Terrace Vegetable Gardening

Booklet No. 595 Vegetable Production: VPS - 3

Contents Preface I. Introduction II. Advantages and Disadvantages of Terrace Garden III. Types of Terrace Garden IV. Materials Required for Terrace Garden V. Immediate Preparation VI. Planning and foresight VII. Conclusion Preface Various types of vegetables should form half the quantity of the daily food consumed by any human being. However, due to rise in prices of vegetables and growing urbanization people are unable to procure or cultivate enough vegetables to fulfil for their need. But seldom people realize that they can cultivate enough vegetables even in the urban areas in pots or beds placed or constructed on the terraced roof of their houses. This booklet explains the simple techniques of vegetable cultivation on the terraces of the houses. Dr. K. T. Chandy, Agricultural & environmental Education I. Introduction There are six major vitamins (Vit. A, B, C, D, E and K) and fourteen minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, sulfur, magnesium, manganese, sodium, chlorine, iodine, zinc, copper, fluorine, etc.) which are essential for the proper maintenance, growth and development of every human being. Under vitamin B itself there are different kinds of vitamin B and there are two kinds under vitamin D. They are all essential to human body. The absence or the deficiency of anyone of them will not only affect the growth and development of the human being but also cause serious diseases and irrepairable damage to their life, Most of these vitamins and minerals are to be obtained by the human beings, both in quality and quantity, from the vegetables. However due to the constant price rise people are consuming less and less of vegetables i~ their daily food. Besides, there are some other reasons also for less consumption of vegetables in their daily food. These reasons are beyond purview of subject matter of this booklet. We are living in a world in which the fast food culture is becoming an every day reality. People go more by taste and easiness than the actual nutritious requirements of their body. Several vitamins are lost in all the processed and preserved foods. Besides they do not consume or reduce drastically the consumption of vegetables. As a result people are deficient in vitamins and minerals. Being deficient in essential vitamins and minerals due to poor vegetable consumption or mere absence of them in the daily diet, the rich and the well to do people turn to artificial and commercial sources of vitamins and minerals in the form of tablets and tonics. Whereas the poor and less well to do people have to remain deficient in the vitamins and minerals and gradually become victims of diseases of nutritional deficiencies.

From the dietary point of view there are three types of vegetables: leafy vegetables, root vegetables and fruit vegetables. The quantity of these three types of vegetables to be consumed by every human being varies with sex, age and nature of work whether hard, medium or sedentary. However for practical purposes we can estimate the average amount of these three types of vegetables required per day per person in an average family size based on the recommendation of lndian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). After many years of research, ICMR made nutritional uptake recommendations for people of India. According to these, along with vegetable, certain other items should also be included in balanced diet of a man. The daily per head requirement of leafy, root and fruit vegetables amounts to 100, 50 and 50 gm respectively including the cooking and eating losses which cannot be avoided. In other words a family of five members require about 500 gm of leafy vegetables, 250 gm of root vegetables and 250 gm of fruit vegetables daily whether they take two or three meals a day. This amount of vegetables is required whether the family is vegetarian or non vegetarian. It is our experience that many people are unable to list out the various types of leafy vegetable, root vegetables and fruit vegetables. Also many people settle down to consumption of few vegetable as per their likes or dislikes. When people go to buy the vegetables they rarely think about nutritional requirements and they never buy vegetables accordingly both in quality and quantity. The same thing happens when they start cultivating vegetables. They grow one or two vegetables which they like very much. Both for proper buying and cultivation people should be familiar with all the types of vegetables coming under the three categories. If we buy all these vegetables at the market price it will cost a substantial amount and even people of the higher income group cannot afford to buy them. People in the rural area can cultivate the required vegetables from their land if they have land. In the urban areas-people usually think that they cannot cultivate the vegetables unless they have a piece of land. Therefore the landless in the rural areas and a vast majority of the urban people do not consume enough vegetables and consequently suffer from a number of nutritional deficiencies. But enough vegetables can be cultivated by the landless and the urban poor provided they have a