Anyone can Compost!!

Hi All,

Composting - A word which was not there in my dictionary 4 years back because of my ignorance, but now is my daily routine. A word that keeps me grounded, keeps me motivated and makes me look forward to every day with better hope and faith. And its not something new that i have invented, its what mother nature has blessed us with, but only some of us have realized its true meaning.

1. What is Compost and Composting?

As a young child, when my mom told me that i should bury my milk tooth in soil when they fall, i believed her thinking new teeth will grow. Today, I am old enough to understand that my mom handled my fear of losing my teeth very well, but at the same time, mature enough to believe that I am what this soil has made me. I come from it, i am a part of it, i survive on it and i will perish in it. This understanding has deepened my connection with nature and the people around me as well. And because i am nothing but a part of nature, i understand that what i use should also be a part of nature. This has further helped me understand that the things i use on a daily basis need to be nature given, the food i eat need to be nature given and anything that i cannot use anymore needs to go back to nature as well. I don't know which incident triggered such a drastic lifestyle change in my life, but i am glad something did. And i mostly attribute this to my little one, who made me think every second about the kind of things i am giving her or exposing her to!

Composting refers to the degradation of organic matter with presence of air and/or beneficial microbes to produce a nutrient rich, earth smelling product which in turn enriches the nutrient quality of the soil. This product is referred to as COMPOST. While this is something beautiful happening naturally in our environment, the onus is on us to provide suitable conditions for composting to happen. With the extensive use of plastic in our lives, we started using plastics even to dispose our kitchen waste and this is what has mostly led to the garbage volcanoes called landfills in several places in the outskirts of our city.

2. What happens to wet waste when it gets composted? How to compost? What container to use? What is green to brown ratio? 

Like i said earlier, if we can just provide the right conditions, nature will beautifully carry out composting and this can be achieved even in the limits of your own balcony. This post is just to share about one of the most simplest ways to compost kitchen waste. Composting as i have understood is all about balancing the green and brown matter, Green matter is the wet kitchen waste. Brown matter can be anything ranging from dry leaves, saw dust, coco-peat and old compost. Brown matter helps absorb the wetness of the wet waste and the microbes naturally found in the air breakdown the wet waste furthermore to blend with the brown matter. So air happens to be something essential for composting without which the good microbes cannot prevail. Hence, according to me, one of the best containers to choose for composting is a terracotta container because it is naturally porous and it comes from the earth.

Choose any terracotta container of your choice. This can even be your old flower pot. You can drill holes carefully on the sides using a drilling machine. But this is optional, because terracotta is naturally porous. Spread a 2 inch very thick layer of brown matter (anything from the list above) at the bottom of the container. On top of this add a handful of wet waste. Repeat covering the wet waste with another layer of brown matter. Continue to do this till all your wet waste is completely covered with brown matter. Keep the container covered with a terracotta plate or a cotton cloth which will let air pass through. The good microbes that help composting are the same ones that help you digest your food. One of the primary ones, is lactobacillus, which is found in buttermilk. So, sprinkle some buttermilk to the contents of your terracotta container from time to time(ideally 3-4 days once) to introduce the good microbes. I say sprinkle because, we don't want more wetness introduced because of the buttermilk. Use a rake to mix up the buttermilk so that it is evenly introduced in your container. Note that the thick layer at the bottom helps absorb excess water from the composting process and so it needs to be a thick one, or else one might have to deal with excess water coming out. As a safety measure you can even keep the container in a plate and clean the plate in case any water from compost collects.

As this container gets full, let it sit for a week to ten days or more depending on the external temperature while stirring occasionally with buttermilk. Meanwhile start with another container. Make sure you choose a shady spot for your terracotta containers and safeguard it from rain. After 10-15 days, the contents of your first container will have reduced in volume. This is because composting is an exothermic process where heat and water is released. This water needs to be absorbed by our brown matter and eventually the volume of wet waste reduces. In the subsequent days, turn as often as possible to end up in beautiful rich black gold! If you have big hard pieces like mango shells and corn cobs, they will take more cycles to completely compost, so handpick them and add them to your next cycle.You will know when your compost is fully done because it smells beautiful once done, like moist earth. This process takes anywhere between 6-8 weeks when done correctly. This is a very basic  terracotta container composting method that can be tried out to gain confidence in the process of composting.

3) I don't have access to dry leaves and sawdust. What else can be used for brown matter?

For people who do not have access to dry leaves or saw dust and such other brown matter, there are options available too. 

a) You can use a coco-peat brick, available in any gardening store or bought online. Expand it to a powder form if you bought coco-peat brick. Use this powdered coco-peat as your brown matter and continue to add buttermilk once in every 3-4 days. 

b) A microbe infused coco-peat brick is available in the market. You could use this too and this has the added advantage of having the microbes and so you wont have to add buttermilk and turn. Even turning will be avoided with this. Just keep adding wet waste and microbe infused coco-peat in alternate layers and let it sit for 25 days. 

c)Another option is to use dry soil itself as brown matter. This works beautifully too only turning will be more because soil tends to compact.

4) What kinds of kitchen waste can be composted?

You can add all types of wet waste in this process. However, if you are starting as a novice, try with veggie and fruit peels alone initially, then gradually move to add citrus and cooked food too. Avoid adding gravies, strain the water content and add the remains to your compost container. I have friends who compost their non veg waste too. Mango shells, corn cobs and such hard stuff take a long time to compost. But it will eventually get composted. Just handpick these if undone from your container and add it to the next batch. Also, it helps to chop up your veggie and fruit waste into small pieces to increase the surface area for composting. 

5) What are maggots and when do they come? Are they harmful? Can they cause infections? What can i do to control them?

One of the biggest fears of many people to start composting is dealing with maggots. Maggots are larvae of soldier flies that feed on the contents of your kitchen waste and help them turn into compost. They are really beneficial creatures and do not cause any infections. They are not harmful also. In fact maggots speed up the composting process. So, just in case you end up seeing maggots in your container, don't be alarmed, its alright to have them. 

Maggots occur when there is insufficient air circulation in your container or its contents are too wet. If you see maggots in your compost  pile, add more dry brown matter(dry leaves, coco-peat, saw dust etc.) to reduce wetness. Use a rake and turn the contents to introduce more air. Maggots crawl out only when there is insufficiency of oxygen inside and they are suffocating. Like i mentioned earlier, composting being an exothermic process generates heat and proper air circulation is very essential for the maggots to just stay inside and do their work. Also, maggots perish inside your compost, so you wont see any trace of them in your final compost.

6) What commercial composting options are available?

Many commercial vendors have come up with composting solutions. While each of these solutions differ in method, space used and cost, their end product is the same, rich earth smelling compost. Especially for a novice, who wants to try composting in small spaces without going wrong, such options are a boon. I am not commercially involved with any of the composting solutions available in the market. However, I would like to share that i started as a novice, being ignorant about the whole process. I started with one of the commercially available solutions and followed instructions to the "T" only so that i don't go wrong and my family disapproves of the whole thing. I have come to realize now, that the price we pay for each of the commercial solution is the price paid for the research they have carried out in the subject. Nowadays customer support and help forums are really good and can guide you well in the event of any crisis with your method. At present I have four different methods of composting going on working 24x7 in the confines of my balcony.

7) Still i am not convinced to compost, i don't see it returning anything!

Whats more, you can start growing your own food once you generate your compost. No more eating dried greens from the market, you can grow them right at your balcony with compost and coco-peat. This soil-less mix can make it easy for your back while your family is blessed with home grown safe greens to eat. If you have access to bigger space, you can even grow tomatoes, brinjals and cucumbers to name a few, sufficient to feed your family.

Its a great past time for kids, especially the sieving part and my little one is really happy to do it!I feel thankful that she enjoys these things in today's gadget world. And I am happy that i am doing my bit to make the world she is going to live in, a better place!

Whichever method you choose, the aim of this post is to convince you to try composting because it is a beautiful thing to do for yourself and your family. We just need to trust Mother Nature and let her do her job as we provide the right conditions. Imagine if each of us did this beautiful thing, we'd never have to deal with garbage woes and will automatically have cleaner and greener surroundings. The feeling of holding sweet smelling moist black gold in your hands is priceless, liberating and therapeutic.

Lets take this chance and be the change we want to see in this world. Lets minimize plastic in our lives. Lets reduce, reuse and recycle and above all lets give back to Mother Nature what she has gifted us with,  because ANYONE CAN COMPOST ! :)

The Elusive Nymphea

Hi All,

Back again on my blog with a set of beautiful things to share! A little self learnt knowledge on how to create a beautiful lily pond at the confines of your small balcony!!

