“I believe that there should be a rule in our country that the roof-balcony of every house should be full of greenery. Terrace gardening and rainwater harvesting should be essential for every family, ”says Ajay Kumar Jha, who lives in Delhi. Ajay is working in the administrative department at Tis Hazari Court and has been living in Delhi for the past several years. Ajay, originally from Bihar, has a deep affection for trees and plants since childhood. His father was in the army and came from a peasant family.
He says, “Dad used to always grow something even when he was in the quarters during his army job. One always had to go to the village during the holidays and the joy of seeing the trees laden with litchi, mango, guava there, cannot be described in words. That’s why trees and plants continued to be an important part of my life as well. ”
When he took his own house in the Krishna Nagar area of East Delhi, he prepared the roof for gardening. They made small beds on the roof from cement all around and then started planting trees and trees in the pots as well. Ajay says that his gardening started with 10-12 trees, but today he has more than 1000 trees and plants. Which includes about 25 types of fruits, flowers, vine and medicinal plants along with seasonal vegetables. In addition to earthen pots, drums, there are treeless plants in the house like waste bottles, plastic bottles, cooler bases, mixer jars and mugs.
Children should know how to grow vegetables:
Ajay further says that he has tried to grow almost all kinds of trees in his garden except wheat and paddy. He says, “I use to plant very different trees in my garden because I want to connect my children with nature. I try to make my children know how a potato grows and its leaves. Due to rising buildings in big cities, we are getting away from nature. Our children are not getting the childhood that we have got. So I always try to make my children enjoy nature in the same way that I have enjoyed it. ”
Ajay says that the garden he has maintained on the roof has happened in the last six-seven years. However, he also has trees that are about 10-12 years old because if he had lived on rent before then he would have planted trees there too. Today, on the roof of their 80-yard area, grapes, pomegranate, chiku, guava, orange, lemon, basil, ashwagandha, giloy, aloe vera, neem, datura, aparajita, vyjayanti, rudraksh, along with zucchini, spinach, All types of seasonal vegetables are grown like fenugreek, coriander, tomato, cabbage, potato, onion.
He says that despite his job, he takes full care of his garden. No matter how many nights he returns from his work, he first sees his garden. Water our plants. He uses organic waste from his home to make manure. Apart from this, he gets old cow dung manure from the surrounding villages and gives his plants from time to time. In addition, he regularly weeds in his plants.
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“It is most important that you understand nature. Experiment in your garden. Try to plant new plants and the most important is soil and water. My garden has soil from eight states. If I go anywhere, then I only bring some pots from there and soil with them, ”he told.
They get a lot of fruits from all their fruit trees. Similarly, vegetables are also available in every season. Different types of vines, medicinal plants and flowers keep their home in prominence. In addition to them, besides butterflies, there are plenty of squirrels, small birds and different kinds of insect moths.
Keep these things in mind when starting gardening:
Ajay advises those who want to start gardening, “From now until the last week of June, new beginners in gardening should stop. Rising temperatures all over North India can drain your hard work. So start gardening during the rainy season because plants grow very quickly during this season. ”
Some Gardening Tips
1. If you are gardening for the first time, start with the local trees and plants. First of all, take plants from a local and reliable nursery and plant them. Along with these plants, you can also plant seeds of coriander, dry chilli etc. in small pots from the kitchen of your home. Apart from this, you can also grow peppermint, spinach, basil, rose.
2. Soil and water are most important for plants. The thicker the color of the soil, the more fertile it will be. So if you are not getting fertile soil then in some ways you can make it fertile. For example, wash used tea leaves in water and dry them. After it dries well, grind it and mix it in the soil. Apart from this, many people also add cow dung manure, cocoapeat etc.
3. Give water according to the weather and plants. If it is summer, then water the plants two or three times. Water requirements are less in winter.
4. If you only have a balcony, then plant more vine plants in the balcony.
5. To plant fruits and vegetables, it is important that you get enough sunlight.
He said that before starting gardening, think about how much gardening you can do in whatever space you have available – outdoor, indoor, flowers, fruits, vegetables etc. Only after deciding all this, you start concentrating and start gardening. As you start gardening, it will become a part of your life and your understanding of trees and plants will grow.
And finally he just says, “Gardening started as a hobby quickly turns into a habit and practice, being a great alternative to stress reduction for a human being.” It has a very positive effect. So everybody should do gardening. ”
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