Dry Season Gardening – Pu & Wutara
During the dry season, the residents of Limol plant and rely on two types of swamp gardens: one on floating grass (pu /pu/) and the other in an area (wutara /wutara/) that is swampy during the dry season.
Pu – Floating Grass GardenThe pu garden is a sort of platform of grass constructed on/from two types of grass that grow along the Bituri River: kapalla /kapaɽa/ and ttallme /ʈʂaɽme/. If this grassy area is stable enough for someone to stand, it will be made into a garden. The pu floats on the top of the river and so if there is a flood, the platform of grass will rise with the water (D. Karea, p.c.). Most people in Limol have two to four pu-type swamp gardens which are accessed by dugout canoe (gall /ɡaɽ/) (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.). The pu gardens are located in different locations along the river and their size depends on the availability of useful land (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
The pu gardens are good for planting taro, sweet potato, cassava, aibika, and sugarcane (D. Karea and J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.). Planting can occur year-round. Sweet potatoes take 3-4 months until harvest and taro takes about 6 months (D. Karea, p.c.). Taro is planted by wrapping the sucker in two cut kapalla leaves to prevent the sucker from sinking and putting it in a hole in the pu made with a digging stick. For sweet potato and cassava, a small hole is made by hand for the shoots and then is covered with kapalla grass. The garden is maintained by continually cleaning the area and covering plants with kappalla, ttallme, or kitar leaves. |
Musato Giwa sitting on dried kapalla grass and among taro, cassava, and sweet potato plants in a pu-type swamp garden.
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Harvesting happens over time. For taro, when the leaves begin to yellow, that is the sign that it is ready to be harvested. The taro corm can be extracted by just pulling it; no tools are needed (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.). For cassava and sweet potato, roots are not harvested at once, but only as they become ready to eat. Sugarcane is harvested when flowers are present; it is cut and chewed (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
In some ways, the pu garden is easier than bush gardens as it does not require fencing, planting and harvesting do not require extensive digging and spading, and the garden can be left without maintenance for months. Although weeds are not an issue in the pu garden, clearing the space with a machete is hard work (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.). Some challenges to agriculture in the pu include issues with taro, sweet potato, and cassava rotting if not harvested at the right time and grubs making holes in the taro corm (D. Karea, p.c.). Furthermore, big floods can move the garden down river, turn it over, or merge it with another person’s pu garden (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
In some ways, the pu garden is easier than bush gardens as it does not require fencing, planting and harvesting do not require extensive digging and spading, and the garden can be left without maintenance for months. Although weeds are not an issue in the pu garden, clearing the space with a machete is hard work (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.). Some challenges to agriculture in the pu include issues with taro, sweet potato, and cassava rotting if not harvested at the right time and grubs making holes in the taro corm (D. Karea, p.c.). Furthermore, big floods can move the garden down river, turn it over, or merge it with another person’s pu garden (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
Figure X. Dukes (Dugal) Karea planting taro between the kapalla grass leaves at his pu swamp garden on September 7, 2016.
Wutara – Dry Season Swamp Garden
The wutara is a garden made and planted during dry season time in a dry swamp. Typically, people start planting in May and June and harvest in August and September (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.) The wutara can be planted with numerous different crops including corn, beans (tametame /tametame/), watermelon, squash, taro, sweet potato, aibika, cucumber, lettuce, and cabbage (D. Karea, p.c.; J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.). The lettuce and cabbage seeds are purchased in shops in Daru (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
A dugout canoe is often required to get to the swampy area that will become a wutara garden. The wutara area is shared by all Limol village. Dried grass canes and leaves are used to denote garden boundaries (D. Karea, p.c.). People typically have one to four wutara sites as they are valued for their fertility (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
Taro are planted using suckers or root pieces. For sweet potato, three to five shoots are planted in the ground and when the plants begin growing, a mound is made around the plants. For the cucurbits (watermelon, pumpkin, and cucumber) and beans, a knife or stick is used to dig a small hole, 4-5 seeds are placed in the hole, and the seeds are covered. For lettuce and cabbage, seeds are broadcast and when the seedlings emerge, they are transplanted for wider spacing (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
A dugout canoe is often required to get to the swampy area that will become a wutara garden. The wutara area is shared by all Limol village. Dried grass canes and leaves are used to denote garden boundaries (D. Karea, p.c.). People typically have one to four wutara sites as they are valued for their fertility (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
Taro are planted using suckers or root pieces. For sweet potato, three to five shoots are planted in the ground and when the plants begin growing, a mound is made around the plants. For the cucurbits (watermelon, pumpkin, and cucumber) and beans, a knife or stick is used to dig a small hole, 4-5 seeds are placed in the hole, and the seeds are covered. For lettuce and cabbage, seeds are broadcast and when the seedlings emerge, they are transplanted for wider spacing (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
Cucumbers, pumpkins, and greens are the first to mature in the wutara and are ready to harvest by August. In addition to harvesting taro for food from the wutara, these gardens are specifically used for taro propagation. The wutara garden was described as the best place to plant taro for sucker production; these suckers are then traded for other plant material like yam suckers. People from the nearby villages of Malam and Wim come to Limol to trade for taro suckers (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.). Harvesting must finish before January and February when the rainy season begins and the area where wutaras are built become flooded.
