TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, (PIA) -- "There is no barren land, only barren minds.”

This was stressed by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) here amid their call for Filipino households to grow their own gardens to help combat the adverse effects of the El Niño phenomenon. 

“Kon diha sa balay nato, maingon ta daan, dili ko makatanum kay wala koy lugar, pwede ka motanum through container gardening,” said ATI information officer Jun Oliver during a recent Kapihan sa PIA program.

(If we say we can’t plant in our homes because we do not have enough space, you actually can through container gardening.) 

This is one way for households to provide access to food and contribute to food production efforts in view of the projected drought caused by El Niño. 

Container gardening is growing vegetables in pots and having the opportunity to move these into areas where they can thrive and flourish.

Vegetables can be grown using plastic containers, empty water bottles, broken pails, plastic basins, empty sacks, and grocery bags, among others.

“You can make your own soil medium through vermicomposting activity,” said Oliver. 

Residents can avail of technical assistance from their local agriculture office, as well as African night crawlers to be used as fertilizers. 

“Do not throw your kitchen waste, such as vegetable peel, rotten fruits, or anything biodegradable. Because in time, it will rot and become organic soil, which can be mixed with rice hulls, and you can have a good soil medium,” he said.

Oliver suggested planting eggplants, tomatoes, pechay, okra, and other vegetables that can produce a yield within a month or so. 

“You already have house refuse and dry leaves. Just add a little of animal manure, as long as it does not contain any e-coli, and make sure this is safe as this is for edible plants,” he added.

During the Kapihan program, Oliver also discussed a technology called wall gardening, or vertical gardening.

“This is still container gardening. We only need to hang these on our walls,” he explained. 

In view of the possible water shortage brought about by less rainfall during the El Niño period, Oliver also urged residents to save water.

One way to save water is to recycle dishwashing water refuse for watering the plants since the fertilizers are salt-based. 

“I wash my dishes outside, so the water I use can also water the plants,” he said.

ATI is offering various kinds of training to equip people with the skills and technology they need to help boost food production.

“We can all do this. All we need to do is a little hard work, because as long as you stop thinking creatively, then you are done,” he said.

To know more about container gardening, check out this guide from ATI: https://ati2.da.gov.ph/ati-car/content/sites/default/files/2022-12/container_gardening.pdf

The Kapihan sa PIA is a radio forum aired over DyTR every Friday and streamed live over PIA Bohol Facebook page and YouTube channel in this link: http://bit.ly/3SbLfvv.  (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)