Some of the participants gathered for the Non-traditional Vegetable Field Day, yesterday.
Barbadians are being reminded of the benefits of “growing what they eat and eating what they grow”.
Chief Agricultural Officer Lennox Chandler therefore wants to see more people getting involved in kitchen gardening.
He made the call while addressing the opening of the Non-traditional Vegetable Field Day, held at the Ministry of Agriculture, Graeme Hall, Christ Church, yesterday.
Farmers and extension personnel had the opportunity to learn about research being carried out by the Ministry on non-traditional vegetables that can be grown in Barbados. The first phase being four non-traditional vegetables: Kohlrabi, Turnips, Kale, and Radish; and the second, non-traditional herbs.
“It is good when people get involved in kitchen gardening. You know what you are eating, you know what you are spraying it with – you know exactly what is happening to it and it is fresh,” he stressed.
“But, I think that we have moved to a point where we believe that if you grow your own things and then you cook what you grow, it is sign that you are in “trouble” – that it is what poor people do; that people who have “arrived and have money” buy their stuff in the supermarket. We have to move away from that notion because when you plant your own home garden, you are in control of what you consume and save some money as well.”
To assist home gardeners, Chandler said that he has requested that the extension department produce a guidebook. Acknowledging that such information to home gardening can be found on the internet, he pointed out “things that you see on the internet may not necessarily be amenable to our conditions; we might not have the things that they have. So, we are going to produce the booklet to guide our people, which is coming very shortly.”
Further emphasising the push towards “growing what you eat”, the Chief Agricultural Officer disclosed plans of the “Plant Barbados” initiative.
He said that Barbadians will be encouraged to plant up the island with food, under the themes “Grow food not lawns” and “Go your own food and save some money”.
“When I drive around the island I see a lot of waste land, a lot of bush. A lot of unused spots where people have bought them and they are not ready to build houses… Only recently I spoke to the Lions Club, and they are interested in having a community garden project, where unused plots can be utilised and planted up until the owners are ready for them.”
“There are a lot of exciting programmes coming up especially for small farmers and home gardeners. We want to focus on them and get them in that frame of mind and give them the tools and knowledge to grow their own stuff at home,” Chandler added.
During the sessions, participants saw how the crops grew in the open fields and greenhouse; looked at possible pests that affect the crops; and identified possible benefits in growing the crops.