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An apartment complex conjures an image of rows of buildings, with amenities like swimming pool, play areas, manicured lawns and alien trees. These complexes are considered ‘concrete jungles’ and are not really known for their biodiversity.
But the residents of SJR Redwoods Apartments have broken this myth – they have converted their premises into a food forest. This apartment complex off Sarjapura Road has 152 flats, and is situated on a five-acre property of which two acres is common land.
Our garden used to generate six tonnes of waste per month, which had created a mosquito and pest problem. Our solution was to ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ waste. Here’s how we went about it.
Step 1 : Identify areas for setting up compost bins: We created four compost zones. The bins were built using waste materials such as old doors and mosquito mesh, which would otherwise have ended up in a landfill or on the roadside.
Step 2 : Composting: Leaf and other garden waste were put in the compost bins, and mulch added. Mulching regulates soil temperature, and ensures nutrients aren’t lost. Each compost zone yields 100 sacks of compost every quarter.
Garden waste (top), and compost bin constructed with recycled materials (bottom). Pic credit: Redwoods community garden team
Step 3: Community engagement: Workshops were conducted to understand soil conditions, and planting styles such as Kokedama, a Japanese bonsai method where the plant’s root system is wrapped in moss and bound with string.
Kokedama workshop. Pic credit: Redwoods community garden team
Step 4: Planting native species: We identified native local flora, and then undertook a three-layered farming experiment which would allow trees, creepers and shrubs to co-exist. In this farming method, the base of the trees are lined with herbs/shrubs, along with vines/creepers. This contributed to soil rejuvenation, and enabled diverse plant varieties to be propagated in a small area.
Three-layer farming system. Pic Credit: Redwoods community garden team
Following are the species we planted:
Fruit trees | Other trees | Herbs | Vegetables | Flowering plants |
---|---|---|---|---|
Papaya
Banana Guava Sitaphal Mango (yet to yield) |
Neem
Lakshmi taru Jamoon Christmas tree Tabebuia Cherry tree Honge Temple tree Sampige Bottle brush Varieties of palms and bamboo Sugar cane (will be harvested for Sankranti, and will suffice for half the community) |
Thulasi
Mehendi Ajwain Bhadra Mushti Keelanelli Giloy Nagadale Balloon vine (good for the knee joint) Mehendi Thai basil |
Chillies
Yam Sweet potatoes Spinach – Malabar and Ceylon Tomatoes Bitter gourd (seasonal) |
All varieties of jasmine
Sunflower Rose Red hood Spatika Song of India Miniature umbrella plant Tulips Varieties of Hibiscus Parijatha Aparajitha, and more… |
Instead of using chemical-laden pesticides, we followed organic treatment using a mixture of neem, eucalyptus, cow dung and some herbs that keep pests at bay. Fogging was reduced to a bare minimum.
Sameer Shisodia, Kavitha N Kishore, Matilda were core committee members of the gardening team. Thirty other residents – including key members such as Shalini Jain, Shashikant and Indu Iyer – actively participated and gave wholehearted support.
Sameer says, “Over the last few years, a bunch of us have been doing a lot of planting at the Lower Ambalipura lake with the help of the lake gardener. That area has truly become diverse and food-rich. Last year, we felt that perhaps the apartment too should adopt such an approach. We pitched the idea to the managing committee and they liked it. Many volunteers joined in and led various efforts.”
The gardening team. Pic credit: Redwoods community garden team
Monetary:
Overall, we estimate annual savings of Rs 1.5 lakh.
Visual: Creation of a green oasis, unlike a manicured landscape, significantly changed the ecosystem.
Pest-free living: While a green oasis can be blissful, it also comes with a lot of issues, especially in localities notorious for mosquito menace. Carefully planning for plants, and water sources such as lotus ponds, combined with seasonal pruning of the red hood flowering plant, attracted insects like dragonflies which are natural predators of mosquitoes. (An individual dragonfly can eat hundreds of mosquitoes every day.) It also led to an increase in the number of beneficial insects like lay bugs, which keep the plants healthy and pest-free, and help in pollination.
“When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest, we inherit their work.”
– C B Huffaker, Biologist
Beneficial insects. Pic credit: Redwoods community garden team
Sustainability:
Happy residents:
Nursery and seedbank. Pic credit: Redwoods community garden team
Harvest from the garden/food forest. Pic credit: Redwoods community garden team
Fostering biodiversity:
Winged visitors. Pic credit: Redwoods community garden team
Overall, the increase in foliage has led to better oxygen supply and ecological balance.
Sameer says, “We’ve managed all our garden waste internally and yielded rich compost and better soil, seen a growth in the foliage, diversity in plants. We have had lots of food harvested and shared with residents. The garden supports more life. And we’ve not had to spray any chemicals, surely creating healthier surroundings for our kids.”
He adds that residents are now a lot more in touch with nature. “Our common spaces have become a matter of pride. I think we should adopt this model widely, and move away from the common approach to landscaping that is purely ornamental and out of sync with nature.”
Flowering plants offer a visual treat. Pic credit: Redwoods community garden team
Our learning is that nurturing biodiversity is the key to correcting the imbalance in our ecosystem. And that if we protect nature, we are in turn protected.
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