1. Towards Environmentally-Friendly Urban Cultivation 2. Organic Cultivation at Home 4. Organic Inputs 3. Vertical Agriculture

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2 Contents Forewor 08 Preface 09 Acknowlegements Towars Environmentally-Frienly Urban Cultivation The Benefits of Home Garening Organic Cultivation at Home Why is Organic Garening Important? Preparing the Soil Prior to Planting Using Organic Fertilisers Vertical Agriculture Choosing the Right Plants Reusing Materials for Your Organic Garen Crop Tables Vertical Wall Racks Pallet Bes Pallet Can/Bottle Holer Plastic Can Rack Tyre Crop Tower Lotus Tyre Crop Tower Wall Sack Moel Barrel Crop Tower V Rack Waga Thepawa Plastic Bottles Fence Green-wall Tyre System Organic Inputs Heap metho Faith Garen (Foo Always in the Home) Starter Solution Wormy Compost Wormy Wash Liqui Fertiliser Organic Pest Control Growing Plants That Are a Natural Deterrent Margosa (Neem) See Solution Margosa (Neem) Juice Margosa (Neem) + Cinnamon + Garlic Mixture Kerosene Oil + Cinnamon + Garlic Mixture Setting Up an Insect Trap Responsible Garen Maintaining Water Conservation in Your Home Garen Water Saving Tips for Home Garening Beautification Promoting Bioiversity Conservation Within the Home Garen How to Create a Butterfly Garen Annex 138 Other new species an new recors of Sri Lankan lichens 8. Glossary Bibliography an Resources for Further Stuy 172

3 14 A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening 1. Towars Environmentally Urban -Frienly Cultivation Dilmah Conservation recognises the importance of organic cultivation methos, alongsie the socio-economic an environmental benefits of aopting these practices even within limite urban garen spaces. The Dilmah Conservation Sustainable Agriculture Research Centre (DCSARC) was establishe to promote environmentally-frienly organic garening practices through research an innovation towars enhancing the quality of agricultural prouce, ecologically-soun waste management an recycling, natural resource conservation, an promoting urban home garening initiatives by sharing knowlege an encouraging wier learning. Presently, over 100 varieties of fruits, vegetables, an meicinal plants have been plante at Tikiri Kotuwa an the eicate Conservation Park, which form a part of DCSARC. Asie from conucting research on chemical-free fertiliser, pest management an non-soil, hyroponic an vertical agriculture, DCSARC also actively reuses refuse, such as plastic cans, from Dilmah s Peliyagoa Factory, incluing wooen pallets, empty cans, buckets, an tyres to evelop inventive agricultural tools. Moreover, DCSARC shares its finings by way of community awareness programmes on innovative urban garening methos, which are suite for limite spaces an also encourage the recycling of househol an garen waste. Through these eucational initiatives targeting the urban public, DCSARC seeks to encourage responsible consumption an the wier use of healthy, costeffective an sustainable practices to help contribute towars a househol s aily fruit an vegetable intake. A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening 15

4 1.1 The Benefits of Home Garening Within a space of about 1,000 square feet, a househol can grow all the fruits an vegetables it might nee. However, it is important to be minful of optimising the space towars minimising soil egraation an facilitating pest management effectively. Irrespective of the extent of space available, there is scope for planting at least a few useful plants in the vicinity of one s househol. Home garening can be a prouctive an enjoyable pastime that can have a positive impact on iniviuals, their families an househols, an the environment. Both a form of exercise an relaxation, garening can provie a variety of psychological an physiological benefits. A home garen can supply a househol with a variety of herbs, leafy greens, spices, vegetables, fruits, tubers, yams, an even meicinal plants. These aitions to the home garen can contribute towars a househol s aily intake of fruits an vegetables leaing to a healthier iet an better nutrition. Not only is this approach of growing your own prouce simple an economical, fresh fruits an vegetables are also more flavourful an retain more nutrients, making them a healthier alternative. h z Organic f 2. Cultivation at Home Organic garening is the practice of growing plants, incluing fruit an vegetables, without using chemical pesticies, herbicies, or fertiliser.

