Florine Roche

Mangaluru, Oct 16: If you thought that organic food is the latest fad which has caught the fancy of people in India, chances are that you aren’t aware of the latest developments or trends. Of course, it was a fad and still is a craze among those who are used to the fast and consumerist lifestyle. Organic food is a passé and the real craze catching up many urbanites in many parts of India and in Mangaluru now is the desire to take up terrace gardening and become self-sustaining. With land becoming a scarce commodity and pricey too, terrace gardening has caught the fancy of many people which really augurs well for the society as a whole.

Though terrace gardening has caught our fancy in the last couple of years Blany D Souza of Marnamikatta, had made terrace gardening his passion almost two decades ago. Computer wizkid Steve Job had rightly said “People with passion can change the world for the better” and this is what Blany has done having made terrace garden as his passion, a passion which has brought about a profound change in his life. Today he is reaping rich dividend from his 1200 sq ft organic terrace garden both in terms of the yield of fruits and vegetables he grows and also in terms of the recognition and public adulation that comes pouring in.

Blany also says “the quantum of joy that comes on seeing a plant flowering and bearing fruit cannot be measured at all”. He further adds: “It was all trial and error because there wasn’t much focus on terrace gardening two decades ago. I had to experiment and in the process learnt everything”. For Blany, who never had any exposure or experience in to agriculture or growing fruits and vegetables before he ventured into terrace gardening, it is indeed a marvellous achievement.

The list of his achievements as a terrace gardener makes an interesting and amazing reading. He has grown Kabul grapes in his terrace garden, a novelty in this coastal region and gave a surprise even to traditional grape growers who came asking for the secret of his bounty of yield. He has also grown a jackfruit in a pot, which he claims, is another first in the entire country. At the same time he candidly says “For me has been an experiment and I learn from the mistakes I do. Experience is the best teacher and I have learnt enough in these two decades and today I set up gardens for others and am invited to give demonstrations and speeches to inspire people”.

Variety – the spice of garden

His terrace garden today boasts of over 200 varieties of plants and trees of fruits and vegetables collected from across the globe. Varieties of mango trees, jackfruits – pink, red, yellow, gum-less and rudrakshi, varieties of guava, varieties of Wood Rose Apple(other name for wax apple), passion fruit, milky fruits, peach tree, pista (dry fruit) kukum, cap fruit, oranges, sweet lime, wood apple, chiku including military chiku (its leaves resemble military cloth) grapes, Rama Phala, Seetha Phala, Hanumatha Phala, butter fruit, strawberry, jujube (borum) sweet tamarind, gooseberry, star fruit, cashew and olive are some of the fruit plants in his garden.

Vegetables like Brnjals of all hues, Varieties of Brahmi, varieties of ridge gourd like long, rounded or bunch type, yam, spinach, basale, leafy green/red vegetables, breadfruit, ivy gourd, snake guard, ash gourd, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, ivy gourd, wing beans, sword beans, hog plum, varieties of chillies, beatle leaves both Desi and Mumbai paan, sweet potato, long beans, okra, drum stick, coco, coffee, mint, coriander leaves, black pepper, bush pepper, tomato, cucumber, southekai, curry leaves and colocasia are some of the vegetables he grows in his terrace garden.

From a mere terrace garden enthusiast Blany has graduated to do multi-tasking, all associated with the terrace gardening. Apart from keeping his own terrace garden green and full of yield throughout the year he also undertakes the job of setting up terrace gardens to those interested in it. However, he says his responsibility does not end just by setting up the garden. He provides continuous help and guidance to such new enthusiasts which also include spot visits as and when required. He is also gives motivational speeches and demonstrations to schoolchildren and college students and others interested in the field. “Those who are into terrace gardening for the first time will have lot of queries and doubts and I feel it is my responsibility to guide them till they become confident to manage on their own”, Blany asserts.

Reward of Bountiful Yield

A visit to his house to watch the terrace garden in Marnamikatta is a must for any terrace garden enthusiast before thinking of having his/her own garden. Visitors will be surprised to see his terrace garden that almost resembles like a traditional green shamiana which was common in villages for weddings and other family functions until recently. Vegetables like ash gourd, bottle gourd, snake guard and ridge gourd that pop out of the green shamiana resemble like colourful balloons that used to be part of the traditional shamianas.

It is not that Blany took to terrace gardening due to dearth of land. Though he has 23 cents of land around his house in Marnamikatta it is shady due to a variety of trees he has grown. Varieties of Mango, cashew, coconut, bell apple, chiku, butter fruit, bread fruit, drum stick tree, rama phala, seethaphala, banana trees, bush Kokum, fig and many more. “Sunlight and water are the two basic requirements for plants and trees. Due to the shade of the trees in my compound and also because of the pet dogs I could not grow plants in the open land. Terrace garden was the only option I had to fulfil my dream”, Blany points out.

A B.Com graduate Blany took to gardening as a passion and with the intent to use his spare time fruitfully. Having worked in the gulf for about six years Blany returned home for good as he wanted to be with his family especially with his growing kids. He had invested whatever little savings he had in laundry shops to sustain him. But he was left with lot of spare time and to deal with this extra time he began growing a kitchen garden. The Ivy Gourd creeper which he had planted in his kitchen garden near the wall adjacent to the bedroom proved to be his first terrace garden plant. Incidentally the 20 year old creeper is still alive and going strong in the kitchen garden. This creeper had made its way up to the terrace on its own and in the same creeper Blany found a handful of gentleman’s toes the other name for ivy gourd. To his surprise Blany found a handful of ivy gourds on the same creeper and that spurred him to take to terrace gardening.

Blany spends his time prudently in his garden. People can spend half hour or more daily depending on the size of the garden. The only advice he gives is “take care of the plants like your own child. Talk to them and spend some time with them and they will talk to you in return by yielding”. Now Blany is busy setting up gardens for others on their requests. He has helped set up almost 80 terrace gardens in different parts of Mangaluru including the garden he set up for St Aloysius Gonzaga School, the first school to have a terrace gardening in Mangaluru.

He also gets lot of visitors that include schools bringing students to see his terrace garden. He has now made it a routine to attend to his plants and visitors in the forenoon and he devotes his afternoons to set up terrace gardens for interested people or to attend other related chores. His responsibility does not end just with the setting up of the garden. He also supports them with guidance and maintenance over a period of time. Blany is now elated as recently he has been asked to set up an organic garden in a 16 acre land in Moodbidri and he has taken up the challenge.

Blany doesn’t use chemical pesticides in his garden and the only pesticide he ever uses is the neem drops mixed with water. “A personal touch is the best anecdote against any pests. You can remove the insects or pests when you roam around in the garden”, he assures. Blany is really an inspiration for the land-strapped people of the city having a burning desire to grow a garden of their own. It is also the best option for self-sustenance.

He does not forget to give me some tips before Imove out of his garden. He says plants like tomato, brinjnal .and Okra (lady’s finger) can be multiplied by planting its branches. He also advices terrace gardeners not to get carried away by insect trappers because they may not serve the purpose.