How to Have a Sustainable Garden in Saudi Arabia

Ground garden

Amend the soil. Test the soil in your garden for salinity. Try to reduce the salinity in soil by washing the salts out. If it is too salty, remove and replace with sweet sand. Mix perlite and commercial potting mix. All soil types in desert environments will benefit from adding organic compost.

Choose your plants wisely. Where possible, use native plants or prefer plants that grow well in heat and do not need a lot of water.

Check whether you have a west or east facing yard. Your choice of plants will depend on the amount of sun the yard gets in a day. Know each plant's sun requirements. For example: Bougainvilla and lantana are two beautiful plants that are sun lovers. Hibiscus grows well in partly shady area. If attacked by aphids just give a good water hose blasting and it will be fine. Cana Lily loves a sunny spot with plenty of moist. Red palm, if placed outside, needs to be in a partially shaded area. Chinese ferns do well in partially shaded location with micro-climate environment.

Rooftop garden

If you have some rooftop space, you can set up a portable garden and use good quality potting soil. Consider sharing with neighbors who may also want to grow food, especially if you need to negotiate to get the rooftop space.

Find as many containers as possible. Good containers include large plastic bottles used for large amounts of water or oil (6 liter/4 gallon), coffee cans and terracotta flowerpots.

Fill with potting soil. Add some compost to the soil to improve its quality.

Choose seeds or seedlings. You might have a mixture of both ornamental plants (flowers, ferns, etc.) and edible plants (vegetables and fruit). This will depend on how much rooftop space you have. Some suggestions include: Geraniums and scented pelargoniums Eggplant (aubergine) Okra (ladyfinger) Potatoes (these can be grown in potato bags) Herbs (such as basil, thyme, oregano, etc.) Spices such as chili plants Salad vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes and baby spinach Marigolds Annual flowers. Vine plants (grapes, beans, etc.).

Provide shade as required. Set up sail sheets, tarpaulins or similar covers for plants that need cover. Or, shift the containers to a wall that gets more shade.

Water regularly. Use a watering can or other container to bring water to the plants. Don't leave it too long between watering, especially on very hot days.

Indoor garden

Decide where you'd like to keep the plants. This might be a kitchen window, an indoor space where there is room for plants or perhaps at the back or front entrance areas of the house.

Use a variety of suitable containers. Match the size of the container to the plant's likely growth. Use good quality potting soil and some broken-down compost.

See some of wikiHow's articles to help you grown plants indoors. There are many choices available, including: How to grow tomatoes indoors How to grow lettuce indoors How to grow lemon trees indoors How to care for indoor plants.