They say no, when you want something with a sincere heart, you will get it at some point or the other. Something similar happened with Anupama Desai, 53, of Surat. Anupama had a special attachment to trees and plants since childhood. But he could never find a place to do gardening. Ten years ago, when he got his house built, he got some space to do gardening. Although he still does not have land, he has planted about a thousand plants in pots inside his house.
Talking to The Better India, he said that there is so much to learn and know about plants, which you can never learn by just reading or watching. For this you have to experiment on your own.
How did you become fond of gardening??
Most of Anupama’s childhood was spent in the village. Since her maternal uncle and maternal grandfather were farmers and she used to visit there frequently. There, he enjoyed playing in the fields, planting trees, taking care of them. She says, “Since my mother is the daughter of a farmer, she has a good knowledge of horticulture. However, due to space constraints, she too could not grow much.”
Even after marriage, when Anupama was living in the apartment, she used to grow something or the other. Those plants were mostly indoor plants. Sometimes indoor plants also used to die due to lack of light. This made Anupama very sad. His hobby of planting green trees was fulfilled when he got his house built in Surat. She says that since my house is in the east-west direction. Therefore, the roof of the house remains sunny throughout the day. For this reason, he thought of doing gardening on the terrace. He started with plants like rose and money plant. Later taking information from his mother, he started growing vegetables. She says, “Often whatever vegetables came in the house, whether it was bitter gourd or ladyfinger, I started putting the seeds in the pot. When the plants came out of them, I would have been very happy.”
from one to a thousand plants
Anupama keeps growing something or the other in every waste box lying in the house. Even if it is a two inch box. Inquiring from here and there and bringing seeds, he started planting vegetables and fruits. The quantity of fruit is less due to the pots being planted, but the taste was very good. She says, “There were many vegetables that my children never used to eat, but when the same vegetables were grown at home, they started eating them with great fervor.”
His family members now immediately feel the difference in the taste of vegetables and fruits in the house and in the market. Sometimes they also became very upset due to a particular pest, disease of plants or when the plants did not have the desired productivity. Then he came to know that a four-day workshop on terrace gardening is being organized by Navsari Agricultural University in Surat. He participated in this workshop. From which he got many information about making potting mix, planting seeds, or preparing soil.
She says, “The workshop was of great benefit. However, you don’t really learn until you try everything you learn on your own. I got the knowledge of which plant’s nature is from my own experience.
Many exotic vegetables and fruits grow on this terrace
Since her three children are all grown up, she devotes most of her time to gardening. His children also help him from time to time, but due to studies, he is not able to devote much time. She says, “The kids enjoy doing things like harvesting, potting soil or painting the waste bins in the house to make beautiful pots. Also, on this pretext, he is also able to spend some time with nature.
Their terrace grows over 30 seasonal vegetables including dragon fruit, polo mint leaves, star fruit, strawberries, watermelon, figs and red okra. Apart from this, he also likes to plant herbs, decorative plants and cactus plants.
Last year at the time of Corona, many people came to him to learn terrace gardening. She takes workshops on terrace gardening in her own home. Along with this, they also provide plants according to the need of the people.
Anupama’s Gardening Tips
- For planting saplings, use waste bins lying in the house as much as possible.
- Use a stand instead of placing the pots on the ground. This will cause the water in the pot to flow out. Whereas water does not flow in the pots placed on the ground, which can damage the roof.
- If you are bringing in seeds from outside, make sure that the seeds are not too old.
- Before putting it in the pot, it is necessary to do soil sterilization. For this, put some water in the soil and place it on the plastic and cover it with another plastic from above. Leave it in the sun for about 21 days, this will warm the soil well.
- For potting mix, use of neem cake along with normal soil, cocopeat or cow dung is suitable.
- Make sure that all the plants get sunlight.
In the end Anupama says that spending time in the care and maintenance of plants is like meditation for her. At the same time, due to this, his family gets to eat organic vegetables as well, that is, benefit only.
If you have any question related to Terrace Gardening in your mind or you want to get any kind of opinion from them, then you can contact on this number 9427111881.
happy gardening
Editing: Archana Dubey
Also read: Growing Lemongrass: There Are Many Benefits Of Planting Lemongrass At Home! Learn from the experts the right way to apply it
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