Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Setelah benih tumbuh tinggi, petani menambahkan pupuk lagi sebelum musim hujan. - After the seeds grow tall, the farmer adds fertilizer again before the rainy season.

In most everyday contexts, they are interchangeable:
- Setelah benih tumbuh tinggi, ...
- Sesudah benih tumbuh tinggi, ...
Setelah is slightly more common in written/neutral Indonesian.
Sesudah can sound a bit more casual or traditional in some regions, but it is fully correct.

So yes, you can say Sesudah benih tumbuh tinggi, petani menambahkan pupuk lagi sebelum musim hujan.

In benih tumbuh tinggi, why is there no word for “be” like in English “become tall” or “grow tall”?

Indonesian does not use a separate verb like “to be” in this kind of structure.

tumbuh = to grow
tinggi = tall / high

So benih tumbuh tinggi literally means “the seeds grow tall”:

benih (subject)
tumbuh (verb)
tinggi (adjective describing the result/state)

You could also say:

benih menjadi tinggi (the seeds become tall) — more explicit, but not necessary.
benih tumbuh sangat tinggi (the seeds grew very tall).

The pattern [subject] + [verb] + [adjective] is very common:

anak itu tumbuh besar = the child grew big
tanaman itu tumbuh subur = the plant grew fertile/luxuriant

Why is the word benih used for “seeds”? Could I use biji or bibit instead?

All three exist, but they’re used a bit differently:

benih
- Often used in agriculture, farming, seed packets, etc.
- Has the sense of seeds (for planting), with a focus on cultivation.
biji
- General word for seed (inside fruit, nuts, etc.).
- biji mangga = mango seed
- Not always something you plant; it’s just the seed as an object.
bibit
- Often used for young plants / seedlings / saplings or breeding stock:
  - bibit padi = rice seedlings
  - bibit ikan = fish fry (for cultivation)

In real farming language, once the benih have sprouted and are clearly plants, people may also call them bibit or tanaman. Using benih here is fine and natural, especially if the focus is on them as planted seeds.

Why is there no word like “the” before petani? How do we know it means “the farmer” and not “a farmer”?

Indonesian does not have articles like “a/an” or “the”. The noun petani can mean:

a farmer
the farmer depending on context.

In this sentence, from context we assume it’s a specific farmer already known in the story or situation, so we translate it as “the farmer” in English.

If you really want to stress “a farmer” (not specific), you can add:

seorang petani = a farmer (one farmer)

But most of the time, just petani is enough, and the listener uses context to decide whether it’s definite or indefinite.

What is the difference between menambahkan and menambah? Why use menambahkan here?

Both come from the root tambah (to add), but:

menambah
- Basic transitive verb: to add (something).
- Petani menambah pupuk. = The farmer adds fertilizer.
menambahkan
- Has suffix -kan, often making the verb more explicitly directed to an object or result.
- Very common with tambah, and often sounds a bit more natural/complete in many sentences.
- Petani menambahkan pupuk. = The farmer adds (some) fertilizer.

In many everyday situations, menambah and menambahkan with a direct object are interchangeable in meaning. Here, menambahkan pupuk sounds very natural; menambah pupuk is also correct but a little shorter/rougher in feel.

In pupuk lagi, what exactly does lagi mean? Does it mean “again” or “more fertilizer”?

Lagi here can be understood in two very close ways:

again
- He had already added fertilizer before, and he did it again.
- Petani menambahkan pupuk lagi = The farmer added fertilizer again.
more
- He added more fertilizer (an additional amount).
- This is basically the same situation, but the focus is on quantity.

In this kind of sentence, “again” and “more” overlap in meaning, so both English translations are natural:

added fertilizer again
added more fertilizer

Context determines which nuance is stronger, but the Indonesian sentence itself fits both.

Why is there no past tense marker in menambahkan? How do we know this happened in the past?

Indonesian does not change the verb form for tense (past, present, future). The verb menambahkan always has the same form.

Past, present, and future are usually shown by:

time expressions: kemarin (yesterday), besok (tomorrow), tadi (earlier), nanti (later), etc.
context and sequencing words: setelah (after), sebelum (before), etc.

In your sentence:

Setelah benih tumbuh tinggi (“after the seeds grew tall”)
sebelum musim hujan (“before the rainy season”)

These time markers and the logical sequence make it clear that this is describing past events, even though menambahkan itself is not marked for tense.

Can sebelum be followed by a full clause, or only by a noun like musim hujan?

Sebelum can be followed by either:

A noun or noun phrase:
- sebelum musim hujan = before the rainy season
- sebelum makan (here makan functions like a noun: “before eating”)
A full clause:
- sebelum musim hujan datang = before the rainy season comes
- sebelum hujan turun = before the rain falls
- sebelum petani menambahkan pupuk = before the farmer adds fertilizer

So your phrase sebelum musim hujan is a very natural and common shortened form; expanding it to sebelum musim hujan datang is also correct.

Could the time phrase sebelum musim hujan be moved to the front of the sentence?

Yes. Indonesian word order for time expressions is flexible. All of these are correct:

Setelah benih tumbuh tinggi, petani menambahkan pupuk lagi sebelum musim hujan.
Sebelum musim hujan, petani menambahkan pupuk lagi setelah benih tumbuh tinggi.
Petani menambahkan pupuk lagi sebelum musim hujan, setelah benih tumbuh tinggi.

The meaning is essentially the same; changing the order can slightly change which part you emphasize, but it does not make the sentence ungrammatical.

Why is there a comma after Setelah benih tumbuh tinggi? Is it required?

The comma separates a dependent time clause from the main clause:

Dependent clause (time): Setelah benih tumbuh tinggi
Main clause: petani menambahkan pupuk lagi sebelum musim hujan.

In standard written Indonesian, when a clause starting with setelah, sebelum, ketika, karena, kalau, etc. comes first, it is normally followed by a comma.

If you reverse the order, the comma is usually not needed:

Petani menambahkan pupuk lagi sebelum musim hujan setelah benih tumbuh tinggi. (no comma needed)

So, while in informal writing people may drop it, that comma is recommended in good written Indonesian.

What exactly is musim hujan? Is it just “rainy weather”, or does it mean something more specific?

Musim hujan literally means rainy season:

musim = season
hujan = rain

In Indonesia and many tropical countries, seasons are often thought of more as:

musim hujan = rainy season
musim kemarau = dry season

So sebelum musim hujan means before the (coming) rainy season, not just before it rains on a particular day. It’s about that longer period of the year when it rains a lot.

Could we say memupuk instead of menambahkan pupuk? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can. The meanings are very close:

pupuk = fertilizer
memupuk (meN- + pupuk) = to fertilize (to apply fertilizer)

So:

petani memupuk tanaman = the farmer fertilizes the plants
petani menambahkan pupuk lagi = the farmer adds fertilizer again

Differences:

memupuk is a single verb specifically meaning to fertilize.
menambahkan pupuk is a more transparent phrase: literally “to add fertilizer”.

In your sentence, both would be fine. If you change it, you’d normally mention what is being fertilized:

Setelah benih tumbuh tinggi, petani memupuknya lagi sebelum musim hujan.
- memupuknya = fertilize them/it again (the seeds/plants).