Want to grow food at home in the most natural way? Sarika Sengar of Planter2Platter tells Vrunda Juwale how
Have you ever considered growing your own vegetables? It is simple, fun, exhilarating, therapeutic, and rewarding!”claims Sarika Sengar’s website Planter2Platter.co.in.
As we stand on the 9th floor rooftop terrace garden, marvelling at the fresh crop of brinjals, cucumbers, tomatoes, chillies, lettuce, thyme, basil and patches of a green lawn at Sarika’s apartment in Kalyani Nagar, we readily buy her words.
Sarika, along with her son Siddharth, started Planter2Platter early last year to help people grow veggies, fruits, spices at home — on rooftop terraces, in the backyard and even balconies! “The vegetables and fruits that we buy from the market and consume are not fresh because farmlands have moved further away from cities. Also, because of the increasing transportation costs, we end up paying more for the food sold in the market. Besides, the pesticides used by farmers for bulk production have a harmful effect on our bodies. Planter2Platter tries to make people self-sufficient by showing them how to grow their own food — in the open places in and around their homes,” informs Sarika, who took up ‘city farming’ after 22 years of corporate life.
Setting up a garden
Planter2Platter provides a three-month package to people who are interested in organic farming at home. “You can grow most of the food you need at home. Depending on the space, requirements and lifestyle of our clients, we set up the garden and offer six visits to monitor the germination and growth of the plants. Natural methods are used to cultivate and we also show how recycled material can be used to set up the garden. I myself have used soft drink bottles to grow carrots and was amazed to see the results,” says Sarika. Her son joined her later and they also have a team of labourers to help them.
The idea of this enterprise germinated when Sarika was resting at home after quitting her job in 2012. “I was facing some health issues. While at home, I started observing how people were falling ill by consuming food bought from the market. So then this idea clicked: ‘How about growing your own food?’ I started with my home and made use of my rooftop terrace,” recounts she.

The first step she took towards organic city farming was to learn about composting. Reading up books and websites, and consulting Vasudha Sardar who is into organic farming, Sarika set out on her task.

After many trials and errors, Sarika was happy to see the first lot of French beans, tomatoes, bitter gourd, lady’s fingers, fenugreek, spinach and coriander. “I was thrilled with the output. The vegetables were fresh and the taste was good. Then I started getting surplus which made me realise that I could actually start an enterprise in city farming. I had two options — to grow organic veggies and sell them or help people grow their gardens. After a lot of thought, I decided to go for the second,” says Sarika.
Reaching out to homes

When she set up a stall at Pune Farmers’ Market in August 2013 offering services to set up gardens, she received a tremendous response. Word-of-mouth publicity helped too. Planter2Platter has served a few clients and the experiences have been very rewarding for the customers as well as Sarika.
Now she is trying to reach out to housing societies. “We want to reach out to as many apartments and homes as possible to help them grow veggies. They can sell those veggies and fruits to the society residents at a lesser price. We want to involve children too since they are more receptive. For example, we can give kids a green patch in the society and ask them to grow vegetables,” says Sarika and adds, “Growing your own food will give the busy urban families some ‘we time’ too!”
City farming has to be a way of life, believes Sarika. In the last two years, all the wet garbage at her home has been utilised for composting. She also hasn’t used the air-conditioner, which was a must at her home in summers. “The green patch on my rooftop keeps my apartment cool,” says Sarika who has done her bit towards environment conservation. It’s our turn now!