4 Ways To Start Green At Home

As a person who tries to switch to more and more to organic and healthier living choices, these are a simple ways you can start off

1. Switch to cloth bags - Reduces plastic getting piled up at home, rewashing is a piece of cake and you encourage the shopkeeper and other customers to switch as well! I love the ones from Clean Planet check them out you get some really trendy ones.

My garden which has tomato, capsicum, chillies and basil

2. Grow some green and veggies at home, even indoor plants like aloe vera and snake plant keep the air well purified and clear chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene. Grow veggies like tomato and chillies in pots and grow bags.  Organic Garten is great for seeds, Smart Gardens in Bangalore can set up gardens for busy bees out there

Cucumber in a grow bag

3. Segregate, recycle and compost - Take that extra 15 minutes in the day and segregate your dry and wet waste get dry waste picked up by recycling centres. Compost your kitchen peels and greens in a large pot or kambha. Easy peasy once you start. For segregation get started with 2bins1bag with comes with a complete instruction manual.

4. Switch to eco-friendly non toxic washing powders, detergents, floor cleaners wash and clean with an awesome aroma and its all chemical free! Ever put your nose into your detergent powder box?   Harmful and toxic chemicals are added to powders so your wearables look pristine and shiny. Notice after a few washes they start looking faded and out shape? Try out these eco-friendly options and make the switch, The shelf life of your clothes improves dramatically.

More coming up soon, hope these tips help! 

Bangalore Celebrates World Kitchen Gardening

World Kitchen Day was celebrated with gusto which saw hoards of Bangaloreans flocking to JP Nagar to check out the organic side of life. From wannabe gardeners wandering around looking for seeds and soil, to crowds loving the purchase of healthy organic products. Lots of exclamations of “Ooh’s and Aah’s” and “How nice!” could be heard, followed by dozens of questions, quite overwhelming for the organic sellers.

Sunday indeed saw a happy crowd as they bounced from stall to stall buying, learning, listening and being
pro-green on this green day. OFYT brought its 6^th edition to the city with newer faces, products and fun-filled activities for families to enjoy.

What struck this time was it was not a crazy mad rush to buy organic products and seedlings, but families and young couples wanting to be clued on how they can eat, live, go to work and exist in a better, cleaner and environmentally inclined world. And they were getting all the answers right here. Stalls for every kind of audience possible, from buying compost pots from daily dump for the busy workaholic who doesn’t have the time, to getting the right nutrition from grains and Millet's for an older crowd.

A kids corner in one section was filled with board games and colourful pictures teaching the how’s and why’s of gardening along with crossword puzzles of knowing your veggies, painting spots and small displays of biodiversity know-have’s of gardening like worms and compost, display of organic vegetables and fruits was completed with a sapling given away to each child who participated. A wonderful educational workshop as a stepping stone teaching kids about the natural world and goodness of gardening. Other products included Mystic Hues beautiful pottery designs to funk up your balcony with colours and Muddy Waters which sells ceramic landscape gardening designs that gives terraces and balconies a beautiful earthy feel, lots of foodie products such as Vaathsalya, The Wheatgrass Farm and organic hand baked cupcakes coming in vegan style at OFYT called Taantraa filled with various khatta meetha flavours. The millet drive Earth360 was full power with a tasting of multi grain porridge which ran out quickly and in no time saw people purchasing their starter kit’s along with helpful recipes. 

Fun ways of reducing, reusing, and recycling at home was shared by Malleshwaram’s experts answering all questions and a small demo on composting held a good crowd  entertaining enthusiasts with “Wormi words of wisdom” had them listening intently and enjoying themselves.

Besides the compost, gardening equipment and various products, Bangalore organic kitchen gardeners enjoyed a salad party at the back, “We exchange seeds, knowledge and meet new people, bit of a get together with fresh greens from everyone’s home thrown in”,  said an enthusiastic city farmer.

