Growing Food at Home

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Brenda Hamilton
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1 Growing Food at Home A do-it-yourself manual Community Conservation and Development Initiatives yinka jones 0

2 Introduction Population growth, urbanization, poverty, climate change and its resulting impacts on the environment and socioeconomic life of the people are all important factors to be considered in the local and even global food system. As an adaptive measure to the changing times, growing food at home, an aspect of urban farming, could play a very important role in sustaining food availability and also ensuring the integrity of the available food. Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in or around towns or cities and can involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, agro forestry and horticulture. Urban agriculture can be a response to the scarcity of land and the needs of the urban poor. Locations for urban agriculture can be parks, roadsides, along railways, canals and rivers. At the household level urban agriculture can be practiced in backyards, rooftops and balconies. NGOs and CBOs can provide training and support services to encourage urban agriculture. There are different types of urban farming depending on the scale. These include: Household or micro farms in and around the house Small scale semi-commercial horticulturalists, livestock keeping and fish-farming Commercial farms 1

3 Community farms or gardens Institutional farms or gardens Considering the size of space available especially for individuals living in the densely populated parts of most urban cities in Nigeria, Lagos for example, this kind of farming has been mostly subsistent in nature. However, it can be an income generating venture if vacant community lands, uncompleted buildings, rooftops of houses, etc. are adapted for this purpose. One major advantage of growing food at home is the fact that it could be very cheap to start. Virtually any old or unwanted containers can actually be reused for this purpose so far it can contain a reasonable quantity of soil for the plant. Some of the containers that could be used are: Plastic containers Used tyres Rice or bean sacks Wooden crates Barrels, etc Other things needed are the soil, which is the growing medium, the seeds or seedlings and basic garden tools. Benefits of growing foods at home Economic Urban agriculture can provide entrepreneurial activities, job opportunities and employment and income benefits for the urban poor. 2

4 Environmental Urban agriculture can enhance environmental sustainability, it can contribute to energy efficiencies and reduce the carbon footprint. Food Security With the influx of populations into urban areas and the challenges of climate change there will be an increase in demand for fresh and safe food which is healthy and affordable. Social - Urban agriculture can improve social and emotional well-being. It can boost health and nutrition and reduce stress levels. It has been proved that interaction with nature can benefit mental health and strengthen social relationships through community mobilization. Crops that can be grown at home (move to the top) Plants that can be grown depend on the size and volume of the containers used. These range from vegetables all kinds of leafy vegetables especially to certain fruits, medicinal plants, spices, etc. Examples of these are spinach, okra, tomatoes, pepper, eggplant, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, etc. - It is also easy to practice intercropping/ mixed cropping having different plant together in a container which is healthy to the plant. Growing Food in Buckets The most common containers used for the purpose of urban farming are plastic containers or buckets. 3

5 Step 1 The first step is to make holes at the bottom of the buckets so that excess water from the soil can be removed. Step 2 Place the container where there is sufficient sunlight, where it can easily be watered and out of the way. A minimum of 6-8hours of sunlight is required for most plant. The container should also be set on a level ground and may be placed on a platform for physically challenged people. Step 3 Fill the container with medium to provide a minimum of at least 16cm of soil depth. However, avoid filling to the rim to allow for watering without runoffs. Step 4 Plant your seeds or seedlings in your plastic container. A simple way positioning the seeds or seedlings in the bucket 4

People planting vegetable seeds in their pots during one of CCDI s demonstrations Growing

This is majorly because they are not biodegradable.

6 People planting vegetable seeds in their pots during one of CCDI s demonstrations Growing Food in Tyres Tyres are the most durable and long-lasting. This is majorly because they are not biodegradable. They are also very cheap and in fact, in most cases, they constitute nuisance to the environment. Therefore, reusing them for urban farming helps address the problems of disposing of nonbiodegradable wastes. Step 1 One side of the tyre is cut open. This increases the surface area and volume of soil medium available for planting by almost 50% 5

7 Step 2 Wall of tyre could be lined with a polythene sheet. This is to prevent the root of the plant from touching the tyre and to also disallow contact between the tyre and the soil thereby preventing some dangerous constituent chemicals, mostly heavy metals, in the tyre from leaching into the soil. Step 3 Place the container where there is sufficient sunlight, where it can easily be watered and out of the way. Step 4 Depending on the kind of crop, tyres can be stacked on one another to increase depth of soil. This is mostly done for root crops. Tyres stacked ready to be filled up with soil 6

tyres These are very efficient and inexpensive although would need to

8 Step 5 Fill tyre with soil and prepare the soil for planting Soil-filled tyres Growing Food in Feed Sacks Seedlings planted in tyres These are very efficient and inexpensive although would need to be replaced more frequently, say every season. This is basically used for vegetables. 7

