Transforming Kathmandu garden into permaculture food-forest

We have been lucky enough to have a small but good enough piece of garden in our rented house in Bouddhanath, neglected by the other tenants of the house. Slowly the idea to transform it into something nice, and more and more also something useful and edible, emerged. With industrial agriculture destroying the earth, it is hard to think of anything better than growing some food of your own, and so I have written this mainly to share our experience and inspire others. 

Front before and after

Back before and after

The garden has been a testing lab while I started my studies in permaculture. Starting with Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden and Geoff Lawton's inspiring videos, I continued with other books such as Mark Shepard's Restoration Agriculture and a Permaculture Design Course on video. Himgiri, and in particular their teacher Govinda Sharma at Organic Hasera farm, have been a particular inspiration and source of expertise for permaculture in Nepal.   

In permaculture terms, we naturally had to deal with some design problems in our garden common to most expats in Nepal:
- how can the garden withstand neglect for many months in the summer when we are not there?
- when we leave Nepal, what will become of it without anybody maintaining it?
These questions will be answered in the course of this blog post.

In our garden there are two pieces of land, the front and sunny side, and the shady backyard. The front was overgrown with weeds and the backside was barren -even the weeds didn't grow- dried up clay, like rocks, and with a few poorly performing trees. We didn't have the courage to remove all the trees at once, but once our own trees started growing more we removed them. 

Front garden that we started with (after we made a small path).
We left the hedges in but later on removed them one by one once other plants took their place.

Transforming the backside: ploughing, adding woodchips and cow manure

First the soil had to be fixed by adding as much organic material as possible and also seeding some cover crops. It was winter time and so, in true Nepali fashion, we sowed mustard seeds.

Mustard seeds sprouting well: within 2 months the garden had a carpet of yellow flowers.

Also the balcony was soon transformed into a nursery and veggie bed. Lessons learned: spinach and chard wither fast in the hot Nepali spring. Basil did very well though and even survived the winter.
 

The backyard

In the shady backyard there was some existing vegetation such as a few bamboo bushes and some conifers. Our friends from Himgiri Organic store were so kind to drop by one day and give some excellent permaculture advice: get rid of the bamboo and also place the compost in the middle of the garden. The bamboo is a strong plant that sucks up water and nutrients to the disadvantage of other more productive crops. One lesson learned: digging up a square meter of bamboo roots is more difficult than you might think! We did leave some bamboo all the way in the back in a spot separated from the main garden. It thrives in full shade and is useful for producing organic matter for the garden, it looks nice and also certainly contributes positively to the oxygen levels of our polluted valley.

The compost in the middle of the garden has proven to be a great success: the nutrients leak out and benefit the garden and the compost box teems with life of all sorts. Tip: if possible inoculate your compost with worms and bacteria from an existing compost of a friend. Despite all the many so called rules of what you can and cannot throw in the compost, my advise is that as long as something is organic there is no need to worry too much. Especially in such a hot and wet climate as sub-tropical Nepal: after one monsoon whole cardboard sheet mulches just disappear into thin air. Two minor notes: a few citrus peels is fine but maybe don't throw i Hun a whole bag, and also don't throw in kilos of cooked rice/wheat etc. It just doesn't break down well.

Compost hidden behind beautiful arum-lily thriving in the shade and next to the compost

Worms proliferate in the compost, turning kitchen waste into beautiful black soil

We tried growing some vegetables but without much success. The beans fair quite well, you can basically throw them in the garden and they grow without much help. Brassicaceae such as cabbage and broccoli were eaten completely by pieridae caterpillars.

Ravaged cabbages

Planting fruit trees is a much more 'fruitful' enterprise, in many ways. If you pick the right trees and put them in the right spot, after a year or so they take care of themselves. They are also much more sturdy of course then anything annual.

In the shady backyard we planted rose apple (jammu - yes, in Buddhist cosmology our world system is named after this famed tree: Jambudvīpa or the Rose Apple continent) and loquat. Both are traditionally grown in Asia. We were told that in past times many people in Kathmandu had a rose apple tree in their garden, but these days you don't see them very often any more. Unfortunately the rose apple and loquat do not get a lot of sun and so it remains to be seen whether they will fruit properly or not.

