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Dirt cheap ways to grow green gold By: Kasmin Fernandes Date: 2009-05-06 Two new green initiatives help you grow your own organic food and keep garbage out of landfills The seed and peel of that delicious Alphonso mango you just gobbled up, is not garbage. It is, in fact, fodder for growing organic veggies and herbs. Through the simple and dirt-cheap process of composting with wet waste from your kitchen, you could produce nutrient-rich compost every month that helps fruits and herbs grow lush. Besides, you will end up reducing food miles (the distance food travels from where it grows to where it is ultimately consumed), cutting down on garbage crowding the landfills, and contributing to a cleaner city. To aide eco-conscious urban dwellers in the process, eco-trailblazer Kishore Karale from Wadala has come up with a vermicompost-cum-vermiwash starter kit. The 47 kg drum, 3 ft tall and 1.5 ft in diameter uses earthworms and cowdung and matka water. It turns raw green waste from the home and kitchen into rich vermicompost in 15 days. You can use the compost as a growing medium to support and nourish your garden and indoor plants. "I began growing rosemary, thyme, oregano, lettuce and three types of basil with the vermicompost. I've never seen herbs grow faster. Plus, the food is organic and tastes great," says businessman Hemant Chhabra who distributes Karale's kit around Mumbai. The vermiwash is another highlight of the kit. A brown-coloured liquid fertiliser collected after passing water through a column of worm culture, is rich in enzymes, hormones and vitamins and useful as a stimulating foliar spray. "The kit generates 750 ml of vermiwash and 100 to 200 gm of vermicompost daily. You can start growing your own organic veggies at home. It works so well with sufficient sunlight, you won't need a gardener," vows Chhabra. To order a vermicompost-vermiwash starter kit priced at Rs 1,400, e-mail [email protected] Daily Dump needs more clones For Bangalore-based "compost wali" Poonam Bir Kasturi, keeping waste off the streets was the goal behind creating Daily Dump, a range of aesthetic terracotta composters available across the country through "clones". "The model is open source. 'Clone' refers to anybody who sets up a business of selling terracotta composters designed by Daily Dump, in their locality. The person gets free knowledge and support from the 'Clone' community and from Daily Dump. In return s/he will nurture and help create more 'clones' in the region," explains Kasturi. Bandra-based businessman Anil Ranglani is a clone for Mumbai. At a gathering in Bandra to hone would-be clones from Surat, Ranglani said, "You don't need to know everything before you decide to start. All you have to do is start; you can learn along the way." For Daily Dump compost products, call 65052158 or e-mail: [email protected] Url: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/may/060509-Poonam-Bir-Kasturi-Daily-Dump-Home-Composters-Mumbai-news.htm --------------------------------------------
