Home Garden Development (Practitioners' Guide)

HOME GARDEN DEVELOPMENT (Practitioners’ Guide) Dr. P.B. Dharmasena July 2014 CONTENT What is a home garden? 2 Why home garden productivity is low? 3 Essential components of home garden 4 Why home garden development is required? 5 Home garden planning 7 Initial home garden improvements 16 Establishment of new plants 19 Soil fertility enhancement 21 Establishment of live fence around the home garden 25 Mulching 26 Crop mixtures and combinations 27 Farmer preparations for healthy crops 28 What is a home garden? It is the daily life environment, which supports various social, physical and economic activities. It provides various products and services. An improved home garden is a cropping system with a proper plan, intensive land use and rich biodiversity. It is a flower garden, herbal garden and a cool, shady forest Why home garden productivity is low? Some reasons are given below Abandoned lands are still covered with weeds and shrubs Land has been severely degraded due to erosion of top soil Roots and stumps have not yet been removed Soil goes dry fast due to sandy nature or compaction Insurgence of obnoxious weeds makes cropping difficult Presence of rock outcrops reduces space for cropping and makes difficulties for development Vacant spaces are found with no productive plants Few large trees cover the land, shading other plants Crops/ fruit trees are not managed well Crop diversity is low Occupants have poor knowledge on crop establishment Home gardens are neglected due to lack of time No recycling process for the solid wastes Damage from animals (domestic and wild) Essential components of home garden Live fence Compost unit and bio-recycle bin Herbal plot Flower garden Vegetable area Fruit garden Timber trees (forest garden) Rainwater harvesting system Why home garden development is required? Some of the benefits are as follows Harvest maximum from land, space, labour and water Collect when required wide range of fresh and clean vegetables, fruits and medicine without chemicals Save time spent for marketing Supply main and sub-meals (medicinal and healthy meals) Reduce cost for food Enhance health and energy through food diversity Provide herbal plants and parts to use as local medicine Sell extra produce to obtain what cannot be grown in the home garden Spend leisure time with plants Mental satisfaction of the family Use as a teaching unit of environment for children Ensure the attachment of children with nature Share planting materials with neighbours Develop positive attitudes towards happiness Improve self confidence for facing challenges Obtain economic benefits to support the family income Use as a gene bank of local germplasm Create a clean environment through waste recycling Home garden planning: Home gardens are found at various stages: Well developed home gardens do not need any additional inputs. Some old home gardens need improvements mostly through shade management, filling vacancies with suitable species to gain optimum canopy stratification, fertility enhancement and introduction of moisture conservation strategies. There are home gardens recently fenced but not planted except few fruit plants. These need comprehensive planning. In the planning process collection of some information is a prerequisite. Following activities are included in the planning procedure Survey: land availability – Many home gardens have not achieved a matured vegetation. It can be developed by filling vacancies, managing the shade by lopping and pruning and maintaining balanced canopy stratification Land catenary position – soil condition – soil texture, effective soil depth, soil structure, drainage, slope and soil salinity existing vegetation – sparse, dense, weed spread, mixture of crops and weeds other physical features – presence of rock outcrops, additional huts, cattle sheds, abandoned structures water sources – presence of well, canal, stream etc. Canopy density: Use as a guide only Canopy type Plant type No. of plants/ 0.1 ha With water source Without water source Large Adopted/ Endemic 20 30 Introduced 05 03 Medium Adopted/ Endemic 18 30 Introduced 05 03 Small Adopted/ Endemic 01 02 Introduced 24 16 Total 73 84 Lists of plant species coming under above different categories are given below Large canopy adopted/ endemic species Margosa (Azadirachta indica), Tamarind (Tamerindus indica), Mee (Madhuca longifolia), Ketakela (Bridelia retusa), Satinwood (Chloroxylon swietenia), Damba (Syzygium assimile), Koon (Schleichera oleosa), Godakirala (Holoptelea integrifolia), Palu (Manikara hexandra), Sooriyamara (Albizia odoratissima), Ebony (Diospyros ebenumkoenig), Milla (Vitex