This family prefers to grow their own veggies and eat them too

Thane: There is nothing more nutritious and hygienic than growing your own vegetables. Unlike earlier where people would have their own gardens and lands to grow vegetables and other medicinal plants, today lack of space has led to shelving of such ideas. But there are some who still have a farming instinct and make full use of their balconies and terraces.
Dattatraya Sathe (73) has spent his childhood working in his own farm at Chiplun. But then he shifted to Mumbai and started his own electrical store. However, he always had an inclination towards farming and so he converted his terrace into a garden. Right from tedli to doodhi, potato, brinjal and chilies, Sathe has it all. Even medicinal plants like methi, tulsi, owa, etc are grown on his garden. And not to forget a variety of flowering plants like roses, mogra, shevanti and the likes.
Sathe has named his garden Tanishka, after his eldest grand daughter. The entire family uses only home grown vegetables in their diet. ‘‘The vegetables grown in our garden tastes much better than that bought from outside. Everyday I eat one tulsi leaf and an owa leaf as it is good for health,’’ said Sathe’s wife Dhanashree.
Sathe has tried to use all environment friendly material for the garden. Old and unused items such as a roadside haath gaadi, drums, plastic nets, basically whatever has been scrapped or has been lying unused has been put to good use by Sathe. The drums have been used as pots and the nets are used as a false ceiling for creepers. He has also built a roof on the terrace that not only protects the plants from strong winds and rain, but also allows enough of sunlight to pass through.
“Starting a terrace garden involves a lot of hard work. Once the set-up is done, all you have to do is plant seeds and water the plants twice a day. Then you have to just watch them bloom,” said Sathe. Sathe has also installed solar water heaters and the lamps on his terrace also run on solar energy.
While Sathe spends most of his time caring for the plants, he also makes frequent trips to abroad to meet his son. There, too, he put his farming activities to practice. ‘‘I made a small garden in my son’s courtyard. Seeing my work, one of his neighour’s was very impressed and offered me a lot of money to replicate the same garden for him,’’ the 73-year-old said.
Sathe also gets many calls back home in Thane regarding gardening issues. Many ask him for advice and guidance. The senior citizen now plants to try his hands on a unique garden known as soilless garden.