Hello everyone
How are you today ? I hope and pray that all of us are always given health and happiness in living this life. This time, I came back to Homesteading Community to share my story about trying the homesteading lifestyle in the neighborhood where I live.
My family has adopted the homesteading lifestyle since the past. In the past, my grandparents had their own rice fields and also a small-scale layer farm (around 50-60 layer hens). Therefore, they always get eggs and rice without having to buy. Hassle ? it's very troublesome. But in that era, in the 50-60s the political and economic atmosphere in Indonesia was very unstable, money was of no value, so growing their own food needs and raising livestock were ways to save them from starvation.
Decades passed, my grandmother and grandfather died. His large land and rice fields have been distributed to his children, some have also been sold for various reasons and some have been built houses, like our family's house. However, it seems that we are still continuing our passion to produce our own food products in our homes. Because we use some parts of the vacant land to plant mango trees and some are planted with vegetables using a hydroponic system.
In front of my house there are two mango trees planted side by side. This mango tree was planted by my grandmother about 13 years ago. This mango tree does not get regular maintenance, only once a year I give fertilizer to maintain soil fertility. Finally, the body mango tree is very fertile and almost every year continues to bear fruit very much like this time.
This year, this mango tree has experienced two harvests with lots of fruit. The first harvest is in February 2022 and this time at the end of October 2022. My wife had said and told me when she was pregnant she would love to taste the mango from the front of this house. It seems, the universe answered my wife's prayer, when she was pregnant at this time. He got this sweet mango.
How to harvest mangoes in my yard is very simple. I will harvest the branches of the mango tree that bear fruit using a gala or stick made of bamboo. The end of the stick will be made like a net to catch. Mangoes that are harvested as much as possible do not fall to the ground because it can damage the mango fruit. Mangoes that get hit or fall to the ground can make the mangoes become damaged and easily rotten during the ripening process.
In this period, many of our mango trees are bearing fruit near the roof of our house. My cousin, who is thinner, went up to the second floor and crossed the roof to get to the mango fruit that was stuck around the roof of the house. I reminded him to be careful and wear sandals, because sometimes there is static electricity and it can be dangerous for us.
We got quite a lot of mangoes harvested this morning. Approximately, we gained more than 10 kilograms and there were still a lot of mangoes on the tree we left because they were too young and immature. Just imagine, in Indonesia, Mango Indramayu, one of the best quality mangoes with a sweet taste, is priced at IDR 25 K / kg (or 1.6 USD) in traditional markets and in Fresh Markets or supermarkets, mangoes can be priced at 35 K / Kilogram ( or 2.25 USD). So, how much can we save, just because we have a mango tree at home.
Besides being economical, growing fruits in our homes also has very good environmental benefits. Our house will be more cool and shady because of these trees. We can also get more oxygen by planting trees in our homes. If we look more deeply The mangoes that I harvest play a big role for the environment.
Why can I say like that? The supply of mangoes available in the market and supermarket in my city usually comes from Java Island. This is very sad, because when I was a child, there was never a story about us buying mangoes. Because every house in Indonesia has a mango tree, if there is no house sometimes the front of the road is also planted with mango trees. However, in the name of development, many mango trees have been cut down and to get mangoes we have to bring them from Java Island.
These tens of tons of mangoes are transported using trucks with a capacity of 4-6 tons. Let's think, how many trucks are going to our city and sometimes those trucks carry too much weight and can make the roads that we pay our taxes to be damaged and potholes. Not to mention, when we calculate how much pollution and fuel is generated from this very long and inefficient journey. Therefore, be grateful if you still have mango trees at home. Because you are participating in helping the environment for the better
In addition to the environment, growing fruit in our homes is also beneficial for our social environment. Trust me, it is impossible for us to eat this mango harvest alone and we will distribute mangoes to relatives, neighbors around where we live. Social relations between neighbors will definitely be more closely and warmly intertwined.
For the past 10 years, the mango tree in my house has always produced sweet mangoes. Everyone who has tasted our mango will always remember the taste. In fact, when the fruit on this mango tree has started to grow. The neighbors have been wondering, are there mangoes that have been harvested or ripe? In addition, several times the itinerant fruit collectors in my city have offered to buy the harvest from my mangoes. However, our family refuses to sell these mangoes. This mango is only for consumption by family and people around where we live. Because of that, this mango always bears fruit regularly because many people are happy because of this sweet mango.
Call me Isdarmady, because I have a full name that is very long, namely Isdarmady Syahputra Ritonga. I am a head of the family who work as Farmers Vegetables Hydroponic and Consultant Hydroponics, sometimes I also sell coffee from various regions in Indonesia.
I have expertise dispensing coffee with a variety of techniques and tools brewing, because I have the desire to make a coffee shop with hydroponics as centerpieces. Help me realize that dream.
Thanks for read, vote, re-blog and support me in Hive. Maybe god will reward the kindness, let’s success together.