In the last issue of Booktern, we introduced a 4-step plan to boost your garden. How did it go? Did you get your hands dirty and see new plant friends growing? Now let’s dig deeper (literally!) and explore how your garden can become a bustling home for millions of tiny creatures, plants, and other wildlife.
The Power of Compost
Adding compost to your garden soil introduces millions of tiny microbes, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes. These invisible helpers are crucial for recycling nutrients, decomposing organic matter, and keeping plants healthy by suppressing disease. A diverse microbial community in your soil can improve its structure, aeration, drainage, and water retention, creating the perfect environment for your plants to thrive!
Plant Friends for Every Critter
We talked about 10 basic plants for a home garden before, but now let’s introduce a few more plant
friends to boost biodiversity and provide food for many creatures:
- Marigold
- Pentas
- Rosemary
- Thai basil
- Curry leaves
- Butterfly bush
- Milkweed
- Fennel
- Neem
- Mango
These plants attract and sustain a variety of insects, birds, and other wildlife. For example, worker honeybees typically live for a few weeks to a couple of months. Planting Thai basil can provide nectar-rich flowers that attract bees, helping to support local pollinator populations over time. This not only benefits bees directly but also plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance by supporting the broader ecosystem, including various wildlife that rely on pollinators for food or plant pollination.
Beyond the Bees
Biodiversity extends beyond bees: insects, birds, and butterflies help us in many ways. They contribute to making medicines, herbs, and spices, control pests, and even play a part in creating forests. Gardens are just as important as forests in supporting life, and if every apartment complex with 100 flats grew 10 plants, we’d be supporting an urban forest.
So, let’s take on the collective responsibility of nurturing life by setting aside just 20 minutes of our 720-minute day to garden. Remember, every time you dig in the dirt, you’re not just planting a seed, you’re planting a future of biodiversity!
The Biodiversity Challenge
Here’s a plan to increase biodiversity around us:
- Compost or Cow Dung: Add a fistful of compost or cow dung manure from different nursery shops to enhance biodiversity in your garden soil.
- Butterfly-Friendly Plants: Make a list of 100 plants by searching online for butterfly-friendly plants.
- Birdhouses: Install birdhouses in your garden to shelter birds.
- Gifts: Gift any of the listed plants to friends for birthdays or other occasions.
- Life-Generating Plants: Make a WhatsApp message with a list of these plants, calling them “Life-Generating Plants,” and share it on World Biodiversity Day (22nd May 2024).
- Talk About Biodiversity: Discuss biodiversity with your friends, relatives, and grandmother
- Reminder: Set a reminder on your parent’s phone to be ready for Biodiversity Day every year on the 22nd of May.
Join the plan this Biodiversity Day, and let’s all work together to nurture life!