9 Step 1 Pour the growing medium into the sack and close by tying the mouth of the sack with a rope twine or wire. Step 2 Lay the sack on its side Step 3 Cut 5-8cm square holes spaced about 20-30cm apart depending on the vegetable on the side of the sack facing up. Step 4 Add water to the growing medium soil by pouring water on the sack or through the holes cut on the sack. Step 5 Plant your seeds or seedlings in the holes. Leafy vegetables growing on the side of feed sacks Another way of using the sacks is the vertical garden method in which the sacks filled with the growing medium is placed vertically upright. Here the mouth of the sack is left open 8

and holes are poked or cut at different levels on the side of

The seedlings are planted on the open top of the soil and in

Vegetables growing on the walls of vertical feed sacks Using

containers can easily be adopted for other kinds of

10 and holes are poked or cut at different levels on the side of the sack. The seedlings are planted on the open top of the soil and in the holes on the side of the sacks. Vegetables growing on the walls of vertical feed sacks Using Other Kinds of Containers The method of using plastic containers can easily be adopted for other kinds of containers. Woven basket can be used after lining with polythene or plastic bag. Remember to put holes at the bottom. Clay and ceramic pots woven baskets 9

11 The Soil for growing the crops The growing medium is the soil. Good topsoil should be used. This can, however, be mixed in equal proportion with compost. A right amount of organic or other safe fertilizers can be added periodically. Vegetables and fruits require comparative level of soil water, therefore, watering should be done frequently depending on the rate of evaporation loss of water from the soil and evapo-transpiration loss of water from the plant which are also dependent on the prevalent weather condition. This means that more water will required in dry weathers than in wet. However, watering should be done discriminately. Watering should be avoided during a hot weather, when the sun is up, especially for seeds and growing seedlings. Maintenance The maintenance of an urban farm/ garden is the same as that of a normal garden. In the case of over crowdedness, weaker seedlings should be thinned out. Weeding should be carried out appropriately and when due. Wetting should be done appropriately and regularly depending on the plant s requirement. Suitable insecticides/ pesticides should be used in the case of attacks. Adding manure increases the soil fertility and its physical condition. 10

12 General sanitation rules must be adhered to. Infested or diseased plants should be eradicated as fast as possible to avoid spread of plant diseases. Protect plants from being damaged by rodents, birds, especially roaming chickens and also inquisitive children. Vertical Farming Vertical farming is the technology of growing plants in layers or steps one over the other like a sky-scrapper. The key to vertical farming is space and it is an innovative response to an exponential growth in population and current trend in unsustainable food consumption. Through this technology, food could be made available all year round instead of seasonal, and food could be grown organically with minimal use of chemicals. The possible benefits of vertical farming are quite numerous and it is referred to as the future of urban farming. A simple vertical farming project 11

13 The Ikota Community During 2012 CCDI began working with a small community in Ikota, located in Eti-Osa Local government in Lagos state. The objective was to encourage them to embrace urban horticulture by growing their own vegetables in pots and buckets in homes where space is extremely limited. The activity also underlined the fact that climate change will affect a number of economic sectors, including agriculture, and horticultural activities in urban areas should be encouraged for future food security. About 14 households in Ikota were involved and the participants, both female and male and different age ranges, planted pepper and okra in pots and buckets. The seeds and topsoil were obtained and the activity was supported by the Baale of Ikota, who has extensive farming knowledge. Local roadside horticulturalists were brought in to teach the participants how to plant the vegetable seeds in the buckets and pots. Over the past six months CCDI made a number of inspection visits to monitor the project and provide guidance to the participants. Momentum was built, more volunteers joined, more seeds and topsoil was added and people started to add their own broken buckets for planting use. Some of the participants showed impressive initiative and were growing pineapples, yams and herbs in very small spaces in their yards. For some of the children it was the very first time they had seen okra and pepper plants. A few of the 12

vegetables in the pots had got damaged and the main culprits were roaming chickens and inquisitive children, advice was then given on how to avoid this problem.

14 vegetables in the pots had got damaged and the main culprits were roaming chickens and inquisitive children, advice was then given on how to avoid this problem. Participants were encouraged to get more buckets and containers to grow more vegetables. The overall response was very heartening and with further support and encouragement the project has the potential be scaled up considerably. One component of the project was supposed to involve the local government in providing a very small parcel of land, which could be sub-divided into small strips to demonstrate the urban allotment system for growing vegetables. Despite the urgent need for local governments to prioritise climate change adaptation, land was not made available for this. Some of the participants of the CCDI Urban Farming Project at Ikota, Ajah, Lagos 13

15 For further information on Urban Agriculture, please contact Yinka Jones Community Conservation and Development Initiatives, Plot 2B, Road A4, Zone A, Carlton Gate Estate, Off Chevron Drive, Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos. P.O.Box 56267, Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos. Phone: , Fax: Website: 14

IMPROVE YIELDS Increasing the production from your homestead garden. Home Gardening and Nutrition Training Material

IMPROVE YIELDS Increasing the production from your homestead garden Home Gardening and Nutrition Training Material 1. Cropping methods Four simple and effective cropping techniques: a) Crop rotation b)