Rose apple tree

Loquat

We also planted black and green cardamom (elaichi). It's too cold for green cardamom to fruit in Kathmandu, so I can't recommend it, but the black cardamom is a very good plant for in the shade and it already flowered after 1 year (it might take 2 years or more).

Flowering cardamom

Another good plant for a shady area is coffee. They are self-pollinating but some says it's better to have at least two. Also an excellent shady plant is curry. We planted one in shade and one in the full sun. The one in the sun nearly died and only perked up after being moved to the shade. Initially they grow slowly and will only yield a few lousy leaves, but given the time they grow into nice bushes, and who doesn't want fresh curry leaves?

Avocado also does well in the shade, although it might grow faster in the sun. It grows big so fast that after a few years it will probably reach your rooftop where it will get plenty of sun. If you plant an avocado, be aware you should always place it on the north side of your garden, since it grows into a massive tree that will otherwise shade out your garden. Also place it such that it doesn't shade out your neighbours completely.

Also a chiuri tree (the famous chiuri honey comes from the flowers of this tree) was planted. It grows very slowly the first few years (like two hardy leaves per year), but is said to really take of after a 2 or 3 years.

A tiny chiuri which hopefully one day will grow to be a massive tree

For its beautiful flowers with lovely smell we also planted a jasmine vine.

The front garden

In the front garden the only productive plant that was already there was a Chayote vine (iskush). It grows very vigorously and produces tasty fruits at the end of autumn, and then dies back during the winter.

Chayote squash

We started with planting a few rosemary plants. They have grown very fast and did very well, until the last monsoon when it just didn't stop raining and two out of three plants drowned. Luckily one survived though and we've placed many cuttings of it on higher and dryer places.

Substantial rosemary harvest after only 1 year

Another plant that thrives is the passion flower. Within a year it grew from a tiny plant all the way up the balcony, about 3 or 4 meters high.

Passion fruit in flower. They give nice but slightly sour fruits.

One of our favourite trees is the mulberry (morus alba). Some of you might have noticed there is a large mulberry tree in the old RYI restaurant. Mulberries are related to figs and, like figs, very tough. It grows well and is fruiting already.

We also planted sweet mandarin (suntala) and kumquat (muntala). They perform excellent in the valley. As with many trees, it might take a year or so before they catch on. The first year bugs ate many of their leaves, they didn't flower or fruit, and we thought we'd lost them. But the second year they come up nicely and are full of flowers, and surely soon also fruit.

Kumquat fruit

One of our citrus trees flowering in spring

Another Mediterranean that does well is the pomegranate (anaar). It's a medium sized bush and fits nicely in smaller gardens.

Little pomegranates appearing after flowering

What didn't work well up to now were the grapes. We had two but both of them where placed on low and wet locations, which killed one of them. We placed a new grape on a sunnier and higher location. Grapes do well in India so it should be possible to grow good vines; we shall wait and see.

For someone from the temperate climate, bananas in your garden is an obvious dream to be fulfilled. Not so easy to get your hands on, but we found a regular one and a dwarf banana. They thrive in the monsoon, and hopefully fruit within two years from planting. They like it moist and with as much nutrients and organic matter as possible, so somewhere near a composting place is excellent.

Banana thriving in the rainy season

Finally we also managed to squeeze in a tomato tree (Tamarillo). They love moist and they grow fast. A must have in a traditional Nepali garden.

Other plants and flowers
The trees are the largest elements in your design and also usually take longest to mature, so it essential to think of trees first. After that, you can start planning smaller plants and flowers to fill up the spaces in between your trees.

We had planted a cape gooseberry (physalis) in a shady area to which it was not suited and it died soon. Later we bought a new one and planted it in full sun, which it loved and it started producing fruit immediately.

Not many vegetables can grow in the shade, but taro root does well.  

Taro root under the trees

By far my favourite perennial vegetable must be the pepino melon. It's a nighshade and grows abundantly, in full sun but flowers even in the shade. It gives delicious vegetables look like a small eggplant but than better. They are very easy to propagate from cuttings.

Pepino Melons

Large leaved mustard can give a decent harvest

Flowering blackberry. They start fruiting around April.