Some people are nervous about planting wutara gardens because flooding can cover plantings and gardens. Fire damage is also a risk, both from when there is drought, a fire could spread and ruin the garden, or from an out of control bushfire created while hunting (D. Karea, p.c.). Birds will eat watermelon, so the fruit are covered with swamp grass for protection. Additionally, small insects can destroy young watermelon and pumpkin shoots (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
Wutara Construction – Case Study with Dukes (Dugal) Karea
E. Conlan traveled with Dukes (Dugal) Karea when he was creating a wutara garden for his family on September 12, 2016. Once reaching the site, Dugal cleared wariwari grass, which is tall, and tawa, a shorter grass. The grass was cleared with a machete and the garden was planted the same day or cleared and planted the next day, if there was a lot of grass to remove. The grasses were left on the ground after cutting. The size of the area cleared by Dugal and then planted with taro was 6 x 7.15m.
Taro suckers were planted by making a hole with a digging stick and placing the sucker in the muddy water. Daughter corms were also planted in a muddy patch to be transplanted when larger. In a drier area near to the taro planting, another part of the garden was weeded to prepare to plant pumpkin and watermelon. To plant squash and watermelon, D. Karea dug a hole with a knife about 5-7 cm deep, dipped the seeds in the water, and then covered the seeds with soil. He plated ten seeds per hole and does not plan to transplant the seedlings. The holes were spaced about 1m apart in rows. New shoots will emerge after about 4-7 days. Old mosquito bed nets were used as netting to protect the cucurbits from insects. The seeds used were dried and saved from the previous year. Dugal planned to return to burn dried grasses, a big tree, and plant more squash, watermelon, and corn.
Some people are nervous about planting wutara gardens because flooding can cover plantings and gardens. Fire damage is also a risk, both from when there is drought, a fire could spread and ruin the garden, or from an out of control bushfire created while hunting (D. Karea, p.c.). Birds will eat watermelon, so the fruit are covered with swamp grass for protection. Additionally, small insects can destroy young watermelon and pumpkin shoots (J. (Jeks) Dareda, p.c.).
Wutara Construction – Case Study with Dukes (Dugal) Karea
E. Conlan traveled with Dukes (Dugal) Karea when he was creating a wutara garden for his family on September 12, 2016. Once reaching the site, Dugal cleared wariwari grass, which is tall, and tawa, a shorter grass. The grass was cleared with a machete and the garden was planted the same day or cleared and planted the next day, if there was a lot of grass to remove. The grasses were left on the ground after cutting. The size of the area cleared by Dugal and then planted with taro was 6 x 7.15m.
Taro suckers were planted by making a hole with a digging stick and placing the sucker in the muddy water. Daughter corms were also planted in a muddy patch to be transplanted when larger. In a drier area near to the taro planting, another part of the garden was weeded to prepare to plant pumpkin and watermelon. To plant squash and watermelon, D. Karea dug a hole with a knife about 5-7 cm deep, dipped the seeds in the water, and then covered the seeds with soil. He plated ten seeds per hole and does not plan to transplant the seedlings. The holes were spaced about 1m apart in rows. New shoots will emerge after about 4-7 days. Old mosquito bed nets were used as netting to protect the cucurbits from insects. The seeds used were dried and saved from the previous year. Dugal planned to return to burn dried grasses, a big tree, and plant more squash, watermelon, and corn.
Dukes (Dugal) Karea after clearing a swamp area as a wutara garden. He later planted taro in this garden.
