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CULTIVATIONOFVEGETABLESONTERRACE
Availability of land for growing vegetables is a major problem in cities and towns. To overcome this problem terrace cultivation is recommended. Some important points to be remembered in vegetable cultivationonterracesofbuildingsarelistedbelow.

1. For the cultivation of vegetables on terraces, plastic bags are preferred over earthen pots. The corners at the bottom portion of the bag are to be pushed in and then filled upto 3/4th area with soil mixturecontainingtwopartssoil,onepartsandandonepartpowderedcowdungmixedtogether.The rest1/4thareaofthebagatthetopwillhavetobedoneinsoilmixtureinsidethebag.

2. Inthecaseofsmallerseededcropslike amaranths,tomato,brinjaletcseedlingswillhavetobe raised separately and transplanted after 3 weeks (45 leaved stage). The top portion of the bag earlier foldedbackcanbeunfoldedsoastoprovideshadetotheyoungseeding.Whenseedinggot established,thetopportioncanbefoldedbackagain.

3. Inthecaseofbigseededplantslikebhindi(LadyFinger),cowpea,swornbeanetcsowingcanbe done directly in the bag at the rate of two spots per bag, each spot containing two seeds. For crops like bitter gourd, snake gourd and vegetable cowpea, sufficient pandal will have to be constructed using polesfixedatthemetalringsprovidedatthecornersoftheterracewhenthevinestartscreepingonthe floor. In the case of pumpkin, ash gourd and cucumber , coconut or areca nut leaves will have to be spreadontheterracesoastoallowvinestocreepoverit. 4. Plantsraisedinbagswillhavetobeirrigatedbothinthemorningandeveningattherateofone or two mugs full of water each time. The quantity of water has to be regulated in such a way that no excesswaterdrainsoffthebagandatthesametimetheplantsdonotwither. 5. The bags are to be kept over two or three bricks arranged in such a way that rain water can easilyflowovertheterrace.Thiswillensureproperaerationbelowthebags. 6. The bags will have to be placed along the bottom of the parapet walls on the terrace. Bags can be kept in the centre of the terraces provided there is wall support beneath the bags. It is better to use organic manures like cow dung , ash, neemcake, bonomeal, compost, vermin compost for terrace cultivation.Similarlyuseonlyorganicpesticidesforthecontrolofpests.

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