We always love the feeling of
acupuncture when the tender grass tips tickle our foot skin, the moment we step
out into a lawn. A bit of greenery is what almost many of us prefer in order to
soothe our senses to tranquility, far away from urban pollution. But then
again, raising a lavish garden villa is not quite affordable by the common mass
who manage to summarize their dream home whims within the defined boundaries of
stereotype apartments. These coops addressed at the community gateways often do
not provide the residents opportunities to implement their gardening skills due
to lack of open space. Here is when ‘Balconies’ and ‘Terraces’
come into picture to allow the creative brushes to paint them green.
Recently, Bangalore is experiencing
the nuances of ‘organic terrace farming’, which first took off during a
workshop at the Institution of Agricultural Technologists (IAT) in 1995,
under the pioneering campaign by Professor Dr B.N Viswanath, against all the
poisonously fertilized vegetable market yields. Indian Institute of
Horticulture Research (IIHR) alarmingly concluded that vegetables sourced
from the peri-urban area in the vicinity of Bangalore contain unacceptable concentrations
of chemical residues owing to the excess sprinkling of pesticides and spraying
of irrigation water contaminated with sewage and heavy metal effluents. A
prolonged ingestion of these chemical garnished crops can lace our gene pools
with ribbons of mutations…. Towards worst path of course, the deficiencies
finally leading to handicapping diseases.
So why not gift our terraces the
opportunities of becoming our personal organic crop-field for medicinal,
flowering and fruiting plants? In turn they will cleans our micro-climate free
of pollutants, increase oxygen prevalence and eventually persuade our lifestyle
to transform from junk perverts into healthy & active ones.
The propaganda preached about
dedicatedly utilizing the unrestricted sun-exposure in the terrace spaces
(ranging from 400sq ft. to 1200sq ft.) in cultivating common growers like;
·
Leafy vegetables (coriander,
fenugreek, Indian spinach, lettuce)
·
Gourd family (pumpkin, ridge gourd,
ash gourd, bitter gourd, chow chow, bottle gourd, little gourd, cucumber, snake
gourd, watermelon, muskmelon)
·
Root vegetables (carrot, radish,
onion, beetroot, ginger, garlic, potato, oal)
·
Other vegetables (tomato, chillies,
capsicum, cauliflower, cabbage, brinjal)
·
Fruiting plants (orange, mango,
pomegranate, musambi, custard apples, banana, guava)
·
Spice crops (black pepper, clove,
cardamom)
Besides these kitchen favorites,
flowering foliage can also add to the ornamental growth of the garden utilizing
the basic techniques of nursery preparation, followed by pot making, methodical
sowing, and formulation of compost (preferably vermin-compost). The grooming
can be executed in consequent stages with the aid of appropriate equipment. It
is to be borne in mind that irrespective of our costliest attempts to set up a
leafy terrace (beginning with a minimum of Rs. 20,000), a weak water proofing,
absence of healthy spacing in between plants, over fertilizing or sunlight
deficit is enough to prove the efforts futile.
Bangalore seems to be ramping up in
welcoming this culture of ultra-well-living. Recently the dwellers witnessed a Organic
Terrace Gardening (OTG) workshop held at Vittal Mallya Scientific
Research Foundation (VMSRF), in BTM Layout II stage. From implementation
point of view, Koramangla house makers have scored an advantage point.
February 24, 2013 will see Triangle Park, Sadashiv nagar, host another workshop
titled ‘Oota from your Thota’
for garden enthusiasts within the city.
If essentials are to revised,
quality seeds can be procured from Sahaja Samrudha, Green Foundation
or Vanashree. Experts are also suggesting Rain Water Harvesting for
maintaining the supply of potable water to the plants.