terraced roof area or ground area of 30 x 20 ft which is the very minimal area for house. Vegetables can be cultivated in pots or in specially prepared beds. The manure required for the cultivation can be generated from the home and kitchen waste itself. All these procedures are explained in this booklet. The readers are advised to refer to booklets No. 351 on "Right to' Subsistence Level Diet No. 304 on "Nutrients Required for Human Growth & Development", 305 on " Deficiency Diseases of Nutrients in Humuns" and No. 307 on " Meal planning", No.144 on "Kitchen Garden": A Sustainable Model". II. Advantages and Disadvantages of Terrace Garden Terrace gardening for ornamental plant is quite common in the urban and rural areas. Most people would like to have few pots of ornamental plants some of which may be creepers, bushes, flowering plants or plants with bright colour leaves, etc. If all or most of these plants are vegetables one can easily imagine the economic benefit to the family" The advantages can be enumerated as follows. 1. We can produce all. the vegetables required for the home and need not depend on the market vegetables. Self sufficiency in vegetables means not only the saving of the

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money but also ensurance of proper health which again means saving of the hard earned money. We can have fresh vegetables. From the nutritional point of view fresh vegetables are necessary for maintaining proper health. Many a time the vegetables sold in the market are not fresh as they have to be transported over long distances from one part of the country to the other. There is less danger of consuming pesticides and other agrochemicals through the vegetables bought from the market. Vegetable growing these days have become an economic activity or rather it has become a business. In order to obtain higher income the cultivators use excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Most of the cultivators being illiterate are unable to calculate the exact amount of fertilizers and pesticides needed to make the solution for the application. They simply apply fertilizers and pesticides; in any amount thinking that the more the better. As a result most of the vegetables sold in the market are containing the poisonous substances from the pesticides. Whereas home made vegetables will be free from such chemicals. We can have the leafy, root and fruit vegetables in a balanced and required proportion as per requirement of the ICMR recommendation. When we depend on the market at times we do not get all these three kinds of vegetables throughout the year anyone of them may be too costly. Because cultivators are cultivating for greater profit and not for fulfilling the nutritional requirements of the people. We can have a useful and a profitable hobby in cultivating the vegetables. After the usual work in the offices and institutions etc. doing some work in the terrace garden is very helpful to get the mind refreshed and the body exercised. We can have these by going for a walk, going to clubs, gymnasium etc. But terrace vegetable gardening will give not only freshness of mind, exercise to body but also fresh and luscious vegetables. Further it will also save the hard earned money. The money saved thus every month can be deposited in the bank on a cumulative deposit basis and after some years we can 'have a substantial saving. We can easily recycle all the household and kitchen waste into manure and use them for growing vegetables, Normally these wastes are thrown around the house or on the road polluting very badly the environment and encouraging breeding of mosquitoes and flies. Whereas if all the house manage their own waste by composting it and using it for vegetable gardening we can easily imagine how much clean and healthy the environment will be and how much and how much saving of human labour, money and time. The environment of the whole residential complex can be easily made clean, healthy and beautiful just by following the principle: "Each family manage its own waste." We can also use all the liquid waste from the house such as bathing room and scullary water for the growing of the vegetables provided too much soap or detergents is not used. Normal use of detergents will be neutralized by the fat and oil used or present in the left over food or sticking to the vessels, etc. Each family can have a collection tank for the wastewater and use it for growing vegetables. At present the liquid wastes are allowed to flow through the road or open gutters into some open space. Such conditions make the environment very bad. A good roof garden enhances the beauty of the house. Vegetables grown in an orderly manner, standing in each bed at various stages of growth is as beautiful as any ornamental garden. At present people think that for beautifying the house with plants only ornamental are suitable. A well maintained vegetable garden can replace the usual ornamental garden. It gives a chances for all the family members to get involved in a common household engagement. Often the family member do different things during most of the day time and come back in the evening. No doubt sitting together over a cup of tea and chit-

