“Protecting Soil, Promoting Health: The Case for Organic Farming at Home in India”
Indian farmers traditionally rely on high yields to make up enough profits on invested time and money. However, with rising awareness and visible ill effects of chemical-orientated farming, they are switching to organic cultivation. Let’s discuss why organic farming in India is the need of the hour and how you can start organic farming at your home.
Minimum residue level (MRL) limits for pesticides in India are nearly five to ten times higher than the corresponding border states. Daily pesticide intake ranges from 147% to 7218 of quoted safe limits for adults and 214% to 7218% of pesticide limit is considered safe for a 10kg child in India. However, doctors have stated that pesticide residues are the second most prominent cause of developing cancer after tobacco.
In addition, pesticides and manure residues that persist in the soil are harmful to the soil and are harmful to soil health and creatures like earthworms leading to soil fertility damage. This also means we are feeding on a small dosage of cancer every day.
Draw Backs of Chemical oriented agriculture
Soil Fertility Loss: Although chemical-based farming may offer high yields they are toxic in nature. Using chemical-based fertilizers hampers the natural soil fertility levels and forces abnormal growth of plants. Generally, plants intake an unreliable amount of nutrients leading to toxicity in fruits and vegetables.
Water Pollution: Sometimes farmers lay out an irregular amount of fertilizers on their farmland. This excessive amount of fertilizers and pesticides seep into the soil and pollute the underground water. At times farmlands close to rivers pollutes the rivers which lead to many health issues for marine life and humans.
Health issues: Farmers who are in close contact with chemical fertilizers and pesticides gradually experience various health problems. Regular exposure to hazardous chemicals affects the health of livestock near farmlands and ultimately leads to major health problems.
How to start with in-house organic farming?
Growing your own organic plants can help eliminate insecurity surrounding chemical farming. In-house, organic farming offers healthy and chemical-free fruits and vegetables. Organic farming on your rooftop enables you to contribute towards nature and reduce soil pollution. To start organic farming on your balcony requires a soil-less growing medium with a wet weight that should be just a fraction of the weight of the soil.
Making a bio-soil base for plant pots
To start with in-house organic farming, you have to prepare an effective soil mix for even nutrition. Growing plants at home are quite easy but you must prepare soil mixes that consist of about 65% of soil and 35% of organic fertilizers. You can avail of organic fertilizers readily at your nearest nursery. You can either choose cow dunk-based fertilizer or even make your own fertilizer by composting degradable house waste.
Crafting base pot
A variety of pots are available in the market made from plastic, glass, cement, and clay, but if you wish to start organic farming at home you should go with a clay pot as they are eco-friendly and offers a better ecosystem for the plant growth. You should also look for an appropriate water disposal system to avoid overwatering plants. Choose a 14 or 16-inch pot for providing enough space for the plant to shoot its roots, but if you are living in apartments like a settlement, then you can also go for 6 to 10-inch pots.
Sowing the seed
You can choose to grow tomatoes, spinach, lemons, and oranges by simply extracting the seeds from them or you can visit your nearest nursery to grow your preferred vegetables and fruits. You should tilt the potting soil and then poke a one-inch hole with your finger and then place the seeds inside and cover it with soil, after that water the pot to settle down the soil.
Organic farming has enormous benefits for health and also helps to improve nature. By following these simple steps you can also make your contribution to safeguarding nature and improving your health. Moreover, your rooftop or balcony will also radiate positive inflow with the beauty of nature.