Going Organic - Part 8

 

Writing an organic farming post after a long gap but today I will focus on summer vegetables that are easy to grow. And both of these can very easily be grown in containers, so are a blessing for balcony gardeners. 

The best part is that you do not require any special seeds or starters; just sourcing from your kitchen at the beginning of the season (around March-April) will ensure you have a steady produce in autumn (September-October).

Colocasia

This root vegetable (also called arbi/kochu) has giant leaves resembling elephant ears, and can be a showpiece for the garden all year round. The fresh leaves that come aplenty during the rains can also be steamed and made into a scrumptious side dish (patod/paturi/pathrodu). You can find an easy recipe here.

Colocasia or Elephant ears 

After the first season make sure to remove the produce, cut down the leaves, and replant the colocasia. They multiply easily and quickly; remember the more plants you have, the more produce you get. I had about four-five plants and got half a kilo arbi at one go.

Half the total produce

Bitter Gourd

On spotting well-formed seeds in some karela I bought from the market at the beginning of summer, I planted them on a whim just to see if they take root. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

'Karela' blooms 

Occasional rains ensured that the plants grew quickly, and by the second week of August we started getting flowers and the first batch of bitter gourd.

Five in one go!

Bitter gourd leaves have such a beautiful shape that I love incorporating them in my artwork. Of course, there are other creatures that seem to love this vegetable too! 

My garden of Eden!

So keep an eye out for infestation and spray pesticides if required. Adding NPK mix to the soil in the beginning ensures a good crop.

Happy gardening!

The Many Moods Of March

 

Unseasonal rains in March brought down the unusually high temperatures of February and gave us a prolonged spring, with pleasant weather and blossoms everywhere. Here is a visual record:

Meanwhile, the story of the purple sunbirds also took an unexpected turn. 

While the female was comfortably ensconced for some days and nights, and then seemed to be feeding her newborn chicks, something seemed to have happened that scared off the sunbird couple. 

One fine morning onwards they discarded the nest, though they hovered around in the vicinity and kept an eye on it. Whenever other similar-sized birds tried to get near, the sunbirds chased them off. Yet they wouldn't return to the nest, leaving us pretty much heartbroken.

Towards the end of the month, a large peepul tree in the lane was chopped down, just a day after I photographed it. The tree canopy was full of shiny new leaves, and it was time for the rosy starlings to arrive when this happened. 

It was saddening to see how completely disastrous the timing of this exercise was. No shade in summer in an uncaring world.... unfortunately that is where we seem to be headed now.

Going Organic - Part 7

Pumpkins

Since pumpkin seeds are easy to source (you can use the large, well-formed seeds from market-bought pumpkins), I decided that pumpkins would be a summer staple in our kitchen garden. We had planted pumpkins last year as well but that had only yielded a few flowers back then.

We added some compost and other minerals to the soil, and replanted fresh seeds this summer. To ensure maximum chances of getting healthy plants, I used a mix of seeds from different batches. We soon got three healthy plants that grew well. But the old problem surfaced - only male flowers showed up.

A male flower and a tiny pumpkin

After the rains (that went overboard this year), all the pumpkin plants showed a growth spurt. So fast were they spreading that the hubby uprooted one plant. One died in the strong sun that followed the rains.

Now we had little hope of getting any pumpkins, but were happy with the huge produce of flowers from the single remaining plant. Every day we would diligently pluck them, even distributing some to neighbours and helpers.

Till one day, a couple of female flowers finally showed up! Then there was no looking back.... The bees arrived as if by magic, timely pollinating the female flowers. And our single plant produced four pumpkins within a month.

Pumpkin hanging with support from okra plants

The sturdy okra plants provided perfect support to the pumpkin vine, helping it reach up to the sun. We had to create a hammock for the largest hanging fruit, and keep the pumpkins covered to protect them from fruit flies. 

Pumpkins ripening on a sunny window sill

We harvested the pumpkins around Halloween, and then dried them in a window sill that received direct sunlight. The pumpkins turned out a lovely bright orange from inside, and were delicious in taste.

If you are interested in more content related to organic farming, do check out this YouTube channel for some detailed videos.

Going Organic - Part 6

Since last year we have tried focussing on growing the basics - potatoes, onions and tomatoes. This post recounts our experiences with each of these.

Potatoes

The first time we tried growing these in a large, deep pot. The plants were healthy and there were flowers too. But the plants started withering right after. So we were hopeful that the crop may be developing. But when we dug in, there was nothing.

This year we decided to plant directly in soil in our kitchen garden patch. And after a point, we kind of forgot about the plants. In fact, we didn't even see any flowers this time. Till they all dried up and the husband went to uproot them and clear out the patch. And wonder of wonders, a lovely crop of baby potatoes was harvested!

Surely the best Mother's Day gift came from the father. 

Onions

Planted an onion directly in soil in early winter, and throughout the season it gave healthy greens. I used the greens to make parathas and vegetables. Towards the end of the season, a couple of florets were formed and again, once they started withering I dug up the soil but no onions there. 

