Trench Gardening

( Article Type: Explanation )

Trench gardening is a form of subsistence vegetable gardening that has been practised in the townships since the late 1970s. It involves digging a door size trench, about a spade-and-a-half-blade deep. This is then filled with organic domestic waste, plus a few rusty tin cans. The soil is put over the top and is, in turn, covered with mulch (dry organic matter or wood bark). This then creates an ideal and rapid growth media in which the owner can plant vegetables and quickly grow food to eat. This method was developed in response to the township calls that the soil was too weak and poor to support any kind of vegetables. If a group of community members get together and work the land in unison, the quantities of food grown can be increased substantially and everyone can benefit from the gardens.