Any gardeners around here?

Travelingrick01

Hello all, we have finally moved into our new house in Kerobokan and have a nice space to put in a vegetable and herb garden. When I lived in Hawaii I was a member of a self-sustainability group that shared garden knowledge, cutting and seeds, mostly online but we got together sometimes. Anyone know if there is a gardening group active here? We have some seeds from overseas but have not found a nursery or shop that sells vegetable starts or seeds here. Anyone know of such a nursery? We look forward to getting a healthy garden growing soon! Also, I'm trying to find irrigation tubing, I thought it would be common but can't find it anywhere. Thanks a bunch

Dick Rector

Yes I am afraid Markit is right. The only places vegetables will grow is Bedugul and around Kintamani as it is much cooler. I have been trying seeding vegs in Sanur with absolutely NO succes.

matsaleh

If you're a member of Facebook, there are a couple of groups for gardeners. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1471507893143713/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/287920544601940/ Edit: Sorry, the second one looks like it's a page for Australians with Bali-style gardens in Australia.

Travelingrick01

Thanks for all your relys. Matsaleh, your first link is to the Bali gardening community, ideas, information sharing and plant exchange, just what I was looking for, specal thanks to you. markit, i appreciate your second reply and thanks for the nice photos of your garden.

Normy

A friend in Sanur grows herbs and tomatoes in pots on his upstairs patio. Think he just got bagged soil from a nursery. He grew them from seeds he brought back from oz.

Markit

Oh Man! Have you got a long way to go. 1) At about a centimeter (1/2 inch) under the surface of the earth there is a world of hate going on that will either kill everything you put in it that you want to eat immediately or let it grow really well for 1 year and then when you've gotten your hopes up devastate it the minute it rears its little green bud. 2) Irrigation tubing is called "Made" here - you pay some guy 60k/day to come water your garden. 3) I think you may well be perfectly placed to join the only gardening group here on Bali, namely the one in Kerbokan prison that plants weed inside the prison. Say hi from Mark. 4) the seed you have from overseas, send them home where they may have a chance of surviving - here they will be a 5 minute meal. Welcome to the group now go to the market and buy your veg like everyone else does. It all comes from Bedegul not Kerbokan for a reason.

mugwump

Don't give up! Numerous people in the expat community have experienced some success. A lot depends upon where you are located and the composition of your soil.In my location near the sea with strong breezes that carry salt there is a need for protection from the salt air that will be deadly for young plants and shrubs. By protecting with a barricade of trees it is possible behind my house and trees to grow vegetables by amending the existing soil with a quantity of compost. In your location it would make sense to visit one of the many nurseries in the area and hire someone to visit your place and after checking the soil give you advice, and in the process create a customer for needed amendments. Altitude is also a factor. Much of the produce in Bali emanates from higher altitudes. As an example I can never grow coriander near my sea level site, but basil grows in abundance. Arugula failed for me numerous times, but last year bought seeds while visiting New Zealand and now have a hardy crop.So a lot of trial and error is inevitable. There is a place near Lotundah (sp.) just south of Ubud that sells seeds, but be careful because what you buy isn't always what you get. Good Luck!

Markit

Ok, stricken with guilt I decided to try and make up for my disgracefully sclerotic answer from this a.m.:

Rocket salad only grows in a special place in the garden - the soil is separated from the rest with a plastic sheet and only works with liberal doses of cow**** mixed in and protection from the seasalt/wind/full sun.

Here the last 2 broccoli, actually the survivors of a whole package of seeds and masses of oregano (3rd attempt)

Coriander, Basil and eggplant - note coriander only grows in little plastic bags as protection from critters and only on the 2nd or 3rd attempt. Seems to love full sunshine and seabreezes?

Most important is the "Made" (actually named Alit) to water and care for it all. Water source you see behind him comes from the fishpond and is full of nutrient (fish crap). Alit spends about 2 or 3 hours a day on this meager success but he loves doing it and the flowers go well. Just don't taste of much... [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] Ok, stricken with guilt I decided to try and make up for my disgracefully sclerotic answer from this a.m.:

Here the last 2 broccoli, actually the survivors of a whole package of seeds and masses of oregano (3rd attempt)

Coriander, Basil and eggplant - note coriander only grows in little plastic bags as protection from critters and only on the 2nd or 3rd attempt. Seems to love full sunshine and seabreezes?

Travelingrick01

Thanks for the words of encouragment. I do plan to try aquaponics for lettace and herbs. We have just picked up a giant passionflower. Planting beds are going in this weekend and tomatoes are coming up everywhere in the composte area. Loving it.

Markit

What medium (gravel,rocks) are you using for the aquaponics and is there any special preparation needed before using them?

Jimbaran

Travelingrick01 wroteThanks for the words of encouragment. I do plan to try aquaponics for lettace and herbs. We have just picked up a giant passionflower. Planting beds are going in this weekend and tomatoes are coming up everywhere in the composte area. Loving it.

Wonderful! I wish I had enough space for composting. Ideally it has to be some distance away from the house...and that would be my neighbor's house. :P Do keep us updated with photos and let us know how it goes with the aquaponic. Below are photos of passion fruits and flower that I have. Markit seems to have it too in one of his photos above. [ATTACH]2512.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]2513.vB[/ATTACH]

Markit

I can get them for free - got a river next to the house. I'm gonna give it a go. Thought I'd try it with some second hand Aqua bottles sawn in half... Do you start the plants in dirt and then transfer when past the seedling phase?

