Enjoy fruits of your roof

Do your feel the pinch on your pocket due to steep rise of seasonal vegetables and fruits ? Well, you are not the only one to face the onslaught of high-prices of fruits and vegetables. But, then what is the option before you. Hold on, you have an option to tackle the situation. For facing the brunt of high-cost of vegetables and fruits, you need to become a farmer. Yes,farmer. Well, you do not need farmland to grow vegetables and fruits of your choice. If you have space on your roof or even balcony,you can enjoy the fruits of your hard work. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of stepping out on the balcony to pick your own fresh vegetables.
“Dr. B. N. Vishwanath, who has pioneered organic terrace gardening in India, said that the only way to counter the health hazards of chemical poisons in food is to take up organic terrace gardening.
“With the pressure on farmlands and its rising cost in big cities, there is hardly any space to have a garden. This is where terraces come into the picture, he says.
Relax,even if your green space is limited to a small rooftop or balcony, you can grow vegetable vines to harvest fresh vegetables. What to grow depends on what your family likes. Beans are the easiest and offer many kinds to choose from. You can enjoy the beans as tender pods and then leave some to mature and dry, storing the dry seeds for later use. Tomatoes may be slightly harder, but worth the effort, as the delight in the home-grown ones is in the freshness. You could also try cucumber or any of the gourds: snake gourd, bitter gourd, or ridge gourd. Vegetable marrow is a perennial that will grow for many seasons.
According to Mr.P.L.Sharma,formerly of Indian Institute of Agricultural Research , “ Vegetables grown in the urban areas contain higher chemical residues than what is accepted at the international level. Presence of sewage and heavy metal effluents in water used for irrigation purposes and chemical pesticides render the yield unfit for human consumption.”
According to Dr.Vishwanath,“You can grow commonly used vegetables on your terrace, including coriander (dhaniya), fenugreek (methe), Indian spinach, gourds like pumpkin, ash gourd (boodu kumbala), ridge gourd (hirekai), bitter gourd ( Karela), bottle gourd ( Lauki),cucumber, watermelon (Tarbooj) and muskmelon (kharabooja), root vegetables such as radish, carrot, beetroot, onion, garlic, ginger and mango ginger and other vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, capsicum, chillies, tomato, bhendi and brinjal. Similarly, you can grow a variety of fruit plants in big pots including mango, orange, pomegranate, musambi, custard apples, banana and guava.”
According to a South Delhi based realty adviser Anil Makhijani, “ As I visit lot of houses in South Delhi and Gurgaon with my clients, I find a drastic change of use of roofs.Terrace gardening has become an in-thing. People in capital are now growing vegetables in containers and benefiting from organic produce treated with natural pesticides and insecticides”. He also adds that those houses with roof-gardens get thumbs-up from prospective tenants. They prefer to live there.

Dev Kumar Tyagi, an ad professional, says that as he belongs to the family of farmers with lot of land, he feels so happy to maintain his terrace- farms in his DDA flat in Mayur Vihar.“ Along with me, many other neighbours of mine are following me. When you grow your own vegetables and fruits on a terrace, it gives you huge satisfaction part from the fact that you get chemical-free fresh vegetables. This will not only save money, but also time and energy spent on several trips to the vegetable market on polluted roads. Above all, the biggest gain would be eating healthy,chemical-free vegetables.”
What exactly would you need to start your terrace garden?
So, are you all set to start your own terrace garden ? According to experts, the set-up costs of terrace gardening depend on whether you want to start step-by-step or all at once. If you want to start all at once it will around Rs 25 thousand.
Noted architect Azmal Zaheer Khan of Capital’s Kothari Associates cautions all those who are planning to start roof-farming. “ I think you should avoid farming on your roof if it is weak or leaking. It would further damage your roof. You need to make sure that the roof on which the gardening is to be done, should be strong enough to carry the weight of the garden.”

Experts are also of the view that to prepare your drainage system you need to do the roof garden construction. Lay only burnt bricks uniformly on the terrace. Burnt bricks are the best bet, because the normal ones turn into mud and collapse the drainage system. Corrugated sheets can also serves as a good option, but should be placed at 3′ distance to make the water flow to the drain.In top of the bricks, lay a net lawn. This will prevent the soil to get inside the bricks.

You may not get required success in your endeavour to become a farmer if your roof is surrounded by tall buildings and not allowing sun rays to fall on the roof, you can’t grow vegetables.

Avtar Singh, who grows vegetables in his East Delhi house, says that terrace gardening gives you the opportunity to get closer to nature, without taking much efforts. It is a type of indoor gardening, where you take care of your indoor plants as well as rejuvenate your inner self.
If you have a balcony or extra space to dedicate to your plants, you can grow vegetables that require larger containers, such as cauliflower and brussel sprouts. If your space is more limited, eggplant, peppers (both bell and hot), salad greens and herbs all grow well in smaller containers. Carrots will also grow in small containers that are sufficiently deep. If you are lucky enough to have a balcony, you can use it to grow plants that require structural support. Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and other vine plants require trellises, cages or poles to grow properly. You can use the beams and fixtures of your balcony as supports for these plants.
P.L.Sharma says that if your space is really just too limited for plants but you still would like a garden, do some research into community gardens in your neighborhood. Some non-profits and community groups transform vacant lots into gardens where local people can rent plots. It is time for you to become farmer and enjoy the fruits of your hard work.