India: Retired Couple’s Spectacular Terrace Paradise Has Made Them ‘Gardening Gurus’
The couple use farmyard manure, vermicompost, neem cake and pungam cakes as manure. They also use coconut coir, which plays a key role in providing an ideal growing environment to the plants.
By Sanjana Santhosh
Better India
Jan 20, 2021
Excerpt:
To set an example of how organic farming can be done easily from home, a retired couple from Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district has set up a mini forest on their rooftop. Madhubalan and his wife, R R Suseela, who both worked with the agriculture department, grow over a 100 plants in a 1,500 square foot area and have trained over 100 families in organic farming in their neighbourhood.
“While working as an agricultural officer, I had the opportunity to visit many houses and fields where farmers carry out cultivation. However, I noticed that only a few of them could take up cultivation near their homes, owing to a lack of space.
This made me think of how cultivating on rooftops might be a better bet, because many houses have one, and it may help those who don’t have much land at their disposal,” Madhubalan tells The Better India.
In 2011, Madhubalan discussed this idea with his wife. Over the next few days, the couple came up with a plan, keeping in mind things to ensure before opting for a rooftop garden.
The 62-year-old says the first and most important step is to waterproof the garden to prevent water from seeping into homes below. For this, he and Suseela opted for a solution which accounts for expansion under physical or thermal movements of the building, without compromising on the durability and protection. Next, they installed a water storage tank in the garden, because carrying a bucket of water to the roof every day was not feasible in the long run. Then, they collected seeds, manure, and grow bags, which they bought from trustworthy organisations and other farmers in their village.
