Terrace gardening, Container gardening and a few more such terms are in vogue today. Sometimes one comes across related terms like city farming or urban farming which makes things even more confusing.  In essence these are nothing but your good old kitchen garden.  Yes it is that simple. Though there are subtle differences (which I’ll touch upon later in this post), in spirit these terms are used only to refer to the activity of growing fruits and vegetables in the confines of your homes. I generally use the terms terrace gardening and container gardening because that is exactly what I do.

 

Container Garden

Simply put container gardening is the set of activities that one does to grow food in unused spaces of one’s home that is conducive to grow food. Technically one can grow everything from cereals, pulses to herbs. But growing cereals and pulses in terraces and balconies for consumption is a little far-fetched as of today. Hence terrace gardening really refers to growing vegetables and a few fruits in unused spaces of one’s home. And since these are grown mostly in containers it is also known as container gardening. As urban open areas are shrinking in size every day the only real viable place that one can grow one’s own vegetables then becomes the balcony. If you are lucky to live in an independent house with a terrace then there is nothing like it. A 30 square feet balcony can yield sufficient green leaves and a few vegetables while a terrace of 1000 sq feet can fulfill 50-70% vegetable requirements of a family of four. All it takes is some planning and imagination to utilize the available area and resources efficiently and effectively.

Recycling is Organic

A Kitchen garden is not only a place where food is grown; it is also a place where all the food waste from home is recycled. According to a survey about six meals are wasted per week per household in the US. In India itself about 40% of the food is wasted according to United Nations Development Program. That’s a huge deal of food to be wasted. And having a kitchen garden at home ensures that one’s home becomes a zero food waste home as all food waste is typically recycled back to feed the plants.

Urban Farming

That was terrace gardening in a nut shell. So what about urban farming and city farming! Urban Farming or City Farming is defined as growing fruits, vegetable and herbs and raising animals in cities. Terrace gardening also comes under the bigger umbrella of urban farming. But while city farming is a more organized and community based activity, terrace farming is a personal or family based activity. However in some cases community gardening is also done in terraces of public buildings which have huge amount of space.

Organic Terrace Garden

You can grow food in your home using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. But then the whole point of growing your own food is lost. When you are growing your own food certainly you want that food to be free of chemicals and poisons (read fertilizers and pesticides). Moreover use of such chemicals is not only extremely bad for our health but also for the health of mother earth. Hence for me by default terrace gardening is only about growing food in an organic and sustainable manner using only organic resources and waste available.

Way of Life

For me terrace gardening not just a term. It’s a spiritual way of life. It makes one more aware of the environment and hence empathetic towards the earth and life. Before I sign off I’ll leave you with a quote from the legendary Masanobu Fukuoka of the one straw revolution fame.

“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings”