Why should you plant a garden?

Hello All,

Here's a post for breaking some silence in the blog and getting back to my blogging routine.

Of late there are many people who get to know about my garden and ask me the following questions.

1. Wow, you have a beautiful garden, Can you tell/teach me how I can have one too?

2. Really, you grow what you eat at home? How?

3. Is it really possible to grow in a balcony?

4. How should i start off? 

5. What soil mix should i use?

6. How do i deal with pests? 

7. What are the natural options for fertilizers available?

8. Where do i source my gardening stuff from?

9. I always start off with a lot of enthusiasm, but give up somewhere, mostly due to other commitments.How do i keep the enthusiasm alive?

Let me start with why one should plant a garden. Its one of the best hobbies you can have and the rewards are priceless. While ornamentals add colour to your life, or provide flowers for beautifying your home, a veggie garden can really make you grateful and thankful for starting off with growing veggies and beautify your soul. Benefits are numerous. It works as a good exercise too and is a great thing to do for people who lose interest quickly with exercising. Last but not least, growing your own food and eating it is the most healthiest option you can ever get.

1. Wow, you have a beautiful garden, Can you tell/teach me how I can have one too?

Yes of course, I would love to. Even if i can inspire one person in my life to grow what they eat, i feel its good. More the merrier indeed! To start off, apart from all the gardening stuff you might need to procure, one of the foremost things needed is a curiosity to nurture life and care for it. Love your plants unconditionally, even if they have a pest infection and you will slowly see how the plant bounces back :)

I will go on with other steps needed to start a garden in my other points.

2. Really, you grow what you eat at home? How?

Yes, not everything that i eat. But only greens and few veggies as of now. I learn each day and hope to reach self sustainability someday. I started off just like you all, with seeds from my kitchen. Corainder, methi , green chillies and tomato. The day i saw my first tomato i got hooked on to growing more. Its pure joy and needs to be felt.

3. Is it really possible to grow in a balcony?

Yes very much possible. I have grown for the past 3 years in my balcony. Tomatoes, brinjals, chillies, cucumber, palak, methi, amaranthus (Dantu soppu in kannada), lemon, papaya, bush beans, capsicums, radishes, basil, borage are some of the veggies and greens i have grown. I had a south east facing balcony earlier. Now i have east facing balconies, but they are good too. Just 3-4 hours of good sunlight can work wonders on your plants. But that is the only prime requisite. Sun and the direction of light.

North facing balconies do not get much sunlight during winters in bangalore, but we can still grow spinach in them.All other balconies are good to grow. If you have access to some terrace space/land, nothing like it!

4. How should i start off? 

5. What soil mix should i use?

You will need some planters, seeds and potting soil to start off.

a) Planters can be anything ranging from sturdy atta covers (5kg ones), 2 litre water bottles, Thick plastic   covers, Old unused containers, broken buckets to fancy looking store bought planters.

Tomato in a 2 lt water bottle

Radish in a water bottle

b) Drill one/ two holes in the containers to enable draining of water. In case your store bought planters have many holes, use broken pot pieces or broken coconut shells to cover them before putting in your potting mix so that too much water wont get wasted.

c) To start off, take seeds from your kitchen. Chillies, tomatoes, methi and the like. 

d ) Potting Soil : A good potting mix is essential for good growth. Red soil alone when used tends to get compacted affecting the growth of plants, because even roots need to breathe.So, generally cocopeat (made from coconut fiber) is added to the potting mix to make it airy. Cocopeat does not have any nutrients and is mostly used because it provides better aeration for the soil.Well aged compost (Made from kitchen wet waste) is another a great option to add because it provides all the essential nutrients and also beneficial microorganisms to the soil. Animal manure (Goat/sheep/cow/horse) is another thing that can be added to provide richness. However, generally, animal manure and compost is not used at the same time. Vermi compost is another option, which is made from earth worms of a certain species called Red Wrigglers. But I have always used only compost for my mix.

So here are different ratios for potting soil.

Red Soil : Cocopeat : Animal manure (1:1:1) + fistful amount of neem powder

Red Soil : Cocopeat : Kitchen Compost (1:1:1) + fistful amount of neem powder

Red Soil : Cocopeat : Vermi Compost (1 :1:1 ) + fistful amount of neem powder

Neem powder gives better pest control and immunity to the plants. Also, dry out red soil completely in sun if possible before making the potting mix. This ensures that harmful microbes in them vanish.

Fill the container of your choice with potting soil . As a general thumb rule, a seed needs to be buried 2 times its length. Small seeds like that of amaranth can be neatly sprinkled in burrows made in the soil. Lots of information is available online on different ways of sowing. One can also use seed starting trays for starting seeds and then transplant. But its also good to sow directly into the potting mix made and sprinkle water over it.

Germination of seeds does not need any sunlight. In fact it needs darkness, so cover the container with a plastic sheet to create a green house effect. Within 2 -3 days, your seeds will sprout. Some seeds do take a little bit longer. If you feel the soil is too dry, sprinkle some water and cover the sheet again. Once germination happens, remove plastic cover and expose it to mild sunlight. Otherwise, seedlings can rot/become lanky.

Yogurt containers and sweet boxes for starting seeds

Once you start observing them grow a little each day, you will be filled with happiness. Spotting a new leaf, flower or bud is joy indeed!