There are many (sub-) tropical flowers that thrive even without any direct sunlight. We prefer perennials since they're less of a hassle than annuals. Ask your nursery.

  Amaryllis

Possibly a lily. In any case, an exquisite flower which unfortunately only lasts for a day or so.

Pumpkin gone wild; they go everywhere.

Fauna in the garden
Once the garden starts to come alive again, animals of all kinds of sizes are sure to come and feast. Be sure to make some bird houses and insect hotels. A small pond is also perfect for wildlife, but it needs to be large enough to be able to support fish who will take care of the mosquito larvae.

Occupied insect hotel

Anyone can make a bird house

Bird house

In true permaculture fashion nothing is left unused:
free manured mulch for the garden after the birds have left

Less wanted insects also to enjoy the bounty. Aphids are a common problem in Nepal
Don't worry, just let them be. Some plants may die, but at some point, their natural predators will also arrive.  

Lessons learned

One important lessen we learned is that the soil is really more important than the plants in the initial stages. As beginners we tend to be more interested in the plants than the soil, but giving a lot of attention to the soil in the initial stages of restoring a peace of land will give you quick results. We had initially added some organic matter to the garden, but not enough: the more the better, really think in terms of 20 cm mulch, not just a few leaves! Try to be creative in getting organic matter. A huge bodhi tree (ficus religiosa) that grows around the corner turned out to be a perfect source for litter. The Nepali neighbours even sweep it all together for us. Just get it before they burn it!

Another great source of fertiliser are the numerous chicken farms in the Kathmandu valley. Be careful though, chicken manure is very high in nitrogen and should not be used directly on your garden. Mix it 50-50 with 'brown' organic matter high in carbon such as leave litter and leave it for a year or so. It will turn into perfect compost.

Banana tree and black berries next to the second compost with chicken manure,
and potatoes growing right in the middle of it!

When starting a food forest, especially on degraded land, the proper way to go about is to start with pioneering trees. In the sub-tropics nitrogen fixing legumes are the obvious choice. Geoff Lawton's favourite is River tamarind (Leucaena leucocephala), but others such as any of the many acacia's will also do fine. Let them grow until 1-3 meters and then keep coppicing them, chop-and-drop, leaving the organic matter to fertilise your main crop. 

Sprouting Leucaena leucocephala

Any beans are also excellent nitrogen fixers, plus you get some beans as well. Try cow peas, french beans or peas. Just buy a bag and throw it in the garden before the monsoon.

You can see the nitrogen fixing modules on a bean

Quick fertiliser: put cow dung in a bucket with water and leave it for two weeks,
then water the plants with the water.

Nurseries in Bouddha and Kathmandu surroundings
As for nurseries, I find the Pulbari nursery too expensive. Better go to the nurseries somewhere outside Bouddha. For example there is one across the Jorpati Nabil bank. The most interesting, cheapest and best nursery by far is the Durga Cottage Gardening Institute (check facebook) found here, who especially has a lot of herbs. (difficult if not impossible to find though, better call him on 9841564952)

Some fruit and nut trees are fine to buy at the local nurseries, such as mandarin (suntala) and kumquat (muntala). For others such as almond, macadamia, peach, and so on, you will be much better of to buy a properly grafted tree either from Charlie Baba (search for 5 Elements Organic Bastion on Facebook - or else he can be found at the Le Sherpa farmers market on Saturdays) or Everything Organic Nursery (their website)You pay a bit more for their trees (usually around a 1000 rupees) but it's money well invested and it will pay off manifold. If you end of going to Everything Organic,  Govinda Sharma's Organic Hasera farm is just next door, so don't miss it!

Another excellent resource is the blog Taste of Nepal with their 'Lists of most common fruits of Nepal' where you can easily find Nepali names of fruits trees, vegetables and also fine recipes.

To conclude, a mini permaculture food forest is a great addition to the biodiversity in a city and also reaps some nice fruits once in a while. Trees do need some care in the first 1 or 2 years, but after that, nature will take care. Leave them for a year and they will only grow larger and stronger. Of course for those who rent a place and at some point have to leave again, you might wonder if it's no wasted effort. Try to talk to the landowner and show the benefits of what you are doing. They might get inspired. Also, once the trees are established, who would cut down such a valuable thing?