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A Beginner's Guide to Urban Terrace Farming
Here is an everything-you-need-to-know guide to the art of growing your own food on terraces
Ketaki Godbole Randiwe
30 June 2019
Would you like to become an urban farmer? Instead of growing just roses and chrysanthemums would you like to raise everything from basil and mint to lettuce and tomatoes, or even cauliflower? If so, you have come to the right place. Urban farmers are fast becoming a popular breed of people who want to know exactly where their food comes from, and what exactly goes into growing it. With a well-thought-out set-up and some pre-planning, it is possible to have your own personal farm, putting your barren terrace space to good use, so it becomes the garden you always dreamed of.
Why is rooftop farming a good idea?
Rooftop gardening or terrace gardening is becoming increasingly popular in cities, thanks to both the paucity of space as well as the citizens’ need for greener environments. It is only natural, then, for open rooftops in cities (summer conditions permitting) to serve as healthy, alternative spaces to grow a garden. And what better way to use your terrace than to grow your own nutritious food produce? Here, we present a complete beginner’s guide to urban terrace farming.
Set out your terrace kitchen garden with the help of a professional
Rooftop gardening or terrace gardening is becoming increasingly popular in cities, thanks to both the paucity of space as well as the citizens’ need for greener environments. It is only natural, then, for open rooftops in cities (summer conditions permitting) to serve as healthy, alternative spaces to grow a garden. And what better way to use your terrace than to grow your own nutritious food produce? Here, we present a complete beginner’s guide to urban terrace farming.
Set out your terrace kitchen garden with the help of a professional
What are the benefits?
1. Temperature control: Exposed rooftops in cities can contribute to the increase in surface heat (also known as a phenomenon called urban heat island effect). Farming on your rooftops can lower the overall temperature of your house by 7 per cent.
(source: www.downtoearth.org.in)
2. Encouraging eco-friendly practices: Encouraging practices such as home-composting greatly helps in reducing the waste loaded daily onto city garbage dumps. Growing your own food can also lower the overall water consumption and make use of harvested rainwater.
3. Pesticide-free food: While different cities need to adapt their gardening efforts according to their weather, the urban farming trend has caught on globally, prompted by the fear of pesticides in commercially grown produce.
1. Temperature control: Exposed rooftops in cities can contribute to the increase in surface heat (also known as a phenomenon called urban heat island effect). Farming on your rooftops can lower the overall temperature of your house by 7 per cent.
(source: www.downtoearth.org.in)
2. Encouraging eco-friendly practices: Encouraging practices such as home-composting greatly helps in reducing the waste loaded daily onto city garbage dumps. Growing your own food can also lower the overall water consumption and make use of harvested rainwater.
3. Pesticide-free food: While different cities need to adapt their gardening efforts according to their weather, the urban farming trend has caught on globally, prompted by the fear of pesticides in commercially grown produce.
4. Sustainable food: It decreases your food miles (the distance food is transported from the time of its production until it reaches the consumer) to zero.
For a family of four, four or five cauliflowers would provide enough for as many meals; four or five tomato plants, once they start fruiting, can supply tomatoes for everyday use throughout their growing season.
5. More green spaces: The luxury of enjoying a green space in congested cities is a rare one. By converting our rooftops and backyards into organic food gardens, we contribute to making a greener, healthier city.
Read more on organic gardening here
For a family of four, four or five cauliflowers would provide enough for as many meals; four or five tomato plants, once they start fruiting, can supply tomatoes for everyday use throughout their growing season.
5. More green spaces: The luxury of enjoying a green space in congested cities is a rare one. By converting our rooftops and backyards into organic food gardens, we contribute to making a greener, healthier city.
Read more on organic gardening here
How to start your urban farm
Fresh home-grown vegetables taste delicious, are good for the health and are safe from chemicals.
Begin with a few easy-to-grow plants, such as perennial fruit trees and leafy greens. These grow well in planters, grow-bags and even plastic drums, and therefore are a good way to start your urban farming journey. Once you get some good experience on farming in containers and grow-bags, you can try more complex techniques, such as planting in constructed raised beds.
Fresh home-grown vegetables taste delicious, are good for the health and are safe from chemicals.
Begin with a few easy-to-grow plants, such as perennial fruit trees and leafy greens. These grow well in planters, grow-bags and even plastic drums, and therefore are a good way to start your urban farming journey. Once you get some good experience on farming in containers and grow-bags, you can try more complex techniques, such as planting in constructed raised beds.
