Reap what you sow at home

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves”. We were born as natural living beings. So, why die consuming synthetic and unnatural products? Research has shown that there is a direct correlation between poor health and diminishing levels of nutrition in the chemically-grown food we eat.

In fact, there are enough studies showing consistent increase of harmful chemical residue and decrease in nutrition content in our fruits and vegetables over the past two decades.

In such a scenario, lots of people are opting to grow organic and chemical-free food at homes. Food grown organically in your balconies or terraces can be a good substitute to the hybrid and chemically-treated vegetables and fruits purchased from supermarkets or your nearest vegetable shop. Not only does organic gardening enhance your health quotient, but also adds to your house’s style quotient and helps  reduce your monthly food bills, too!

There are numerous other benefits of having your own organic garden at home:
 It helps reduce the amount of pesticides and toxins in the environment.

It transforms unused and sterile spaces like rooftops, patios and balconies into liveable spaces that are lush, productive and purifying.

It reduces the environmental footprint of the house and makes communities more sustainable.

Plan before you plant
Rooftop gardens may be designed in various ways. The most well-known are gardens grown in containers. Once you have decided to farm organically in your backyard or on your terrace, consider following these steps for a healthy and productive garden:

Find a place or area in your balcony or terrace that receives a lot of sunlight – at least four hours a day. If you are using the terrace, you may want to waterproof it. Plan and decide how much space you want to spare for your garden – the consumption, requirement of your family and your budget matter here.

Planning helps you to optimally utilise the available space and harvest the
produce round the year. Keep gardening equipments handy. You may need:

Compost
Natural fertiliser/pesticide
Pair of garden gloves
A spray bottle to water
A small trowel

Choose the right planter boxes
Choose the right containers to grow your plants. Ideally, you should choose food-grade pots or planter boxes as they are more durable and are made from 100 per cent food-grade plastic so you can be sure that no harmful chemicals leak in and get mixed with the soil.

Use nourishing soil
Using the right soil is the most important part of organic gardening. Healthy organic soil is populated by millions of organisms including different types of bacteria, fungi, yeast and earthworms. There are over one billion bacteria and over 1.2 million other micro-organisms in just one teaspoon of healthy soil. All this life aerates the soil and breaks down organic matter, improving the structure and overall fertility of the soil.

Experts recommend using a mixture of coco peat and vermin-compost (50:50 ratio) for a balcony garden. Using coco peat brings down the weight of your soil container. This makes it a great option for balconies and terrace gardens. Coco peat also absorbs more moisture than soil, which means you will have to water your plants less. Coco peat-based organic manure can either be mixed at home, or bought off-the-shelf from a certified organic retailer.

Plant healthy seeds
Make sure you use organic seeds and seedlings for your organic garden. Organic seeds are not genetically modified or treated with fungicides. Start with easy-to-grow seeds and plants that can be found in any Indian kitchen, like coriander seeds, fenugreek, mustard, etc. Then you can move on to planting greens – many of them are ready to harvest in a month. Even a large amount can be harvested - enough for a family’s needs, once they grow. If you want to be sure of the purity of these, you should buy only organically-certified seeds.

Nourish them well
It is very important to take care of the seeds once they’re sown. The seed requires certain elements in the right quantity, like:

Sunlight: Different plants have different sunlight requirements. Seeds sown in a seed tray (or anything similar) do not need direct sunlight for the first one or two weeks. If your plants do not do too well under the scorching sun, then you can consider installing a shade net, which cuts off the amount of direct sunlight hitting the plants and protects from the rain too.

lWater: Do not overwater or underwater. On an average, watering on alternate days is good enough. If you overwater, the water that drains out will take away the nutrients. And, of course, you will be wasting water too.

Organic fertilisers and pest control: Certified organic fertilisers improve the physical and chemical properties of soil as well as increase the nitrogen fixation in soil. Certified organic pesticides available in the market help prevent your plants from being attacked by whitefly, fruit and stem borer, aphids, etc. Liquid organic growth promoters and neem cakes can also be used to improve productivity.

lComposting: You can prepare compost at home with a pile of leaves and grass. Save your coffee grounds and filters, fruit peels, tea bags and fruit cores in a milk carton on the kitchen counter and then mix them with the leaves. Throw a handful of dirt on top of the pile and stir it with a shovel.

Dust the compost periodically on the soil of your plants or use it to grow more seeds in a 50:50 mix of native soil and compost. You can also make your own compost out of household food waste, by using kitchen waste composters or vermicomposters.

Once you take care of these factors, you will begin to see how this garden of yours will begin to yield fruits and joy! The trick lies in not getting intimidated by the task. 

(The author is CEO, Purna Organics Private Limited)