chatting or going to a park etc. is relaxing. But it can be equally relaxing as well as economically useful for all the family people to engage themselves in the vegetable gardening. Such practices are quite common in European .countries where there was a custom of each family growing its own vegetables and fruits and storing them for winter season. In our country may be a cultural change is required for the people to do such things together. 10. In summer the roof vegetable garden helps in keeping the house cool and comfortable. It is very common that in the summer the terraces get heated up and house becomes unbearably hot to live. Growing vegetables on the roof will drastically reduce the chance of the terrace getting heated up. 11. This is one of the best ways of converting otherwise wasted human labour and time into economically useful items. Often people spend a lot of time in gossiping and doing nothing. A roof terrace garden will help them to convert these unused or under utilized human labour and time into very valuable food items. When these advantages are put together for an ordinary family they amount quite a lot financially as well as nonfinancially. At the present cost of vegetables, we need about , 20 rupees per day per family to have proper amount of leafy, I fruit and root vegetables. For a year a family requires vegetables worth 7300 rupees. This is a substantial amount for an ordinary family. Very often this much amount of money will not be spent by any family. Because people usually think of the short term benefit and short term problems. For the sake of solving certain financial problem they will forgo the consumption of sufficient amount of vegetables and thereby cause deficiency of vitamins and minerals in themselves. They feel that they have saved some money or managed with some problems in the family. Eventually they will be spending much more than what they would have them spending on the vegetables had they been buying them tram the market. The main disadvantage of having a roof garden is that all the family members cannot go away for a few days locking up the house. The plants require constant and every day care. The family will be tied down to attend the plants. This can be overcome by taking terns in going out. At least one person will have to be at home. III. Types of Terrace Garden The terrace garden may be roofed or open. In the open terraced garden the pots and beds remain exposed to the sky, sunlight, heat, wind, cold, drought, rain and all other aspects of the weather conditions. Therefore in the open terraced garden growing vegetables is more difficult than in the roofed terraced garden. In the same way disease incidence in the open terraced garden will be much less compared to the open terrace garden. In the roofed terrace garden there will be a transparent roof over the pots and beds. It is like the green house we make for the special plants. In the case of green house the growing area is completely enclosed and covered. Only sufficient light will be allowed to come in and the inside temperature and humidity is controlled according to the requirements of the plants. We can also have roofed garden without really enclosing the growing area completely and controlling the temperature and humidity completely. By roofing with transparent sheets sufficient light will be allowed to come in and also certain amount of control will be exercised on the temperature and humidity. We can also control the drought by enclosing on the wind side.

One advantage of the roofed terrace garden is that we can have greater control over the growing conditions. In the open garden sometimes too much watering may take place due to heavy rain or at other times, soil may get dried up due to strong sun or hot wind. At other times the plants may be subjected to severe cold or frost. All these will affect the growth of the plants. When the garden is open to sky and when there is too much rain the waste water collected cannot be used and then it becomes a problem to dispose it. IV. Materials Required for Terrace Garden Terrace cultivation of vegetables should be undertaken as a long term programme rather than a sporadic and erratic attempt. Otherwise it will be not only useless but also a capital loss also. For the cultivation of vegetables on the terraced roof we have to set up certain infrastructural facilities on a permanent basis. These infrastructural facilities should be a permanent asset which will generate regular income in the form of various vegetables required for the family. The essential materials required are enumerated and briefly explained as follows. 