As part of its efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in vegetable production, the State government will promote the establishment of vertical gardens in urban areas and its suburbs where land availability is limited. The soil-less cultivation programme is being promoted with technical support from the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The Department of Agriculture and the State Horticulture Mission, Kerala are part of the programme to promote vertical vegetable gardens under the Union government-promoted Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
The Horticulture Mission proposes to popularise the user-friendly Arka vertical garden structure designed and developed by IIHR for soil-less cultivation that will not only help gradually achieve self-sufficiency but also aid production of safe-to-eat vegetables.
The basic component of an Arka vertical garden is a base frame spread over a sq. m. Each unit will be spread over four levels. There will be a 25-litre water holder at the top level to enable watering of plants. The units will be popularised with government financial support. Each of the vertical garden structures will be accompanied by 16 pots, 80 kg of growing medium as well as seeds of vegetables such as amaranthus, chilli, palak, coriander, bhindi and tomato as well as materials for plant nutrient management and plant protection.
The Arka vertical garden structure can be moved with the help of the wheels fitted at the base to help the plants absorb sunlight.
Each of the vertical garden units involves a total expenditure of ₹22,100. The government support will be ₹10,525, which can be availed by the beneficiary. Applications for the Arka vertical garden units may be submitted online using the website www.shm.kerala.gov.in The beneficiary will have to remit ₹11,575 along with the application. For details, contact the Horticulture Mission (phone 0471 - 2330857, 9188954089; website www.shm.kerala.gov.in.). The last date for submitting the applications is April 17, 2023.
