Welcome
This is a database of 70 crops that you can grow on your backyard or farm. The list covers flowers, fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices, leafy greens and roots. All of these crops are grown in Sri Lanka - and with a little bit of work, they can be a great addition to your plate.
If you’re on a computer, use the left sidebar to click and expand each of the categories.
If you’re on your phone, they’ll appear below this message.
Each entry has instructions on how to germinate, grow, harvest your plant - and how difficult it might be in different zones in Sri Lanka.
Remember!
1. Start easy!
Remember, you don't need to implement everything at once. Start simple and gradually expand your gardening skills! We use a 1-5 star rating to help you choose plants based on your experience level:
- 1 star: Easiest - grows with minimal effort
- 2 stars: Easy - just needs successful germination
- 3 stars: Moderate - requires regular care and some fertilizer
- 4 stars: Challenging - needs environmental adjustments
- 5 stars: Expert - demands close monitoring and intensive care
2. Do your soil prep before you plant!
Good soil is the foundation of successful gardening. Check out our "First Principles" article for beginner-friendly tips on:
- How to improve your soil
- Making your own compost
- Setting up simple, affordable watering systems
3. Stay sustainable!
We promote sustainable gardening practices, including:
- Using organic pesticides instead of chemical ones
- Companion planting: growing plants that benefit each other
Each plant entry includes suggestions for compatible and incompatible neighbors. You don’t need to follow them, but if you do, it’ll help cut down the need for fertilizer and inputs from outside your farm.
We encourage you to:
- Experiment with different techniques
- Observe what works best in your garden
- Refer to our provided sources for more in-depth information
Why?
After diving deep into how our agriculture system broke in 2022, we realized a number of things:
- Sri Lanka has amazing conditions for growing a wide variety of food, especially in small spaces like balconies and backyards. Our country has been focusing on just a few crops, but there's so much more we can grow!
-
Right now, our food supply depends heavily on imported fertilizers, which can be risky. By growing more food locally, we can:
- Reduce stress on ourselves
- Help our economy
- Protect our environment
- However, we noticed it was really hard to find simple instructions on growing food crops in Sri Lanka. While many homes have beautiful ornamental plants and maybe some chili peppers, information on growing other edibles was scarce.
So we've created this beginner-friendly guide. We've gathered practical advice from around the world and adapted it to our local conditions. Instead of complicated techniques, we focus on simple, effective methods to help you succeed in your gardening journey.
Good luck, and happy growing!
- your friends from Team Watchdog
Acknowledgement
This work was created by Watchdog Sri Lanka (Appendix) as a part of the project Building Tools to Strengthen Pluralist, Inclusive and Fact-based Public Discourse, conducted by LIRNEasia. LIRNEasia is a pro-poor, pro-market regional digital policy think tank. The project is conducted in partnership with the Strengthening Social Cohesion and Peace in Sri Lanka (SCOPE) programme, co-funded by the European Union and German Federal Foreign Office. SCOPE is implemented by GIZ in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms.
