The pandemic has certainly highlighted the importance of oxygen. It has also made us realize the adverse effects of human actions on the environment.
It is a known fact, that growing trees boost oxygen. Reiterating this, the Social Forestry Department of Vadodara Forest Department recommends planting 5, 10, or 15 Shrubs / Tree at Roof Top Gardens with the help of plastic drums in the roof space of the house. This will provide abundant oxygen as well as keep the temperature of the house in control. It is necessary to keep the number of plants according to the strength of the roof of the house.
But, there is no space left in the houses in cities. A rooftop garden can be a good option to enrich and beautify the house with greenery.
Giving information that vegetables, flowers, or fruit trees can be grown in Roof Top Garden, Deputy Forest Conservator Kartik Maharaja said that they raised a terrace garden model for public awareness on the second floor at Rajiv Nagar STP in collaboration with Vadodara Municipal Corporation. The model was spotted by State Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama at the recent World Environment Day celebrations and he also planted a lemon tree in the garden.
He added that that the idea and concept of Roof Top Garden is the brainchild of S.J. Pandit, a retired senior officer of the State Forest Department and currently serving as a consultant. He has gifted this model. At present RB Trivedi, Regional Officer, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Vadodara, has contributed to the realization of the Model Roof Top Garden at Rajiv Nagar STP.
In order to make it easier for the people of the city to understand and adopt this concept, the department’s nursery in Sayajibaug has come up with the idea of raising a rooftop garden model of about 25 drums.
For roof gardens, it is recommended to use plastic drums of 25 to 200 liters instead of pots depending on the strength of the roof. These drums can be filled with vermicompost and soil or cockpit to keep the weight light. A variety of flower plants, vegetables, drumsticks, asparagus, soybean vines, guava, Chiku, custard apple can be grown.
Now horticulturists have developed varieties of Chiku, Mosambi, Pomegranate, Lemon, Orange, Custard apple, which can keep the size of the tree small i.e. the tree can remain a dwarf in size. A variety of saplings like Odumbar, Jasud, Champa, Chameli, Parijat, Mulberry, Jamphal, Tulsi, Ashwagandha, Sarpagandha can be raised in the roof garden. It is recommended to keep two or three holes in the bottom of the drum for drainage of water and a small vessel to collect the running water.
Like rooftop gardens, a gunny bag garden can be raised by using large polythene bags and have the option of growing mainly vegetables and flower plants. Care must be taken to keep the number of drums according to the strength of the roof.
