Create your own urban farmMumbai, Jan 10(AZINS) Mumbai Port Trust
The bustling port area of the city houses a 3,000 sqft green lung, atop its Central Kitchen at Victoria Dock. This green lung is the result of Preeti Patil's undying efforts. For Patil, a catering officer at MbPT, terrace farming was the answer to the eons of waste that was generated in the MbPT kitchen. This canteen caters to around 6,000 people daily and since this site is located a bit in the interiors, the garbage van would pick up the waste once a week, which meant a stench would permeated the space for days. Patil says, "This terrace was initially a place to dump the unserviceable material. It was more like a 3,000 sqft dumping area. The canteen team cleared this space and planted one seed at a time." Today, after 15 years, this terrace is a full-fledged farm, with 150 varieties of plants, including zucchini and star fruit.
Because of the farm, all the kitchen waste started getting segregated, converted into compost and added to the soil, which is extremely healthy and nutritious for the plants. Patil adds, "The entire journey of setting up this terrace farm was quite a challenge and more so, it was a great learning experience, as I had to learn and research about everything from soil, weather, bacteria and more."
The staff working in this kitchen come from villages and are basically farmers at heart. So they were natural at gardening activities and with little guidance from Patil, are now fully trained in waste management, plant care and seasonal harvesting. Under her guidance and with immense support from the MbPT management, this team has managed to keep the farm alive and flourishing, even after 15 years.
From MbPT's terrace: Papaya, mango, star fruit, banana, cherries, pineapple and guava among fruits. Vegetables include spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, zucchini, bok choy among others

Don Bosco campus, Matunga (Provincial House Terrace)
Don Bosco's terrace farm is a living example of what a community can create and sustain together. Urban Leaves, a voluntary group of people, inspired by again, Preeti Patil, felt the need to spread the word about terrace farming. In 2009, this group of of friends, came together and conducted workshops where they taught people how to create a farm in an urban setup.
These workshops gradually became popular with the plant-loving participants who were taught how to make amrit mitti, the basics of kitchen gardening and more. These participants were keen on keeping a timely check on the progress of their amrit mitti and other plants that they had planted during the workshops. Patil adds, "This increased the number of volunteerswho would incessantly keep a check on the plants that were planted during the workshop."
Now, Urban Leaves conducts these workshops every Sunday at Matunga's Don Bosco terrace and the terrace at Andheri's BNAC Bhavans Campus. Few of the most common problems, according to Patil that first-time urban farmers face, are the basics of planting. "City-bred people have very little experience in gardening, leave alone farming. So while there is interest, the real task is in disseminating knowledge and keeping their interest levels at peak."
There are many questions they come up with. She says, "These questions usually include—How much sunlight does a plant need? How much watering is required? What kind of plants to sow during which season? Where can one find open-pollinated or organic seeds? What kind of soil should one use? What kind of pests attack the plants? In case of a pest attack, how do I treat it? If the basics are sorted out, then there is no stopping people from creating a terrace farm."
From Urban Leaves' terrace: Zucchini, broccoli, red cabbage, celery, banana, capsicum, drumsticks, guava, pineapple, amla among others

Meher Salam, Tata Vidyut Co-op. Society, vashi
For Meher Salam, mother of two boys, Mahmood and Bilal, the love for farming started two decades ago. She began in her balcony by growing vegetables in small pots, enjoyed taking care of the plants and loved watching them grow. As the plants grew bigger, her passion to add more plants grew. But with restricted space of the balcony, Meher found it difficult to pursue it. This is when she, with the support of her husband, started planting saplings on the terrace.
"The society where I reside has been extremely supportive and granted me permission to use the terrace to grow plants," she says. "It's been 18 years since then and there has been no looking back." The family of four now pools in their time and resources to maintain this terrace farm that has more than 100 varieties of plants, including fruits, medicinal herbs and vegetables, with a majority being of medicinal value.
The manure that is used in the plantations is made by Meher by transforming the waste that is generated in her kitchen every day. She is hoping that this eco-friendly habit is instilled in others too, as it's a great way to reduce pressure on landfills.
Trying to take their eco-friendly habit a notch higher, the Salam family is trying to reuse the water that is used in the kitchen to water these plants. Meher's husband Abdul Salam shares, "We have set up the structure that recycles water used in the kitchen to a certain level that it remains good for the plants. This would help a lot as the water is reused and even during water-cuts, we won't be troubled."
The Salam family is quite popular when it comes to the expertise on terrace farming. The family has been participating in the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's flower and plants exhibitions, has conducted several awareness programmes with kids where they share their experience and answer queries of those who are new to farming. They have even managed to bag several awards and certificates for their efforts.
From Salams' terrace: Insulin, custard apple, lemongrass, ajwain (carom seeds), polo mint, aloe vera, curry leaves, turmeric, pomegranate among others

Create a green space
Want to set up a small green space in your home? Try growing these plants that are best suited for Mumbai's weather and are also low-maintenance:
Radish
Spinach
Fenugreek
Amaranth
Tomatoes
Curry leaves
Coriander
Green chillies

Fact check
Roofs don't leak due to terrace farming
The roots of the bigger-sized plants don't damage the terrace floor