We hear on a regular basis about vegetables and fruits being ruthlessly sprayed with pesticides and fertilizers, bringing more harm than benefit to consumers' health.
You may have even considered studying the fundamentals of gardening and producing your own vegetables, free of any chemical or toxic content that may find its way into your stomach.
Living in cities is not always accompanied with the luxury of time and space. These are both valuable commodities that not everyone can afford to invest in. Sometimes one gets the benefit of both but has no knowledge of farming or the requisite tools and resources.
There is now a solution to every budding urban farmer's dilemma.
Grow2Share is an initiative that not only answers gardening and farming queries, but also stimulates a growing community of urban gardeners. All this, for free!
Mayank Agarwal, Apoorva Jaiswal, and Friederike Fokuhl co-founded the Grow2Share app in Bengaluru towards the end of 2016. The trio hopes to bring together first-time and seasoned gardeners with service providers on a single platform by using interactive tools and resources.
"Our primary and immediate objective is to encourage individuals to cultivate their own pesticide-free vegetables and share their harvest with others. But, in the long run, we want to establish green places in the city and be entirely self-sufficient as a community," Apoorva said.
The app not only provides a step-by-step guide for growing and harvesting fruits and vegetables, but it also provides information on organic waste composting and its localization.
"The very kitchen trash that goes down the drains may be cleverly employed as manure. You won't need to buy any extra manure from stores," Apoorva mentioned.
The app also connects users with vendors which sell naturally grown seeds, soil, and manure. And, like any other social networking site, you can speak with other gardeners, share progress photos, get credit for what you grow, and get tipped with great healthy habits.
"We urge subscribers to share their 'work' with their friends. More people will be motivated to become green and live a healthier lifestyle as a result of this endeavor," Apoorva added.
Starting with a Facebook page, the team has organized a number of events across the city to promote awareness.
They recently set up a stall at the Open House Edition II, a pop-up event in Bengaluru, to promote the soft launch of Grow2Share. Visitors were given a variety of seedlings as well as a download link for the app.
The app will be available for download in a few days for any other interested users. "We have scheduled a launch for both Android and iOS platforms on June 5, which is the World Environment Day," Apoorva stated.
Grow2Share intends to usher in another 'green' revolution, this time in a natural way, by promoting more pesticide-free home-grown vegetables and fruits.
"When you start cultivating plants at home, try to involve the children as well like gifting them saplings on birthdays. It not only instills a tremendous value in them, but it also makes them more observant and environmentally conscious," Apoorva stated.
Grow2Share is a one-of-a-kind initiative for urban dwellers which introduces them to a world of healthy, home-grown farming and, eventually, a more wholesome environment.
To get in touch with the team at Grow2Share, click here.
