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Container gardening against hunger and child malnutrition

Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEMUniversity of Ghent (Belgium)

http://desertification.wordpress.com

These are some interesting quotes from an article published by Dean FOSDICK forthe Associated Press: Container gardens for vegetables are growing inpopularityhttp://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-living/ci_15072431?nclick_check=1

QUOTES:

(1) Two of the hottest trends in gardening are containers and cultivating freshfood, and savvy families are beginning to combine the two. They're growing theirvegetables in pots.(2) "It's so easy to put a tomato into a pot. It almost grows itself," Crawford says."It's a whole different ballgame than putting one in the ground. There's less

weeding involved and fewer insects to fight. Container gardens are moreproductive and involve less work." (Pamela Crawford, a landscape architect whohas written four books about container gardening. Her latest is "Easy ContainerCombos: Vegetables and Flowers" (Color Garden Publishing, 168 pp., 2010).(3) "I've been able to harvest as many as 236 small spicy peppers all at once fromfour plants in a 16- to 20-inch container," Crawford says, referring to habaneros."I've also been able to get my fill of tomatoes from a pot that included a fewornamental sweet potato vines with their large root systems. It's amazing howlittle ground space plants need to be productive. They can tolerate beingcrowded."(4) "I've had good experience with clay pots and plastic pots," says JosephMasabni, an assistant professor and horticulturist with Texas A&M University. "Ifyou live in a hot area, I don't recommend black or dark containers. They can

overheat plants. I prefer clay because it breathes if it isn't coated. (Plant) rootsare never starved for oxygen."(5) Vegetable gardening in containers is also a good way to involve children.(6) "Older people who are still gardeners at heart but who live in apartments alsocan grow their fill of vegetables or small fruiting shrubs in pots," he says.

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MY COMMENT (Willem Van Cotthem)

No one denies that container gardening is "an easier ballgame" than growingplants in the ground, particularly in the drylands. There are many advantages inavoiding plant growth in a poor dryland soil by using a better substrate in

containers (improved soil without any pests, bigger water retention capacity bylimiting evaporation, less weeds, more oxygen, etc). Most people are not aware ofthe fact that plants can do with limited ground space, even grown in competitionwith other species in a container.

Not only "savvy families" are beginning to combine container gardening andcultivating fresh food. It is more and more recognized that this type of gardeningis a key for combating hunger and child malnutrition. Indeed, everyone on thisglobe, in rural areas and in urban ones, can grow his own fresh vegetables andsome fruits in all kinds of containers (pots, bottles, boxes, bags...).

Many city dwellers, thinking they are excluded from gardening, will appreciate thereward of vegetable gardening in a condo or apartment. For them, containergardening can open up a new world of producing their own food.

Clay pots being too expensive for people in developing countries is a wrongargument, sometimes used against container gardening. There are plenty of

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plastic pots and bottles, plastic and metal boxes, plastic shopping bags andwoven bags everywhere. One sees them littered all over the world. So, why notusing them for food production?

In Belgium, I am growing continuously plants in bottles and pots, thus reducingirrigation for at least 50 %. My plants do not need special care: I can leave them forweeks and weeks without "labouring my garden". See my blog:http://containergardening.wordpress.com

2009-11-08 - Germinating avocado seed in yogurt pot

2010-03 - Simple mini-greenhouse made of a plastic tray and a plasticbag.

Seedlings are kept moistened in an easy way.

2007-06-03 - Producing strawberries in a PET-bottle.See many vegetables and fruit trees in the background.

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200-08-13 - Container gardening display (vegetables and fruits in yogurtpots and bottles)

Let us hope that this handful of photos makes it clear that anyone in thedeveloping countries can copy these experiments and multiply the type andnumber of containers to produce a sufficient quantity of fresh food and seedlingsof fruit trees. This can be done (even by children at school) at almost no cost.

Today, I was reading at the blog of AfricaFiles (Africa InfoServ) the article No. 23615:"Africa can feed itself: green revolution takes root"See also:www.agra-alliance.org .

Under Summary & Comment I found: "Kofi Annan poses challenges for Africa'sGreen Revolution and gives recent examples of success, supported by AGRA. He

emphasizes the importance of small-holder farmers and "partnerships", skips overthe controversial issue of GMOs, and encourages the spread of best practices infarming, marketing and finance for agriculture. But first he summarizes thecurrent connections between climate change, water scarcity, poverty and otherfactors which lead to Africa being currently the only continent unable to feeditself." J.Stamp.I cannot agree more with Mr. Kofi ANNAN, emphasizing the importance of small-holder farmers and encouraging the spread of best practices in farming. I amprofoundly convinced that container gardening is one of these best practices forsmall-holder farmers, particularly in all areas affected by drought anddesertification, be it in rural areas or in the cities. With this type of gardeningthere is even no need for drip irrigation!

If "Africa really is the only continent unable to feed itself", "partnerships"should be encouraged to apply container gardening at the largest possible scaleby farmers and citizens, but also by their children at school. In doing so, Africawill soon be able to feed itself. Hunger and child malnutrition will be bannedforever from that beautiful continent.

Why don't we set up a large-scale test in one of the areas affected by hunger toshow once again what is already known? Why continuously importing expensivefood if every single person can produce it very easily at home? Let us not forgetthat there is also a certain pride when one knows that one can grow his own fruitsand vegetables, not being dependent anymore on food aid from internationalorganizations or NGOs.

That reality is "jumping into our eyes. Let us not close them now for that reality!

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