1. Terraced space The minimum terraced area of 30 x 20 ft should be available for a family of 5 to 6 people to grow sufficient vegetables. Growing vegetables in order to meet partial requirement is also highly recommended. Whatever and how much ever one can grow on a permanent basis is always useful and should be encouraged. If one is able to grow only some leafy vegetables let him do at least that; if another is able 10 grow only some onion and garlic that should be done; at least that much less vegetables only he needs to buy. Therefore the amount of area is not a criterion for anyone to start terrace cultivation of vegetables. If one has more area he can demarcate an area of about 60 x 30 ft and arrange the pots and beds in a better way avoiding over crowding and having sufficient passages to move around while doing the work. For the cultivation of vegetable, the terrace should be properly water proofed. If the terrace is not constructed well it is necessary to do water proofing. To do water proofing cement the terrace about half inch thickness using a mixture of cement and sand at the proportion of 1:3 ratio. Complete the topping with fine cement paste without sand. This should be cured for at least 21 days by keeping water over the cemented portion or wetting it frequently. The pots are arranged or the beds are constructed only on the top the cemented terrace or water proofed terrace. Provide few outlet points to drain out any excess of water that may come due to over irrigation or rain from the terrace. Some people may think it is harmful for the terrace to have terrace garden. This is a false notion. Any normally built terrace which is leak proof can be used for terrace gardening. Just because growing vegetables in the pots or in the beds on the terrace will not do any harm to the terrace or to the house. These days many buildings in the cities are having terrace gardens. Many hotels. in the cities maintain excellent roof gardens. Therefore, growing vegetable in the pots or in the beds constructed on the terrace will not only have any problem but also provide substantial economic benefit. Since vegetable are becoming very costly, the economic and the health benefits are enormous. 2. Pots and beds Though pots of any size and shape can be used for growing vegetables. Generally pots of 45, 60 and 75 cm diameter and 20 to 30 cm depth are most suitable. For greater stability and durability of the pots it is advisable to wind ropes around the pot. Rope of coconut fibre, grasses, jute etc. are more suitable than the plastic ropes. Wind the rope tightly. By doing this we can reduce the chance of breakage of pots as well as increase capacity of retention of

moisture. For better management of the vegetable in the pots it is better to have the pots of the same size and shape. Each pot should have a small hole at its bottom to drain out excess of water due to rain or irrigation. The ideal size of the beds used for terrace vegetable garden is 6x3 or 9x3 feet in lengthand breadth. The dimensions given are the inner length and width of the beds excluding the thickness of the walls. The height of the beds should be 1.0-1.5 feet which means height of 4-6 bricks when fixed one above the other. The beds can be made one after the other closely in rows or separately depending on the space available on the terrace. The beds are best made with single line of good quality bricks jointed with cement. Four bricks arranged one above the other and jointed with cement will make a nice and strong bed wall. Leave few small holes (It the bottom of each bed to drain out the excess water from the bed during the rain or irrigation. There is no need to plaster the wall. If the bricks are not of good quality two or three coating of cement wash will be sufficient to provide stability to bricks. The cement wash is done by painting with a sufficient thick solution of the cement. Solution is made by mixing water in the cement. Use broad painting brushes for applying the solution on both inside and outside of the walls. After the first coating wait for a day or two till the cement wash is firmly stuck to the wall. Then, give a second and third coating. Cure the cement wash for at least 14 days. Before constructing the beds the layout of the beds on the terrace has to he well thought out and decided. Unlike the pots beds once constructed cannot be shifted around or and changed. The arrangement of the pots can be changed according to the need and convenience. The beds are constructed permanently. 3. Nursery beds or pots As the name indicates these are pots or beds used for preparing seedlings of different vegetables to be transplanted into the pots or beds. The nursery pots or beds should be shallow. Recommended depth is up to 6 inches. The seedlings will develop deep roots in this depth and will remain in the nursery only 3 to 4 weeks. The wall of the nursery bed can be made by placing just two bricks one above the other and jointing them with cement. Like other pots and beds the nursery beds or pots also should have drainage holes at the bottom. The nursery bed should have very fine sandy loam soil up to a depth of 6 inches. The bed is partitioned into small sections with a stick or bamboo split or a wooden reaper. A section may be as small as one square foot. In each section we can raise seedlings of different vegetables and get them ready for transplanting. Nursery bed or pots should be well prepared, protected and well placed so that very good seedlings can be easily raised continuously. In order to reduce the time period between planting and harvesting it is better to grow seedlings in bigger polythene bags or smaller pots till the flowering time (1-2 months) and then transplant them into the actual vegetable growing pots or beds along with the mud and without giving the transplanting shock to the plants. 4. Pot mixture Pots mixture is the well prepared mixture of soil and compost. Generally, the top soil of loamy nature from a cultivated land mixed with equal amount of good compost will be sufficient to be used as pot mixture. In case the soil is clayey mix sand, clay and compost in 1:1:1 proportion. Another pro- portion of the pot mixture will be to mix the clay and sand in equal amount first and then to this mixture mix equal amount of compost (mix clay, sand and compost

