Hyderabad: Terrace garden enthusiasts take lead on social media

Hyderabad: Having done with the vegetables and fruits grown using harmful pesticides and chemical fertilisers, more and more people in the city are now switching towards growing their own veggies in the backyards of their homes on their building terraces that not only gives them the fresh produce sans using any chemicals, but also a great satisfaction of having raised the produce on their own.

While this latest trend has led to swelling in number of shops selling the material needed for roof gardening and its components, a few online groups of nature enthusiasts and lovers have also popped up on social media sites like Facebook and WhatsApp where they share their experiences and ideas for bettering their gardens.

Some WhatsApp groups even gained steam for providing a platform wherein both the agri-experts and novices can share their experiences ecstatically. A similar platform, "City of Terrace Gardens", founded by Srinivas Harkara, a senior lawyer and a passionate gardener, is one among the WhatsApp groups that has most number of experts and members than any other group of garden enthusiasts.

With over 23,000 members spread across 15 such groups, the City of Terrace Gardens is a one stop platform for all the solutions related to roof gardening, preparation of medium to grow organic veggies and fruits, besides easy to approach contacts for roof gardening components at affordable rates.

"With the growing demand for pesticide-free organic food and veggies, many people are attracted towards growing vegetables and fruits in their own backyards or on terraces. This has actually brought them closer to the groups where they can get appropriate advice from experts to better their roof gardens," informed Srinivas Harkara.

"Though we started with a small group of garden enthusiasts, mostly close friends, soon we grown to 16 such groups in the city and number of sub-groups in the surrounding districts. We provide end-to-end solutions to the issues related to raising roof gardens that too almost for free. We help people get expert advice with appropriate contacts to buy seeds, mediums and components they want to better their terrace gardens," explained Srinivas.