5 2.2 Preparing the soil Prior to Planting 2.1 Why is Organic Garening Important? Chemical pesticies, herbicies, an fertilisers can be extremely harmful to our health an the environment. Aopting organic garening practices helps reuce pollution an minimise the amount of toxic substances affecting the environment, contributing to both healthy living as well as soil an water conservation. Even within limite spaces, growing your own organic fruits an vegetables at home is easy, economical, an rewaring. Turning over the soil a few times an exposing it to the air an sun help get ri of existing pests. Disrupting the soil will estroy eggs, cocoons, an larvae, while exposure to the sun will make it unesirable for pests. 2.3 Using Organic Fertilisers DCSARC prepares many organic fertilisers that are low-cost an effective. Organic fertilisers are a goo source of carbon an nitrogen. They also help the soil better retain water, which ais in the improvement of the soil quality, thereby proucing a better harvest. Aopting organic garening practices within one s home garen by using chemical-free fertilisers an pesticies ensures that the prouce is not tainte with resiues of harmful agrochemicals. Organic cultivation also has broaer positive implications for the environment as it contributes towars a reuction in one s carbon footprint an consequently helps mitigate global warming. The greening that occurs by way of home garening also helps the conservation of the environment an local ecosystems, an bioiversity at large. Greening contributes to energy conservation as it has a cooling effect on the environment, especially within urban areas. Soil is integral to all life, be it plant, animal, or human, not only as a habitat or a meium for growth, but also as a key component in essential prouction processes such as crops for foo. Organic agricultural practices, especially those such as composting, also help rejuvenate the soil an improve soil health, supporting a stable ecosystem of soil-welling flora an fauna. Healthy soil rich in organic matter retains water an nutrients, thus improving plant growth an yiel. Composting allows for the recycling of kitchen an garen waste into a nutrient -rich an chemical-free soil aitive to improve plant growth an soil functions. 18 A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening

6 a Vertical Agriculture u 3. Base on the availability of space, garens can be categorise into the following Large Garens Large garenes are those possessing aequate or excess space, which allows for a planne garen suitable for growing numerous crops an the availability of raw materials for supplying one s own carbon-rich fertiliser, liqui fertiliser an pesticies. Meium-size Garens Meium-size garens which are relatively limite in space, but provies aequate space for a planne plot an unplanne garening epening on what spaces coul be optimise. These garens will have aequate space for pots an installing structures such as crop towers. However, there will be limitations in the availability of raw materials available for preparing one s own carbon-rich fertiliser, liqui fertiliser an pesticies. Small Garens Small garens which are very limite in space with minimal groun space available for planting. The availability of raw materials for preparing one s own carbon-rich fertiliser, liqui fertiliser an organic pesticies will be very unlikely.

7 A plot of 30 x 30 feet can provie a substantial crop for aily househol consumption. In orer to optimise this space in a manner which oes not lea to soil egraation an mitigate iseases, plants must be rotate to ensure a perennial crop. 3.1 Choosing the Right Plants Choosing the right plants will rely on the type of garen space available since it will influence soil conitions, rainage of water, an the amount of available shae an sunshine. Plants, sees an cuttings of a variety of fruits an vegetables can be plante in home garens. 3.2 Reuse of Materials for Your Organic Garen Given the limitations in space within urban environs, maintaining a home garen coul seem like a aunting task. However, by reusing certain non-bioegraable waste items, even small spaces can be optimise for cultivation. The irresponsible isposal of non-bioegraable plastic, polythene an rubber waste has prove to be especially amaging to the environment. Burning this refuse results in the release of toxic gases into the atmosphere, while iscaring them into lanfills leas to soil an water pollution with estructive impacts to ecosystems. Further, carelessly allowing such items to gather within the home garen creates favourable conitions for isease-carrying mosquitoes to bree, an sprea illnesses such as Dengue Fever. Typical Plants Kathurumurunga, amberella, chili, tomato, leafy greens, beetroot an kohila. Sees Cowpea, mung bean, long beans, rige gour, snake gour, bitter gour, squash, cucumber, pumpkin, spinach, carrot, turnip, thampala, okra. Cuttings Spinach, kohila, sweet potato, pennywort, crepe ginger, spinach, sarana leaves, gotukola, murunga, kiri ala, ehi ala, vel ala, pineapple. 22 A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening

8 Dilmah Conservation has taken a step towars using non-bioegraable househol refuse incluing polythene bags, ol tyres, an plastic cans an bottles, for an innovative an environmentally-frienly purpose. Refuse such as use plastic bottles, empty cans an sacks can be use for planting. Aitionally, iscare wooen pallets from Dilmah Tea factories are also utilise to make raise garen boxes to plant vegetables. Even at home, plastic bottles, cans, containers an tyres can be reuse as pots with simple moifications to grow flowers, vegetables an other eible greenery. Not only are these methos sustainable, cost-effective an useful in setting up a home garen, they benefit both the househol an the environment. There are several methos to grow crop vegetables with vertical moels. The photographs shown here are examples of moels that can be easily constructe at home for garening within a limite amount of space.

9 3.2.1 Crop Tables You will nee Wooen pallet planks Four 2x2 wooen bars Soil mix mae with equal parts compost, top soil an coir ust Your choice of sees or saplings How to set it up 1. Use the 2x2 wooen bars to buil the stan or the four legs of the table. 2. Using the wooen pallet planks, buil a rectangular frame with a smaller rectangular space at the centre. 3. Buil a rectangular box using wooen pallets. One sie of the box must be open. 4. Attach the rectangular frame to the top of the table stan. 5. Insert the rectangular box in to the rectangular frame. 6. Fill the box with the soil mix. 7. Plant the sees or saplings in the box. 8. Pour water in to the box. The following plants can be grown using this moel Sala leaves, lettuce, cabbages 26 A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening

10 3.2.2 Vertical Wall Racks You will nee Wooen pallet planks Soil mix mae with equal parts compost, top soil an coir ust Your choice of sees or saplings How to set it up 1. Buil the wall rack with wooen pallet planks by placing them horizontally to construct the main frame. 2. Position 3 or more shelves with wooen pallets on the wooen rack. 3. Attach the wall rack on to a wall. 4. Fill each rack with the soil mix. 5. Plant sees or plants on the shelves. 6. Water each shelf on the rack aily. The following plants can be grown using this moel Raish, lettuce, long beans, carrot an types of chilli Pallet Bes You will nee Wooen pallet planks Soil mix mae with equal parts compost, top soil an coir ust Your choice of sees or saplings Withere plant parts for mulching 28 A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening 29

11 How to set it up 1. Demarcate a plot using the wooen planks an fill with top soil an the soil mix. 2. Mark riges on the plot to plant sees or saplings. 3. Dig up itches in between the riges to facilitate efficient rainage. 4. Plant sees or saplings on the riges. 5. Cover the plant be riges using mulch. 6. Water the bes twice a ay. The following plants can be grown using this moel Brinjals, laies fingers, chili, long beans an all other types of plants Pallet Can / Bottle Holer You will nee Wooen pallet planks Plastic cans or plastic bottles Soil mix mae with equal parts compost, top soil an coir ust Your choice of sees or saplings

12 How to set it up Plastic Can Rack 1. Cut the wooen pallet planks into long an narrow wooen strips an small wooen bracket. 2. Position the longer wooen plank vertically to be attache to the wall. 3. Fix the smaller piece of woo onto the longer strip of woo. 4. Attach the wooen bracket uner the smaller piece of woo as support, so that it can bear the weight of the can. 5. Attach the can holer on to a wall. 6. Cut out the surface of a plastic can or a plastic bottle an rill holes onto the other sie. 7. Fill the bottles or plastic cans with the soil mix. 8. Plant the sees or saplings insie the container. 9. Place one container per holer. 10. Water each container aily. You will nee About eight 2x2 wooen bars Waste pallet planks Soil mix mae with equal parts compost, top soil an coir ust Plastic cans Your choice of sees an saplings The following plants can be grown using this moel Raish, lettuce, long beans, carrot, types of chilli an leeks

