GREEN IN THE CONCRETE JUNGLE

The smallest of spaces within your home can be converted into a hub buzzing with flora and fauna Urban gardens don’t always have to be about efficiency and utility. They can be things of beauty, micro-oases within the confines of your terrace, balcony or courtyard.

“Micro green planting methods can be used to create biodiversity even in small urban gardens,” explains Maya Ganesh, sustainability consultant and socio-environmental researcher. “You can plant plants that attract butterflies, or ones that provide nutrition to your main vegetable plants, or those that protect other plants by keeping pests away.”

Ganesh gives the example of garlic. It serves as a natural pest-repellant when planted along with spinach, since the pests that are attracted to spinach cannot stand the smell of garlic. Tulsi , on the other hand, can make tomatoes juicier, if planted right with it.

“These are called companion plants. The idea behind natural farming is that of a no-weeds, no-pests system,” says Ganesh, explaining that pests are not an issue if you know natural ways of keeping them at bay, and that some weeds, in fact, can actually be useful.

Ganesh also practises permaculture, handles waste management projects and holds gardening workshops for school. She will soon be sharing her expertise with adults as well, teaching edible gardening for urban spaces in Chennai over the weekend.

“It won’t just be restricted to edibles,” she says, “We’ll also be looking at butterfly-trapping plants, edible weeds and other things. There are a number of different plants that attract butterflies. For example, curry leaves and some citrus plants attract the larvae, while the white milkweed and certain varieties of hibiscus attract the butterflies.”

Ganesh will also be looking at weeds that are useful in different ways. Some of them, she says, have medicinal properties, while other lesser-known weeds are actually edible, such as the purslane, which she intends to focus on during her workshop. Sowing, mulching and sapling transplantation will also be covered, as will. The idea is to teach urban dwellers how to create their own little worlds of greenery amid the concrete jungle, right on their balconies, porches, backyards or terraces.

The workshop, named Gardening for City Folk, will be held at The Farm, OMR, on October 7 and 8, from 10 am to 5 pm. Participants will be given food, as well as pots, seeds and plants to take home. To register, contact Maya Ganesh at 9840743940.