Kotak Band Frontwoman Tantri Grow Vegetables at Home

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, many people including celebrities turned to stay at home activities. Kotak band vocalist Tantri Syalindri was one of them. She admitted that there was no stage performance at all during the period. Therefore, she started gardening to cope with boredom at home. 

To begin with, she chose to grow vegetables. She often shares moments from her gardening activities on her Instagram. As a method of gardening, she adopts hydroponics. According to her, it is more convenient to apply than using soil planting media. 

She is aware that the key of hydroponics is proper nutrition. Hydroponic method also doesn’t require her to water plants every day. She can leave her plants whenever she should go out of town as long as the water tank is full, contains the right nutrients and gets enough sunlight. The yields from her hydroponic garden can be consumed for daily needs. She also believes that hydroponics can be a new source of income during the pandemic because the selling price of each vegetable is quite high. 

Many of her garden plants are vegetables. On her personal Instagram account, she shared her gardening experiences starting from nursery to moving the plants to planting media. She had been seen trying to grow water spinach, choy sum, mustard greens, spinach, bok choy, lettuce and kale. 

How to take care of water spinach, spinach and lettuce during the rainy season 

Some of the vegetables you can grow in the rainy season are water spinach, spinach and lettuce. They can withstand cold weather and will grow quickly with high water intensity. Although they are suitable to grow during the rainy season, you still need to watch their treatments. If you use a hydroponic method for planting, you must pay attention to the amount of nutrients provided. You can also provide a roof on your hydroponic plants, so that the rainfall does not drip directly on the plants. 

When using soil as planting media, you must consider the drainage, timing of fertilizer application, weed and pest control, and other treatments. Even though vegetable plants such as water spinach, lettuce, and spinach are resistant to rain, they still need proper treatments during the rainy season. First, you must adjust the watering. Plants must still have good humidity. Don’t let the plants get too much water, as this can cause the roots rot and may kill the plants. Try to raise the bed so that the water runs off and doesn’t overwhelm the plants. 

In the rainy season, plants are also susceptible to diseases such as fungus. Therefore, you must be aware of signs of fungus such as white spots on the leaves and stems, wilted and yellowing leaves, and rotting roots. You can use mulch as a cover on the soil, and use fungicide. Other than fungus, weeds also grow wide during the rainy season. When weeds begin to grow around plants, they will affect the absorption of plant nutrients. For that, you had better remove and clean weeds frequently in the garden area. 

Next is fertilizer application. During the rainy season, you must pay attention to the timing of fertilizer application. Only give fertilizer after the rain stops. If you apply it before, the nutrients in the fertilizer will dissolve along with the rainfall thus it will be wasted. 

_{Written by: Renat}