in the ratio of 1:1:2). The more the compost the better for the mixture. The mixture is either sieved through a sieve to eliminate the soil particles beyond certain size. The pot mixture may be enriched with blue green algae, bone meal, leaf mould or decomposed wood or barks or well decomposed animal dung. Try to incorporate as much organic matter as possible into the pot mixture. The pot mixture for the nursery should have more fine sand and less of clay. This will help in better germination and growth of the root system of the seedlings. The sieve used for sieving the nursery pot mixture should be smaller type to get smaller soil particles. One of the clear and easily recognizable characteristics of the pot mixture is that it should not become heavy or clogged on watering and hard on drying. In other words one should be able to loosen the soil with a khurpi or an iron rod or even with a stick. In the vegetable garden it should not happen any time that we have to dig up and loosen the soil before every time we plant the seedlings or sow the seed. 5. Implements Certain essential implements should be procured and kept at a convenient place. These should be available at any time or whenever needed. Baskets for carrying soil, compost, composting material etc. are the essential items. A small shovel to gather the soil, compost and composting material into the basket is the second item. The third item may be one or two buckets for mainly carrying water for irrigation. The fourth item may a Khurpi or similar implement to loosen the soil in the bed, to prepare the soil, to remove the weeds, to dig a small hole to plant the seeds and seedlings, to level the soil, etc. As a fifth item one should have a sieve for sieving the soil and compost before they are placed in the pots and beds. As a sixth item one should have a hand spray or for applying some pesticides. To have buckets and measuring jars for measuring chemicals and a small weighing balance capable of weighing five gram will be helpful. However, care should be taken that same sprayer is not used for weedicide spray and pesticide spray. Even among the pesticides certain insecticides, fungicides, viricides and nematicides cannot be sprayed with the same sprayer. If various types of different pesticides have to be sprayed there should be separate hand sprayers for weedicides, insecticides and fungicides. Similarly containers, measuring jars, rod or stick for stirring the solution, etc. to prepare the solution of weedicides, insecticides and fungicides cannot be the same. Apart from these sticks for supporting the plants, ropes for tying the plants to the sticks, a, plastic or rubber pipe for extending water from the tap to the pots or to the beds are also very useful. The rest of the implements and instruments will depend on the person and the type of terrace garden one is planning to maintain. 6. Shading material Since the vegetables are grown on the terrace, the plants will be exposed to high rate of radiation and scorching. In order to protect the plants from such hazards, shades should be provided to them. Some type of shading material may be kept ready to be used whenever shading is needed. Shading material can be made of sack clothes, rough cotton clothes, sheets made of plastic threads, thin plastic or fibre glass material etc. are available in the market. Depending on the economic capacity and the standard of terrace garden one wants to maintain he can purchase them. Such shading materials can be fixed with the help of hamhoo, wooden or iron poles fixed permanently or temporarily. The shading may be fixed temporarily or permanently. All these

depends on the economic capacity of the family as well as how much of a long term plan it is having to grow vegetables etc. Any substantial economic investments will only be justified only when it can be recovered within reasonable period along with the interest. Even if it is not possible to recover the capital immediately at least the interest should be recovered in proper time. Hence, before the investment is made one should make meticulous calculation regarding the recoverability of the investment and the profitability of the whole enterprise. For example if a person has good terraced area, enough money to invest, no problem of getting all the required materials but have absolutely no time to do the work required for growing vegetables then he should not venture into terrace garden. Otherwise he can employ a gardener which of course will not be economical. One should be able to spend at least half to three-fourth and hour for the gardening, the time which is-not at all impossible for anyone to find oneself every day. Or rather he should arrange his daily schedule of work in such a way that he should include necessarily half to one hour period for gardening. 