PEMBERDAYAAN URBAN FARMING UNTUK PRODUKSI SELADA ORGANIK DI LAHAN TERBATAS

Abstract

Land scarcity in urban areas presents a major challenge to the provision of healthy food for households. Urban farming offers an alternative solution by enabling the productive and environmentally friendly use of limited spaces. This community service program aimed to empower local residents to cultivate organic lettuce on small plots through counseling, demonstration, and hands-on practice. The activities were conducted in Padangsidimpuan, involving lecturers and students as facilitators. The growing medium consisted of a mixture of soil, rice husk, and cattle manure at a 1:1:1 ratio, while liquid organic fertilizer was applied, and plants were grown in pots with a capacity of approximately 5 kg. The stages of implementation included preparation of the growing medium, seedling, transplanting, maintenance, organic pest and disease management, and collective harvesting. The results indicated an improvement in participants’ knowledge and skills related to urban farming techniques and organic lettuce cultivation, perform proper planting techniques, and understand principles of non-chemical crop care and pest control. Most plants exhibited good growth and were ready for harvest 30–35 days after transplanting. Beyond producing healthy vegetables, the program increased community motivation to utilize home yards as a source of household food self-sufficiency.