Growing vegetables on my terrace has been one of the most satisfying experiences in my life. When I started my terrace garden six years ago, I wasn't too keen on growing vegetables then. However, a couple of years later I decided I need to know what I eat. My friends dissuaded me saying it wasn't worth the effort. Yes, I agree it is a lot of effort and for city dwellers like me and the learning curve is quite steep.
In all my years of gardening before starting my terrace garden I had learnt a few things and these came in handy. However, it was mainly an ornamental garden then and I didn't experiment much with organic methods of growing plants.
I decided that my terrace garden would be completely organically, this forced me to learn about composting kitchen waste, which was a challenge in itself. There were soldier flies all over my terrace and I was worried if my neighbor would object to it. Composting isn't something I have mastered but I learn as I go. Container gardening isn't the same thing as growing pants the soil.
I started with a few herbs and easy to grow veggies like aubergines/eggplant, tomatoes etc. The success I had gave me the courage to grow spinach, radish, cabbages etc.
Initially I did face problems with finding the right soil mix and container sizes, however, I learned these as I went. Learning to improve the soil, finding which techniques work for which plant takes time. It wasn't easy at first, but now i can handle most of the locally grown veggies easily.
Just when a gardener thinks he/she has aced something, nature makes sure that you muck up something and have to start all over again. There are so many variables here that what worked once may not work all the time. then there were bugs to deal with as if all this wasn't enough.This has been my experience.
I have had my share of failures in my garden. I have failed with vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower etc. It is blazing hot and sunny here for most part if the year and crops like peas, broccoli, beets even green beans fail at times. Nonetheless, I have learned to work around problems and make my plants produce enough for my family. They say there is a solution for everything in life and this has helped me with my gardening efforts.
The learning curve, the effort you put in and the rewards may not always match. However, for me it has been the most satisfying experience of my life, it brings me peace like none other.
I least I know that the spinach that went into my lunch was organically grown, it was fresh and right off the container to my table.
However, during the lock down which started in March 2020 (we are still under lock down even as I right this post) we couldn't go out so often to buy stuff. Fresh veggies and fruits were just not available, if you were desperate you'd have to get courage to brave the crowd at the greengrocers. It was around this time I understood the real value of cultivating food and saving seeds for the future.
My family truly appreciated my efforts during this pandemic. maybe they still think we can buy this stuff in the market but the taste of fresh, organically grown veggies is something they have experienced and relished.
Now, I find some help with my gardening efforts. I am not alone in this journey. This makes me happy because I know what I will be doing for the rest of my active life.
All images used in this post are from my garden.
