Maya Varghese has something to show everyone who has attempted to grow a kitchen garden and failed — a mobile vertical kitchen garden. She plucks a Swiss Chard leaf from one of the pots and offers it: “You can eat it just like that. It is pesticide-free.” The vertical vegetable garden, Vertigrove, which she developed, grows palak , curry leaves, different varieties of spinach, lettuce and herbs, among other plants.
Vertigrove was the result of a series of mistakes she did with the vegetable garden in her backyard, according to Maya. There was not enough sunlight. Shifting it to the terrace did not work either, as it was covered. Plus, the fury of the monsoon killed the plants. This got her thinking and Maya spent the last two years researching, meeting experts and developing a model that would take into consideration space constraint, expense, and ease of management. She found different vendors who manufactured the structure, made the potting mixture and provided the technical know-how.
The vertical garden is a compact seven-tiered contraption of grow rings that can accommodate up to 30 plants. It has a self-watering system based on drip irrigation and a column in the middle, which acts as a vermicomposting unit. “The vertical garden format is popular in ornamental gardening, so why not replicate it in vegetable farming?” she asks.
A software engineer who works as a management representative for Wrench Solutions, Kakkanad, Maya says with Vertigrove, a 200 sq.ft kitchen garden with 30 grow bags can be arranged in a minimum of four sq.ft. The apparatus is fitted with wheels, so it can be moved around — from the living room balcony to the kitchen, for instance — depending on which part of the house receives more sunlight during different times of the day. The grow rings can be rotated too, so that the plants in the shade can get their time in the sun.
The system uses a soil-less medium and requires very little maintenance. Weeding is not required and the rechargeable batteries provided in the unit can water the plants for up to seven days. Since leafy vegetables don’t need direct sunlight all the time, they can serve a decorative purpose too, if placed in the living room.
The system is best suited to grow greens and not bigger vegetables. “Ultimately, it is about eating healthy. Many of us hesitate to buy greens from supermarkets as most of them are pesticide-laden. We don’t consume the required quantity of greens either. It is said that a healthy human being requires at least 40 grams of green leafy vegetables in his or her diet a day. The idea of producing your own greens is to support a healthy way of life,” says Maya.
The inbuilt composting unit can create awareness about composting among home-makers. Organic waste generated at home can be fed into the composting column provided in the centre of the apparatus. “It is odour-free and minimises waste generation at home. Children at home also get to understand concepts of segregation and composting,” she adds.
However, Vertigrove units come without the composting columns as well. Those that can be hung up on balcony walls are available too. Maya also has a collection of smaller Vertigroves which can be used for ornamental plants.
For details, visit www.vertigrove.com
