Plastics are still a major problem worldwide. Recent studies have revealed Marine plastic pollution in 100 percent of Marine Turtles. 59 percent Whales , 36 percent seals and 40 percent Sea Birds examined. In many urban areas of Africa, plastic pollution is even more visible on the streets.
As the world grapples with ways of containing the problem, several organisations and Companies have come up with solutions. Have you ever heard of Plastic Gardens? here we go! Plastic Gardens are a new innovation in Urban Agriculture where farmers use Plastic Bags and Bottles as gardens for vegetables. This new Agricultural technique is suitable for several reasons. It compensates for lack of space in Urban areas.
As population pressure mounts on urban centres across the World, space for agriculture greatly declines. In such a situation, Plastic bags and bottles can greatly work as gardens of vegetables and fruits. Why? Because they cover small spaces and yet they handle lots of vegetables at a given time Once planted, the Vegetables tend to mature so fast because unlike in bigger gardens, the ones in plastics are given adequate care like daily watering, mulching, weeding and so grow up so fast, meaning that there can be constant supply of fruits and vegetables even in dry spells. The method is also effective in tackling Food Security Issues in urban areas where food tends to be a problem. With many jobs lost in several parts of the World, the Plastic Vegetable Gardens can act as an employment source for many young people across the globe because they don’t require a lot of capital. As long you get 10 to 15 plastics and seeds, one can start a Vegetable garden at home.
The Schools Tree Project has been working on this method with a vast Plastic Garden established at Multiple Junior School situated in jinja, during the lockdown.
Our Plastic Gardens have Vegetables like Sukuma wiki, Tomatoes, Egg plants and Dodo. We are slowly enrolling some urban farmers into this scheme in what we shall call The Street Gardens Program. We are giving urban Teachers and youths who have been greatly affected by the Lockdown to benefit from this scheme.
By,
Lydia Nakagwa- Farmer, Researcher and Environmentalist from Entebbe, Uganda