Going Organic - Part 1

Ever since the concept of consuming pesticide-free, clean organic food became popular, growing our own food (at least some of it) has been a dream for us. So when we were presented with the opportunity to live on the ground, we consciously chose a location that allowed us to get closer to our organic farming goals. We wanted to live the concept of plant-to-plate for our family, consuming fresh produce as often as possible.

Since we moved into the new place at the beginning of summer, we decided to focus on a small bunch of vegetables to start with, as the searing tropical heat would anyway be hard to tackle. We planted tomatoes, brinjals and bottle gourds. The tomatoes died on us within a few weeks, sending our grand dreams to a crashing start. The brinjals, which were planted in pots, held on through the summer heat but showed very slow growth. The bottle gourds, once the plants sprouted, flourished lavishly, filling our backyard with large, green vines.

Now let me go into the specifics....

Bottle Gourds

The bottle gourds presented us with quite a few challenges. While the vines spread wildly, taking over almost our entire backyard, the first few flowers and an entire plant got spoilt by rains. We figured that the trapped summer heat that escaped from the earth with the first couple of showers created a sauna-like environment, leading to the plants wilting.

Next we grappled with slow growth and spoilage in the remaining vines. While the vines would flower, but the fruit would not grow quickly enough; instead they would get crumpled and brown, finally drying up in a week to ten days. Naturally this left us flustered... till my husband decided to do some online research. It emerged from his efforts that the required level of pollination was not taking place naturally as there were no bees to be seen. That meant manually pollinating all the budding fruits for them to reach a point where they could grow into mature fruits.

After much concentrated efforts, we finally reaped the goodies.... just the sight of these long, hanging beauties made all the efforts seem worthwhile. The longest bottle gourd we cultivated measured a good 17.5 inches, making us feel like proud green parents! Would recommend bottle gourd cultivation only if you have a decent patch of land, and loads of patience.

Brinjals

The brinjals came into action much later, after the intense summer heat subsided and rains brought some relief.

From the pretty purple flowers to the shiny round fruit was an exhilarating journey. But these also required manual pollination and some special watering to ensure a good crop.

Brinjals are relatively easy to grow - since they thrive in pots in sun and rain, they are a good option for beginners and balcony gardeners.

At the end of the day, it feels so good to finally achieve our goal in a small measure and feed the family with these organically grown veggies. We are now looking forward to more options for winters. Will share a post on our next organic adventure in the coming months.