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“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
- Audrey Hepburn
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits, and herbs, are grown for consumption, for use as dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use.
In the current period, when doors are shut and people are forced to live inside their houses to control the pandemic, both mental and physical health has taken a huge hit. In order to ease the situation deftly, gardening proves to be the perfect remedy. It reduces stress, curbs pollution, improves memory, fosters human connections and heals and empowers.
But, since most people in the urban setup usually live in cramped spaces, hence utilization of the available resources and space seems like the best option. Terrace gardening fits not only the efficient space utilization criteria, but also provides all the benefits that gardening was designed for.
In order to start a terrace garden, the following steps must be taken into consideration-
1. Preliminary Terrace Check
Plants have considerable weight, so be sure to check that your building can sustain the extra weight. Check for waterproofing of your roof slab, make sure it is sound. It is better to do waterproofing again to avoid leakages in the future. There are two different ways to make terrace gardens, either you can cover the entire surface with soil to make a lawn or you can put earthen pots and plant seeds in them.
In case you are covering the entire surface of the terrace with soil, make sure you have sound waterproofing of the roof, to avoid any leakage into the home. It is recommended to apply a waterproofing layer on the roof slab. The waterproofing layer must be covered with an insulation layer that protects it.
Check wind speed on your terrace, as on the terrace there is high wind speed as compared to grounds. If the average wind speed throughout the year is more, then trellis must be installed on your roof. They help in breaking the speed of the wind and you can also use them for vertical gardening.
2. Planning The Layout Of The Garden
After checking the roof slab, plan the layout of your terrace garden. The placing of different pots and spaces for recreational activities must be planned out properly. As terrace gardens have space constraints as compared to a normal garden, effective utilization of the space available is a must. Check the areas which are shaded and areas that receive sunlight for the maximum time of the day.
3. Selecting The Plants For The Garden
There are a variety of plants, but fibre rooted plants are recommended over deep-rooted plants which require more depth of soil and hence more weight. Select plants according to the sunshade on your roof. Weak plants which require less sunlight must be placed in the shaded areas. While plants that require a hefty amount of sunlight must be placed in non-shaded areas.
You can buy the following plants suitable for your terrace garden at Enactus ARSD’s official website- Click here
... and many more!
In case your terrace lacks adequate space for potted plants or your building has a frequent water shortage, Hydroponics is the way to go!
Our website enlists the same ensuring more number of plants in lesser space without soil and less amount of water. Do check us out!
4. Selecting The Perfect Soil And Containers To Plant The Seeds
The soil must be selected according to the plants. Different soil types must be filled in the pots according to the various plants you have selected. If you are covering the entire surface of the roof then, the soil must be selected such that all plants you have selected can grow in it.
Pots or plant containers are important to terrace gardens. You can use earthen pots or cement pots, according to your requirement. You can also buy raised beds for the terrace gardens which are alternatives to the beds used in a regular garden. The major advantage of raised beds is that they are wider, compared to pots. Hence, for growing vegetables, they are most preferred. Trellis for creepers can be bought which will help in vertical gardening. You can also hang some small flowering plants to decorate your terrace garden.
5. Assemble the Elements and Start Gardening
Now when you have purchased all the required plants and containers, you can assemble them and start gardening. Plant the seeds in the pots or lawn, and water them regularly. Also, you can decorate your garden with lightweight furniture, to enjoy its calming atmosphere.
The steps given above can help set up a terrace garden quite easily. Once set up, the garden requires care and protection from pests and worms which in return guarantees life-altering benefits to the gardener along with the entire family!
This post is created under Project Srijan.
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