An lovely moment was when a couple were showing their small son the worms used for composting, “We don’t compost but we would like to start, we want our son to learn about gardening and being healthy” his mom said. Gingerly trying to touch vermicomposting worms, he watched fascinatingly as they wriggled deeper into the soil.

OFYT is created by Dr. B.N. Vishwanath Bangalore’s organic agriculturalist and Bangalore's city farmers and saw one its biggest turnouts in JP Nagar on Sunday 25^th August, 2013.

Veggie Delight at Lal Bagh and More in the City

Lal Bagh in Bangalore came alive with an array of colours, flowers, shops and home-grown veggies in the annual Horticultural show from August 7^th-15^th. The Garden CityFarmers and Organic Terrace Gardeners had their very own stall displaying vegetables and fruits of top urban farmers in the city. There were huge brinjals ripening to gorgeous yellow, sweet chillies making your mouth water (making you imagine hot bhajjis’s), beautiful looking squash, strawberries, Israeli oranges, onions, beetroots, and different tomato species. Fresh herbs like oregano, mint and lemongrass and healthy greens of lettuce and bhindi could be seen. 

This is the first time GCF has participated in the annual horticulture show in Bangalore and they wish to reach out to Bangloreans showing them that they grow their kitchen vegetables at home in an organic manner. Tiny labels were seen on all the veggies and fruit plants identifying each one and OTGians were found chatting about organic food and helping the public out with questions.  GCF also encourage people to join them on their facebook group start their own gardens through inspiring work and enjoy the soul-satisfying and healthy experience of growing vegetables and greens at home 

Bangalore is seeing a whole environmental oriented lot who encourage and educate people about the benefits of fresh veggies, hold workshops and help beginners starting out on their green patch. GCF is an NGO which educates people about kitchen gardening and urges urban folk to grow organic gardens in their home spaces which are chemically-free and also reduce the food miles of what they eat.  

Their upcoming event ‘Oota from your Thota’ (food from your garden) is going to be held on the 25^th of August where most of the city's farmers and veggie lovers are going to be along with loads of stalls selling produce, gardening equipment, compost and encouraging people to somewhere. “We hope that people see that growing is an easy and an engaging hobby and resources are ready if they wish to start” said Laxminarayan a top terrace gardener from GCF.  

Quick lessons on growing –

You can use any container that has 6-8 inches of depth for common veggies    
 like beans, beets, lettuce, tomato, onion, chillies. Herbs will do best in window 
 boxes or plant them in between your veggies! 
 For the soil – An equal mix of vermicompost, compost, red soil and sand is ideal 
 Water your plants everyday and spend time checking them, they will return back the time and effort in the form of delicious produce!
Plant your seeds in ample sunlight – Make sure your veggies get at least 8 hours daily
Most used veggies in the city – Chillies, tomatoes, brinjals, spinach and all kinds of sopu (greens)

Veggies that tastes delicious in food:

Drumsticks in sambhar   
All sopu (greens) go well in dals
Tomatoes are best in chutneys  

Mint and lemongrass can be added to tea

For those who wish to start off you can visit The Nurserymen Cooperative Society, Lalbagh, KH Road Telephone (+91 80 26576733) and get started on your garden and join the OTG group on facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/OrganicTerraceGardening/  
http://gardencityfarmers.org/

Gardening is Great

The last 6-7 months were a bit crazy with falling sick and recovering, post-recovery rushing back to college in Ahmedabad and finally back to Bangalore. Now in good health and spirits with namma Bangalore ever ready with its heavy dose of awesome weather and good company.

My tray of Basil, Methi and Marigold

The research topic that I chose as part of my study course was 'Kitchen Gardening and its Sustainable Benefits'. And I must say growing your own veggies and plants is super simple. Just sparing a bit of time everyday, some watering and care and voila, you are on the green side. You can have a balcony, terrace, a small ledge or just a couple of pots and yes that is enough to start off.

