DA sets up urban gardening showcase

Metro Manila residents now have a place to go to see for themselves how urban gardening is done.

The Department of Agriculture (DA), in cooperation with the Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA), has set up an urban vegetable garden at its own compound.

Vegetable crops bred and developed by the Allied Botanical Corp. (ABC) are currently on exhibit at the DA compound. All PSIA member-companies are encouraged to showcase their crops for six months.

The ABC’s garden was set up last January and will be maintained until July. Visitors may view the vegetables and herbs in different stages, from planting to maturity.

The vegetables and herbs are harvested and brought to the office of DA Secretary Arthur Yap, where employees and visitors can buy them at affordable prices.

“Since the crops have produced good yields that are resistant to pests and diseases, it is feasible for every urban household to start maintaining its own home lot vegetable production,” the ABC said.

The ABC is also supporting the Edsa Garden House, the country’s first vegetable “pick and pay” greenhouse, by being the sole provider of seeds for the facility.

The greenhouse, opened last Oct. 19, is located at the corner of Edsa and Quezon Avenue. Its proprietor, Adela Ang, decided to put it up “to bring to the Filipino consumers cheap, affordable, and high-quality herbs and vegetables right in the heart of the city.”

The garden also aims to provide customers with vegetables and herbs that are grown using organic materials, and integrated pest and disease management techniques with minimal pesticide usage.

The garden houses 20,000 pots and is divided into three sections: potted culinary herbs, potted medicinal herbs and vegetables, and an “edible landscape,” where people can enjoy picking vegetables and herbs for themselves.

Adorning the walls of the greenhouse are posters on the medicinal, culinary and cosmetic uses of herbs and vegetables.