Philippines: This rooftop gardener is in Manila
“I live here in a highly urbanized area. So, the biggest problem is if you want to grow crops, you don’t have your own land, especially here in Metro Manila,” Bustamante said.
By Leander C. Domingo
Manila Times
July 6, 2023
Excerpt:
He said it just so happened that when he started gardening, his house was still under construction, and he designed it to have a small portion where he can grow his own food.
Bustamante made all the preparations for his rooftop garden. “When planting, you must have a good space. If you have a rooftop, first clean your rooftop and imagine where you will put the plants.”
“If there are things that will bother you, you have to remove them. You also have to study where the sunlight comes from. Remember that sunlight requirements are depending on what you plant,” he added.
In his rooftop garden, Bustamante plants mostly pechay, which he said is an example of a crop that requires sunlight from six to eight hours.
“So, when you plant on the rooftop, look for an area where the sun shines from six to eight hours. There are also other types of crops like herbs such as dill, basils and coriander, these are the ones that need three to six hours of sunlight,” Bustamante said.
His first foray into planting was not very successful but he perservered.
“So that’s where I started to study. There are a lot of free information on the internet, and I also asked my friends who are into gardening what should be done,” he said.
Bustamante sought information from Filipinos and not from content creators based in another country because their climate is different from the Philippines.
