Thursday, January 29, 2015

My Sunny Balcony


Hi all,

Been quite a while since i blogged as i was narrowing down on what to write about. And just in time, I realized that its been long since i posted any updates about my garden. So, here it is. Hope all of you enjoy reading about my little green space.

The Southeast corner which receives sun all day :) This has all the sun loving & fruiting plants
This 4ft x 9ft space is without doubt my favorite place in my home. I love being here, tending to the plants, seeing whats new and enjoy playing hide and seek during harvest time. I have a humble 30-35 pots and planters of various sizes in this space ranging from vegetable plants, fruit plants to ornamental plants. Every morning, I enjoy seeing whats new with each plant, talking to them and just being with them. Today morning for some reason, I felt all the plants were so happy and beautiful than ever. Its so nice to see life in this little space and gives me immense joy to be able to grow something.

Of late, with more experience in understanding the growth process and pests, i have become more aware of what i should be expecting in growing vegetables. I practice companion planting to help keep the pests away and keep moving around the planters so each of them get a fair share of the sunlight in my south east facing balcony. Currently I have tomatoes, Italian basil, lemon basil, radishes, mint, beans, greens (Spinach, Amaranth, chukke, hongone), strawberry, papaya, pomogranate, onions, colocasia, borage, lemon, hibiscus, rose, tube rose, jasmine, green chillies and malabar spinach. Letting the pictures speak.
Bush Beans
Lemons

Aromatic Tube rose



Factory of radishes, mint,curry leaves and beans

Marigolds
This little green space has taught me so many lessons for life. Lessons on how to accept and appreciate, lessons on how to rise after a pest attack and lessons on patience and determination. I could go on and on about positive influences of growing food on me, however i will just summarize it saying that is it truly a SOUL-SATISFYING MEDITATIVE experience.




Italian Basil
Chukke Soppu in Kannada
Recently was blessed with a bountiful harvest of spinach. To think spinach seeds were strewn around in all the containers just to create a soil cover is quite overwhelming when i see the harvest picture. Really the highlight of this harvest was that it could feed my family of 4 for both lunch and dinner. Self sufficiency in growing what you eat is a dream come true, even if it is for a single day :) 



Spinach harvest

I wish I inspire myself and set higher bars to reach in making this dream of self sufficiency, a reality, every single day. Hope you all enjoyed the virtual visit to the garden. Of course, i have not posted all the plant pictures, as it would be too much of detailing. However, i wish some of you are inspired by these to grow your own food too, it is one of the most gratifying things you could do to yourself.

Signing off!
Vasu

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