Jimbaran

Hi. Personally, I have a very small, but productive garden here in Bukit Jimbaran. There are a few leftover seeds of basil, cucumber, broccoli and some others (including cuttings of basil and rosemary) if anyone is interested. My passion fruit vines have practically taken over the little house and been producing hundreds of fruits. I have also been experimenting with Aquaponic with good results, learning most of it online and from Youtube (see photos). There are broccoli, strawberry, lettuce, green onion, brussels sprout growing in the system at the moment. For anyone who's not familiar with Aquaponics, "Aquaponics /ˈækwəˈpɒnɨks/, refers to any system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. In normal aquaculture, excretions from the animals being raised can accumulate in the water, increasing toxicity. In an aquaponic system, water from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system where the by-products are broken down by nitrification bacteria into nitrates and nitrites, which are utilized by the plants as nutrients. The water is then recirculated back to the aquaculture system." Wikipedia [ATTACH]2511.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]2510.vB[/ATTACH] If you can afford to build one in your property, I would highly recommend that you try it.

Jimbaran

They are river gravels I bought from somewhere near Ubud (cheapest I could find). I can't remember the exact location now, unfortunately. They are normally used for decorative Balinese pavements. I think it cost Rp.40,000 a bag. I needed 6-7 bags for this small bed. You could probably rinse them but I didn't... it was too much trouble. Remember it takes about a year to let the system stabilize with good bacteria. Mine has been running for a year and a half now. I read it maybe faster if you could add some of the 'dirt' from an already established system. The only problem I encounter (lately) is algae clogging my pump every now and then. But I just added some baby mystery snails bought from the Badung market for Rp.3,000 for around 10 or so. I hope they will clean the pond fast. And if they don't work hard enough, they are apparently delicious too if you know how to cook them.

Jimbaran

Markit wroteI can get them for free - got a river next to the house. I'm gonna give it a go. Thought I'd try it with some second hand Aqua bottles sawn in half... Do you start the plants in dirt and then transfer when past the seedling phase?

How I wish I had a river next to my house too; there'd be tonnes of projects to experiment. But being far from one, I don't get as many mosquitoes in the house, I suppose. That's my consolation. :) I don't know how you would build the system with bottles (I read somewhere it would be best to have a depth of 30 cm for the gravel bed), but yes, please try it out for a start and keep us informed. It would be really fun. There are probably examples online too for inspiration. So far, I have grown seedlings in soil before transferring them onto the gravel bed. Those gravels will probably not be able hold small seeds in place. Below are pictures of 2 cucumber plants I just started planting 3 weeks ago. I have just transferred one onto the aquaponic bed 2 weeks ago, and it is faring much better (with leaves twice as big) and growing faster than the other in my garden soil (even with compost added). [ATTACH]2515.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]2516.vB[/ATTACH]

Markit

Do you transfer the seedlings to the bigger stones later in life or leave them with the small stones? Rivers are flowing water and hence no mosquitoes. Ditto rice fields.

Markit

Jimbaran wrote Are there affordable lands still available? :) Everywhere is getting expensive by my standard. Do they spray pesticides/insecticides on the rice fields near you? I know some rice field farmers in Bali try to adopt organic farming methods, only where there are experts that guide them along.

"My standard" is the question. Some land is 50 milli/are and some is 350 milli. Balinese farmers will adopt anything if it improves their yield or lowers their costs. Other than that there are no, or very, very few, "believers" in ecology here.

Jimbaran

Markit wroteDo you transfer the seedlings to the bigger stones later in life or leave them with the small stones? Rivers are flowing water and hence no mosquitoes. Ditto rice fields.

There is really no reason to transfer the plants anymore. Sometimes I do just to space them out when they are overgrown, but it's probably best to leave them alone. I have read even papaya (paw paw) trees could be grown in an aquaponic system. I would suspect the pebbles would not be sufficiently strong enough to hold them upright and they'd need extra supports. Nice to know you have no mosquitoes there. Are there affordable lands still available? :) Everywhere is getting expensive by my standard. Do they spray pesticides/insecticides on the rice fields near you? I know some rice field farmers in Bali try to adopt organic farming methods, only where there are experts that guide them along.

Jimbaran

Markit wrote"My standard" is the question. Some land is 50 milli/are and some is 350 milli. Balinese farmers will adopt anything if it improves their yield or lowers their costs. Other than that there are no, or very, very few, "believers" in ecology here.

Organics is likely cheaper, and may increase the yield if done properly. Plus, in the long run, going organic is better for the soil and health, but then again...human psychology is harder to predict and we, humans, tend to adopt the easier method. I should be looking at agricultural lands probably end of the year/early next year. Let's hope "my standard" improves by then especially when I'm eyeing on at least 2000sqm land size. :) We'll see. If you need any help with your aquaponics, please don't hesitate to shout. Btw, you probably need to duck tape/paint the aqua bottles to prevent algae growing in the media. While it is harder to start, I find there is really much less maintenance with aquaponic system than it is with soil. I'm making homemade seaweed fertilizer for my soil now. It should be ready in a couple of months. Enjoy your Sunday, Markit.

Markit

Jimbaran wrote I should be looking at agricultural lands probably end of the year/early next year. Let's hope "my standard" improves by then especially when I'm eyeing on at least 2000sqm land size. :) We'll see.

Didn't know you meant farming land. That's quite a bit cheaper, how much cheaper I couldn't say as have not looked for farm land. Would strongly suggest you get a local to buy/lease it for you as will be lots cheaper.