Ritu Soni, 46, living in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, has been doing Rooftop Gardening on her terrace since 2017. On her 1200-square-foot terrace, she is growing ornamental (ornamental) plants as well as fruits, flowers and seasonal vegetables. She says that many of the needs of her house are met by her garden. Along with this, she is also giving information related to horticulture to the people through her YouTube channel.
Growing up in the midst of trees and plants since childhood, Ritu worked as a teacher for about eight years. But due to some health issues, she had to leave school. After this, she started spending her time in gardening. She explains, “There have always been trees and plants in my house. Earlier I was not very much involved in their care. But, after leaving the job, I started getting a lot of time. Our roof was also empty, so we felt that it should be used for some good work and for this, nothing could be better than gardening. ”
They took some trees from the nursery and some grew from the seeds themselves. She says that she started with some vegetables as a ‘hobby’ and then grew interested in it. Today she has more than 550 trees on her roof, for which she does not buy any compost or nutrition from outside, but she prepares everything by herself through biological methods.
Planting fruit trees like orange, papaya, litchi:
Ritu says that she plants seasonal vegetables like coriander, mint, capsicum, brinjal, ghee, pumpkin, luffa, green chillies, tomatoes, cabbage, radish, carrots, peas etc. in her terrace garden. Along with this, they have also planted many colorful flowers with basil, mint, gurl, rose and many more.
You will also find fruit trees like papaya, orange, pomegranate, lychee in their garden. She explains, “Vegetables and flowers are easy to grow on the terraced garden and for these, you don’t even need a big pot or a grow bag. For green leafy vegetables, 6 to 8 inch flowerpot or grow bag is sufficient, then you can apply vegetables in 12 to 15 inch flowerpot or grow bag. But for fruit trees, you have to pay special attention. By the way, it is best to grow fruit trees on the ground. But, nowadays you also get many grafted plants from nursery, whose roots do not spread much. Still, you need deep pots for them. ”
Ritu has fruit trees planted on her roof in large drums. However, she recommends that you plant large trees on the roof only if your roof can bear so much weight. Place them on the roof in such places where they can support the wall from below.
House in available Things To Used Tax Start Do the Gardening:
Ritu says that to do gardening, it is not necessary that you buy pots or trees from the nursery. In the beginning, you can use old and useless things available in your home. Look into your house and you will see lots of old plastic bottles, cans, empty packets of flour and rice, cardboard boxes etc. You can use them instead of pots.
Apart from this, you should collect all kinds of organic waste like fruit-vegetable peels, egg peels and tea leaves etc. from your kitchen. Now, get some soil from a park near you. In plastic bottles or packets, fill soil and organic waste together. Add a few drops of buttermilk or curd to it and cover it on some shade. In about a month, the compost will be ready in all these bottles and packets. You can plant seeds or small plants in this compost.
You do not even need to go to the market for seeds. In the beginning, you can take seeds from your kitchen. You can also apply whole coriander, dry red chilli seeds, bought from the market, tomato or capsicum seeds. She says, “All you have to keep in mind is that there is no shortcut to gardening. You planted them and the plants arrived – it does not happen! So be patient. Take care of your plants. It takes time for plants to grow, flowers or vegetables on them. Failure is also found at times. But, don’t be disheartened because the more you do gardening, the more you understand trees and plants. ”
Some Tips:
* Start with plants that require little care.
* Try to prepare compost and nutrients for your plants at home.
* Take care of your garden according to the weather. For example, in the winter, give water in the morning and in summer in the evening. If the heat is too high, water the plants twice.
* If a plant has not grown, do not give up at once, but keep trying continuously.
She also started her own YouTube channel, ABC of Gardening, to give people information related to gardening. Today she has more than 1.7 lakh subscribers. She says her husband inspired her to start a YouTube channel. She said that while she can teach children in school, she can also teach people gardening on YouTube. She has uploaded over 600 videos on YouTube.
Summer Gardening Tips: Keep your garden green in summer with these methods
Ritu says in the end, “Doing gardening does not just increase greenery but it also gives a lot of peace and peace to your mind. By taking care of plants, we develop patience and exercise. Also, your outlook starts to be positive. I can say all this from my experience. Therefore, everyone must do some gardening. ”
To contact Ritu Soni, you can see her Instagram page.
Inputs: Thebetterindia
