What is floating Garden?

Floating garden is a technology to grow seedling and vegetables using floating rafts on water. The floating raft is prepared with water hyacinth, bamboo, cow dung, dirt, soil and other composts. This can shift their position along with the water level and remain afloat for a period long enough to grow vegetables.  This innovated technology is an age-old practice of crops and vegetables cultivation in the southern floodplains of Bangladesh which has been recognized and declared as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) of Bangladesh by FAO of United Nation.

How to prepare:

The first step to making a floating raft is to collect the water hyacinth. Floating water hyacinth is overlaid with bamboo poles of appropriate length to the size of the raft. After around 7 to 10 days more water hyacinth is added to top up the existing structure then mulch can be added on to the water hyacinth base. Soil, compost and cow dung are added to cover the base of the raft to a depth of around 25cm. The technique used to improve the seeds’ early development is to create round balls of compost comprising of decomposed water hyacinth and an organic fertilizer known locally as Tema.

Benefit:

• During climate hazards, Farmers in climate affected areas can specially apply the technique to avoid all climate related hazards.
• Enable vegetable production in water logged area where surface soil is not available.
• Floating garden is an environmentally-friendly agricultural option for increasing the land available for vegetable cultivation all year round.
• The land with water is used for production of fish in the open water and crops on the floating beds.
• Sustainable and easily adaptable in the similar flooded condition- water logged areas.
• On floating substrata made mainly of local aquatic plants on flooded water. It is as low input-low cost resilient family farming production system.

Suitable crops:

Okra, Ridge Gourd, Indian Spinach, Brinjal, Cucumber, Red Amaranth, Stem amaranth and Gourd, Turnip, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Tomato, Red Amaranth, Turmaric, Onion and Chili etc.

Where it is suitable to cultivate?

Southwestern and South Central District of Bangladesh-Satkhira, Khulna , Bagerhat, Goplagonj, Pirojpur and Barishal. Agro-ecological zone- Gopalgonj-Khulna beels (AEZ-14) and Ganges Tidal Floodplain (AEZ-13). It is also feasible in the Haor areas.