TERRACE GARDENING: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

admin | March 2, 2020

Residents in the urban neighborhood sometimes find life exhausting than those who live in a semi-urban or village, the fatigue is often attributed to the absence of greenery around them. To some extent it is true. A majority of urban dwellers today initiate and support terrace gardening and roof terrace garden as a solution to the mood altering lack of greenery around them. A longsigted action such as this is helpful for our environment and the future of mankind. Getting into the local attitude towards terrace gardening, the notion is higher in every part of Kochi. Residents of apartments in Kochi cultivate their vegetables and garnish their place of residence with flowers and herbs.

The trend in vegetable cultivation has been practiced by several households in the 2 and 3 bhk apartments in Kochi. A four-membered family can jointly plant and maintain vegetables for their daily life. Also, it is highly appreciated if they follow organic treatment too. There are certain government schemes and plans to encourage the usage of organic vegetables and in the process promote organic terrace gardening. In the current urban setting, mostly women are concentrated on cultivation tasks than men. Home-bred cultivation can equal out the stress levels and acts as a diversion from hectic professional life.

Before getting into the home terrace garden and cultivation, it is essential to have some vital information in arm’s length. This way you don’t stumble midway. Practices such as vertical terrace garden and hanging terrace garden, proliferate the beauty of your apartment building and balconies. The beauty of this garden is in the fact that you can grow flowers, fruits or vegetables, right on the terrace, balconies or roofs of the building.

Here are some terrace garden tips to have a look while building yours:

• The place to build: Terrace gardens can be built almost on any type of dwelling setup whether the building roof is on an apartment in Kochi, or in a normal house. Because terrace farming or terrace gardening can be created in any kind of building, commercial or residential for that matter. Even the roof can be flat or slanting.
• Preparing the roof: You can start by waterproofing the roof and making sure it is water-resistant and no room for leakage. This way the building will never have any damage in the future. Water-proofing is a simple technique to follow. To fulfill your requirement, there are various products available in the market.
• Start Planting: You will want to start with organically-grown plants and seeds. Conventionally-grown plants are often already loaded with pesticides and chemical fertilizers — exactly the types of things you’re trying to avoid in your vegetable garden. Organically-produced seeds are harvested from organically-grown plants, never treated with chemical pesticides or fungicides, and never genetically modified. For your plant and flower garden on the roof, you start small. Planters and pots are best for terrace gardens. Instead of buying pot from the outside you can use a container from your house. Cover the drainage hole at the bottom with stones so that there is space for the water to flow but no soil is discharged. Mix soil, compost, sand, and vermin-compost in equal quantities and fill the pot. Wet the soil and sow the seed or sapling and watch it grow.
• Choose variety: The garden belongs to you and no one has any say on that. You can choose what to grow. We suggest you bring in more creativity to what you do. You don’t have to stick with one family of plants or flowering plants. Choose a special portion on your terrace for flowers and plants, choose another portion for vegetables or plant them in between. The variety doesn’t always have to be in selecting plants but you can apply the same in choosing pots and containers. Try to stick with recyclable plastics or clay plots. You can go for different colors. Use coconut shells, bottles, kitchen utensils and other available hard material that can carry water.
• Choosing plants: Unlike potting indoor plants inside the rooms, a small terrace garden has differences in its selection of plants. If you want to grow vegetables then start with ones that grow fast and don’t require much effort. You can cultivate coriander, fenugreek, gram, chili, capsicum, spinach, etc. Once you have gained confidence then you can grow anything, even the fruits and vegetables of your choice. Almost all vegetables can be grown on the terrace.
• Seasonal planting and results: Stick with seasonal fruits and plants and vegetables. 1 square meter of the terrace can nearly produce somewhat between 25-30 kg of vegetables in a year. FYI: You can also grow 6 different types of vegetables in a season.

If you are living at Kochi in an apartment with a terrace garden, you can find out the difference a terrace garden makes to your daily health-life. If you allocate your space and time in the right place you can see the difference it can bring about in a month or so. Apart from focusing on the health benefits of a terrace garden, there are other advantages of terrace gardening which we can be brought to the residents, especially in the current scenario, where climate debates are hurling. This talks about the subject of the preservation of green. When it comes to preservation, terrace garden maintenance should be considered while on the go. You only have to spend an hour hardly in your terrace garden and maintain the flowers, plants, and vegetables accordingly.

Veegaland Homes head-quartered in Kochi supports every Green Initiatives that are good for the future. The Luxury apartments in Vazhakkala, Kakkanad; Green Clouds, is a towering example of nature’s finest approval for eco-friendliness. Green Clouds apartment has a lengthy terrace garden on its roof and even every balcony of the building carries multitudes of plants and flowers on them. Veegaland Apartments in Kerala are equipped with balconies that can be apt for any cultivation.

Veegaland’s all ongoing projects are K-RERA registered – KingsFort | K-RERA/PRJ/031/2020, Zinnia| K-RERA/PRJ/038/2020, Exotica | K-RERA/PRJ/039/2020, Thejus | K-RERA/PRJ/040/2020, Bliss | K-RERA/PRJ/115/2020