Water Lilies are gorgeous! They are so beautiful and can transform any dull corner in your balcony into a beautiful ecosystem! I started off with absolutely zero knowledge on caring for water lilies. Initially like minded friends who had water ponds themselves shared their knowledge and shared some plants, a lily, farm bhrami that grows in water, water lettuce and some duckweed. This was the beginning. However, unfortunately because I did not know how to care for them the right way, I lost the lily. The duck weed and farm bhrami flourished. 

To overcome the grief of losing a precious lily, I requested my spouse to buy one more for me, this time I badly wanted to get it right. And voila, this lily bloomed. It was my first bloom ever and I was elated.

The First beauty!

However, after the bloom the plant did not throw up new leaves at all.. All the leaves perished. It was December by then and I was kind of sad about my failures. I decided not to buy any more lily plants and kill them. Because other water plants were growing in the same container, I decided to just let them be.

Then sometime in March, I saw one green leaf on the soil inside the pond. Initially I thought it was a duckweed that had sunk in! I didn't do anything about it though and just let it be. All this while, the guppies in my pond had multiplied and a beautiful ecosystem was established. Then one day, silly me, I tried to take out the leaves inside and that is when I saw a stem attached to it!!!!!! Voila, I was jumping with joy! A lily plant had come up inside! And I dint even know it! As the summer sunshine did good to my pond, I had many Lily babies coming up inside!! By this time, the farm bhrami had overtaken the pond. It's roots had spread everywhere and had grown like a jungle.

 But I was scared to disrupt anything for the fear of losing anything. I guess God must have heard me, for very soon, I came across a knowledgeable store for lilies. The owner of this store who has now become a friend, took the extra effort to educate me with the nuances when growing water lilies. She gave me the confidence to separate the babies in my pond and put them in multiple ponds so as to enable them to grow bigger. She shared knowledge on tropical and hardy varieties and their differences, which helped me understand lilies better. And so recently i separated all the baby lilies in my pond. I felt this is good knowledge to share and hence this blog post.

When i separated the baby lilies, I had both big and really tiny babies. Also, i got one tuber! Before separating, I moved all the water in the container to another container, so that the fishes wont have any discomfort. Below are some pictures of lily babies and the tuber i had. 

The Tuber sprouting!

Lily Babies

Lily Baby can be really small too! 

The next step is to root them in soil in a container. Take any container without holes and add red soil to it. You could add very little compost to it too along with the soil. 

Make a small dent with your finger and place the baby lily inside this. If you are rooting a tuber, keep it in soil such that the sprouted leaves face upwards. Top it with a layer of sand, so that the roots do not float when placed in water. Adding sand is very important, please do not miss this step.

Now its time to lower it in an existing water pond or if this is your first time, you could use a wide tub about 2 feet deep. Place this container inside the empty tub and add water around it, so that the lily leaves start floating. At this juncture, add fishes in the pond. Fishes are really important to keep the water clean and avoid stagnation of water and the resulting mosquito menace. Please do not skip adding fishes. Guppies/mollies do well for such water ponds. If the lily babies are really small, make sure water above the lily plant is just one inch high. 

After a few days, the baby lily will establish and grow new leaves, which will start getting bigger. 

If you feel that the container is too small, repeat the same process of adding soil and sand in another bigger container without holes and transfer the lily into it. However, now you can add more water around the plant because its established. Lilies are heavy feeders, meaning they need to be fertilized periodically. A good way to fertilize them is to add dry cow manure to the soil. However, you should take care to not add too much and also make sure nutrients are released slowly. For this, make a cone with a plastic cover, add little dry cow manure to it, seal the open end of the cone and tie a stone to the cone using a thread. Lower this cone into the soil that houses the lily periodically. It will give good results. Lilies need about a minimum of 4-5 hours of sun daily and will do very well in all balconies! That is really good news isn't it? :)

And slowly, one fine day, you will have lovely lily plant with big pads (leaves) and regular blooms. There are many varieties among lilies and I am still a novice when it comes to identifying them. For now, I have these in my balcony along with lots of baby lilies who are yet to be identified.

Tropical variety - White Capensis

Hardy variety - Colorado

And if you think this is too much of maintenance, its really not. The fishes keep the pond clean. Water evaporation occurs over a period of time and so add fresh water to the pond every few days. Also. you can upcycle any useful container to house a lily pond. Because lilies do not require much depth to grow, you can even consider shallow tubs or broken buckets. Neatly cover them up and use them. Here's an example of an upcycled water garden at my balcony. Brownie points for guessing what is used there :) 

So, if you have read this post, until this point, I am hoping you will get inspired to start a water garden in a small space that you can afford. Its beautiful to watch the fishes play around, the lilies blooming and its has a wonderful calming effect on our otherwise occupied minds!

