Greenery is now being planted on the roofs of large buildings in towns, a green bounty that helps meet families' nutrition needs. Even when it starts as a hobby, green rooftop gardens are taking shape.

With urbanisation, these hobby farms are being set up on rooftops. Rather than leave their roof empty, one couple has built an attractive rooftop garden of seasonal winter vegetables to meet their nutrition needs.

The initiative has been taken on the roof of their own building in the College Road area of Barguna municipality by Md Al-Masud Karim, nazir at the deputy commissioner's office, and his wife Mosa. Khadija Akter Munni, director of Oxford School.

On the 1,680 sq ft roof they grow winter vegetables in pots and plastic structures, relying on organic methods and no chemical pesticides. The crops include tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, chilli, onion, garlic, kalmi shak, red amaranth and beetroot. There are also dragon fruit, orange, amla, jujube, malta and mint, along with various flowering plants.

Mosa. Khadija Akter Munni said: "The taste of rooftop vegetables is incomparable, because they are grown organically. When pests attack, we spray neem leaves, ash and mahogany fruit juice. To grow seasonal vegetables all year, we irrigate as needed through pipes."

Md Al-Masud Karim said: "Using our free time, we look after the plants like our own children. If I can't come to the roof on any day, it feels as if my day hasn't gone well. Through proper hard work and care, we can eat seasonal fruit and vegetables from our own plants."

Nature-loving journalist Advocate Sohel Hafiz said: "Soil is disappearing day by day, so many people are growing vegetables and flowers on rooftops and balconies as a hobby. Growing seasonal vegetables in rooftop gardens can play a big part in meeting family nutrition needs."

Abu Syed Md Zobaydul Alam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Barguna, said: "Several things should be kept in mind when making a rooftop garden: whether the roof is strong, whether it can bear the weight, whether there is water for irrigation and whether there is drainage. A rooftop garden also needs firm determination and proper planning."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.