Urban Leaves India: A small farm at a balcony in Dockyard

Tuesday 19 January 2010

A small farm at a balcony in Dockyard

For eight years I grew up with natueco knowledge and experience of growing food on a terrace.
 Pl see http://natuecocityfarming.blogspot.com/2009/02/farm-on-terrace.html  for the details of  my background. However it was only when i came into contact with Monisha and started conducting workshops at MNP telling people they could do it at home that I started working on my small balcony at Dockyard road.

Monisha taught us to compost kitchen waste. I combined a bit of my natueco GYAN and devised a method for myself. My kitchen waste first goes into my basket, ( Aerated ) not covered, in my balcony, which gets good sunlight.After it dries, it goes in my earthen pot. A layer of red earth or Amrut mitti from the terrace is sprinkled every three- four days in it. I turn the material in the pot every Sunday. Sprinkle Amrut Jal in it if I feel it has gone dry. Not otherwise.

I have harvested some lovely compost from it once , in which I have planted tomatoes which are now flowering. In fact there are five tomatoes.... and I love to see their growth day by day!

Had planted some lettuce, spinach, chillies, lemon grass, kohlrabi and cauliflower  in Amrut Mitti.

have documented the progress in photographs..



I harvest about a sprigful of spinach per week from a single tub. Today I used it in my favourite raw spinach salad. it was crispy and sweet! : )

Will keep up with the updates. Do post in your experiences too.

Love
Preeti Patil

16.2.2010

After a wait of three months at last I harvested my tomatoes and Kohlrabi today.









They were so beautiful and delicious. Worth all the waiting!

Love Preeti