MMSU showcases edible landscaping

By Reynaldo E. Andres

Contributor

           

People may now roll back part of their lawns and renew the age-old tradition of surrounding their homes with productive landscape similar to the project that the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) currently promotes.

Called edible landscaping (EL), this art of gardening which is now being established at the front yard of the Crops Research Laboratory (CRL) building by researcher Aleta Dumaoal of the Research Directorate, is a unique way of growing vegetables, herbs, spices, and medicinal plants in attractive and harmonious groupings.

This EL demonstration project, which has a total budget allocation of P117,500, will surely entice other people to plant what they want to eat, while aesthetically producing a wholesome environment that provides the daily food requirement of their families.

EL, which is sometimes called “foodscaping”, is a type of landscaping without the use of dangerous chemicals and is established in front yards or small portions of a lawn and are planted with various edible crops which are used as food and medicine.

It is considered as a hybrid style of planting that combines farming and landscaping in the sense of having an encompassing way of growing a garden and making it look pretty, while feeding you with nutritious food.

In EL, grass and shrubberies are replaced with plants that yield fruits and vegetables which can defray expenses for marketing. In contrast to having a backyard garden for flowers, EL is more extensive because of the implementation of edible plants into the landscape.

To some landscape gardeners, lawns sometimes waste pesticides, fertilizers and fuel for mowers that they use to maintain them. However, from all these inputs, they only receive visual gratification of a green yard, rather than a kitchen full of fresh ingredients.

“This edible landscape is a new approach that merges science and creativity to form a revolutionary crop production technology,” Ms. Dumaoal said adding that this aesthetic gardening gives a twist in the conventional crop production where the basic style of landscaping becomes a guiding principle.

The EL at CRL is now starting to create an attractive environment that showcases herbal plants, spices and some species of vegetables such as spinach, sweet potato and some species of amaranth, which are arranged in various manners which consider the height of each plant. Spices include black pepper, mint and dill, among others, which are neatly planted near the medicinal plants.

At the limited surroundings, edible bonsai plants such as tsaang gubat among other tiny plants were added to enhance the beauty of the landscape that was elevated in some corners to emphasize the layered crops.

To sustain the EL, a mini nursery is simultaneously being established in one of the portions of the CRL where varieties of herbal plants, decorative vegetables, and spices are propagated and multiplied through stem cuttings.

“Vegetable seeds are sown in plastic bags filled with a mixture of 1:1 ratio of soil and carbonized rice hull,” Ms. Dumaoal said.

For those who may want to copy the EL, Ms. Dumaoal suggests an area which has a good soil to support the growth of the plants. She encourages the use of compost as fertilizer and soil conditioner. Compost can be applied directly to the soil or it can be extracted to produce a compost tea. But in front yards that are deficient of nutrients, it can be corrected by incorporating organic matters such as processed chicken manure or any decomposed animal manure and farm debris.

Chemical pesticides are not encouraged in the EL, according to Ms. Dumaoal. Instead, onion, garlic, marigold or any aromatic herb will soon be intercropped to repel some types of plant pests. Red pepper, soap solutions, and botanical pesticides are used to control insect infestation throughout all pest management activities.