Hong Kong gardening manuals are time capsules that chart the city’s changes through the decades
As gardens in Hong Kong shrank during the post-war era – and for many residents, disappeared entirely – manuals for balcony, rooftop or window-ledge gardens were compiled.
By Jason Wordie
Post Magazine
Nov 20, 2022
Excerpt:
Early gardening books distilled horticultural expertise to reveal the city’s peculiarities, such as how Kowloon was better for growing than Hong Kong Island Today they serve as history books, with their lists of obsolete fertilisers and advice for post-war urban gardeners as Hong Kong’s population grew.
Older local gardening manuals such as this are historical documents in their own right. Certain once-commonplace fertilisers are now unobtainable, in particular animal- manure-based varieties made from chicken, pigeon, pig, cow or horse excrement, each best suited to specific growing purposes or plant species.
Other old-fashioned fertiliser varieties can still be found, if one knows where to look. Liquid fish-based emulsions are still widely available, but Canton mud – soil dug from the bottom of fish ponds – must be carefully sourced.
Peanut-based fertilisers, composed of ground shell husks and broken seeds, are a Chinese perennial, and can be bought loose in any quantity. Combined with bone meal, these encourage fruit and flower growth.
