Gone are the days when one enjoyed the luxury of living in spacious bungalows with sprawling lawns and gardens where a part of it, mostly in the
back yards, were reserved for sowing of vegetables. The acute pressure of space
in our cities has forced even the rich to move into apartments. Depending on
the size of the plot, modern residential flats are generally provided with
balconies and terraces. Those fond of gardening, adorn these with ferns,
evergreens and flowering plants grown either in pots, hanging baskets or window
boxes.
But the memory of home grown
veggies served fresh on the dining table
lingers. Because of our dietary
habits,the daily intake of veggies is fairly high. One
has no option but to buy one’s daily requirement either from Mother Dairy booths or the
veggie vendors “Thelas” ( a few high end
fresh grocery stores like Honey Money ,
Reliance Fresh and Natures Basket have also come up)which dot all Delhi residential colonies.
These Subziwalas buy their ware from the Azadpur or Okhla Mandis and sell after
keeping small margins for their daily
labour. They are often not able to sell all the veggies on the same day and keep
these wrapped in soiled moist cloth to keep them fresh looking, to sell the next day, or the third/ fourth.
I present here for trial by you, my successful experiment of growing
veggies on terraces and balconies in specially designed and crafted CGI
sheet trays. Basically, I tasked the
good old steel trunk makers who are now almost out of business, but you can
also approach the desert cooler makers to fabricate a tray with a depth of 6 “.Specify the length and breadth to suit
availability of space on your terrace/ balcony. Ask them to make holes at
the bottom and ridges on the base to ensure drainage and two strong handles on
either side to lift and move them. After the trays are ready, fill them with a
mixture of manure,(Vermi Compost and Cocoa Peat) with sandy soil should work
best. You can sow seeds or seedlings of seasonal veggies of your choice, water
them regularly with a watering can, ensure adequate sun light and watch them
grow till they are ready to be plucked and eaten fresh. I have very
successfully grown a very wide variety of veggies like Methi,, Paalak, Red
Chaulayi Saag, Dhaniya , Pudina, basil, celery, cherry tomatoes, brinjals,
chillies, lettuce, pokchoi and parsley. These can also be frown in wooden trays, but those may last for just 2 years , while the CGI trays should be good for ten.
I am posting a few pictures of the veggies grown by me at our home to
illustrate what I am talking about. Hope a few among you shall get motivated to
start this very satisfying form of gardening in your home to get a more healthy
and tasty supply of daily veggies for your kitchens.
Have fun and try to get the kids involved too, in this exercise.They can
be encouraged to sow seeds and water the trays. Happy gardening.
DESI MAALI
