Since childhood, Lucknow’s Ankit Bajpai has been fond of plants. After he quit his corporate job in 2017, he came back from Mumbai to start terrace gardening.
He grows flowers like rose, marigold, lilly, and vegetables like spinach, broccoli, potato, radish, cabbage, and lemon on his 390 sq-ft terrace.
He also runs a YouTube channel with 4.5 lakh subscribers, where he gives tips on growing these varieties of plants.
He suggests a few tips on vertical gardening for those who stay in apartments in big cities so that they get fresh vegetables and upcycle the plastic waste.
For beginners, Ankit suggests growing plants that do not require much care like marigold, basil, mint, aloe vera, potato, spinach, and moonshine.
As per him, winter or spring is the right time to start vertical gardening. For this, choose an open space with good sunlight, for example, a balcony wall.
“Any plant can be grown by hanging old and waste plastic bottles on the walls. It elevates the beauty of the wall and helps with fresh veggies,” he says.
To prepare an excellent potting mix, he suggests mixing soil, sand, and cow dung manure or vermicompost in a ratio of 30:30:40.
He also suggests making liquid fertiliser by grinding vegetable peels and ginger together. Ginger does not allow any disease to grow in the trees, he says.
After grinding, leave the paste in water for 12-14 hours and pour this water into the plants. “It is highly nutritious for plants. Fertilise every 20-30 days,” he adds.