Terrace gardening has made this couple's retirement fruitful

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Jalandhar, February 22

Terrace gardening, which is usually seen as a passion or hobby for green thumbs, has now become a popular activity to bring home-grown organic food on your table. Besides, the excess use of fertilisers, pesticides and among other chemicals, has further forced people to set up a sprawling green cover at their terrace.

The story of Inder Raj Singh (65), a retired PCS officer, and Mangjit Kaur (63), a retired vice-principal, is also inspired from the same concept.

He says they took to this green hobby after realising the fact that this will not only help them make the best use of their time, but it will also prove beneficial for their health and well-being.

It was in 2018, when they first planted a sapling at their rooftop, and since then their terrace is a home to more than 50 plants. Apart from the terrace, they also have a small green space at the entrance of their house which houses many birds. And the moment one moves close to the plants, the constant chirping of birds is soothing to the ear, and is sure to please one’s senses.

“We cultivate almost all varieties of vegetables and fruits like pumpkin, spinach, lettuce, fenugreek, broccoli, brinjal, coriander, green and red chillies, etc, to fruits like tomato, guava, lemon, dragon fruit etc. We spend 1-2 hours everyday maintaining our plants. We haven’t hired any gardener, we ourselves make sure to keep the plants healthy and nourished,” said Inder Raj, adding that people of all ages must adopt gardening as a hobby to keep the environment clean and green.

He further added that from maintaining the quality of soil to applying the suitable manure and using kitchen waste decomposer as bio-fertilizer, he makes conscious efforts to reap the plants. Besides, he has put in a drip irrigation system to avoid excess use of water.

When asked how he learned cultivation, he said he grew up watching his father grow foodgrains and vegetables. He said he was not new to farming as before being a PCS officer, he had done farming in his native village in Hoshiarpur and had earlier cultivated ‘Rajma’.

When questioned how gardening shaped his post retirement life, he replied that the feeling of seeing the vegetables and plants grow makes him feel alive from inside. Besides, walking in the middle of the green space is another inexplicable feeling, which fills you with a lot of positivity and good vibes, he added.