Organic

Roof Top Farming
Kerala has undergone rapid urbanisation with a major chunk ofthe population living in cities in very small plots and high rise buildings. Naturally, cultivable land is almost non existant here. Also , it is an established fact that the vegetables in the market is doused in pesticides which is slowly poisoning us leading to major illness. It is in this context that rooftop farming assumes significance.
The advantages of terrace farming are :
  Solution to shrinking cultivable land.
  Atleat partially restoring greenery destroyed due to construction of buildings.
  Maximum availability of sunlight.
  Reducing temperature isnside the building on account of concrete roofing.
  Availability of fresh oxygen while walking among the plants.
  The mental relaxation one gets while tending plants.
  Availability of pesticide free fresh vegtables.
  Converting kitchen waste to manure.
  Helping in control of atmospheeric temperature in the city.
  It is seen that there is less attack from pests when rooftop cultivtion is done.

Preparing rooftop.

Those who are about to build houses should take measures to ensure that the terrace can bear the extra load and taking precuations to prevent leakage. For existing roofs , if there is leakage or dampness ensure that it is rectified before proceeding. This can be done by lime tressing(madras terracing) or laying a light layer of fresh concrete(5 cm thickness) and plastering.

Methods of farming.
  Cubicles on terrace (C.O.T)
  In this method, the terrace is divided into 2m X 1m blocks leaving 75cm pathway in between.The segregated blocks are concreted in 5 cm thickness and plastered.Along the edges of the blocks bricks are laid out for the required height with holes for water drainage. Now we c an fill these with potting mixture.It should be ensured that the excess water should drain along the pathway to the down drain pipe of the terrace.Apart from vegetavles, we can plant coconut,mango pappaya,cherry...