MANILA, Philippines—Green beds of pechay and lettuce, plots of kangkong and saluyot, and fruit-laden trellises of ampalaya and upo have taken the place of weeds and grass in several vacant lots in Mapayapa Village III, Capitol Site in Quezon City.

The homeowners association in the area used to spend quite a lot for the cleaning of vacant lots which was necessary both for aesthetic and safety reasons. During the summer months, the thick growth of cogon that covered the unoccupied lots was a fire hazard.

Now, not only do residents save on grass-cutting expenses, they also have a ready source of fresh, nutritious and very cheap vegetables right in the village. The vegetables are so cheap – P10 for a bunch of pechay (Chinese cabbage) or P35 for ampalaya (bitter gourd) – more than enough for a family's meal.

A retired civil engineer started the vegetable gardening project. Then, other residents, seeing the benefits, followed suit.

When Esteban Cruz first started raising vegetables in the vacant lot beside his daughter's house in 2004, his only intention was to keep the area clean. It was a mere backyard gardening affair until 2007 when he decided to expand to other empty lots nearby. Today, Cruz has planted several lots to pechay, lettuce, mustard, green onions, kangkong, saluyot, alugbati, corn and peanuts.

Cruz admitted that he did not know much about farming at first but he learned from his experience and from the workers he hired, some of whom used to farm in the countryside.

Now, he provides employment to several workers while the project has become a source of livelihood for their families – the workers' wives sell the produce and just give Cruz a small amount from their sales.

The accidental gardener said he does not really get much in terms of financial returns from the vegetables.

"But it makes me happy to see the plants growing and the surroundings beautiful and clean. And I get a lot of exercise, too," he said.

Cruz does get a lot of exercise hoeing the soil and raking the weeds in the gardens – things which he still does even though he has workers to do the job.

Further down the road, another homeowner, Rodel Alberto, has also taken to gardening. Unlike Cruz, Alberto is an agriculturist well-versed in the scientific techniques of vegetable farming.

He is very methodical caring for his gardens – his ampalaya, upo and okra beds are covered with plastic sheets to conserve soil moisture and prevent weed growth. The plants are arranged in neat rows with even spaces in-between to allow optimum growth and nourishment. He also knows exactly when to sow the next seeds so that by the time the first batch of crops dies, a new batch has grown, ready to bear fruit.

Vegetable gardening, however, is not always easy, especially in urban sites where the soil may not be suitable for certain types of vegetables.

Domingo Ifurung, another homeowner, learned this firsthand when he, with neighbor Edgar Barcenas, used the lots around his house to plant his vegetables. The first few months were very encouraging.

Even Ifurung's wife, Tess, had to call their neighbors to market their harvest of string beans, radish, squash, okra and patola.

Later, however, the crops began to dwindle; the squash fruits, for one, turned yellow and wilted before they could mature.

Ifurung consulted an expert, David Balilla, an agriculturist from the next barangay.

Barilla manages "Gulayan at Bulaklakan," a model gardening project in neighboring Barangay Holy Spirit. Having developed various ways of growing vegetables in urban areas where space is limited and soil conditions are different, Barilla readily gives technical advice to city gardeners.

Analyzing the soil in Ifurung's garden, he found out that it did not contain enough nutrients to sustain long-term crops, like squash, for extended periods.

But Ifurung is not giving up. He plans to revive his vegetable gardens soon, this time taking care to prepare the soil and choose plant varieties suited to the soil type.

"We should also consider the water needs of a specific crop," he said. "It would be better to focus more on crops that do not need a lot of water like string beans, okra and radish especially during the dry season."

He is happy, nonetheless, that the trend has been set for other residents to turn vacant lots in the village into productive patches of greens.

Even the homeowners association has gone into gardening, planting a portion of the unoccupied spaces with pineapples.

Ifurung says that of the combined area of three hectares of vacant lots in the village, 1.5 hectares are now planted to vegetables.

The Quezon City government actually encourages gardening in vacant city lots. The "Halamanan sa Bakuran" project under the office of Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista promotes the conversion of idle lots and spaces into productive and garbage-free gardens that grow vegetables, herbs, medicinal and ornamental plants, and fruit trees.

Last April 18, the project soft-launched its second phase at the Tivoli Royale Village, also on Capitol Site, where a tract of land has been provided for gardening activities.

The project is a joint undertaking between the city government and other government, nongovernment and private groups, including the Department of Agriculture, the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation Inc., Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine Nutrition Council and the Alliance of Quezon City Homeowners Associations Inc., among others.

In addition to contributing to food production, "Halamanan sa Bakuran" hopes to provide additional sources of income for city dwellers, especially the poor, maintain clean surroundings, and help improve the quality of the environment.