Probably we made the same mistake with both potatoes and onions - losing patience and digging up too soon.

Tomatoes

Last winter the husband ordered and planted a whole packet of tomato seeds. Lots of plants showed up, but it was difficult to maintain their scraggly growth. Tomatoes need to be tied firmly or else placed within a support structure. Mealy bugs were the other problem area, and required careful monitoring and frequent spraying with a mixture of neem oil, detergent and water.

Our efforts finally paid off and we did get to harvest some tomatoes. Though the regular-sized ones threw more tantrums and gave lesser output, while the cherry tomatoes came in bunches and were delicious. So a rewarding experience on the whole!

Going Organic - Part 5

In continuation from my last post on organic vegetable gardening, I thought of giving you a glimpse of the summer garden and its produce. The picture below is the view from my kitchen window; adding colour to the garden is the trumpet vine in the background.

Capsicums and Okra
As our Capsicums/Peppers and Okra/Ladyfingers have picked up pace, this is how the big patch looks. The tall plants in front are the ladyfingers and the bushy ones behind are the capsicums. And the produce is pretty satisfying.

Pumpkin Vine
One of the easiest to grow summer staples, the pumpkin vine can be started by planting seeds in late spring (March-early April). The aim here is not the fruit or flowers; the leaves and vine are also edible. They make delicious fritters too besides adding some much needed greens in the dry summer heat. Is container garden friendly.

Mint
Another summer staple, mint can be started by a mere sprig. It is hardy, grows lush quickly (especially in rains), and smells great.

Can be easily grown in containers. My little patch gives me enough leaves for fresh chutney every week.

Going Organic - Part 4

Back to share more about our organic adventures in the last few months.

Come March everything we knew as normal got challenged due to the outbreak of the Corona virus and the resultant countrywide lockdown. Sourcing and consumption of vegetables had to be handled carefully since the bi-weekly markets were off, and vendors were few and far between. In such difficult times our organic produce came in really handy.

Fenugreek and Spinach

The last crop of both these greens saw us through the early days of lockdown. If the veggie vendor gave our lane a miss, the backyard always had an alternative to offer. A relatively prolonged spring helped us enjoy these leafy goodies well into April.

Cherry Tomatoes

Umpteen salads and pasta bowls were lavished by their yummy presence. Again most of April we were blessed by their sweet, tasty goodness.

Garlic

The pods we had planted in early winter yielded tiny garlic. We had enjoyed their leaves through the winter so no regrets at the small size of the bounty.

Peppers and Ladyfingers

May onwards our summer crops took over. 

Peppers and ladyfingers (okra) got off to a slow start due to the steadily increasing heat but their yields were consistent.

A few spells of rain in early June have ensured that the May temperatures aren't coming back, and so we can hope to harvest both veggies till autumn.

Going Organic - Part 3

Despite the unusually cold, wet and grey winter this time, our backyard has yielded a decent winter harvest.

Enough coriander for a jar full of chutney.

A big bowl of spinach that will get used in a salad for dinner tonight.

And then there are the radish and beetroot greens that are doing great through growing in plain water (hydroponics). The beet leaves also go into our salad while the radish greens, along with garlic and onion greens, make for yummy paratha fillings.

So grateful for this organic goodness on our plates and in our tummies!

Going Organic - Part 2

Continuing from my last post on our organic farming adventures, let me give a lowdown on what we achieved in the last couple of months. While the brinjal plant gave us quite a bounty...

...we planted some new veggies. Tomatoes, ladyfingers, capsicum, spinach, fenugreek and garlic were the new additions to our garden. Since the tomatoes and capsicums are still growing, they probably won't give fruits anytime soon. But the spinach, garlic and fenugreek have given us some yummy homegrown leafy greens. (I was so enthusiastic to consume my greens that I forgot to take pictures of the fenugreek crop!)

We also discovered how pretty the ladyfinger flower looks...

... before the actual vegetable springs forth.

But most importantly, we discovered the power of composting. 

Composting

By the simple act of digging a pit into which we put our wet waste everyday, we have managed to get sustainable on so many levels. 

• If the garbage man doesn't turn up for a few days (as he was often wont to doing in the summer), we only have dry waste to manage. No tensions of dealing with smelly, rotting stuff; the pit has already taken care of that. 
• Every month we cover up the old compost pit and dig a new one. About 4-6 weeks later, depending on the weather, the old pit is dug up and all our wet waste has magically converted to the best possible compost for our plants. So no buying or using chemical fertilizers, ensuring we consume the veggies we grow in the purest form.
• Feeding everything from fruit and vegetable peels to egg shells and tea leaves to our pit, we make sure the soil quality in our yard improves. From a mix of sandy and clayey soil with bits of concrete, the backyard is already looking up with a nutrient-rich loamy sort of soil slowly taking over.

In the end, it is a cycle - if we give back to nature and let it take it's own course, one sure is in safe hands. Even in our pollution-overdosed world... Think about it!

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.