Cheers,

Vasu

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

 

A Green world

Back to blogging after quite a while now and surely the reason must be strong!

It is WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY today! A day to reinforce our thoughts and actions to preserve nature and protect her.

I wish to write about why it is important to celebrate/take note of this occasion. We have come a long way polluting nature and natural resources. We get back for what we have done, in the form of calamities and unknown diseases, yet we fail to realize that its in our hands to set things right and make it better.

I got hooked on to green living after garbage issue popped up in the city i live in, Bangalore. Once called the garden city, it has been rechristened as garbage city because of the filth that is lying around everywhere. To give statistics, the landfills where garbage is getting dumped (Mandur and the like) faced serious protests from communities nearby. That is when it dawned on the municipality and the people in general, why it was wrong to dump garbage? Why it was wrong to mix wet, dry and other forms of waste?

When i grew up, there was always a pit in the backyard of my house, where most of the leftovers would be dumped and mud/sand was used to cover it so it would not attract flies. Though it did attract rats occasionally, i remember many many years we did this without hassle. I really don't know when and how my beloved city got introduced to garbage bags. But i feel that this is the biggest culprit. People made sure their homes where clean by dumping everything in one black bag and had it collected by the garbage truck. But what about where it went? No one bothered. Result  - pollution of land and underground water in the areas surrounding the landfill, serious health disorders for children born in these areas and the bigger picture, destruction of mother earth. 

Bangalore might be safe from volcanoes or tsunamis based on its geography, but such landfills are man made volcanoes indeed. Imagine the kind of problems they can give our generation and the future ones. Its massive and its scary. Imagine, 10 such volcanoes located all around bangalore. We will only be left with polluted water, land and resources. What legacy then are we leaving behind for our future?

What can be done about all this?

When i read about all this 3 years back, I wanted to badly do something so i wont add to this mess. Though i knew i could not set everything alright over night, I badly wanted a magic wand with which i could make all this mess disappear all at once. But then reality struck me. I tried to segregate waste at my place and avoid garbage bags. But i faced numerous oppositions from my family. I was even told that i wont be able to stop anything when the world is going that way. But i held on. I wanted to reduce the amount of waste i generated. I got conscious about picking up a packaged commodity from a super market. It was hard. Made sure i never purchased garbage bags once again.

Just to give you all some statistics, below is the time it takes for different things to decompose in the environment:


Glass Bottle.......................... 1 million years
Mono filament Fishing Line… 600 years
Plastic Beverage Bottles…… 450 years
Disposable Diapers………… 450 years
Aluminum Can..................... 80-200 years
Foamed Plastic Buoy……… 80 years
Foamed Plastic Cups……… 50 years
Rubber-Boot Sole............... 50-80 years
Tin Cans……………………. 50 years
Leather................................. 50 years
Nylon Fabric........................ 30-40 years
Plastic Film Container........ 20-30 years
Plastic Bag.......................... 10-20 years
Cigarette Butt...................... 1-5 years
Wool Sock............................ 1-5 years
Plywood…………………….. 1-3 years
Waxed Milk Carton………… 3 months
Apple Core…………………. 2 months
Newspaper………………….. 6 weeks
Orange or Banana Peel...... 2-5 weeks
Paper Towel……………….. 2-4 weeks

Information Source: U.S. National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, FL.

This had an impact on other areas too. I took up home composting. My folks probably thought i was some lady hitler at that point almost killing them with my stare when they mixed up garbage!  But i was strict because i wanted everyone at home to follow it. Today, I am happy i did. Now even my little one knows where wet and dry waste goes.Below is a picture of my aerobic composting set up from Daily dump.

A small shift from the places where i buy made a difference. A whole sale shop selling groceries made more sense to me than a supermarket. I have started carrying bags and do not ask for more bags from anywhere.  Yet, i still have plastic covers because of folks who get stuff in them when they visit us. Such covers, i collect and give to flower sellers and small grocery shops. Infact, now when i visit such shops, the shopkeepers remind me that i have give them covers if i have! 

