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Mumbai: Organic is the way to grow for theseurban farmersOmkar Gokhale, Hindustan Times Mumbai, October 20, 2014First Published: 22:11 IST(20/10/2014) | Last Updated: 22:23 IST(20/10/2014)

With space constraints, creating a garden in Mumbai to grow pesticide-free vegetables and fruits mayseem like a far-fetched idea. But one group of organic farming enthusiasts has shown how growing anorganic kitchen garden in the city is quite an achievable feat.

For the past five years, Urban Leaves India a group of amateur organic farmers has been spreadingawareness about urban farming in Mumbai. The group conducts workshops every Sunday to teachpeople how to prepare organically rich soil and become urban farmers.

These gardening enthusiasts do not need a plot of land to exercise their green thumbs; the terrace ontheir buildings serves as their backyard garden.

In 2000, we developed a terrace farm at Ghadiyal Godi (Victoria Dock) of MbPT. The farm has around100 varieties including spinach, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables, said Preeti Patil, founder,Urban Leaves India, who has been a catering officer with Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) since 1992.

Over the years, as the soil improved and the garden grew, urban farming enthusiasts and others beganto visit the site. With security restrictions increasing at MBPT, I felt the need to share the knowledge andexperience to a wider forum, said Patil.

Patil and her group of 500 volunteers decided to replicate the idea in other parts of the city as well. In

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Mumbai: Organic is the way to grow for these urban farmers - Hindustan Times 1/10/2015

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2009, the volunteers decided to name the project Urban Leaves India. The group started their secondproject in 2010 with the establishment of a garden at Nana Nani Park, Girgaum Chowpatty.

Volunteers also have created their own terrace gardens besides initiating garden projects at schools andcolleges such as Don Bosco School, Matunga and Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Andheri, amongothers.

Every day, for many years, as Patil oversaw the catering for thousands of employees at MbPT, shethought about the impact of the waste generated and decided to do something useful with it make soil.Soil created using organic waste is not inert. It is full of microbial life, which can be used to grow organicfood without having to use synthetic fertilisers. The concept is, food should be grown where waste isgenerated and being decomposed; this cycle should continue, said Patil.

Avinash Kubal, deputy director, Maharashtra Nature Park, Mahim, which partnered with Urban LeavesIndia, realised the potential of community farms and offered the group space within the park. The groupis spreading the idea of utilising biodegradable kitchen waste instead of sending it to landfills. Of the totalgarbage sent to landfills around 8,000 metric tonnes in Mumbai, 40% is organic and can be used asmanure. Terrace farming has set up a model for young citizens for developing environment friendlytechnology, said Kubal. The process is cost-effective and low-maintenance. The only requirements area lot of patience and perseverance.

Sessions on growing greensUrban Leaves India organises workshops on urban community gardens for students, housing societies,businessmen, professionals and housewives. It teaches:

* Building and using Amrut Mitti (a nutrient-rich soil)* Seed sowing and transplanting of seedlings* Pruning for fruits and vegetable plants to create a better canopy and make them more productive* Building trellises for creepers* Designing principles for your urban farm like techniques to harvest maximum light and maintain highbiodiversity in farms

Urban children get a taste of organic foodsIn May 2014, Urban Leaves India organised terrace farming workshops for children from around 100schools across the city at the Maharashtra Nature Park. At the workshop, children were served breakfastthat included seasonal organic food.

Children need to be educated about whatever mother earth gives us, it should be returned to her.Working in kitchen gardens also provides them with recreation. It will help them understand theimportance of organic food in our life. Being able to smell fresh fruits and vegetables is an addedincentive for children.

- Premila Perera, coordinator of childrens workshop, Urban Leaves India

Steps for terrace farmingRecycle and reuse: Use plastic bottles, buckets and disused bathtubs to grow vegetables. The containerscan be filled with soil and home compost to grow cabbages, cauliflowers, capsicums, radishes and onions

Prepare your own soil: Produce Amrut Mitti (nutrient-rich soil) by mixing kitchen waste with soil

Mulch your soil: Keep the soil in containers covered with a layer of dry leaves or sugarcane bagasse toconserve moisture

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Mumbai: Organic is the way to grow for these urban farmers - Hindustan Times 1/10/2015

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PESTICIDE-FREE VEGETABLES ORGANIC FARMERS URBAN FARMERS URBAN LEAVES INDIA

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Add a dose of amrut jal a liquid solution comprising cow urine, fresh cow dung, organic black jaggeryand water

Organic seeds are sown instead of hybrid varieties. For fruits, grafted saplings are used

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Mumbai: Organic is the way to grow for these urban farmers - Hindustan Times 1/10/2015

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Mumbai: Organic is the way to grow for these urban farmers - Hindustan Times 1/10/2015

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