Go for terrace farming for organic veggies at 50p/kg

KOLKATA: Organic vegetables at just 50 paise a kg: This may sound incredible at a time when veggies are burning a hole in the pocket but a Birbhum firm apparently has the key to it.  The firm, which has set up a terrace garden in New Town, is ready to offer their expertise that could help grow vegetables at an unbelievably low cost. It has come up with an elevated platform on PVC "towers", which could be used to grow vegetables on a terrace for a one-time investment of Rs 4 lakh.

More than 50 varieties of organic vegetables can be produced under the project. A 20 sq-m garden on a terrace could accommodate around 50 different plants, said Kunal Deb, secretary of Owl Spirit, the firm behind the project. "We use only natural ingredients and have created a unique bed, which is 10 times lighter than soil. It is a plant nutrient mixture comprising bacteria, compost and organic plants. We also provide a maintenance kit that consists of fungicide and organic pesticides. A 20 sq-m terrace garden can help meet the vegetable demand of an average-sized multi-storey building for a year. The price will not be more than 50 paise a kg."

Deb and his team has developed a 5,000 sq-ft garden atop Siddha Garden in New Town that grows half-a-dozen varieties of leafy vegetables, such as note shaak, palang shaak, piring shaak, several varieties of chillies, multiple varieties of brinjals, tomatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers, gourds, onions, beetroots, capsicum, garlic, flat beans and bitter gourd. These are cultivated in baskets placed inside low, semi-circular bamboo chambers. The garden produces 8,000 kg vegetables a year.

The new technology that Owl Spirit is offering now is even easier and cheaper than its earlier version. They have devised four-feet tall towers of PVC pipes, each of which can hold at least 10 plants, and can be used to grow creepers and. A roof can have five-six such towers, meaning 50-60 plants. "It can be used to cultivate several varieties that are now almost extinct in Bengal, such as white brinjals, ridged gourds and piring shaak. For an investment of Rs 4 lakh, eight-10 families can have a yearly supply of vegetables," said Deb. Agriculture minister Purnendu Bose has asked them to help set up more such terrace farms.

The farm could be set up in three months, said Deb, adding they were experimenting with paddy.      http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Go-for-terrace-farming-for-organic-veggies-at-50p/kg/articleshow/48992436.cms