YOU CAN EASILY GROW VEGETABLES AT HOME

Terrace Garden:

There is no space left for the ever-increasing population itself. Then where do you plant a garden? The answer is Farming is also in trouble in recent years. Hence they use chemicals and poisons to their crops and soils abundantly. These persistent pollutants have affected the health of farmers and consumers. It is common to find chemical residues in vegetables like tomato and brinjal and fruits like pomegranate and grapes etc. Organic farming is discussed a lot now. But the ground reality is something different. Realizing all these nature lovers of the cities started growing organic food at least for their own consumption. Hence terrace gardening is becoming popular. Despite the shortage of space, water, time, and patience many of them are getting into it.

In principle, there is not much difference between the kitchen garden on the ground and the terrace garden. Due to a shortage of space and light on the ground, the garden has moved to the rooftop. However terrace garden cannot be as natural as the garden on the ground. Obviously, it is a bit artificial. There is a limitation for the selection of plants for the terrace garden. Closely spaced tall buildings permit very less light penetration to space in between. Hence terrace gardening is the only option left for the people of the big cities, it enables us to grow and use poison-free fresh and

The terrace garden is a great opportunity for senior citizens to spend their time and helps to maintain good health. It gives sufficient physical exercise to homemakers of the cities. Children get exposure to the world of plants. It creates interest and curiosity in them about plants, insects, birds, and nature. Terrace gardening is an interesting change of work for employed youth at the weekend. Terrace gardeners get the satisfaction of reducing pollution of the city to a little extent. The terrace garden creates a cool micro-climate on the open hot terrace. Thereby it keeps the home below cool.

A rooftop garden can be a good place for morning exercise and meeting with friends in the evening. Even if the yield of plants is not up to the expectations the other benefits are assured. If the yield is sizable by proper planning and maintenance, it saves the spending on vegetables every week. One can grow and use medicinal plants like Basil, sweet flag, ginger, Brahmi, mint, neem, Giloya, etc. as well. Apart from all these the emotional touch with these plants and vines gives freshness to the busy mind of the city people.

Choosing Plants:

Local crops and varieties are preferred as more yield and profits are not the targets. Indigenous varieties have more disease and pest tolerance. They withstand water shortages. The yield may be less. But we find a lot of diversity in local crops and varieties in their color, taste, etc.

Vegetables:

You can grow leafy vegetable like , mint, Methi, Brahmi, , colocasia, different types of etc. One can go for common vegetables like capsicum, cabbage, onion, garlic, turmeric, ginger, potato, green peas, etc. We can opt for climbers like chow-chow,  snake gourd, bottle gourd, different types of, etc. Perennial plants like Indian spinach, little gourd, Indian borage, curry leaf, etc. are also successful with bigger containers.

Fruits:

Terrace gardeners can go for perennial fruit plants like banana, guava, sapota, pomegranate, papaya, avocado, clustered apple, mosambi, orange, lime, cherry, strawberry, fig, vanilla, grape, sugarcane, etc. But these plants need more space and the gardener must have the patience to wait till they bear fruits. High-speed wind on the terrace tears out banana leaves leading to small fingers. Plant only grafts while opting for fruit plants. Normally grafted plants are bushy in nature and bear fruits early. Keep on pruning the tips of vertical shoots and lateral branches to restrict it to a bush of 5 to 6 feet high.