The concept of terrace gardening has certainly unveiled the passion for farming in people who do not belong to farming-based families and those who live in urban areas. People, who were born in agriculture-based families and villages do have the opportunity to smell the green through the day, watch the saplings grow, identify basic illness and nutrient deficiency of the crops, soil characteristics and much more.
To the contrary, for those who are born and brought-up in urban families remain ignorant of the vegetables and fruits they consume. After identification and reciting the name of fruits and vegetables at the school level many of the children haven't seen vegetables or fruits grow in real-time. Despite the compelling urban schedules, there are a lot of people who posses an ardent passion for farming. Then comes the situation, Passion Vs Practicability? Compact houses with barely space for living does not allow to think more, that's when terrace gardening, evolved!
Terrace gardening is a boon for those who live in compact houses or apartments without any small piece of land for growing plants. Terrace gardens creates a real-time platform for the kids to watch vegetables, fruits and greens grow, real-time. Involvement and joint efforts of the family members in gardening creates a stronger bond and helps them ease-off from their electronic devices. The butterflies, the bees, the sparrows that visit the gardens, helps the kids understand the eco-system in a much better way.
'The main things required for terrace gardening are grow bags, soil enhancing organic fertilizers, water and above all patience', says Rajendran who is the founder of a city-based NGO Pasumai Desam, involved in creating more green cover to the city. In this interview Rajendran shares with us some mindful tips to be followed for maximum benefits out of terrace gardening and conserving water.
'All the essential materials can be sourced from one's own house. In the recent days, terrace gardening has gained popularity, yet the starters are unaware of the exact way to go about it. Unknowingly, they spend a lot of money to start a small terrace garden. Claiming themselves as garden experts, a few people take advantage of the ignorant situation of the starters mis-guide the starters by selling grow bags, soil, organic fertilizers, seeds, shade nets etc., for exorbitant prices.
Actually, an old rice sack, thick polythene bags, waste cement sacks are more than enough to create a terrace garden, there is no need to but grow bags for money. Filling soil with organic composts and coconut husk will aid in healthy growth of plants and to maintain balanced moisture levels. Many of the starters might experience situations like seeds not sprouting up on-time or decay of saplings etc., mostly the reason behind such things could be because of excessive moisture content in the grow bags, thereby allowing the seeds to decay.
As the moisture content on the terrace floor is more, the grow bags have to be placed on a few bricks. This is done to avoid the seeds getting affected by the excessive moisture content on the terrace floor. Continuous contact with moisture may decompose the seeds. In case of using, polythene sacks, holes at regular intervals must be made in the sack to permit water circulation.
Again, organic fertilizers can be procured from our home kitchen itself. Buying them for money is not required at all. Everyday the vegetable wastes from the kitchen can be decomposed and created into very effective organic composites.
On an average, for a terrace garden with 1000 sq.ft area, close to 75-100 litres of water is required on a daily basis. During summer, as most people buy water for money to meet their day-to-day requirements, it becomes extremely burdensome to spend 75-100 litres of water for terrace gardens.
To tackle such situations, planting varieties that thrive on scanty water resources will be a good alternative. Likewise, using waste water from the kitchen is yet another smart way to address the issue. Not just during water crisis, on a daily basis the water used for cleaning and soaking of rice, grains, vegetables etc., can be unquestionably used for watering the plants in the terrace and gardens.
Shockingly, everyday we waste 35 litres of water on an average for cleaning utensils. And, in bigger families the volume is even higher. Just dumping used water from kitchen into sinks is a futile act. Whereas, it could be turned into a fruitful act by conserving them to water the plants.
However, it is to be noted that once the water is mixed with utensil-cleaning bars and gels the water becomes unusable. Hence, while washing utensils, the utensils can be first dipped in water and then washed with soaps.This dipped water can be used for plants. Plants do not require mineral water but just water free from soaps and chemicals.
More than passion, terrace gardening should be carried out with immense responsibility towards preserving natural resources. These days, the heedless attitude of people has led to diminishing of natural resources like water. People take natural resources for granted, they think it's abundant and hence could be wasted. Mankind's impetuousness in handling natural resources will lead to inexorable consequences.
Hence let's grow plants thoughtfully and add more green to our environment in the most responsible way possible', says Rajendran from Pasumai Desam.