7. Compost boxes Compost boxes are sufficiently big containers of plastic or such non degradable materials or brick made small tanks of the size 3 x 3 x 3 feet. There should be two such tanks or containers so that composting materials can be deposited as and when they are collected. These boxes are placed at a convenient location either on the terrace or any place near the house. The waste is deposited into one box first and when it is full start depositing in the other. By the time the second box is full the deposited waste in the first box will be composted. Take out the compost and store it in a convenient place and start depositing the waste in the first box. Thus compost making goes on in rotation and the waste is recycled very hygienically and usefully. For more details the reader is advised to refer booklet No. 146 on " Composting for Village Sanitation". 8. Waste water collection tank The waste water from the kitchen, scullary, bathing rooms etc. should be collected into a small tank in which all the types of water get mixed and the effect of soap and other detergents used for cleaning and bathing get neutralized with the oil and other acidic substances in the left over food and in the dish wash. When the whole mixture is collected into a small tank and allowed to stand flocculation takes place and some of the unwanted substances like soap, etc. get precipitated. If animal urine is available mix it with the waste water. It is very good source of nitrogen and other trace elements required for the vegetable plants. The key point is that even people who do not have any water, due to lack of rain or any type of water sources also can have enough vegetables grown using the waste water from the house. All that is required is to have small tank into which the waste water can be collected, allowed to remain for a day or two to get neutralized and then use it in a judicious way in order to cultivate vegetables. The tank should be constructed with bricks and cement below the ground level or above the ground whichever is convenient. Ready made ferro-cement or alkaline tanks are also available in the market. They can be bought and fixed at the convenient place to collect the waste water for using in vegetable gardening. Ferro-cement tank can be constructed also on the spot. V. Immediate Preparation

After the beds are constructed, the pots are made ready. Pot mixture is prepared immediately and used to fill the beds and pots. 1. Filling the pots and beds After the pot moisture is prepared all the pots or beds are filled up with the pot mixture. Before filling each pot place a piece of flat stone or a piece of broken clay ware covering the drainage holes at the bottom of the pots. Fill the pots or beds with the pot mixture in uniform compactness. It should neither too compact nor too loose. Leave few inches space from the top of the pots or the beds while filling. After filling the pots or bed Irrigate them nearly up to the saturation point. This will help in forming proper soil pore space distribution (soil particle interphase) in the pot mixture so that proper soil water movement can take place within the soil mass inside the bed or pot. Besides irrigation will enhance the growth of microbial flora which will be very beneficial to increase the fertility of the soil. 2. Arrangement of the pots In the case of beds they are already arranged in the proper way at the time of construction. Whereas in the case of pots they are arranged before filling if pots are bigger. Because carrying around is difficult after filling with pot mixture. But if they are small they are arranged after they are filled up with the pot mixture. Arrange a certain number of pots in clusters. Each cluster may be consisting of few lines of pots placed closely together. The best is to have four lines up to any convenient length. In this arrangement we can look after the pots, of two lines from one side and pots of other two lines from the other side. If there are more than four lines together reaching up to the inner lines will be very difficult. Also the plants in the inner lines will not get enough sunlight. The arrangements of the pots in each cluster should be such that each plant will have sufficient space for its proper growth and development. Arrangement of the pots and beds should be such that all the works can be done easily and in short time. Every thing should be set in such a way that all the operations can be done smoothly and quickly. Time management is an important aspect in the terrace gardening. 3. Seeds and seedlings Identify a good and reliable source to procure of the seeds. Some vegetables are sown directly into the soil while some are raised in the nursery beds and their seedlings from nursery planted into the beds or pots. Vegetables are grown one after the other in the same pot or bed. When a number of vegetables are planted and time management in order to care for them is very important. As soon as one bed is completely harvested or vacated from the vegetables, plants are removed on the same day itself seedlings should be planted in the bed. This means seedlings should be raised in the nursery early. This also means that seedlings of a number of vegetables will have to be raised at the same time. For this we have to have a separate nursery bed only for raising the seedlings. We can also grow certain vegetables in polythene bags even up to flowering stages and then transplant them so that the time between transplanting and harvesting will be reduced and also the production of the vegetables will be increased. 4. Essential pesticides Every plant is attacked by one or other insect pest or disease during any stage of its life cycle. It is also difficult if not impossible to cure anyone of the disease affected plants or to get

