Lowokwaru, (malangkota.go.id) – In the midst of dense residential buildings, residents of RT 6 RW 05 Tlogomas Village, Malang City have extraordinary creativity in developing urban farming. By utilizing 3.000 square meters of abandoned land, residents developed a Bottle Garden to cultivate various vegetables, Thursday (18/1/2024).
Various plants are cultivated in Kebun Botol, ranging from tomatoes, shallots, cucumbers, cantaloupe, melons, kale and various other types of vegetables. Plants are cultivated using hydroponic and ponic watering systems. Head of the Kebun Botol Farmers Group of Malang City, Didik Mashudi, said that the Kebun Botol farmer group was established on September 22, 2022 and currently has 37 members.
When they first started, they planted using small 1,5 liter bottles used for mineral water and successfully planted and harvested shallots, kale and lettuce. "From the success of planting in small bottles, we developed into larger bottles, namely using larger gallons of mineral water," said Didik.
As time goes by and the support of the active local community and assistance from the Malang City Food Security and Agriculture Service (Dispangtan) is currently growing bottle gardens. There are now approximately 1.000 gallons used to plant various types of plants.
"Various plants cultivated in the bottle garden include shallots, kale, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes and cantaloupe. Where each group member has their respective responsibilities. There are group members in the shallot division, chili division, tomato division, melon division each have their respective responsibilities for the plants cultivated," said Didik.
Furthermore, Didik said that the existence of the Bottle Garden can be a means of education and activities for residents of RT 6 RW 05 Tlogomas Village, namely how to utilize idle land that was previously unkempt. In this garden, residents learn a lot about planting, making fertilizer, utilizing technology to be able to farm well.
"This garden is also a place of education for students, from kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, senior high school/vocational school to college. The existence of this garden is very helpful for residents to do activities amidst the increasingly dense area," he said.
Secretary of the Kebun Botol Farmers Group, Benny Ariyanto also revealed that Kebun Botol is a means of activity for RT 06 RW 05 to utilize limited land for farming. Supported by residents who are alumni of the Agriculture department who are experts in agricultural cultivation, it has been supported by good irrigation with drip technology.
"The bottle garden also has its own marketing team so that the products produced can be directly absorbed by the market. So in addition to alumni of the agricultural department, there are also residents of RT 6 who are experts in marketing and social media. We utilize this and optimize it to develop various activities at the Bottle Garden," said Benny. (cah/yul)
