A Local Garden Community

Plant lovers would exchange plants in any chance that they get. But simply, they would not mind giving away the plants that they own when they have many. All we need to do is just ask. So that is what I did when my friend showed off her loofah plant on social media. The loofah fruit could be used as a substitute for sponge, thus my interest in acquiring the plant. She had given me garden locations on where we could meet up, and I decided to go to the closest one in Tangerang Selatan.

Different communities had managed the garden, where the land space was provided as a form of CSR (corporate social responsibility) by a supermarket. I like looking at the crops grown there, even though certain areas were bold without plants as they had been harvested and not replanted yet. I got to see the garden’s nursery as well, where the plants they grow are based on their interest and desire to experiment.

I had visited the garden on Sunday, March 7 with my mother and older sister. When the original plan on visiting the garden was to get some loofah seeds, we ended up bringing home all sorts of different plants we did not have at home. My friends had asked whether we wanted a plant, then offered a different type of plant, and so on until we ended up taking all of them home. I then bought cayenne pepper or cabe rawit in Indonesian, where my friend freshly harvested it. I am going to use the chilies in my cooking or maybe make it into a chili sauce depending on how spicy it is.

My two friends, who are the ones at the garden, have dabbled there since the beginning of the pandemic. It was a way for them to be productive during the pandemic while channeling their gardening passion, as free land space in Jakarta is limited. The name of their community is Garis Kebun, and you can find them on Instagram.

Since we are talking about plants and gardens, I have a few gardening and harvesting tips. When planting certain plants in particular fruit plants, you have to ensure that there are flower plants as well. This is to attract bees and butterflies to come to the flowers, and later pollinate the fruit plants so they are able to produce fruits. As for harvesting and storing, you can put your chilies in the freezer where they will last longer and still have the same taste. You can also put certain herbs like ginger and turmeric in the freezer. I have been doing this, and its great to ensure that these herbs do not go bad before being used.