Urban Leaves India: March 2012

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Update on "Garden by the Bay" Winter Harvest

As promised we are back with update on Purvita's garden. 
In Purvita's words.....


"A whole lot of reviews on my terrace garden last time made me nervous.... I wondered, how I would ever manage to keep up to the expectations. 
Well after a big pause, I told myself, “what the heck, let me update the readers, forget what is expected!"
This is what I have done and would like to share.
Here are the pictures which are self explanatory, enjoy!"












More later... feel free to comment and most welcome to visit my terrace. Have made more of Amrut Mitti in containers and doubled the space with plantation. Wish to land a helping hand....??? pl contact.


Promise to reward you with a sapling in return.


Currently have sowed seeds of tomatoes, chillies, capsicums, variety of brinjals, bindi etc.... hoping the summer will be as good as ever, for us to have a bounty crop this season too.

Cheers and smile,
Purvita Kapadia
Volunteer - Urban Leaves Group

Thursday 1 March 2012

An Update on our activities - Vipul Sanghvi's "Kasturi Vatika"

Dear Friends
The National Seminar gave us an opportunity to learn interact and grow!
And grow we did!
For last two years we have been making Amrut Mitti.....And so have our volunteers in their own terrace and balcony sills. This year our focus is mainly on making our community gardens flourish and our fresh ventures on terrace gardens productive. 
We bring you some precious moments of collective effort which is the hallmark of Urban Leaves Team.
For those who have not read about Vipuls terrace earlier... click on the link below and then follow the thread.

Vipul Sanghvi's garden.

Vipul has been one of the most regular Volunteers at the Urban Leaves- Maharashtra Nature Park Community Farm. He observed, worked hard, took initiative and gave us lots of support in our activities.
He simultaneously worked on his own terrace garden.

Well you have already read the beginning of his venture ( link above) With loads of Amrut Mitti made, it was now time to design and create Vipul's farm! So what better opportunity could we ask for to practice what we had learnt on permaculture techniques recently learnt from Clea at the National Seminar!

                    Urban Leaves volunteers got together one bright 
Sunday, in Vipuls vatilka and  discussed, drew plans and designs and : D .......

Put their thinking caps on!
really engrossed in  the exercise!
group discussions and suggestions!
Samprati, the artist among us put on 
paper what we had imagined in our heads!
Then began the task of laying out the beds as per the design.
Measured the width of beds- to be easily reached from all sides.
Filled up beds with Amrut Mitti!
Planted a few saplings in drums and beds.

Whoa! After a month photos of the same garden!
1st batch of vegetables, herbs




                                Have focused on bio diversity! Increasing edges and curves!

                                       A coconut in the corner! Watch it after two years or so!

                                                                           Caulis.....
                                                                 Beet, radish, tomatoes.....
                                                                             spinach


                                                                              banana
                                                                             tomatoes!






                        I am sure you will all wish to have your own,  "KASTURI GARDEN" one day!

Rather than having rows of beds or number of containers with mono crops, our focus while designing was on bio diversity and multi cropping, using every inch of space, planting in three tiers ( the tall trees, followed by shrubs and ground cover crops) ! Designing a sustainable food forest on a terrace :D in a mega city Mumbai!

Keep a tab... and watch out for more stories!

The next garden we focus on is of Purvita Kapadia, who has been tirelessly working on her own terrace and in our Community Farm at Nana Nani Pak, Chowpatty!

Love and happy gardening
Preeti and
Team Urban Leaves