HOME GARDENING
Becoming a House Plant and Food Garden Parent
When I grow up, I want to become a plant parent and harvest my own food garden at home! Does any child truly hold this wish?
Millennials are going mad for filling their personal spaces with indoor house plants, essentially turning themselves into plant parents as they’re deemed as their children – like having a pet. Meanwhile, the positive buzz of organically grown food is getting louder and I’d love to consume more because of the saying, “you are what you eat.” I’m entering my mid-twenties but I haven’t jumped on these bandwagons...yet.
House Plants
For starters, house plants help you to breathe easier as the plant goes through photosynthesis – the process of plants converting light energy into chemical energy and water, CO , and minerals become oxygen and energy-rich compounds. This means that adding plants to interior spaces can increase oxygen levels. “Placing a couple of plants together can increase the humidity of a room since roughly 97 percent of water is released, which helps keeps respiratory distresses at bay,” according to Bioadvanced. Not to mention, plants naturally purify the air and improve your health. Stated by Bioadvanced, “the Dutch Product Board for Horticulture commissioned a workplace study which identified including plants in office settings decreases fatigue, colds, headaches, coughs, sore throats, and flu-like symptoms.”
Putri Anugerahani owns Grow and Grow and she agrees about the benefits of having house plants. “I once read a journal from NASA which stated plants are natural air filters,” she said.
Grow and Grow facilitates the urban society, encouraging plants being sold by the side of the road and desires to have their own green, big-city homes, offices or events. Initially an architect, Putri designed houses and their landscapes; she believes a building has no life without greenery. She then realised to install indoor plants was to naturally filter air and by a process of trial and error, she found which suitable plants can be placed indoors and their benefits. “Sansevieria plant reduces cigarette smoke and turns the room more humid,” she pointed out.
Plastic and terracotta pots are used at the moment. “Boxes and paper have always been used for our packaging and we started using cassava plastic. We do want to have recycled pots. There aren’t many, or maybe we’re unaware of, pots that can be planted and turned into fertilisers but I’d love to learn how to make it and shape into cute forms,” she said.
Putri believes that more green lands will automatically absorb more water hence, will be better for the environment. It doesn’t necessarily have to be ornamental plants that decorate our homes; rosemary, pandan leaves, bay leaves, and other herbs are beneficial for cooking. So is making DIY, zero-waste fertilisers from dried eggshells and DIY pest sprays from a mixture of garlic and chilli, boiled and then filtered.
Unfortunately, plants can’t communicate their needs and thus show us their symptoms, such as wilted or yellow- coloured leaves, indicating they must be watered or have their soil replaced. Likewise, leaving for a long vacation or business trip isn’t great for the well-being of the plants. Putri suggested using hydro-gel in the pot because it's similar to a grain of water absorbed by the plant to prevent it from dying while you’re away.
Keep in mind you need to identify where you’d want to place your house plant and the amount of sun exposure the area receives to determine the type of plant to get. Cacti are good for excessive sunlight, meanwhile, Heuchera is ideal for shady areas. Next, ask yourself whether you’d want to rigorously water the plant or you won’t be so reliable? Thirdly, decorate your plants with rattanmade pots, for example, to make your plant look even more aesthetically pleasing.
“Gardening is not just a hobby for women since the youth and men have picked it up too. City people can enjoy plants like in the countryside,” noted Putri. “Make sure to place your indoor plant near a window so it absorbs light and take it outdoors once in a while to replace the compost. Also, don’t let your pets munch on it since its sap will cause itchiness,” Putri added.
Grow and Grow has three divisions, namely retail, projects for landscape, and rental services, with only retail available nowadays. Anyone living in apartments usually rents plants where they get replaced once every two weeks as a balcony isn’t always provided. House yards will be designed and built by the team and any themed parties involving tons of plants can be rented per day or weekly. Order your house plants or herbs on Tokopedia, WhatsApp 081283835583 or Instagram @ growandgrow.id.
Home Gardens
Take it up a notch by having your personal, at-home garden. Environmentally, it uplifts the ecosystem as well as reduces air and noise pollutions. According to Patio Productions, “investing time in your own garden can effectively help the collective effort to reduce the amount of C0 in the Earth’s atmosphere. A concerted effort in areas known to contain high levels of air pollution and smog can benefit from this.” You’ll also eat healthier, build self-esteem, and boost your vitamin D intake.
