WhereCity.com - Articles - World Kitchen Garden Day

In the blueprint of Bombay, greenery is the stuff that sprouts out of cracks in the concrete, transplanted trees that are on their last leg and open spaces that are in the past tense, courtesy the builder mafia-politician nexus.

It’s easy to be cynical in this climate. But stories of hope abound in little corners… for instance, have you heard about the two community city farms, where organic vegetables are grown in handmade soil?

At Maharashtra Nature Park, Dharavi and NanaNani Park,Chowpatty, members and volunteers from Urban Leaves, a green initiative for organic city farming, meet on a weekly basis and build trellises, plant seeds and sustain beautiful herb and vegetable gardens. Ladyfingers, brinjals, bitter gourd, corn, capsicums, yams, turmeric, basil, ginger and mint are some of the plants that thrive merrily. Using an intensive technique of soil building, they create healthysoil (amritmitti) that provides high yields and is resistant to mass attacks by insects.

On August 28, 2011, Urban Leaves is proud to represent ‘World Kitchen Garden Day’ at their community farms.Conceptualised by KGI (Kitchen Gardeners International),a non-profit community with a mission to empower people to achieve higher levels of food self-reliance, the Mumbai chapter promises a truckload of fun activities. A harvest festival and potluck of organic produce, seed and sapling exchange, exhibitions and displays have been planned. It’s the right avenue to meet urban gardeners and farmers, eat and learn about seasonal foods, understand the philosophy of organic agriculture and build and nurture communities around growing and eating healthy.

“Think of soil as your mother”, says urban farmer UbaiHussain, who co-manages the community farm at Nana Nani Park with PurvitaKapadia. “By observing the natural life cycle of plants in the forest, we understand how to make our farms self-sufficient and highyielding”, he asserts.

Purvita further elaborates, “Even if you have a tiny balcony, don’t let that stop you from growing your own vegetables. Mint, basil, lemongrass, methi, spinach and even tomatoes and capsicums can be easily grown in pots.”

If you’re one of those kindred spirits who always yearned for your own little herb patch or dreamed about growing your own peppers, the World Kitchen Garden Day is the perfect place to kick-start your vision.