pinnata), Mara (Albizia lebbeck), Thimbiri (Diospyros malabarika), Bulu (Terminalia belerica), Hik (Lannea coromandelica), Colon (Adina cordifolia), Thelabu (Sterculia foetida), Weera (Drypetes sepiaria), Kaduru (Cerbera manghas). (20 species) Large canopy introduced species Jak (Artocarpus hetrophyllus), Mango (Mangifera indica), Kotta (Ceiba pentandra), Breadfruit (Artocarpus nobilis), Sal (Vateria copallifera), Cashew (Anacardium occidentale), Medium canopy adopted/ endemic species Woodapple (Feronia limonia), Palmaira (Borassus flabellifer), Ehela (Cassia fistula), Ahu (Morinda citrifolia), Maila (Bauhinia racemosa), Lolu (Cordia domestica), Penela (Sapindus emarginatus), Atteriya (Murraya paniculata), Andara (Dichrostachys cinerea), Madatiya (Adenanthera pavonina), Va (Cassia siamea Lam), Kirikoon (Walsura piscidia), Kunumella (Diospyros ovalifolia), Geduma (Trema orientale), Thala tree (Corypha umbraculifera), Mora (Adenanthera aglaosperma), Wal-kurundu (Cinnamomum multiflorum), Wewarana (Alseodaphne semecarpifolia), Bora-damunu (Flacourtia inermis), Dambu (Syzygium cordifolium), Gan-sooriya (Thespesia populnea), Mal-mara (Delonix regia). Medium canopy introduced species Drumstick (Moringa oleifera), Coconut (Cocos nucifera), Lime (Citrus medica), Guava (Psidium guajava), Banana (Musa sapientum), Halmilla (Berrya cordifoliya), Laulu (Charysophyllum roxburghii), Beli (Aegle marmelos), Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium), Teak (Tectonia grandis), Ipil-Ipil (Leucaena leucocephala), Koboneela (Bauhinia variegata), Butter-fruit (Persea gratissima), Veli-anoda (Abutilon indicum), Araliya (Nerium oleander), Cottamba (Terminalia catappa), Jambu (Syzygium jambos), Amberella (Spondias pinnata), Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris), Kithul (Caryota urens), Erabadu (Erythrina variegata), Date (Phoenix dactylifera), Vatha-banga (Pisonia grandis), Vesak-mal (Dendromium maccarthiae), Kundalu (Citrus hystrix). Small adopted/ endemic plant species Curry-leaf (Murraya koenigii), Pavatta (Pavetta indica), Kuratiya (Memecylon rostratum), Rathmal (Ixora coccinea), Cactus (Euphorbia nerifolia), Kobbe (Allopyhylus cobbe), Girithilla (Argyreia populifolia), Ranavara (Cassia auriculata), Leekola (Premna procumbens), Vel-rukattana (Cryptolepis buchananii), Thibbatu (Solanum indicum), Mukunuvenna (Alternanthera sessilis), Gotukola (Centella asiatica), Heerassa (Cissus quadrangularis), Seeniya (Acacia farnesiana), Nika (Vitex negundo), Valkidaram (Arisaema neglectum), Pethan (Bauhinia tomentosa), Adathoda (Adhatoda vasica), Keppetiya (Crotolaria retusa), Nava handi (Euphorbia tirucalli), Thiththa-anguna (Dregea volubilis), Bol-pana (Cassipourea ceylanica), Seru (Canthium dicoccum), Wal-inguru (Zingiber cylindricum), Kaliya (Dalbergia lanceolaria), Olinda (Abrus precatorius), Iriveriya (Plecfranthus zeylanicus), Kara-kola (Canthium coromandelicum). Small introduced plant species Papaw (Carica papaya), Orange (Citrus senensis), Geta-anoda (Sida cordifolia), Katu-anoda (Annona reticulata), Promegranate (Punica granatum), Idda (Wrightia antidysenterica), Arecanut (Areca catechu), Nelli (Phylanthus ambilica), Sugar-cane (Saccharum officinarum), Kathuru-murunga (Sesbania grandiflora), Casava (Manihot esculenta), Passion-fruit (Passiflora edulis), Bilin (Averrhoa bilimbi), Kiri-ala (Colocasia esculenta), Coffee (Coffea arabica), Betel (Piper betle), Mandarin (Citrus crenatifolia), Pinapplle (Ananas comosus), Rampe (Pandanas latifolia), Turmeric (Bixa ovellana), Sepalika (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis), Sera (Cymbopogon citratus), Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), Ginger (Zingiber cylindricum), Uguressa (Flacourtia inermis), Nivithi (Basella alba), Komarica (Aloe vera), Kohila (Lasia spinosa), Vada-kaha (Acorus calamus), Getapichcha (Jasminum sambae), Caster (Ricinus calamus), Wathu sudda (Tabernaemontana coranaria), Saman-pichcha (Jasminum grandiflorum), Savandara (Vetiveria zizanioides), Haran-kaha (Zingiber zerumber), Cotton (Gossypium herbaceum), Buthsarana (Canna indica), Dambala (Psophocarpus tetragenolobus). Home garden mapping Trace the boundary fence Draw the rough sketch of the home garden Locate physical structures including the house on the map Locate all large perennial trees taking distance measurements Locate other plants roughly relative to large trees and physical structures Mark storm water diversion drain, common drain or natural stream on the map Cultivated land Cultivated land Common drain Storm water diversion drain Diversion bund and drain Demarcate free spaces Design soil conservation bunds on the map Assign new plants discussing