rid of any pest once the infection is gone beyond certain limit. Therefore it is better to go for preventive measures to control the pests and diseases. Preventive measures are cheaper than curing. We can use chemical pesticides or herbal pesticides. The herbal pesticides are better than the chemical ones since they do not have any after effects. However the herbal pesticide usage is still in the initial stage and their dosages are not yet standardized or systematized. Moreover, certain pests are not controlled by the present herbal pesticides. Therefore it is very important to store few common chemical pesticides to be used for emergency or as a preventive measure. The types of pests and diseases infecting the vegetable plants varies from place to place, season to season and plant to plant. By experience one will be able to predict the pests and diseases occurring on each of the plants at various seasons. Accordingly some of the most common herbal and chemical pesticides should be collected and stored for the future use. Extract of neem seeds, leaves and bark is a good pesticide which can be used for a number of pests infecting the vegetables. Neem cake is a good organic manure as well as good pesticide for the soil borne pests and diseases. Tobacco is another herbal pesticide that can be used to control the common pests and diseases of vegetables. In each place one can identify various kinds of plants and plant products which can be used as pesticides. Endosulfan and Malathion are common chemical pesticides that can be used if the herbal pesticides have failed , controlling the pests. The chemical pesticides should be stored in a separate, safe and secure place. When any pesticide, especially the chemical pesticide, is applied all the recommended precautionary and safety measures should be adopted. Special care is taken to prepare the solution for spray in the correct proportion or concentration. 5. Manures and fertilizers Organic manures from the compost boxes will be available only after six months. Therefore, to meet the requirements till six months, sufficient manures should be stored. In most cases use of organic manures alone is enough. The mini- mum amount of at least one kilogram of organic manure is to be applied each time while planting new vegetables. In the case of pots it is better to take out the soil and spread it on a tray, break the clouds, remove the roots and other plant residues mix it with fresh organic manure and refill the pots. All the micro-nutrients requirements can be met by the addition of the organic manures. For greater yield along with the recommended organic manures limited amount of chemical fertilizers also should be used especially for the supply of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are needed in large amount for the plants. Nitrogen can be supplied in the form of urea, phosphorus in the form of super phosphate, and potassium in the form of muriate of potash. Use of these fertilizers over and above the recommended dose of organic manures boost up the yield. However these chemical fertilizers should not be used alone and in large quantity. VI. Planning and Foresight Planning and foresight are the two key points around which the success of the terrace vegetable garden depends upon. First of all make sure well in advance that all the members in the family are supporting the idea of terrace garden fully and are willing to cooperate with each other in all the works every day on a long term basis. Otherwise after all the investments on the terrace garden not only it will be a failure but also it can be a source of quarrel and division in

the family. Therefore one should get the full consent of each family member after making sure that they have a clear idea of the implications of maintaining a terrace garden. Have a well planned vegetable calender to begin with. It will show what types of vegetables are planted plotwise and season wise. After a year or two one will be able to have a thorough practical knowledge of the time of planting of each vegetable. We have to foresee what types of materials are needed for the vegetable production. Seeds should be either produced in the garden or collected from the seed shops. If we it are producing the seeds we have to take certain precautions to avoid degeneration of the genetic purity through cross pollination or self pollination. Similarly pesticides, fertilizers, weather effect, moisture stress, etc. have to be foreseen and appropriate action has to be taken. Even while setting the terrace