Glorious Green in Your Yard
The Jakarta Post - WEEKENDER | Tue, 09/23/2008 3:09 PM |
In the ocean of concrete that passes for a modern city, Jakarta still has a few breathing spaces where the soil has yet to be obliterated with cement. Some of us are fortunate enough to own such patches of life at our homes, a few square meters where a rusty bicycle is slowly expiring and a few broken pots are the only remaining testament to our botched attempts at “gardening”. Time to give it another try.
Let’s get a few things straight here. If you’re into garden gnomes, cupid fountains, hedges with fascist trims and Technicolor flower blooms, please move on to the next articles. By all means, have a pleasant backyard but don’t add it to the list of things that guzzle vast amounts of wattage and water: your car, AC and TV are already taking care of that. Instead, we’re going to take on something which is a lot more fun—create a garden that is really green. Now that’s raising the stakes.
It should come as no surprise that in the long list of things that can be greened (the space shuttle, diapers, Beijing, your pet hamster’s cage), gardens have a somewhat obvious potential. The good thing about having a garden, or turning a sorry-looking yard into something a little more pleasant, is that it allows you to interact with something else than your Nokia, your laptop or your vehicle’s steering wheel. Here’s an opportunity to discover how the natural world works, to spend a little more time outdoors and to create an environment that is pleasant to be in and to look at, while also serving a greater purpose.
Plants may consume water, but they also create freshness and shade. Plants are pure oxygen factories and if you live in Jakarta, you know that we’re not actually swimming in the stuff. Computer simulations also suggest that a single 25 foot tree can reduce the cooling costs of a typical residence by 8-10 percent. Good news if you’re running your aircon 24/7.
But what can I do with my home’s 2 x 3 meter plot of anemic soil, you ask? It’s a playground for rats at best. Here’s how to start taking back the one bit of “natural” area that the city has not claimed.
1. Water sensibly
No need to worsen Jakarta’s water shortages when taking care of your plants. By adding mulch and compost to your soil, you can save on water and cut down evaporation. If you’re feeling more ambitious, install soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems that only use 50 percent of the water used by sprinklers. And make sure you water your green ones early in the day to reduce water evaporation.
1. Water sensibly
No need to worsen Jakarta’s water shortages when taking care of your plants. By adding mulch and compost to your soil, you can save on water and cut down evaporation. If you’re feeling more ambitious, install soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems that only use 50 percent of the water used by sprinklers. And make sure you water your green ones early in the day to reduce water evaporation.
2. Create your own soil!
Your garden is what you eat. Instead of having your vegetable waste add to the 6,000 tons of waste that Jakarta generates every day, give it to your plants. According to Treehugger.com, rich and earthy compost improves soil texture, aeration, and water retention. It’s also an excellent way to discard your organic kitchen waste. In Jakarta, you can buy Takakura composters worth 75-300 thousand rupiah. Find out more by calling Ibu Djamaluddin at 0815 801 4375
Your garden is what you eat. Instead of having your vegetable waste add to the 6,000 tons of waste that Jakarta generates every day, give it to your plants. According to Treehugger.com, rich and earthy compost improves soil texture, aeration, and water retention. It’s also an excellent way to discard your organic kitchen waste. In Jakarta, you can buy Takakura composters worth 75-300 thousand rupiah. Find out more by calling Ibu Djamaluddin at 0815 801 4375
3. Fertilize with love, not with chemicals
Indonesia’s major cities are swarming with pollutants, so no need to add more chemicals to your soil to help your plants grow. How about this; in Gondangdia, Central Jakarta, the local municipality is running a community-based compost project which relies on dead leaves. Buy their locally-made natural fertilized and support both a locally sound business and your garden.
How to get there: Gondangdia compost, Cuk Nyak Dien Street, opposite the old Dutch Immigration Building, close to Gondangdia train station
Indonesia’s major cities are swarming with pollutants, so no need to add more chemicals to your soil to help your plants grow. How about this; in Gondangdia, Central Jakarta, the local municipality is running a community-based compost project which relies on dead leaves. Buy their locally-made natural fertilized and support both a locally sound business and your garden.
How to get there: Gondangdia compost, Cuk Nyak Dien Street, opposite the old Dutch Immigration Building, close to Gondangdia train station
4. Choose what you grow selectively
Grass is for cows and goats. In urban areas, what’s the need for a manicured lawn in your garden? They’re high maintenance and need a lot of water.
Grass is for cows and goats. In urban areas, what’s the need for a manicured lawn in your garden? They’re high maintenance and need a lot of water.
5. Collect water
When it pours, there’s too much of it. A few weeks later you wish you could spare a few buckets. Just add an empty barrel to capture water falling from your roof and add a grating to ensure that those nasty dengue mosquitoes don’t use it for breeding parties. In addition to watering your garden, you can also use water surplus to clean your windows.
When it pours, there’s too much of it. A few weeks later you wish you could spare a few buckets. Just add an empty barrel to capture water falling from your roof and add a grating to ensure that those nasty dengue mosquitoes don’t use it for breeding parties. In addition to watering your garden, you can also use water surplus to clean your windows.
6. Plant flowers
Make sure you provide butterflies and bees a pesticide-free environment, by growing a variety of native flowers that they are used to.
When we say garden or yard, this need not only apply to your property. In New York, a busy metropolis by any standard, some unused yards are being turned into community gardens that are tended by gardening aficionados in their spare time. Jakarta has no shortage of those, so where you have similarly-minded friends, this might be your chance to take back the city (or small parts of it) and give it a little taste of vegetation that is lovingly looked after. Your own homegrown tomatoes? It can be done.
Make sure you provide butterflies and bees a pesticide-free environment, by growing a variety of native flowers that they are used to.
When we say garden or yard, this need not only apply to your property. In New York, a busy metropolis by any standard, some unused yards are being turned into community gardens that are tended by gardening aficionados in their spare time. Jakarta has no shortage of those, so where you have similarly-minded friends, this might be your chance to take back the city (or small parts of it) and give it a little taste of vegetation that is lovingly looked after. Your own homegrown tomatoes? It can be done.
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