Orchards and vegetable gardens in the sky
|
Turn your terrace into a fruit and vegetable garden, suggests ANIL KUMAR SASTRY
|
HOME DELIGHTS: The terrace garden of Sowbhagya Sadashiva in Jayanagar VII Block. — Photos: Bhagya Prakash K.
Vegetable prices are soaring either due to "shortage of rains" or due to "excess rains." Being a health-conscious person, you are not sure whether the vegetables you buy s contain chemical residues. How grand it would be if you could pluck vegetables from your terrace and prepare the dishes!
But few people can afford to have some space for a kitchen garden in their backyard. Think terrace. Terrace is still vacant and why don't you bring up your kitchen garden and get vegetables throughout the year?
A 9" thick soil layer on the terrace is enough to support plants, provided adequate waterproofing has been done to the terrace. However, growing plants in pots has become more popular as it requires less soil, points out B.N. Vishwanath, a former professor with the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. Any container that allows drainage of water can be used to grow plants, Dr. Vishwanath suggests.
However, it is not only vegetables that can be grown on your rooftop.
If you have interest and passion, you can turn your terrace into a full-fledged garden comprising vegetable plants, fruit-yielding trees/plants, flowering plants, decorative plants and even medicinal plants.
The first step
The main inputs in terrace gardening are the container (pot), soil (preferably red), sand, compost and plants. Select earthen pots of 12" inner diameter; fill the bottom with pieces of broken pot covering the drainage hole; cover the crocks with just enough coarse sand so as to fill the gaps; lay a three to five centimetre thick dry leaf bed atop crocks; fill the pots with pot mixture to the brim; water the pots till water comes out through the drainage hole so as to ensure that the entire column of soil in the pot is moistened and now the pots are ready for planting.
There are different methods of sowing, says Dr. Vishwanath. In case of leafy vegetables, the seeds have to be mixed with an equal quantity of fine sand before spreading them in pots. Then cover the seeds with a thin layer of sandy soil and water lightly with mist spray, keeping the mist till germination begins. Large seeds can either be sown in pre-formed furrows or individually into pots.
You should make a proper planning while placing pots. Pots have to be placed in rows in east-west direction so that plants get adequate sunlight. Pots meant for taller plants must be placed on the western side of the terrace so that their shade does not obstruct sunlight for smaller plants.
Adequate space should be left between rows to allow you to water and de-weed the plants. While the parapet protects the plants from gusty winds, a three-feet barbed wire fencing or mesh could be erected on parapets to support creepy/trailing type of vegetables like gourds and cucumbers.
For taller fruit plants, a big container — either plastic drum or gunny bag or a cement container — may be used.
Compost
Compost plays an important role in bringing up your garden. While increased awareness among people has pushed chemical fertilizers to the backseat, farmyard manure, organic manure and vermi-compost are preferred.
You can either prepare organic manure or vermi-compost or buy from stores or the agricultural university.
You can grow commonly used vegetables on your terrace, including leafy vegetables such as amaranthus (dantu, keerai), coriander (dhaniya, kothambari), fenugreek (menthe), Indian spinach (basale) and lettuce; gourds like pumpkin, ash gourd (boodu kumbala), ridge gourd (hirekai), bitter gourd (hagalakai), bottle gourd (sorekai), chow chow (seeme badane), cucumber, little gourd (thondekai), sponge gourd (thuppada hirekai), snake gourd (padavalakai), watermelon (kallangadi hannu) and muskmelon (karabooja); root vegetables such as radish, carrot, beetroot, onion, garlic, ginger and mango ginger (mavina shunti) and other vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, capsicum, chillies, tomato, bhendi (bende kai) and brinjal. Similarly, you can grow a variety of fruit plants in big pots including mango, orange, pomegranate, musambi, custard apples, banana and guava.
Bringing up flowering plants is yet another interesting aspect. Spice crops such as black pepper, clove, and cardamom could also be grown on the terrace besides betel vine (veelyadele).
Sowbhagya Sadashiva, wife of former High Court Judge A.J. Sadashiva, underwent a training programme conducted by Dr. Vishwanath under the Association for Promotion of Organic Farming (APOF) and she was hooked to roof garden. The terrace on their house at Jayanagar VII Block is a must-see for all those who love rooftop gardening. She has a variety of plants right from medicinal plants to Nanjanagud banana, from orange to bhendi, from kanagile flower to roses.
Not costly
The expenditure is not huge, Ms. Sowbhagya says, adding that gardening demands about two hours a day.
She has already reaped many vegetable crops and fruits such as pomegranate, orange and guava even as she is patiently waiting yields from banana and mango.
The Horticulture Department has been offering the Urban Horticulture Training Programme to those interested since three years.
The Department Director, G.K. Vasantha Kumar, says the concept has attracted many a people, especially housewives and retired persons. The department has identified six non-governmental organisations and through them has been offering training programmes.
.While those planning a rooftop garden at the time of construction of the house can make the roof stronger, those with already constructed houses can place lightweight material to bring up plants.
Dr. Vishwanath has written a book "A Handbook of Organic Terrace Gardening" brought out by the APOF, priced at Rs. 100. APOF, headed by former UAS Vice-Chancellor, G.K. Veeresh, can be contacted at Alumni Association Building, Veterinary College Building, Bellary Road, Ph: 23516060, email: aporganic@yahoo.com or apof@vsnl.com
Dr. Vishwanath conducts one-day training programmes for housewives and other interested persons on organic terrace gardening.
He can be contacted on 28485717, 9845627217, email: vishy_Kadur@yahoo.co.in.
Any container that allows drainage of water can be used to grow plants.
Pots have to be placed in rows in east-west direction so that plants get adequate sunlight.
Pots meant for taller plants have to be placed on the western side of the terrace so that their shade does not obstruct sunlight for smaller plants.
Adequate space should be left between rows to allow you to water and de-weed the plants.
Training programme conducted by Association for Promotion of Organic Farming (APOF) has helped create many terrace gardens.
The Horticulture Department has been offering the Urban Horticulture Training Programme for the last three years.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