with the occupant Marking soil ridges Observe the direction of land slope Use the ‘A’ frame to demarcate the master bunds according to the land slope at intervals given in the table with a slight gradient (0.4-0.5 %) Bunds are marked to divert runoff to a natural stream or to a side boundary of the home garden Avoid crossing any physical objects such as house, toilet, well etc. Mark few lines for soil ridges at 5m intervals between two master bunds parallel to master bunds Drain depth Bund bottom width Bund height Drain top width Table – Dimensions for master bunds Land slope (%) Spacing (m) Runoff (m3/hr) Bund height (cm) Bund bottom width (cm) Drain Depth (cm) Top width (cm) < 2 2 – 4 4 – 6 6 – 8 8 - 10 15 10 7 6 5 165 100 75 60 50 30 25 25 20 20 80 15 10 10 10 10 70 50 50 40 40 65 65 50 50 Initial home garden improvements Prune existing large trees to accommodate more plants around them at the onset of rainy season. Construct master bunds using more soils from the downstream and preparing a shallow drain at the upstream. In case of flat lowlands, it would be sufficient to have only the drainage system to let water out of the land. Otherwise it can lead to crop damage due to water logged conditions during the rainy season. In order to prevent damage or collapse of the bund, grass species such as savandara (vetiveriazizanioides), citronella (Cymbopogonnardus) etc. on either side of the bund Gliricidia or bush type plants such as adathoda (Adhatoda vasica) can be planted on the bund. These can be periodically pruned and used as mulch or green manure. Plant gliricidia along the bund at 0.5 m distance apart. Bunds can be stabilized Form soil ridges at 5m interval without disturbing the existing vegetation. There can be discontinuity of these ridges. Plant citronella along soil ridges at 20 cm distance apart. Cover surrounding of the young plants with crop residue mulch and place a coconut husk ring around it. Prune trees if any along the fence Establishment of new plants Select a plant species according to section 4 ii. Excavate a pit of a size 3ft. x 3ft. x 3ft. Use sub-soil to prepare the eye-brow shape bund in downstream. This can be avoided if a master bund is in the immediate downstream Bury a clay pitcher made in cylindrical shape with a capacity of 15 litres keeping the pitcher mouth at the soil surface. Pitcher will be half painted with water sealed lacquer. Place the painted side of the pitcher at the downstream side. Plant the nursery raised potted plant next to pitcher in the upstream side. Fill the soil pit with porous materials of a mixture of top soil, compost, crop and weed residue etc. Plant 4 gliricidia sticks about one metre away from the plant. Plant citronella at the downstream of the eye-brow shaped bund at 20 cm distance a part Place a coconut shell with a hole at the bottom and filled with sand on the mouth of the pitcher Soil fertility enhancement Productivity of a land is strongly linked with the soil fertility. Maintenance of the fertility at required levels does not always need fertilizer inputs. It can be generated by the system itself. Fertility of soil if high chemically, physically and biologically, the soil erodibility can be reduced to a minimum due to formation of stable aggregate, and erosion can be reduced with the rapid formation of healthy vegetative cover. This situation can minimize the erosional effect of overland flow. Thus, soil fertility enhancement is considered as a soil conservation measure. Soil fertility can be improved by adding various types of fertilizer sources containing plant nutrients such as inorganic fertilizer, animal manure, green manure, compost, liquid fertilizer etc. There are 16 essential nutrients for plant growth. These include 6 primary nutrients (C, H, O, N, P, K), 3 secondary nutrients (Ca, Mg, S) and 7 micro-nutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, B, Mo, Cl). Of primary nutrients C, H and o can be obtained from air and water. N, P and K can be provided by applying fertilizer. Department of Agriculture has made recommendations of suitable N,P and K fertilizer rates and application intervals for different crops. These recommendations are not included in this manual, but can be obtained from Agricultural Instructors of the area. However, these chemical fertilizers do not provide the crop requirement of all nutrients. Further the continuous use of chemical fertilizers can destroy the soil structure, turn the soil acidic and bring about nutrient imbalances resulting in nutrient interactions. Most importantly, the organic matter in the soil does not improve with application of chemical fertilizers resulting in erosion and lossof top