Bangaloreans realizes the necessity of producing food self for their family. More and more people are finding time to maintain their vegetable garden no matter how busy they are. Majority of the people agree that working in the vegetable garden is a relief from all tensions. It is not only a stress buster but also gives safe and healthy food, you get fresh vegetable from your gardens. Directly pluck the fruits from the plants and eat or cook without loosing its freshness, avoid vegetables comes with pesticide residues you buy from the market, reduce buying from out side and save money. Many organizations are taking initiative to help people for starting vegetable gardens. Conducting organic terrace gardening workshops are one of the examples for that.
Mrs. Rama Rao from Bangalore a professional from the development sector who believes in a greener future produces vegetables on her own on her terrace top. She finds time to look after her plants even in her busy life. And importantly she teaches her 3 year old son about vegetable gardening and farming. This is what more parents don’t care about. Below are some points from the conversation.
- How did you start terrace gardening?
I already had a small front yard garden in front of my house. But I always wished to grow plants in my terrace too. However, I was not sure how to go about it. So I wrote to Dr. Vishwanath, a well known exponent of organic terrace gardening in Bangalore. He mentioned about the workshops he regularly conducts in various parts of Bangalore, and thus I attended one of them at the next instance. It was really nice experience of knowing in detail about the way to proceed ahead. Thus, in last October, immediately after that one day workshop, I started my activities on my rooftop - Since how long are you doing terrace gardening?
Its been about 6 months now. - How do you find time to look after your plants?
Actually this has been my only problem. I am a regular 9 - 5 person and additionally a mother of a super active 3 year old kid. Hence time is a very precious commodity. But since Gardening is something that I always liked and also that I have a reasonably good green thumbs, I make time for it. So I devote lot of my time for that during the weekends. Initially, it was a bit difficult since I had to scour around for pots, soil, manure, seeds, saplings and other things. Also, I had to watch on a daily basis about how the plants were germinating, which saplings needed to be transplanted etc. But slowly it became organized and now I keep my garden small enough to manage things the way I want. - What are the plants or crops you cultivate?
I have grown quite successfully herbs like Methi, Coriander, Palak, Mint, Colocasia and such. I have also grown vegetables like Beans, Brinjal, Ladies Finger, Cow pea, Chow chow, Malabar cucumber, Potatoes, Raddish, Beetroot, Sponge Gourd, Bitter Gourds, Green chillies etc. I also grow flowering plants like chrysanthemum, marigold, hibiscus, periwinkle, Four 'o' clock flower plants and few more whose English names I am not familiar with. - Explain Method of cultivation, bio fertilizers whether you make your own or buy from outside etc.
I usually use pots, old plastic cans, crates, even polythene sacks or any other such discarded materials for containers. I make my own potting mixture of 1:1:1 ratio of red sand, soil and manure. Sometimes in place of soil I use cocopeat and in place of manure I use vermicompost. I also compost my organic waste, however, since the quantity is small, I either buy organic manure and/or vermicompost from outside. For pest control however, I only use home remedies like sprinkling turmeric/ chilli powder, spraying affected parts with dilute non-detergent soap solution, sprinkling wood ash etc. - How many plants do you have?
The number of plants in my garden vary from 25 - 50 at any given time. Depending on how much time I am able to give, I add or minus plants from my collection. So on an average, I tend to somewhere between 30 plants a day. - What is the area approximately used for vegetable garden?
About 100 sq feet area only. So there is huge potential if I plan to upscale my garden since I have a terrace of about 600 sq.ft free area. - Any other hobbies other than terrace gardening? -
I am an avid reader and a hobby writer. I regularly review books and publish them online for a book library. I also publish my other writings on some interesting websites. - What is the advantage of terrace or roof top farming in your opinion? -
Green is very soothing. I find it really stress busting when I am between the plants on my terrace. Also its a great feeling to see a seed germinate, become seedling and then grow into a full fetched plant to produce yield all under your tender care. Its also nice to grow a small portion of your daily nourishment that is organically grown with lots of loving care and personal interest. My son who is just 3 years old takes keen interest and daily spends some time on the terrace helping me water these plants etc. It is good to inculcate such good habits from an early age. He is also happy to see and recognise a tomato or a bitter gourd directly on the plant which otherwise he has seen in pictures and books. - What about buying food and vegetable from outside? -
I still buy vegetables from outside since my garden cannot fully supply for all our daily needs. But I am happy to reduce by whatever little percentage that I have. The main issue of outside stuff is that we are not aware in what conditions they are grown. Also, with all the harmful pesticidal residue, sooner or later our health will slowly take a beating. Nothing beats freshly harvesting your vegetables from rooftop and directly using them in your kitchen. How much better it is to use cold storage, refrigerated or not so fresh supply from outside. - How the current young generation go about producing food self?
If we let go of our "I don't care" attitude, we will certainly be able to bring the change that we seek in the society. Small little steps like just being aware of environmental issues, food inflation rates, climate change patterns, possible interventions etc will sooner or later inspire you to grow your own food. All of us have an innate green thumb and definitely growing plants is NOT difficult nor demanding on your time. Take it up as a hobby in the beginning. Start with something small and which you like, may be some coriander or mint. See how good you feel when you see your plants sprouting. That will be the beginning which will further lead your way to bigger things.
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