Ambika ensures that the components that go into the garden are completely chemical-freeThiruvananthapuram: The trend of terrace farming in urban areas has been steadily catching up across the State, of late. But, not many have opted to grow paddy on their terrace mainly because of space constraints and complicated cultivation methods.
However, Ambika, a housewife hailing from Sreekarayam, near here, decided to buck the trend and the results are there for everyone to see. She has successfully grown the ‘Uma’ variety of paddy on the rooftop of her residence ‘Chithram’, which could inspire even the most inexperienced gardeners to take up farming in a small space.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, the green cover on the terrace of ‘Chithram’ where paddy is grown on hundred-odd pots is definitely pleasing to the eye.
Farming techniques
Before sowing, the seeds are kept in grow bags filled with red soil, lime mortar powder to improve their germination. Cow dung and vermicompost manure would be added at regular intervals for about twenty-five days. In the meantime, Ambika would prepare the ‘paddy field’ by arranging hundreds of pots on the terrace. At the bottom of each pot, coconut husks soaked in lime mortar mixture would be placed to maintain the needed moisture level in the soil as well as to keep it free from pests and disease. A minimum of four saplings can be sown in a single pot.
Cattle compost and bio-slurry pellets would be applied from the fourth day onwards. On the fiftieth day, each pot would be filled with water mixed with a pinch of lime mortar powder. Paddy would be ready for harvest within 105-110 days of sowing, Ambika says.
Organic fertilizers
Ambika ensures that the components that go into the garden are completely chemical-free. She makes organic manure called Hridayaamrutham with a mix of jaggery, cow dung, cattle urine, green leaves and eggs. Flour of any pulse will be an effective soil enriching agent. Neem kernel extract is also used as effective pesticide, she adds.
Ambika now has plans to increase the yield by expanding the ‘area under cultivation’ to about four hundred pots and by growing paddy throughout the year. She can be contacted on 9447022007.
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