Steel and glass ware seem more logical than plastic stuff. Though I am unable to throw away the plastic that already exists, I am avoiding adding more to it. And i have learnt to reuse things. An old spoon stand from the kitchen is covered with colored paper and used as pen stand for my little one. These might seem silly at first, but they are really the need of the hour. 

Another big change because of all this, is growing what i eat and making snacks at home. I would have never imagined i would bake a cake for my little one's birthday if someone told me that 3 years ago. But i did !! I am a believer in sustainable living now and strive to make chutneys, powders, pickles and stuff for my kitchen at home.This has indeed reduced so much of packaging that comes with these things. Gardening has been a boon in my life. Its such a sweet medicine for anyone who is looking for some relaxation for the body, mind and soul. Cutting and munching on a slice of cucumber from your own garden, grown from a seed you sowed is an exhilarating experience indeed. I am self sufficient with greens and a few veggies for now and I am really happy about it. There is still a long way to go, lots of things to learn and do, but slowly one day at a time, i am hopeful that i will get there and achieve sustainability.

Why I am sharing all this is to tell you all that, if you have not thought of all this until now, please do. Make small changes in your lifestyle, one at a time, which u can religiously follow until it becomes a habit, like brushing teeth. Become aware of plastics, chemicals and especially what goes into the food you eat. And first and foremost, please start segregating your garbage. Avoid mixing up different wastes. A small step from you CAN make a change. Imagine, if each of us followed segregation religiously, and made sure there was very little or nothing to be dumped in landfills, we would no longer have mandurs...Lets wake up now. 

Some of the solutions to handle different types of waste is as below:

1. Wet waste - Composting at home / community /handing over to authorized wet waste dealers

2. Dry waste 

      Milk packets , newspapers, glass bottles - Raddiwala/ Paperwala 

      Plastic bottles, plastic packaging covers, thermacol and similar items - igotgarbage.com , SAAHAS, Dry       waste collection centres of your ward.

      Old clothes - Orphanages/ To the needy

3. E-waste (Mobiles, charges, Computer parts) -  www.samarthanam.org, SAAHAS

4. Medical waste - Contact your nearby hospital 

If we can religiously follow these atleast 80 percent of the times, I can assure you, you wont have to wake up every morning to empty your garbage bin. It seems like a big task in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it and make it a routine, it easy peasy!

Earth is our home. Its beautiful the way it is. If we ever have to leave behind something for our children, let it be fresh air, clean water and beautiful natural resources. Lets minimize our greed to buy and try to reduce, reuse, recycle and reject things as much as possible. Lets give back more to this world than we got, for,  in giving lies unparallelled joy!

Cheers,

Vasu

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

Daddy's sweet cupcake

Hope you all had a great start to the new year.

Golden Rays!

I had a nice and relaxing start to the new year with a beach vacation along with my family. It was wonderful to immerse myself at the feet of all that magnanimity and wealth of the sea and go into a self introspection mode. Being a beach on the west coast, we could catch the sunset clearly. It was a spiritual experience to watch the sun go down as the day ended. It was calming for the body, mind and soul. And made me get back to the routine with better faith and hope. True. Sea does wonders to one's mind.

The soulful experience of watching the sun go down!

 Our little one had a great time playing in the beach sand, making castles, collecting shells and shrieking each time a wave swept her feet :) For us, the parents, it was surprising that she was mostly on her own, playing all by herself, only sometimes needing our help to assist her. She even remembers all the names of the places we visited! and we were shocked too at how fast this tiny little thing is growing up. She is so curious to learn, explore and understand and we are just afraid that she will grow up sooner than we expected her to!!

Colorful shells we grabbed!

One of the highlights of this vacation to me was seeing a beautiful daddy-daughter bond. I am sure  most of you agree if i claimed, daddy is always a daughter's first hero! :) Made me think of my father and the fun times with him. I called him up and spoke to him just to feel connected. 

A picture that speaks a 1000 words :)

The pic above, to me, is a precious one, for the daddy is taking the little one to explore the unknown waters of the sea. Why does he do it? What fun does he get in letting his little one explore life this way? As i ask myself these questions, it strikes to me that he is holding her hand and not letting her go and explore all by herself, just to make her feel secure. At each step in life, we encounter such unknown waters and we have to explore them to feel accomplished. The daddy wants the little one to experience joy the way he felt when he encountered unknown waters and mould her into a beautiful and confident girl who would rise to occasions and create a beautiful life for herself.

Cheers to all the wonderful daddies and daughter's out there! :)