Welcome to Tropical Organic Gardening, an online tutorial designed to teach budding gardeners how to grow food in a tropical country like the Maldives. The tutorial is a perfect way to discover your green fingers and to give you the confidence to progress from germinating your first seedlings to harvesting healthy homegrown food.
Tropical Organic Gardening is a beginner’s guide that will walk you through how to grow vegetables and herbs, whether it is on a small balcony, in a back garden, or on a bigger sized plot of land. While the focus is on tropical gardening, the tips and techniques will help gardeners all over the world.
This the first in a series of Namoona Tutorials, part of the Soneva Namoona project, which is a partnership between Soneva, the islands of Maalhos, Kihaadhoo and, Dharavandhoo, and Commons Seas, an international NGO dedicated to eliminating ocean plastic.
Usually you can find the Soneva Namoona team on one of these three islands, working alongside the local community on ways to reduce single use plastics and improve recycling rates. Part of programme includes growing nutritious food, using locally produced compost from food waste.
Lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented us travelling between islands but we haven’t let it slow our momentum. We shifted the filming of Tropical Organic Gardening to Soneva Fushi and drew on the expertise of our gardening team to share their practices from the organic gardens at Soneva Fushi directly to our local communities and around the world.
There has been a surge of interest in gardening during the pandemic. Concerns about the availability of food on supermarket shelves have spurred a lot of people into action, while others have found gardening to be a calming activity at a time of concern. It is also good way to slow down and connect with nature. That makes it healthy, both inside and out.
However, that first burst of excitement can soon turn to trepidation for first-time gardeners. This tutorial helps those who want the reassurance of a how-to guide to growing, at the same time as providing more advanced techniques such as making your own compost.
The tutorial is presented by Justin Robertshaw, Soneva’s Waste-to-Wealth Manager, who draws his background in permaculture as well as his passion for gardening.
The topics covered in the 10 episodes are:
- Introduction
- Preparing a raised bed
- Potting
- Seeds and planting
- Companion planting
- Regular care and maintenance
- Harvesting
- Pest control
- Composting
- Worm farms
Here’s some additional documentation you may find useful and that is referenced in particular episodes.
You can view the videos on the Soneva Namoona Facebook and Instagram accounts. Please send your questions for the Soneva gardening team directly from these platforms. You can also find further resources on this topic here. We are looking forward to hearing from you!