Mandira’s Garden was founded by Lisa Mandira in October 2016, planting more than 100 types of vegetables and herbs and a few local fruits. Lisa was adamant to shift her family’s lifestyle after her husband got sick, yet organic vegetables were relatively expensive at that time, thus hindering her family from consuming healthy food. She decided to grow her own vegetables instead. “I don’t have a background in agricultural education, I just have a strong determination to produce organic vegetables for my family’s health and learned online about herbal plants useful for health,” Lisa explained.
Here, three concepts are maintained: “From Garden to Table,” having the cafeteria serving the harvested food, and using organic ingredients only. Used and scrap vegetables are recycled to make compost, reusing materials like milk boxes and plastic bottles to plant seedlings, not using shopping receipts and plastic straws, reducing plastic bag usage, and the purposeful lack of a smoking area are some of the environmental movements currently carried out in a small scope.
“When home gardening in the city, pay attention to start from a healthy awareness and consistency in its implementation,” said Lisa. PSAs on the importance of every home to start home gardening with examples of environmental pilot areas which have started and felt the benefits of home gardening to inspire the community.
Home gardening helps to save the planet, namely in terms of no longer using shopping bags, depleting the waste that can’t be recycled. “Imagine how much plastic waste would be reduced if each family grows their food and shops using recycled bags?” Lisa expressed.
Beginners can start by planting what they like because gardening shouldn’t feel like a burden. Lisa observed the morning sun produces our foods. The area should be under the sun every morning with herbs and green vegetables basking in for about four to six hours. Those who have smaller plots of land can use pots or take advantage of outdoor walls.
“Nothing is too difficult as long as we like it and have the determination to achieve it. Don't be shy to ask questions and seek information or help. We might think that we are nurturing our garden, but the reality is, our garden is nurturing us,” said Lisa.
Buy fresh organic vegetables and fruits at Mandira’s Garden on Jl. Kemang Timur Raya no. 55, South Jakarta or contact 081802037555 and Instagram @ mandiasgarden.
Perhaps my time to become a plant mother and have my own food garden is near after all.
We might think that we are nurturing our garden, but the reality is, our garden is nurturing us.
Take a moment to visualise Bali. Most visualise lush rice terraces, pristine beaches, or intricate offerings and temples. While Bali is a place of incredible natural beauty, Bali is growing and changing rapidly, creating challenges now and in the future - plastic pollution, water shortages, and economic disparity, to name a few. How do we address these problems? How can Bali be sustainable? How can we shape a better future?
Canggu Community School (CCS) in Canggu, Bali is a community exploring these questions and challenges. We believe our students will be leaders in the future, and they can start now. While students complete a rigorous curriculum including Cambridge and International Baccalaureate, we focus on putting learning into action! In June, CCS celebrated our first students completing the Program of Sustainable Design which focuses on finding sustainable solutions to today’s challenges right here in Bali.
This year, students explored how they could improve the environmental footprint of CCS. They looked into water usage and how this affects the depleted aquifer in Bali. Students explored ideas with guidance from teachers and experts, including ram pumps, reverse wells, and water turbines. As the projects grew from research to design and into construction, students decided to integrate their ideas into a system: a perpetually irrigated vertical garden with filters to remove pollutants from the river water. Students built a three- part system together: a spiral water wheel to pump water, a natural filtration system made from plastic water bottles, and a vertical garden using recycled plastic bottles. Students developed functioning models to show that research, teamwork, and creativity can help solve our local issues. Next, students will share solutions and inspire others in Bali to implement similar projects.
Students in their first year of Sustainable Design focused on the problem of waste in Bali. With more people and tourism, waste is becoming a significant problem in Canggu and the rest of Bali. Students explored worm farms, using recycled plastic for building materials, recycling paper into building insulation, and a bio- digester to create energy from waste. Next year, they will begin building models, including building our own bio- digester. These projects will be used as models to support local community issues and sustainable solutions across
Bali and Indonesia. By using locally available and recycled materials, we can focus on practical solutions that make a real difference!
CCS students also plan to put their sustainable solutions into practice on our new Primary Campus, opening in August. Further, IB Diploma students are engaged in developing a “Green Warung” project to help our community warung be more sustainable. Others are working with local restaurants and orphanages to use left- over bread and food for income generation and reducing waste. All of these students live out CCS values: Learning, Engagement, Balance, and Respect. Students are grounded in the highest quality international education available, including the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. By putting their learning into practice and engaging in local issues, young people can help find sustainable solutions that make the world a better place for everyone.