I found there are a number of gardeners and urban farmers in Bangalore who love their greens and go to lengths to make sure their eating habits are organic and healthy. Inspiring individuals who take time out of their daily routine, relish food straight from their garden and love the healthy way of life. 

One of the first people I met was Dr. Vishwanath Kadur; Bangalore's foremost organic expert who grows almost all vegetables and plants on his terrace. "There is not one fruit or vegetable that you cannot grow, you can grow everything on your terrace! The health benefits are many, not only is gardening an excellent hobby but an active way of understanding how nature works and responsible for growing our food" he says. A pioneer in his field and founder of Organic Terrace Gardeners in Bangalore. I look forward attending his workshop on organic gardening this month which he conducts on a regular basis.

Vani Murthy's compost

Vani Murthy was next in question, and what a person! She is often called the 'compost queen' and said, "I grow what I eat and eat what I grow. Gardening makes me enjoy little things, we formed a team of close friends in the society and do everything together! This is what gardening has done, it also gives me balance of mind". Going through her different compost methods from 'bokashi' to vermi and traditional compost, I can say confidently her plants are happy and healthy!

Nagamani from Malleshwaram gave me some of her bounty; spinach saplings and fresh thyme and I nearly pinched myself with glee!
   Harvesting almost a kilo and a half of her veggies daily from tomatoes
   to brinjals, fresh herbs and all types of greens. "I love experimenting
   with my dals now, their even tastier now" she said happily. What was
   impressive was a save of Rs. 40-45 on a daily basis and ensured tasty
   food for her family. Her terrace also acts as a natural coolant to the
   house. What can I say? Wow.

Pumpkin at Green Thumbs

One of the places which blew me away was Green Thumbs Mini Farms an organic farm off Sarjapur road owned by Anand Maddur. I felt like a kid let loose in a candy shop! With all kinds of veggies like pumpkin, lady finger, chillies, brinjal, spinach to fruits like banana and chickoo, I went a bit berserk. A farm with a unique experience which allows people to grow their vegetables the organic way. "This is the best thing to do on weekends after a hectic work week. it allows me to unwind and relax" said the organic techie. What a weekend getaway!

Me going berserk

Speaking to another garden enthusiast Aparna George who said, "It is important my kids get the right nutrition, which made me question our eating habits". With composting and a garden full of yummy varieties of lemon she sports the 'I care about my city' sticker from Daily Dump (educational portal on composting) 

Some people like Anusuya Sharma who was awarded the Srishti Sanman for organic terrace gardening say, "I don't garden for the purpose of harvesting any fruit, I do it because I enjoy greenery and have grown up amidst plants so it only comes natural for me to have a garden". It was 5 degrees cooler and I almost got lost in her terrace which resembled a mini forest. What an feeling, that too in the heart of a city!
 
Jayram from The Green Path was one of my latest visits and is a busy person with a green business to run, but answered all my questions patiently. A delicious meal of beetroot and ragi roti along with dal and sambhar makes me go back to his green establishment which also grows sugarcane and banana on the terrace. Strange for a non-vegetarian like me to indulge in veggie food, but that is what organic food does to you. I returned home with bagfuls of red, brown rice bought from his store Era Organics.

Vishwanth's water plants

Vishwanth who is nicknamed 'rainman' harvests not only rainwater but has a near zero carbon footprint with electricity running on solar,  compost toilets in his house and uses plants to filter all greywater. "It is so simple, if we are productive we can create the food cycle in our own houses without any waste leaving our house" He also grew rice on his terrace at one point for 3-4 years and harvested 180 kilograms. A person who simply uses sustainability in the right way - saving everything.

I keep looking for interesting people to meet, understanding traditional practices which we need to bring into cities and tracking food miles, from farm to fork. Urban gardening which is so common in some parts of the world only makes sense in present food inflation and water scarcity times.It is an area which can change our attitude for the better and treat the environment with respect.