A Guide to Eco-Friendly Home Gardening

Foreword
Preface
Home gardening – particularly in urban spaces – has recently become a trend in some
countries. Families are realising that growing their own food is not only economical
but also healthy, without the dangerous agrochemicals used by commercial farmers.
The direct impact of home gardening is in improving the food security of families
while also increasing their purchasing power.
There are a number of other advantages home gardening provides for the planet as
a whole by promoting sustainable living. It keeps the environment free from harmful
chemicals, improves the soil and reduces waste. This book promotes the reuse of
material that would otherwise be thrown away bringing about benefits such as less
plastic in landfills. For anyone who feels like one individual cannot make an impact
in improving the environment, home gardening is the best example on how one
individual can make a big difference. This applies to rural and urban communities.
Now consider the greatest environmental challenge of our time: climate change.
Home gardens are not only helping humans cope with the adverse effects of climate
change by providing alternative food sources, but they are also helping fight climate
change itself. For example, the warming planet is bringing about severe habitat loss.
Landowners can help reverse this by creating healthy ecosystems to support life
within their garden spaces. Furthermore, the absence of fossil fuel-based chemical
fertilisers in home gardens also builds healthy soil that helps trap carbon dioxide and
keep it out of the atmosphere.
In this backdrop, this book is a timely intervention to help citizens become a part
of the solution rather than the problem in environmental degradation. I take this
opportunity to congratulate Mr. Sarathchandra Fernando for his efforts in creating
greater awareness among the general public through this publication.
Through the endorsement of this project, Dilmah Conservation continues its
commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. Furthermore, the
free extension service at the Sustainable Agricultural Research Centre (DCSARC) in
Moratuwa provides practical examples through which the general public can get
hands-on experience. Congratulations on another outstanding project, which is
really and truly a public service.
Professor Emeritus Walter Herath
Professor of Agriculture Biology
University of Peranediya, Sri Lanka
More communities are starting to realise the significance of home gardening toward
leading healthier lives. This traditional agricultural practice promotes healthy living
through the use of available space around households to grow food. Organic
gardening practices enable home gardeners to produce food within one’s own
property, minus the harmful agrochemicals used in much of the produce in markets.
Gardens have always been commonplace among homeowners, and gardening, in
general, has long been practiced as an activity that brings about relaxation. But it is
only recently that home gardening is being promoted for small spaces, even within
urban communities. So, whether you live in a sprawling estate or an apartment in the
city, there is always the possibility to use any available space you have to grow some
healthy produce for your family.
Home gardening not only enables you to produce healthy, good-tasting food, but
it can also be extremely economical. In addition to these benefits, however, there
are other less-talked-about benefits that have a significant positive impact on the
environment.
The absence of chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers not only keeps us safe
but also keeps the environment safe. Home gardens that are maintained by organic
gardening practices also help reduce pollution. When implemented on a wide scale –
home gardens undoubtedly aid in achieving food security. Furthermore, in the longterm,
home-gardening practices further sustainability and, when done right, help
retain biodiversity in an age when biodiversity around the world is being threatened
at alarming rates. Organic cultivation also helps reduce a family’s carbon footprint,
thus reducing the human influence in bringing about global warming.
Dilmah Conservation embarked on this project to publish a book on eco-friendly
home gardening for those who desire to reap the maximum benefits of this practice
while also making their own contribution to safeguarding the environment. The
publication is a part of a wider effort that also consists of the Dilmah Conservation
Sustainable Agriculture Research Centre (DCSARC) that has developed proven
methods in urban home gardening methods.
Since this publication is aimed at promoting home gardening within small spaces,
it includes a host of best practices to ensure that the home garden is successful.
Concepts of vertical agriculture, organic pest control methods, sound waste
management practices, water conservation and promoting biodiversity are some of
the aspects that are covered in this publication.
08 A Guide to Eco-Friendly Home Gardening
A Guide to Eco-Friendly Home Gardening 09