Resources

I hv been a part of the Organic Terrace Gardening community for over 2 years and one  of the most common question that I come across is "Where do I get this item and that item". These are sources I have come across over a period of time and will help you find products/items to start off with a garden. 

DISCLAIMERS

• I DO NOT endorse these products or stores or parks nor do I vouch for them.
• Most of the websites have a "Contact Us" page with address and contact details. 
• Information changes quickly and I may have been wrong with some inputs, so would advise you to call them before hand instead of being disappointed later.
• The following listing is NOT in any particular order or favoritism.
• Please use your own judgement in buying/sharing/using the same. 

Quite a number of commercial online stores have come up in the recent past, practically selling anything and everything and some of them can be at quite unbelievable prices. I am personally not in favour of them, except maybe for branded tools / gloves etc. But for seeds and other core garden ingredients, I would anytime prefer buying them from a known source or an OTGian. Most of the OTGians mentioned below have their online stores and are more approachable than an online vendor. They deliver across Bangalore and some across India as well. 

1. Lalbagh – enter from the Double Road / KH Road side. After about 100 meters on the left side is the nursery. Timings are approx 10AM to 5PM.

• Seeds, Cocopeat, Manure, Saplings, Tools.

2. GKVK : This part of University of Agricultural Sciences, Hebbal.

• Vegetable/herb saplings.

3. Department of Horticulture. On Banerghatta Road, next to Meenakshi Temple and Coir Board. Bang opposite Meenakshi Mall.

• Seeds, vegetable/herb/fruting/flowering saplings. vermi compost, bio mix, bio-manure additives

4. Nitya Jaivika, OTGian Anu Radha.

• Cocopeat, VC, PG, Jeevamrut, seeds, saplings, planters. neem/honge/castor cake/powder. Stall @ OFYT.

5. GreenMyLife, OTGian Gitanjali

• Seeds, cocopeat, PG, tools, planters, landscaping, gardening services. Stall @  OFYT.

6. Nimai Garden, OTGian Vishwanath Yadav – He has a farm near Electronic city and stays in HSR. Good quality seeds. Stall @ OFYT.

• Seeds, saplings, VC, PG.

7. Organic Garten, OTGian Badri. Rajarajeshwari Nagar. Good quality seeds. Setups a stall during OFYT events.

• Seeds, saplings. Conducts OTG training sessions quite often. Stall @ OFYT.

8. Garden Guru, OTGian Geekgardener Gardener, Vijaya Bank Layout, behind IIMB, off Banerghatta Road.

• Seeds, Cocopeat,  Manure, Saplings, Tools, Hydroponics setup,  grow bags.

9. Association of People with Disabilities (APD).

• Herbs/flowering/fruiting saplings, VC, potting mix, red soil mixed with dried cow dung.

10. Indo American

• Seeds

11. Varsha Enterprises, Jayanagar 7th Block

• Cocopeat, Seeds, Tools, grow bags.

12. Purna Organics

• Seeds / Tools

13. Red Sanders - Arun. 26610528 / 94480 62909

• Cocopeat.

14. MM Floritech – Varthur. Excellent for ornamental. Since its quite far from the city, visit them if you plan to do bulk purchases.

• Seeds / Ornamental Saplings / Tools

15. Swami Nursery, Hosur

• Fruiting saplings

16. Teja Nursery

• Fruiting saplings, decorative plants.

17. Nurseries in Siddapura. One of the Lalbagh gates is called Lalbagh-Siddapura Gate. This gate is relatively very small compared to the double Road /KH Road gate. On the opposite side of this road, there are several nurseries, selling pots/planters, sapling.

18. Minerva Naturals. Quite a good one-stop-shop.
19. Kora3b leaf compost @ kora3bcompost.strikingly.com. Details in the website.
20. My3Leaves : OTGian Sumathy Sreekumar. FB Page ... https://www.facebook.com/pages/My3leaves/837961542917865

21. Swamy Nursery : http://www.swamynursery.in

22. https://www.facebook.com/Seed2harvest.in

23. http://www.bioorgo.in/page/Home.html

24. Garden Elves store for gardening accessories like trellis and containers, by OTGian Bharath Rajashekar.

25. https://www.facebook.com/enquiry.greenorganicstore.blr

26. Quantum Leaf : OTGian Krishna Kumar. seeds, drip containers, accessories, potting mixes.

Online stores

1. http://trustbasket.com/

Last but not the least, soil ! I have not come across any store selling soil yet ! So you will have to scout around your locality for the friend neighborhood nursery-wala. On an average a cement bag full costs about Rs. 50 (based on your negotiation skills !). Not sure how much it would weigh, but it can get very heavy.

Composting options confusion !!!

Confused on how and with what to start off with composting ? 

There are a LOT of posts on the OTG group asking how to start with the composting process and with what. There are quite a number of blogs by experienced folks. So I will not get into the technical part of it. This is a quick and short blog post to help you decide on the factors to be considered for getting started with the composting process.

First of all congratulations to decide to start off with composting and reducing the burden on the garbage crisis that surrounds us.

One factor is to consider which type of composting process to implement for your specific requirement.
- Aerobic - Daily Dump khamba, plastic pot/bucket/drum, DIY
- Anaerobic - Bokashi (products available EcoBin or SmartBin or DIY)
- Vermi Composting (with earthworms)
- Ground
- DIY

Following HAVE to be considered as well ...
- amount of kitchen waste generated per day ?
- want to compost left over cooked food ? vegetarian / non vegetarian ?
- availability of dry matter (carbon). Dry leaves, cardboard, shredded newspaper, left over coffee grounds.
- ease of use ? (in other words laziness levels :) )
- investment factor ? Daily Dump khamba's are in the range of Rs. 1000 - Rs. 2000. EcoBin and SmartBin are around 1500-2500. Plastic blue drum cost around Rs 200-400.
- physical limitations or health constraints to lift, turn and maintain the unit.
- location. kitchen ? balcony ? terrace ?
- stink concerns ?
- are you a DIY kind of person ?
- rodent problems ?

There is NO one right method. EACH method has its own merits and demerits. Read up ! Google up ! Visit someone with an existing composting setup to get a clear practical understanding. Go for the one that suits YOUR personal requirement.

I wanted something with less investment, so I opted for DIY  with the plastic 80-100 liter blue bin based aerobic composting. Costed around Rs. 300 for each bin and drilled a few holes all around for aeration. Since I have it on the terrace, I don't worry much about stink issues.

This is how I setup my DIY blue bin.

Happy shopping and choosing !