soil. Many materials that are organic in nature are suitable for soil fertility enhancement. Materials that can be used are classified into: Plant residues - Crop residues and green manure; Animal wastes - Animal manure and slaughter house wastes; Compost - Consists of both plant and animal materials, which are wastes of various origins. Crop residues: Rice straw, residues of field crops, vegetable crops etc. residues can be applied directly or after composting. Direct application is cumbersome and due to high C:N ratio of the materials, it takes a longer time to decompose in the soil. Green manure: There are two types of green manure as grown in situ and ploughed into the soil and lopped leaves and tender stems applied to the soil. Plants like Crotalaria juncea and Sesbania rostrata can be grown before establishing crops and ploughed in at flowering during land preparation (Fig. 13). Animal wastes: Animal dung and urine of large animals found mixed with bedding and feed stuff are used as farm yard manure (FYM). Poultry litter can be used both as a basal and topdressing. The material content of the FYM and litter varies considerably depending on many factors. Slaughter house wastes and fishmeal are not available in Sri Lanka in large amounts due to poor collecting facilities. If collected and treated properly it could become an important source of organic manure. Compost: Compost is produced by recycling of waste materials from the field or kitchen. The main advantages of compost application are improvement of soil structure and other physical properties, increase of water holding capacity of soil and also addition of plant nutrients. Preparation of compost A shady place is suitable for making compost. Pit or Heap method can be adopted. Pit method is generally recommended for the dry zone and heap method for the wet zone. Pit method: A pit of 1.6 m long, 1 m wide and 1.2 m deep is excavated and kept for about one week. Place the large wood sticks at the bottom and small sticks on the top of it. Then place a 8-10 cm thick layer of easily decomposable organic materials such as gliricidia, adathoda, gansooriya, erabadu, water hyacinth, dried grasses, vegetable refuse etc. after cutting into small pieces and trample to get rid of trapped air. Then cow dung in liquid form is applied uniformly over the top of it. Several such layers could be made up to a height 40-50 cm and finally plastered the top with a thin layer of mud tom provide anaerobic conditions. After keeping the mixture for two weeks, material is mixed thoroughly by using a mammoty at 2 week intervals to accelerate the natural decomposing process. The entire pit should be covered to prevent the mixture being exposed to rain. The process of composting could be completed in about 3 months. Addition of leaf litter and top soil collected from the forest enhances microbial activities within the mixture. Two methods of compost preparation Heap method: A land plot of 2-3 m long and 1.5-2.5 m wide is adequate for the heap space. All procedure explained under pit method can be adopted here. It may be desirable to insert a tube and pour water into it, to accelerate the decomposing rate. Preparation of Bio-recycle Bin Bio-degradable parts of kitchen wastes and any extra residues of the home garden can be converted to compost by collecting and placing in a specifically prepared cage. A circular shape cage is prepared by planting gliricidia sticks of about one metre long at 5-6 inch distance apart. In order to keep this cage stable the sticks can be laced together with flexible sticks at different heights. These gliricidia plants can be lopped when the cage opening is covered and add them also into the cage. Establishment of live fence around the home garden Recommended tree species Gliricidia, erithrina, gansooriya, adathoda, drumstick, kathuru murunga, neem, teak, Importance It makes protection from cattle, wild animals and thieves Legume trees planted along the fence provide large amount of green manure The tree belt of the fence acts as a wind barrier Fence trees such as drumstick (murunga), sesbania grandiflora (Kathurumurunga) etc. provide nutritional vegetables Some fence trees such can provide fuel wood, timber and fencing poles Fence trees such as neem, adathoda vasica etc. provide medicine Fence environment is favourable for some predators Many vegetable plants such as winged bean, bean, bitter gourd, ribbed gourd, snake gourd, yard long bean etc. can be supported without any trellis The live fence increases the bio-diversity Mulching Sources – paddy straw, gliricidia, citronella, vetiver Importance Minimizes soil erosion Retains soil moisture Reduces heat stress