Going organic
To start with, try growing your produce on coco-peat, and later move on to a soil mix for more complex gardening. While growing leafy salad greens and seasonal potted flowers on the rooftop or terrace garden is simple enough, growing trees requires a lot more care, especially with the soil used. The soil must be very lightweight yet nutritious and not get water-logged. Hence a porous addition such as coco-peat and perlite to improve drainage is essential.
To start with, try growing your produce on coco-peat, and later move on to a soil mix for more complex gardening. While growing leafy salad greens and seasonal potted flowers on the rooftop or terrace garden is simple enough, growing trees requires a lot more care, especially with the soil used. The soil must be very lightweight yet nutritious and not get water-logged. Hence a porous addition such as coco-peat and perlite to improve drainage is essential.
Potting mix
The ideal potting mix for container farming should have garden-soil, coco-peat, fertiliser, vermicompost and perlite.
Here is a general potting soil recipe for flowers and vegetables suited to our climatic zones:
The ideal potting mix for container farming should have garden-soil, coco-peat, fertiliser, vermicompost and perlite.
Here is a general potting soil recipe for flowers and vegetables suited to our climatic zones:
- 23 litres coco peat
- 17 litres perlite
- 23 litres compost
- 4 litres garden-soil
- 375 millilitres of any granular, complete, organic fertiliser.
Perennial fruit trees
These are to be planted in sturdy plastic drums (100-litre capacity) or the largest available grow-bags. The trees that can be grown in this way include sapota (chiku), guava, custard apple (shareefa), bullock’s heart (ramphal), citrus fruit such as orange, lime and sweet lime, star fruit (kamrakh), soursop (Hanuman phal), Indian gooseberry (dwarf amla), bananas, rose apple or jamrul, purple jamun, dragon fruit, mango, litchi and Indian jujube (ber).
No space for a terrace farm? Try this
These are to be planted in sturdy plastic drums (100-litre capacity) or the largest available grow-bags. The trees that can be grown in this way include sapota (chiku), guava, custard apple (shareefa), bullock’s heart (ramphal), citrus fruit such as orange, lime and sweet lime, star fruit (kamrakh), soursop (Hanuman phal), Indian gooseberry (dwarf amla), bananas, rose apple or jamrul, purple jamun, dragon fruit, mango, litchi and Indian jujube (ber).
No space for a terrace farm? Try this
Tuberous plants and leafy greens
Sweet potatoes, potatoes, turmeric and ginger can be grown in separate grow-bags that are deep enough to cater for tubers. The greens you grow can include Malabar spinach, Brazilian spinach, and amaranthus, besides the usual spinach, mustard and lettuce.
Sweet potatoes, potatoes, turmeric and ginger can be grown in separate grow-bags that are deep enough to cater for tubers. The greens you grow can include Malabar spinach, Brazilian spinach, and amaranthus, besides the usual spinach, mustard and lettuce.
Flowering plants
The most important reason to grow flowers in your vegetable garden is to attract native beesand other beneficial insects. Without bees stopping by your garden to snack on nectar and swap pollen around, you’re going to have a pretty disappointing crop. Flowers such as bougainvillea, jasmine, gardenia, clematis, Rangoon creeper, hibiscus, rose, oleander, allamandas and plumerias can be grown in planters. You can also have a special butterfly garden that has plants like clitoria, parijaat, adeniums, lantanas, vincas and honeysuckle, which are great for attracting various species of butterflies.
Read more about butterfly gardens here
The most important reason to grow flowers in your vegetable garden is to attract native beesand other beneficial insects. Without bees stopping by your garden to snack on nectar and swap pollen around, you’re going to have a pretty disappointing crop. Flowers such as bougainvillea, jasmine, gardenia, clematis, Rangoon creeper, hibiscus, rose, oleander, allamandas and plumerias can be grown in planters. You can also have a special butterfly garden that has plants like clitoria, parijaat, adeniums, lantanas, vincas and honeysuckle, which are great for attracting various species of butterflies.
Read more about butterfly gardens here
Seasonal vegetables
They are best planted in beds which are 3 feet by 4 feet with a depth of 3 feet, raised at a four-brick height. These beds are made of wooden planks lined with plastic roofing sheets. The vegetables that can be grown in such beds include include beans, brinjals, tomatoes, okra (bhindi), sponge gourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, bitter gourd and bottle gourd. Gourds can also be grown in lightweight planters such as apple crates (1 foot by 1 foot with a depth of 2 feet), as can curry leaf.