13 How to set it up 1. Buil 2 triangular frames using wooen bars. 2. Buil 4 or 5 wooen shelves using waste pallet planks. 3. Fit each wooen shelf horizontally onto the two main triangular frames. 4. Setting up 2 shelves at the bottom of the frame keeps the main frame stable. 5. Two shelves can be positione in the mile an one can be place on the top. 6. Cut a rectangular piece off one sie of the plastic can an rill a few holes on the other sie to enable efficient rainage. 7. Fill each plastic can with the soil mix. 8. Place sees or saplings insie the can. 9. Arrange the cans on the wooen shelves. 10. Water each can twice a ay Tyre Crop Tower Tyres prove to be a goo material to be use in home garening as it is a very strong object able to withstan a large weight an still hols its shape when stacke on top of each other. Its waterproof feature prevents soil erosion an seepage. Aitional benefits of using tyres inclue the prevention of iseases sprea by mosquitoes as a result of water retaine in waste tyres. The following plants can be grown using this moel Raish, lettuce, long beans, carrot, types of chilli an others. You will nee Tyres of three ifferent sizes Bricks an coconut husks An ol PVC pipe Soil mix mae with equal parts compost, top soil an coir ust Your choice of sees an saplings A plastic pot Drilling machine A knife A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening 35

14 How to set it up 1. Cut an remove one flat sie of each tyre wall completely. 2. Place the large tyre on the bottom, an fill the tyre with the soil composition. 3. Place the meium-size tyre on top of the large tyre an fill the tyre with the soil composition. 4. Place the smallest tyre at the very top an fill it with the soil composition. 5. Cut a hole on the bottom of the plastic pot. 6. Place the plastic pot on top of the smaller tyre an fill the pot with the soil composition. 7. Drill holes on the PVC pipe asymmetrically from top to bottom an insert the PVC pipe to the centre of the tyre tower. 8. Make a large circle by placing coconut husks aroun the circle. 9. Make a seconary, smaller circle at the centre of the large circle using bricks. 10. Fill each circle with the soil composition. 11. Place sees or saplings on the circles, the tyres an on the plastic pot. 12. Pour water into the PVC pipe. Upon completion of the structure, a coconut shell can be use to cover the top of the pipe to prevent mosquito breeing, an the shell can also be use to water the tower perioically without having to water the whole structure. The following plants can be grown using this moel Groun layer: Green chilli varieties, herbs. Secon layer: Lettuce varieties, carrots, beet, turnip varieties. Thir layer: Sala varieties. It is recommene to use intercropping methos in orer to optimise space utilisation as well as enhance the soil nutritional level Lotus Tyre Crop Tower You will nee Tyres Soil mix mae with equal parts compost, top soil an coir ust Your choice of sees an saplings Sharp rilling knife Gloves Wooen ro Sharp iron ro How to set it up 1. Cut the ege of the tyre into a zigzag shape (representing a lotus flower) on one sie. 2. After the tyre is cut, turn the tyre insie out to form the lotus esign. 3. Place the largest tyre at the bottom an fill it with the garen soil mixture. 4. The same proceure can be followe for a smaller tyre, which can be place on top of the large one. The proceure can be repeate to the preferre height, although two layers are recommene for optimum yiel an strength of the structure. It is important to note that the choice of plant must have a root system no longer than 6 inches eep for this esign to have an optimum yiel. The following plants can be grown using this moel Vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers.

15 3.2.8 Wall Sack Moel How to set it up You will nee Use polythene or cloth sacks A neele an string A few wooen pallet planks Soil mix mae with equal parts compost, top soil an coir ust Your choice of sees an saplings 1. Divie the sack into two sections by stitching vertically along the mile of the sack. 2. Cut small slots on the two sections. 3. Fill the two sections with the soil mix. 4. Stitch the top en of the sack, loop it aroun a wooen plank an stitch that en to the lower en of the sack. 5. Plant the saplings or sees in the slots on the two separate parts of the sack. 6. Attach the sack to a wall with the ai of a wooen plank. The following plants can be grown using this moel Types of chilli an spinach 38 A Guie to Eco-Frienly Home Garening

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