By Benjamin Sarondo
A garden, even a farm, can blossom anywhere, even from container gardens at the back of one’s apartment.
Jess Muñoz Paderna, 33, owner of Ssagel’s Garden, started her gardening journey on containers in her rented apartment in Davao City.
Ssagel’s Garden, a herb and vegetable garden, started in 2021. What encouraged Jess to pursue growing a garden was the scarcity of lettuce supplies in her area. “In 2020, at a church where we always visit, they sold lettuce. But one time, there was no lettuce because there was no harvest. I realized that we could grow lettuce in our own garden.”
Jess Muñoz Paderna, 33, is the owner of Ssagel’s Garden, a herb and vegetable garden that started in 2021. She started her gardening journey in her rented apartment in Davao City. (Jess Muñoz Paderna)
Jess recalled that the unavailability of garden space in her rented apartment did not stop her from gardening; she started growing vegetables, such as spinach, tomatoes, cabbages, and many more, in a container with the help of her husband.
“Our main goal is to grow vegetables we can enjoy in our meals. We want a garden that can provide us with fresh produce.”
She now owns garden space with a greenhouse where she grows lettuce, onions, radish, string beans, basil, chives, rosemary, sweet corn, strawberries, cucumber, tomatoes, lemon, and many more.
Her journey as gardener
Jess was not familiar with gardening when she started. “I learned from watching videos about gardening online,” she said.
Before she established her garden, Jess said that she first assessed all the resources available near her area, which helped her minimize her expenses. “I asked myself if the lot would be enough and effective to grow vegetables, and if there was sun exposure and water supply, especially since I planned to use a hydroponic system.”
Some of the harvested herbs and vegetables from Ssagel’s Garden. (Jess Muñoz Paderna)
The knowledge led her to buy garden soil because the soil in her area was not good for growing vegetables. Her garden started with vegetables that were easy to grow and which her family enjoyed eating.
Diverse gardening
“What is unique about our garden is our diverse approach to growing food. We do hydroponics, raised beds, and container gardening.” She explained that she invested much on the hydroponics setup since she decided to have a greenhouse.
The method she applies is the in-ground gardening approach, where seeds are directly planted in the soil. This method provides versatility and allows her to maximize her garden space.
Jess added that the seeds and soil she uses in her garden can be purchased at hardware stores and grocery stores. “Each pack of seeds can cost around P60 to ₱80, while the garden soil per sack is ₱100.” Also, she said that she spent ₱500 to buy African night crawlers for a constant supply of vermicast.
Growing together
To ensure that the seeds they plant will grow, she uses different planting techniques.
One is intensive planting, a method where she plants two different kinds of vegetables that have different growing seasons and durations of growth near each other. This method can minimize wasted space.
Also, she does companion planting, where she plants vegetables that grow in the same season and work together in terms of size and duration. Jess said that she does this planting technique with cucumber and lettuce, cabbage and radish, onion leaves, okra, and many more.
Lastly, there is planting by batch. “For example, if we have a pack of radish seeds, we do not plant the seeds simultaneously. At first, we only plant 10 seeds, and when we harvest them, we wait for two to three weeks until we plant another batch of seeds,” Jess stated.
“Gardening is beautiful and rewarding.”
Jess hopes that more people will be interested in gardening since it will benefit not only one’s physical health but also their mental health. “For me, gardening is very important, and it is my break from the busy city life. In a garden, you can find time to slow down and be at peace.”
She also considers it a good business because, aside from making money from planting fruits and vegetables, she can also serve nutritious meals to her family. “I love cooking, and it is very helpful that the ingredients I need are just in my garden.”