They are best planted in beds which are 3 feet by 4 feet with a depth of 3 feet, raised at a four-brick height. These beds are made of wooden planks lined with plastic roofing sheets. The vegetables that can be grown in such beds include include beans, brinjals, tomatoes, okra (bhindi), sponge gourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, bitter gourd and bottle gourd. Gourds can also be grown in lightweight planters such as apple crates (1 foot by 1 foot with a depth of 2 feet), as can curry leaf.
Tip: For vegetables, it is always good to grow them on the southern or western side of your terrace so the plants will have enough sun and can thrive easily. But too much sun is not good either, so if you live in a warm tropical city such as Mumbai or Delhi, and especially in summers when the sun is too strong, it is advisable to provide afternoon shade to plants. So, as a beginner, it is a good idea to make a provision for light shade, with materials such as shade nets, above your vegetable patch.
Managing drainage and water-proofing
Residents on the floor immediately below the roof are often worried about seepage, a commonly experienced problem. Getting the rooftop professionally waterproofed is, therefore, a must. For rooftop vegetable beds a bottom layer of sturdy tarpaulin is recommended. Drainage of planters is very important and placing the planters on brick stands is also a good idea.
A mosaic of broken china tiles leaves the flooring well protected against seepage.
Residents on the floor immediately below the roof are often worried about seepage, a commonly experienced problem. Getting the rooftop professionally waterproofed is, therefore, a must. For rooftop vegetable beds a bottom layer of sturdy tarpaulin is recommended. Drainage of planters is very important and placing the planters on brick stands is also a good idea.
A mosaic of broken china tiles leaves the flooring well protected against seepage.
Herbs
Aromatic herbs, such as sweet basil, tulsi, mint, Indian borage, mustard, sesame and fennel, are ideally interspersed with vegetables in the bed, which not only help you to add flavour to your salads and teas, but also help in pollination and act as pest repellants.
Aromatic herbs, such as sweet basil, tulsi, mint, Indian borage, mustard, sesame and fennel, are ideally interspersed with vegetables in the bed, which not only help you to add flavour to your salads and teas, but also help in pollination and act as pest repellants.
Pest control
Organic gardeners do struggle to control pests, though rooftop gardens suffer less than the ones at ground level. Some common deterrents include using chilli and garlic decoctions, neem oil infused with common detergent and marigold petals.
Organic gardeners do struggle to control pests, though rooftop gardens suffer less than the ones at ground level. Some common deterrents include using chilli and garlic decoctions, neem oil infused with common detergent and marigold petals.
Utilising the vertical space
Smartly utilise your vertical space to double the space you have on your terrace. Make a plan on how you should do this. If you have walls, hang planters on it. Grow vegetable shrubs and vines such as beans, squashes, gourds and tall tomato varieties near the walls and railings. This way they’ll not only get support but also grow outside and upward and you’ll save a lot of your space.
Look for design ideas among these images of terraces and balconies
Smartly utilise your vertical space to double the space you have on your terrace. Make a plan on how you should do this. If you have walls, hang planters on it. Grow vegetable shrubs and vines such as beans, squashes, gourds and tall tomato varieties near the walls and railings. This way they’ll not only get support but also grow outside and upward and you’ll save a lot of your space.
Look for design ideas among these images of terraces and balconies
Maintenance and investments
With the right tools and a fair amount of research, anyone can start a small garden on their balconies or rooftops. With as little as half an hour a day of management and approximately ₹5000 a month of expenditure, you can easily start growing most of the vegetables that you consume at home, without harmful pesticides and fertilisers reducing their nutritional value.
With the right tools and a fair amount of research, anyone can start a small garden on their balconies or rooftops. With as little as half an hour a day of management and approximately ₹5000 a month of expenditure, you can easily start growing most of the vegetables that you consume at home, without harmful pesticides and fertilisers reducing their nutritional value.
Grown with love and care in this way, the garden isn’t just home to some great flora, but some interesting fauna too. Get ready to welcome sparrows and squirrels, and a few birds and insects that help in the pollination of veggie plants.
Tell us:
What edibles do you grow at home? Tell us in Comments below.
Read more:
7 Steps to a Kitchen Garden in a Small Apartment
10 Easy Edibles for First-Time Gardeners
What edibles do you grow at home? Tell us in Comments below.
Read more:
7 Steps to a Kitchen Garden in a Small Apartment
10 Easy Edibles for First-Time Gardeners
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