Okra (Bhindi in Hindi and Bhendi in Odia) also known as ladies finger is a very generous plant. A single plant produces one to three fruits daily over a period of 50-60 days. Six to Eight okra plants are enough to meet the vegetable needs for a family of four for a single meal. On top of that Growing Okra in Pots Organically is completely hassle free. Ladies finger is a native African plant and is a close relative of hibiscus. Okra flowers have beautiful color and look similar to hibiscus flowers. Its leaves also have a nice star shaped design. Hence a … Continue reading “How to Grow Okra in Pots Organically”
Growing Pumpkin in Containers – A Complete Guide
Pumpkin is a great plant to grow in your garden. It grows easily without any hassles provided there is enough nutrition in the growing medium and there is enough light available for it. It is rich in calcium and phosphorous and tastes great in curries and as a soup it is excellent. But the best thing about growing pumpkin is that all parts of the plants including its leaves, stems and flowers are edible and there are simple and great tasting recipes which you can do in a few minutes to enjoy them. However many people feel that Growing Pumpkin … Continue reading “Growing Pumpkin in Containers – A Complete Guide”
How to Prepare Panchagavya
In India cow is a revered animal and is often referred to as Gou-Mata or the Cow Mother. And this love and respect for the holy cow does not come without any reason. Every product from cow including its dung and urine have been used in daily lives of people in Indian sub continent since ancient times. Gou-Daan or Gifting/Donation of the cow was considered as one of the biggest act of kindness as cow is also a source of livelihood. But the biggest contribution that the Indian breed (desi) cow has been making is in the field of agriculture. Cow … Continue reading “How to Prepare Panchagavya”
Easy and Nutritious Long Beans Recipe
As promised in the last post here I am with an Easy and Nutritious Long Beans Recipe. Its a very easy to do raw vegetable salad and you can eat it as a side dish or just by itself as a snack. Vegetables loose their nutrition with time and because of cooking. To get maximum nutrition from vegetables you should have it fresh and raw. But vegetables bought from store are typically a few days old and are grown using inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. So not only its low in nutritional value, it is also not advisable to eat them raw. … Continue reading “Easy and Nutritious Long Beans Recipe”
Growing Long Beans in Containers
Yardlong beans, asparagus beans, Chinese long beans are different names for what is commonly known as long beans. This is a tropical and subtropical climate vegetable which is a favorite vegetable in Asian countries. The bean pods generally grow around 12-20 inches and are tender, crisp with a beautiful texture. You can eat it stir fried, pan fried, steamed and in curries. You can even eat it raw. But in raw form it tastes best when you grow it in your own Organic Terrace Garden. One of the very interesting aspect of this plant is that it grows quickly and fruits … Continue reading “Growing Long Beans in Containers”
Benefits of Organic Terrace Gardening
We get frequent visitors to our organic terrace garden. Most of them get inspired to start their own kitchen gardens. But as it turns out a very few actually start and even a fewer continue it. Generally the reason for not continuing is because of failures in the garden. And that could be because all things to be considered before starting an organic terrace garden has not been thought out or because they are not doing the basics of container gardening right. But the reason of not starting at all is because most people do not understand the Benefits of … Continue reading “Benefits of Organic Terrace Gardening”
A beginners’ guide to growing vegetables in containers
My father has planted flowers in pots since as long as I can remember. Growing up it was always a pleasure to watch his flowers and other decorative plants add life to our home. In fact it was quiet inspirational at times. And I did pick up my brushes to create a few art works out of our garden. But generally he avoided planting vegetables as he had not been very successful in growing them. It was because of the low yields. In fact most times it gives no yield at all. The vegetable plants also did not grow well, … Continue reading “A beginners’ guide to growing vegetables in containers”
Ten things to consider before you start your organic terrace garden
More than 50% of the people, who start their own organic terrace garden, give it up within a month’s time. Almost all the road blocks and de-motivating factors in such cases invariably point to an over enthusiastic start with almost zero groundwork. No matter how big or small is your kitchen garden a little planning and some amount of design goes a long way. There will be many changes that you’ll have to make to your original plan as time progresses, but a basic plan and design of organic terrace garden initially will give you a good guideline to start with. And … Continue reading “Ten things to consider before you start your organic terrace garden”
5 reasons why you should NOT become a terrace gardener
In the last post I gave an introduction to Organic Terrace Gardening. This post is about the most important question that you should be asking by now. And that question is WHY. “Why should one take up to growing food in unused spaces of one’s home like terrace and balconies?” I’ll start by answering the exact opposite question. “Why should one not start a kitchen garden!” Lets face it. Terrace gardening is not a walk in the park. It requires effort and the outcome is not always 100% controllable. There are way too many reasons why one should not take up … Continue reading “5 reasons why you should NOT become a terrace gardener”
So…. What is Terrace Gardening ?
Terrace gardening, Container gardening and a few more such terms are in vogue today. Sometimes one comes across related terms like city farming or urban farming which makes things even more confusing. In essence these are nothing but your good old kitchen garden. Yes it is that simple. Though there are subtle differences (which I’ll touch upon later in this post), in spirit these terms are used only to refer to the activity of growing fruits and vegetables in the confines of your homes. We generally use the terms terrace gardening and container gardening because that is exactly what this … Continue reading “So…. What is Terrace Gardening ?”