garden certain things have to be foreseen. If it is in a place where wild animals like monkeys are frequenting the terrace. we have to build up proper protective measures against monkeys before we start growing the plants. Similarly, we may have to protect the place against birds. Foresee all possible factors of failures and take the appropriate measures at the proper time. Foresee also ways and means to reduce the workload. Avoid chances o(lifting heavy things, carrying heavy things, breakage of pots, hitting against things or knocking down pots, etc. Time planning is an important factor for the success of the terrace kitchen garden. As such very small amount of time is required for the operations to be done every day. However, in a family people may have various responsibilities to perform. Otherwise whatever is to be done on a particular day may be missed and as a result serious harm may happen like a preventive spray was not done and hence the plants were affected beyond recovery point, or some animals have destroyed the plants, or hails stones destroyed the crop or frost burned the leaves etc. Along with time planning we should have labour planning. Working like ants doing all kinds things will not produce any vegetable. Work have to be done intelligently, with knowledge and planning. First of all have an assessment of the labour in terms of availability type, and amount should be carried out. In a family we may have labour of adults, children, men, women, etc. We should have clear idea of who can do what. Have a clear -division of labour and ensure that all are able to do the works assigned to each one. All the works in the terrace garden are small and takes only a few minutes. But doing them regularly at the proper time is very important. Therefore, all these works should be foreseen in advance and proper planning of the various operations should be done well ahead. Success depends on how well one can foresee various problems and needs and take appropriate measures. The cultivator of the terrace garden should be familiar about general cultivation practices of each and every vegetable he would like to cultivate. On each vegetable every year new varieties are released, new pesticides are launched into the market, new agrochemicals promoted, implements are invented. Therefore, one has to be familiar with all the new technologies and update his knowledge on the various aspects of the vegetable cultivation. For the proper monitoring and evaluation of the terrace garden one should maintain a strict day to day record of the operations done, the expenditures and the income derived in terms of the quantity of the vegetables harvested and its market value. From this records one will be able to estimate accurately the amount of time spent in working in the terrace garden, how much money has been spent, how much quantity of the various vegetables have been

harvested and what is the market value of the harvested vegetables per month or per year. Such study will give a deeper understanding of the economics and viability of the terrace garden. Such understanding will help others in making a decision on whether they would adopt the terrace garden or not. VII. Conclusion People who have a minimum of 30 x 20 ft terraced area on their house can grow sufficient vegetables for a family of five to six. After the initial expenditure one will be able to manage the terrace garden with his own family labour using the composted home waste as manure and home liquid waste as source of irrigation and plant nutrients. Only one foot deep soil is enough for growing almost all the vegetables whereas onions and garlic require a six inches deep soil. Through the terrace garden we can not have very fresh and health vegetables without pollution from pesticides and over dose of chemical fertilizers but also we .can save substantial amount of money. We can also get vegetables according to the recommendation of Indian Council of Medical Research for a balanced intake of vegetables. Terrace gardening is also a very profitable hobby not only in terms of financial benefits but also in terms of physical exercises, better utilization of the time, etc. Terrace garden helps us to tide over unforeseen fluctuations in the supply as well as in the price. From the point of the environment terrace garden is an excellent means to enhance environmental sanitation. By recycling the solid and liquid waste of each family for the cultivation of the vegetables for its own use the environmental pollution is cut off completely. Having a terrace garden also reduces the heating of the terrace and consequently the expenses on cooling the rooms in the summer. Terrace garden can be easily practiced in the urban residential as well as institutional terraces. Such practices can be introduced in the schools to inculcate in the children love for gardening and a habit of spending time usefully. It also helps the students for a disciplined and planned life style and love for working with soil, plants, manures and fertilizers, insects, diseases, etc. Healthy competition between classes in growing vegetables will be the area, school education system should think of introducing into the school education system. %%%%%%%%%%%