Want to grow your food at home but unsure where to start? Here are five passionate homemakers and gardeners who have made the most of their balconies and terraces. Their advice is just what you need to start home gardening.

1. Bangaru Jhansi, Visakhapatnam Bangaru Jhansi, 28, who has a flourishing terrace garden with 600 plants, including watermelon, drumsticks, spring onions, star-fruits, three kinds of mangoes, and yellow and red jackfruits, shares her potting mix for healthy plants.

Expert Tip: According to her, the perfect potting composition comprises 30 percent vermicompost/kitchen waste compost/cow dung, 30 percent soil, 30 percent cocopeat, and 10 percent neem cake.

2. Pinnaka Padma, Hyderabad At 59, Pinnaka Padma has transformed her residence in the heart of Hyderabad into a thriving mini-jungle, flourishing with over 1,000 plants, meticulously nurtured in 600 pots. She grew plants such as mangoes, Indian gooseberries, aloe vera, fenugreek, and tomatoes.

Expert Tip: Padma shares her concoction that keeps her plants healthy: “Mix 150 ml of coconut oil with neem oil, cooking oil, mustard oil, and eggs. This mixture serves as an excellent liquid fertiliser that can be sprayed on the plants, providing essential proteins for their growth.”

3. Aman Sharma, Delhi Aman was only a teenager when he transformed his 1500 sq ft terrace into a flourishing garden. Presently, his terrace garden is no less than a mini urban jungle attracting hundreds of birds every day with more than 500 plants.

Expert Tip: “Plant the necessary host plants: powderpuff, milkweed, lemon tree and curry — plants where butterflies lay eggs that turn into caterpillars that eventually turn into butterflies.”

4. Sunita Prasad, Bihar Sunita Prasad, a homemaker from Bihar, ingeniously used two five-foot PVC pipes and bamboo to cultivate vegetables and fruits, showcasing the affordability and efficiency of vertical gardening.

She grows up to five kg of organic vegetables and fruits weekly — including brinjal, okra, cabbage, and strawberries. Expert Tip: Debunking the myth that vertical farming is expensive, Sunita Prasad shares a foolproof and affordable way to set up your own.

“Take a five-foot pipe, and cut as many parts according to the number of saplings/seeds you have. Fill ¾ th part of the pipe with soil and plant the seed/sapling. Add a mixture of vermicompost or any other organic fertiliser to the soil.”

5. Ravneet Kaur, Ludhiana To provide her family with an organic diet, Ravneet grows a variety of vegetables and fruits on her 2000 sq ft terrace. She cultivates cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, radish, and carrots in winter, and transitions to cucumber, bitter gourd, lady’s finger, pumpkin, squash, tomatoes, and melons in summer.

Expert Tip:  “As much as possible, plant things that are indigenous to the place you live in. Look for desi seeds from your local nurseries and communities. You will find these plants growing better,” she says.