to plants Minimizes weed problem Contributes to soil fertility Reduces soil compaction Controls soil temperature Develops healthy root systems Reduces the number of irrigation or watering Improves the soil microbial population Needs minimum or zero tillage for cultivation Reduces labour Increases the yield If a crop land is to be mulched: Use a mixture of grass and legume as mulch. It releases nutrients slowly while decomposes slowly Add a thick layer of mulch. Continue adding mulch Use dry grass mulch after keeping for 1-2 days Add insect repellant species such as citronella, hinguru (Lantana camara), ginger, turmeric etc. into the mulch mixture Keep the mulch away from the plant at least 4-6 inches distant apart. Crop mixtures and combinations In home garden cultivation crop combinations are better than mono-cropping. This has several advantages. It reduces the competition for sunlight, moisture and nutrients as different crop species have different size of canopy and different depths of roots. Incidence of pest and diseases is reduced Some species in the mixture are insect repellant. If one crop fails the other will bring the success Harvesting time is different and the farmer receives continuous return from the crop field Following crop mixture can be tried out. Each mixture should contain insect repellant plant species such as citronella, sera, turmeric, ginger etc. Okra, sweet potato, leaf cabbage, rabu, vegetable cowpea Red onion, knolkol, chilli, tomato, beet, leafy vegetables Leeks, carrot, salad leaf, beet, tomato Beet, carrot, B’onion, leeks Cabbage, tomato, been Kiri ala, Sweet potato, leaf cabbage, kankun Cucumber, maize, sorghum, been, bushitao, rabu, okra, brinjal Kankun, kiri ala, sweet potato, cassava, tomato, okra, maize, brinjal, thampala Sweet potato, maize, casacva, okra, brinjal, pigeon pea Salad leaf, carrot, rabu, cucumber Tomato, sweet potato, rabu, kankun Mung bean, bean, maize, carrot, cucumber, cabbage, rabu, knolkol, leaf cabbage Farmer Preparations for Healthy Crops Some crop management practices can minimize the damage due to pest and diseases. Some of them are given below. Healthy plants are less susceptible to pest and diseases Plant crops as a mixture Plant citronella, sera, turmeric, ginger, araththa, aruda, daspethiya, minchi in the plant mixture. Smell of these plants repels insects Create habitats for predators. Whenever a disease plant is found irrespective of the type of disease or the plant, remove it and burn. There are many treatments that the farmer himself can prepare for various pest diseases and to raise a healthy crop. Main preparations are mentioned below. Liquid Fertilizer Application for ¼ acre: Barrel half/ plastic bucket Fresh cow dung – 8 buckets (10-12 kg) Gliricidia leaves (with bud) – 4 buckets (25 kg) Lantana leaves – 4 buckets ( 5 kg) Moringa (drumstick) leaves – 500 g Soil 500 g Water – 12 buckets Bio-insecticide Application for one acre Ginger – 250 g Garlic 250 g Green chilli – 100 g Neem oil ½ litre Soap ½ Add water to make one litre and keep for about 6 hours. Then dilute the mixture making a solution of 20 litres. Another insect repellent Leaves of neem, crown flower (ganarupa), caster are added to 10 litres of cow urine and 10 litres of water. After one week mix with water at 1:20 ratio and spray to the crop Bio-fungicide Best for Stem rot Leaf curl Other fungal diseases Do not apply after flowering For one acre: Jaggery 1.5 kg Fish 1.5 kg Keep for 15 days Add 10 litres of water Apply 24 days after planting in irrigated fields Paddy: At 24-30 days, 30-40 days and 40-50 days Another Bio-fungicide For one acre Lime – 15 nuts Local eggs 15 Jaggery (to weight of eggs) Preparation Add lime juice to unbroken eggs and keep for 10-11 days Break eggs and mix with jaggery Add water up to 1:10 ratio Can apply up to 45 days after planting Microbial cultures Ripen papaya 1 kg Ripen banana 1 kg Pumpkin 1 kg Jaggery 1kg A local egg Water 10 Lit. After one week dilute to 1:20 and apply to the crop Microbial culture - Jeewamritha For one acre: Water 200 Lit. Fresh cow dung – 8 buckets (10-12 kg) Cow urine 5-10 Lit. Jaggery or fruit pulp 2 kg (or else coconut water 4Lit. 2 kg of grain flour (blackgram, mungbean or cowpea) or gliricidia leaves 10 kg Handful of good soil After one week add water to 1:20 and apply to the crop Panchagavya Increases plant immunity Stimulates growth Tolerant to dryness Increases yield Five extracts from cow Cow dung 5g Cow urine 3 lits. Milk 2 lits. Ghee 500 g Tender coconut Water from 3 nuts Rotten ripen Curd – 2 lits. Handful of lime banana – a bunch Powder Handful of good Handful of jiggery Mix with neem stick Soil And keep for 20 days 25