urban gardens

Spring is in the air and the growing season is in full swing. Gardening in Port Elizabeth today needs to take into account the water shortage and the downward trend in the economy. For this reason extensive gardens are giving way for more intensive potted and container type of gardens.

The Urban Garden system is based on the concept of self sustaining growth by providing a continuous supply of feed for the growing plants and using the water as efficiently as possible. The result being, an all year supply of herbs and vegetables for the kitchen.

suburban gardens

The “Urban Garden” is compact and water is recycled and re used. The worm farm recycles kitchen scraps to create liquid fertilizer and vermi compost. This continuous supply of good nutrition boosts the growth of the plants in the box garden to produce maximum yields all year round. The worm tea can also be sprayed as an insecticide and keeps pests away. The limited space required by the unit and the fact that it can be placed anywhere around the home (on a deck, on paving or on the lawn), enables even townhouse or flat residents to have an all year round supply of vegetables and herbs.

This unit caters for the suburban household or guest house owner and forms part of the recycling / going green process.

For a larger vegetable garden the use of a gravity fed drip irrigation is ideal.

corporate social responsibility projects/community gardens

With adaptations and training the Urban Garden concept, can ideally be put into practice to address the general poverty and hunger situation we presently face in the country. A large percentage of township households attempt to grow their own vegetables. Most of these attempts are fruitless due to the sandy nature of our soil containing very little nutrition. Organizations often assist schools and communities by supplying water tanks for gardens. These gardens are often not successful unless plants have a constant supply of compost or fertilizers. The wind in Port Elizabeth is also a factor which needs to be considered. A tunnel or at least a wind break is necessary to protect plants from the wind.

Imagine every RDP house being handed over with a means of that family being able to produce their own food supply.

Gardens on a larger scale (100sq meters plus) can be supplied with a gravity fed irrigation system and a small tank (sufficient capacity for each watering) to which the plant nutrition is added. The garden in conjunction with a worm farm which produces the liquid fertilizer for the tank is ideal.

This system has the following benefits :

The cost of this system is less than half the cost of commercial tunnels and irrigation methods and is more suited to developing countries, which often do not have access to running water and electricity.

The only way we going to be able to rectify the damage caused to the environment is by looking at the original natural processes that were in operation before man adapted them. We will then have to try to replicate them. Together with this we need to implement ways on a large scale to reduce unnecessary uses of natural resources and recycle and re use products to limit waste disposal.

worm composters

about your worm farm

Your worm farm is a low maintenance, low effort, odourless exercise which occupies a small space at your home. The Red worm (Eisenia foetida) is a surface feeder which eats vegetative matter transforming into organic feed for plants. These worms convert approximately their own body weight of waste matter into fertile “worm poo” per day (adult worm weighs 1 gram thus 1000 worms eat and produce between 0.5-1kg per day). Worms lay eggs in cocoons and baby worms emerge in 30-75 days depending on conditions and another 53-76 days to reach sexual maturity.

The liquid produced by the worms and from keeping the bedding material moist is called “worm tea” and is also very nutritious for growing plants. It can also be used as a fungicide or insecticide if sprayed on to foliage. This liquid can be diluted 1 table spoon to 1 litre before application and it also stores well.

caring for worms

Feeding

The red worms’ natural habitat is near the surface, where they feed on decaying organic plant material. They are active in the dark and retreat from light. They thus require food and bedding material into which they retreat when there is light. Worms will consume manures(especially horse and rabbit not chicken), compost, shredded cardboard and paper(black and white). Do not feed too much lawn cuttings. Food will be consumed faster if chopped finely.

Good foods –Fresh vegetable scraps from kitchen, tea bags, crushed eggshells, breads and grains(limited), peels.

Bad foods – meat, dairy products, greasy foods, citrus, pineapple, tomato or onion.

Wash scraps to remove sauces, spices and chemicals before feeding.

Conditions

Three vital conditions need to be catered for to create ideal conditions for worms to decompose organic matter at a maximum rate:

Turning the bedding every three weeks restores oxygen to the material.

Keep surface dark with soaked newspaper.

Positioning of worms thus suggested in kitchen corner, outside back door, laundry, patio, under tree with partial sun etc.

Problems

Bedding material smells rotten- Not enough air, non consumable foods fed.

Flies present- Cover food with wet newspaper.

Worms trying to escape – Not happy with bedding material or food, conditions not right temperature, moisture, or acidity.

setting up your worm farm

  1. Attach brackets to form triangular frame
  2. Hang inner funnel holder
  3. Place crumpled paper at bottom to seal off soil dropout
  4. Place worms with bedding in funnel
  5. Place a layer of food on top
  6. Cover surface with a layer of wet newspaper. Finally cover with carpet or underfelt.
  7. Place a container under funnel to collect “Worm Tea”
  8. Feed according to amount being eaten by worms- DO NOT OVER FEED
  9. Start harvesting compost once level in funnel reaches approx ¾ mark
  10. Keep worms moist by spraying water on surface and covering with wet newspaper