds sold in packets in garden supply stores and even grocery stores. At our farm, first-time gardeners may pick from our organically-grown vegetable and herb seedlings like tomato, eggplant, okra, lettuces, arugula, pepper, corn, ampalaya, saluyot, tarragon, kaffir lime, dill, thyme, Italian oregano, sage, flat parsley, curly parsley, basil, and many more. 

What herbs grow best in an urban setting?

Almost all types of herbs may be grown in the city. Herbs that thrive on higher temperatures are rosemary, dill, Italian and Greek oregano; mid-temperature herbs are basil, thyme, sage. Other herbs like parsley, arugula, coriander, tarragon, and mint prefer cooler temperature. Provide bigger and deeper pots for rosemary and oregano. For other pots, smaller and shallower pots may do. 

Together we stand

Some plants thrive better together. These are called companion plants. The herb basil, for example, is a companion plant of tomato. Tomato is prone to pests but when grown next to basil, it drives away pests.

This is called companion planting, a technique used in organic farming and is inter-cropping for insect control, wind block, nutrient and soil conservation. Tomatoes also do well with carrots in the same container because they stimulate growth. Others, like marigold, ward off certain insects. Onions prevent the carrot fly insect from infesting the root with eggs. Papaya wards off corn pests. Flat parsley repels flea beetle of arugula and other mustard family. Companion plants also taste good together when cooked such as tomato-based dishes with basil.

 Rule of thumb

• Do your homework. Read books and plant tags. Ask for advice from the garden center, and determine which plants will thrive in the available sun or shade.

• When shopping for plants, use one kind of plant per pot. If you choose to combine multiple types of plants, make sure they all like the same light and moisture conditions.

GREEN MOD

Container gardening is the best way to recycle nonbiodegradable materials like plastic containers, styrofoam boxes, and other hard-to-decompose materials. Container gardening has lots of advantages:  it enables people to harvest fresh veggies, herbs, and fruits in the comfort of their own homes in the city — without the use of deadly chemicals. No laborious weeding required.It is a good antistress activity after office work, and good bonding activity for family members and friends.No need for harrowing and other costly and time-consuming land preparation. Bonus: mud-free boots.