How to grow vegetables at home in Mumbai ?

You may be surprised with the title of “grow vegetables at home in Mumbai” #growyourownfood. You might be thinking “Hey, we have the highest deficiency of  living space in Mumbai ! Do you know the cost of real-estate in Mumbai ? It is a premium commodity here. “

The answer is yes. It is known to everybody. Everybody suffers in Mumbai because of less living space and prohibitive cost of living space. But this article is for those people who have some living space at disposal in their homes.  It may be an extra large balcony, extra room or a larger terrace space available. The people living in distant suburbs of Mumbai may have open spaces in the form of  unused land nearby their home.  The idea is to create a small kitchen garden at your home full of easy to grow vegetables at home. You can also grow flowers and herbs. You just need to have access to a wholesale plant nursery in Mumbai, besides a considerable amount of time and energy.

It is beneficial to growing vegetables at home in Mumbai

Do not kill the idea or do not be disappointed with the fact that you have less space. Still, you can fulfil your hobby of kitchen gardening at home in Mumbai. It is economically beneficial,also.

Following are the benefits of growing vegetables at home in Mumbai:

You need not go to market for herbs and vegetables

You will get fresh herbs and vegetables as and when required. The next time you are preparing a good recipes and you want a few leaves of mint, basil, green chillies, lemons or curry leaves (कड़ी पत्ता) , you can just pluck them off from your kitchen garden. There is no need to go to the market. You save money on this daily consumable. To know the shelf life of vegetable seeds, please follow the below link: 

How long do vegetable seeds last?

You get fresh vegetables and herbs

You know the quality of what you’re putting in your food. In Mumbai, you can not always be sure of the quality of vegetables and herbs purchased from the market.

You get healthy

You become lot healthier because  you start growing commonly herbs like parsley, mint, dil, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, cilantro / coriander, fennel, chamomile, fresh tarragon, lavender, chives, arugula, bay leaves, lemon verbena, chervil, winter savoury, peppermint, stevia, lemongrass and  bergamot (bee balm) at home. It makes you healthier as these herbs become part of your daily food intake.

Please follow this article on : 5 Reasons You Must Eat Greens Everyday

Your cost of interior designing is less

You bring nature to your home. Nature becomes part of your interior design. It helps in reducing the cost of interiors for a big home.

You can keep mosquitoes away

You can also have mosquito repellant plants in your kitchen garden. It helps in reducing the population of mosquitoes. Please follow this link to know more about indoor plants that repel mosquitoes.

You can have clean air

You can have plants that purify air in your surrounding and prevent you from pollutants and dust particles causing allergies and other chest related problems. Please follow the link below to know more about indoor plants for cleaning air in your home and removing the toxins.

You can start a business of plant nursery in Mumbai

This is for those folks who have an entrepreneurial bent of mind. You can grow seeds and some exotic herbs and vegetables that are not commonly available. For this, you need to do a thorough study of the plant nursery near you.

What are the two main methods of growing vegetables at home in Mumbai?

Traditional method of sowing and reaping the vegetables

Generally, a right location should be chosen for this that may be a balcony, empty terrace or a completely empty room.  Please ensure that plenty of sunlight reaches that space. It should also be nearer to the water source for sufficient watering of the plants.

Please select your vegetables and herbs as per the current season. Monsoon, winter and summer are the three main seasons of Mumbai. You will have to visit a number of times to a plant nursery near you in Mumbai to gain some knowledge.

For preparing soil, you can procure it from a nearby wholesale plant nursery in Mumbai with compost and natural fertilisers. You can also order soil bags, compost and natural fertilisers from  online stores.

Here is an excellent method for making compost at home for your garden.

You may also need to procure earthen or plastic planters for garden from a plant nursery near you. There is another alternative which consists of usage of growing bags for plants.

Following online stores are useful for buying kitchen garden equipment and materials: 

• https://www.amazon.in/Plants
• https://nurserylive.com/
• https://www.ankurnursery.com/
• https://www.plantsguru.com/
• https://www.ugaoo.com/
• https://mybageecha.com/
• https://www.santhionlineplants.com/
• https://rootbridges.com/

Here is a actual list brick and mortar nurseries where any type of flower and vegetable seeds can be purchases:https://farmerinmumbai.com/where-to-buy-plants-in-mumbai-in-2022/

Procure the seeds and plant them as per their planting cycle. There is a season for growth of each type of vegetable and a definite planting cycle. You should follow the planting cycle for each type of vegetable. Generally, this information is available on the seed packets.

Keep watering as per the plants requirement and keep a watch on growth of weeds and other unnecessary plantations.

Keep fertilising as needed and repeat the above cycle. You will be able to reap good rewards as organic chemical free vegetables for daily food consumption.

Hydroponic method of growing vegetables at home in Mumbai