Gardening

The term 'gardening' automatically conjures up visuals of an enclosed planned space, usually outdoors, where both ornamental and food plants are grown. But with shrinking open spaces in urban areas, people have had to become more creative in order to become more green. Terrace gardens! Not only are these green patches a visual delight but they also help provide city farmers with a healthy, organic food palette, free of pesticides.

An expert on terrace gardens, Dr Vishwanath Kadur has some simple tips to grow food on one's roof in earthen pots. Panchgavya, a concoction made up of cow dung and urine, fermented with a host of other ingredients, is another organic solution that can be prepared conveniently. Vani Murthy explains how a roof garden can be enriched through vermi composting.

A garden is possible no matter where you live. All you need to do is to flex your green thumb! Read our FAQ on terrace gardens and get answers to some basic questions that will have you get started on this exciting venture!

 

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Featured Articles
July 9, 2019 Study shows how rainfall and temperature affect variety of plants in major bio-geographic zones of India
Image used for representational purposes only. Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr
July 1, 2019 Study reveals women are central to both food production and preparation, as well as to domestic water provisioning.
A woman from the Ahir tribe at Chapredi village, east of Bhuj with cotton husks. (Image: Meena Kadri, Flickr Commons, CC BY-ND 2.0
June 18, 2018 Ecological sanitation toilets are the best option to deal with mounting sewage burden in India.
Chicu with a pan used in ecosan toilet. (Photo courtesy: Chicu Lokgariwar)
February 17, 2016 Flood affected areas in coastal Odisha have adopted new ways of farming. Called floating gardens, these have the scope to reduce the food insecurities of the landless poor.
Women working on a floating garden (Source: RCDC)
November 22, 2015 Terrace kitchen gardens are slowly making their mark in the tourist hotspot. A couple helps those interested in organic farming either find good farmers or become one themselves!
Karan and Yogita at a workshop on organic container kitchen gardening
April 28, 2015 Policy matters this week
The Nakshatra Garden
Green islands amongst Mumbai’s brick and mortar: A video about some amazing work done by local citizens in setting up community gardens within the city
Lush green spaces thrive in the heart of Mumbai, thanks to a green initiative ‘ Urban Leaves’ that provides information and knowledge to the local community to reconnect with nature. Individuals, friends and families – all eager learners pledge their time and energy, come soil their hands and grow organic greens together. Posted on 07 Feb, 2013 11:32 AM

Source of video: Urban Leaves

Video: Practising high-density micro-organic farming on your roof top - An interview with Mallesh, Purna Organics, Bangalore
Concerned by the growing health issues, Mallesh, an IT professional started Purna Organics in Bangalore. This start up organisation offers the following services: creating awareness about organic farming, helping interested individuals and families in setting gardens in their homes and also provide routine maintenance services. The video shows how families can practise high density micro organic farming in small tubs, with adequate watering and protection from pests. Posted on 05 Feb, 2013 04:46 PM

Source of Video: Chai with Lakshmi

Sustainable livelihoods: Beans inter-cropping coupled with farmer enthusiasm help boost farm income in Bejaletti village in Erode district of Tamil Nadu
Seetha Gopalakrishnan writes of her visit to Bijaletti village in Erode district, which is dominated by the Sholiga tribes and farmers work in their fields for 6 to 7 months in a year Posted on 03 Dec, 2012 03:16 PM

Breaking away from routine is not an easy task. The case with farmers is no different. Our village of interest, Bejaletti in Erode district, is dominated by Sholigas tribals, where farmers mainly engage in agricultural activity for almost 6-7 months of the year.

Maharashtra mulls new social forestry policy in non-forest areas to improve greenery-Roundup of the week's news (October 22 - 28, 2012)
The news this week informs of the new social forestry policy in Maharashtra, illegal mining in Goa and the use of sewerage water to grow vegetables in Bangalore Posted on 29 Oct, 2012 10:36 AM

Maharashtra mulls new social forestry policy in non-forest areas to improve greenery

Video on how to vermi-compost in your apartment- A webisode in Chai with Lakshmi
This video is a webisode of Chai with Lakshmi, shows the easy to follow steps through which vermi-composting is done in apartments Posted on 18 Oct, 2012 06:51 PM

Video on how to grow vegetables in pots: A webisode by Chai with Lakshmi
This video includes an episode of Chai with Lakshmi that shows how to grow vegetables in pots Posted on 26 Sep, 2012 08:31 PM

A story of an innovative farmer in Vijayapura - Wastewater reused to grow fodder and even vegetables
This video tells the story of a farmer in Vijayapura who uses wastewater to grow vegetables and fodder Posted on 24 Aug, 2012 04:32 PM

Farmers near the small town of Vijayapura are faced with a decline and disappearance of groundwater. Bore-wells as deep as 1100 feet have gone dry. Apart from the great loss in money that they face they also have no livelihoods to eke out a living. Some innovative farmers have started to use the towns waste-water to grow fooder and even vegetables.

Soil health, conservation agriculture and climate change - Symposium in February 2012 by CASA and SPWD at NASC, New Delhi
This article provides the details of the day long seminar organised by CASA and SPWD that aimed at sharing experiences and approaches to address soil health and climate change related issues Posted on 10 Jul, 2012 08:51 PM

conservation agriculture

Image courtesy: Center for Advancement of Sustainable Agriculture (CASA)

Papers on wastewater treatment in Delhi by Elsevier publications
These papers look at the microbiological quality of treated wastewater in Delhi and the sources of microbial pollution during dry and wet weather in Delhi watersheds Posted on 10 Jul, 2012 05:47 PM

1.Reuse of treated sewage in Delhi city: Microbial evaluation of STPs and reuse options
Priyanka Jamwala,  Atul K. Mittal

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