6. How do i deal with pests?  

Pests are OK in an organic set up. They let you know that your food is tasty which is why pests get attracted to it. Mind you, we all are a part of the environment, and after all, the pests need to eat too! Why would they leave tasty food that you are growing or why should they not taste the yummy nectar in your colorful flowers? 

So, its OK to part some food to your pests, but make sure they don't take over your plant and spoil your harvests. If you spray a chemical pest repellant for the pests, then there is no difference between a commercially producing green house and your balcony. If you want to ensure safe food or care for the surroundings around you, please do not use chemical sprays or commercially available growth boosters. They are not natural.Only more organic matter (that comes from compost and animal manure) can boost up your soil permanently. 

One of the most common pests for both veggies and ornamental garden is mealy bugs. They are soft cotton like insects. Another is aphids, which are green or black in colour. Both these suck the sap out of your plant, draining its natural immunity over a period of time. The following options can be used to eliminate these:

a) Invest in a good sprayer and give a jet spray of water at high pressure. Doing this for 3 days continuously will repel them and they might not come back.

b) If they do come back, use a diluted dishwash soap solution spray. 5 ml of dishwash for 1lt of water and spray every alternate day

c) Neem oil can be used - 5 ml diluted in 1 lt of water sprayed once in 3 days.

d) Ginger, garlic, green chilli spray - Grind all the ingredients. To 1 teaspoon of paste add 1 lt of water and spray.

e) For ants, sprinkle eucalyptus oil nearby pots or soak cotton balls in them and place them around pots.

3ft tall greens from my balcony

Nature will automatically take care of pests if the general health of the plant is good. Mealybugs are eaten by lady bugs. So if you are not doing anything about mealy bugs in your garden for 2-3 days, the fourth day, you will start to see lady bug larvae if you live in a surrounding with trees. Natural predators are the best way to deal with pests.

Please inspect your plants on a daily basis so you can spot pests in the initial stages and remove them.

7. What are the natural options for fertilizers available?

Natural fertilisers will add only more organic matter into the soil, more micro organisms thus making your soil healthier. It can be achieved using natural products available in nature and are not chemically manufactured in a factory with ingredients which are supposed to give a certain effect. With continued usage artificial or synthetic fertilizers, the soil looses its original properties and is only loaded with chemicals which boost a plants growth. But mind you, its not natural and in unregulated amounts may leave behind residues in your body with consumption.This is the reason why organic methods, rather natural methods of cultivation are always best. Panchagavya, wood ash, dried cow manure, diluted leechate from compost setups, these are the best options for natural fertilizers available.

Freshness!!

 

8. Where do i source my gardening stuff from?

In Bangalore, there are plenty of plant nurseries in each area. You can pick up your pots, garden tools, saplings and soil from there. Nowadays lots of online shopping options are available for gardening material. The best part is they ship all over india. 

However, when buying seeds, please go for heirloom seeds (seeds where  mother plant is grown abiding organic principles and mother plant is not a hybrid seed). Such seeds are also the "Naati" seeds or the locally saved seeds from different farmers. They are the best because they are natural, adept to the surroundings they grow in and do very well.

Lalbagh nursery is a paradise for any gardener living in bangalore. There is GKVK nursery in yelehanka area, APD nursery in Indiranagar, Dept of horticulture hulimavu and many many more spread all over bangalore.

Some of the online shopping that i know of and have purchased from include : gardenguru.in, greenmylife.com

9. I always start off with a lot of enthusiasm, but give up somewhere, mostly due to other committments.How do i keep the enthusiasm alive?

Please start off with what you CAN do initially without affecting your schedule. Its important to stick to that time and get back to other work. Giving up due to other commitments happens mostly because gardening is an extra activity you have allocated time for and is not a part of your daily routine. 

As a first timer, though the act of start a garden is all exciting and overwhelming at the same time, try not to get carried away. Instead follow a strict routine of when to water plants, when to deweed, when to look for pests, when to repot, when to add compost and so on. This makes it more do-able. Also plan any expansion in steps, slowly but steadily.

Earlier, i used to be a weekend gardener, used to devote my saturday morning fully for this activity. But then when we planned a vacation or other work came up, garden would take a back seat.Also, my family had complaints that saturday morning breakfasts are hit badly. Thats when i started devoting 20 min of my morning time everyday for my garden. This way, i dont have to wait till weekends to attend to the plants. Also, any extra time i can spend on weekends is spent meaningfully. I plan my sowing cycles better too. Try and let me know what works for you!

If you are into social networking, it can be used effectively for keeping such hobbies alive. Some of the useful facebook pages are : Organic Terrace Gardening, Grow your own veggies, Container Gardening without boundaries and more. You can post your issues with your plants here and get useful responses from like minded individuals. Also, works great to share harvest pictures and motivate each other!

  

So, there goes a rather LONG post about how to start a garden. It might seem tough and time consuming, but its really not, if you have the interest for it. Time is something we can always create, isnt it!? Its a lot of fun and a great activity to do with your kids :)

If you have not yet started, Go plant a garden and nurture your souls! Set a beautiful example to your kids on nurturing lives and caring for them.

Cheers,
Vasu