Gardening isn’t rocket science!

My journey with gardening started about three years ago, when I brought home the Kambha from Daily Dump and started composting my kitchen waste. The feeling of empowerment that I got from doing my bit soon translated to a conscious decision to move towards organic foods. This then led to starting my own kitchen garden that first began with five containers of tomato and brinjal plants.

Brinjal grown in kitchen garden

I cannot quite describe the feeling of joy from a first harvest, but I can assure you that once you experience it you will be hooked to growing your own food! Herbs like basil and parsley, most common vegetables we might use in our kitchens such as tomatoes, brinjals, beans, okra, and even the occasional papaya or banana tree can be grown in a container, as long as you take care to provide adequate nutrition to the plant.

I hear time and again about what a challenge it is to grow everything organically, especially where pest control is concerned. I have found though, that as long as you are committed to finding a solution, you can definitely figure out a way to stick to the organic path. I honestly do not see the advantage in growing your own food if you are going to end up with the same chemical-enhanced veggies that you can buy any day in the marketplace.

When I began my gardening journey, I had a new question everyday from the right potting mix to what would grow in which season. One of my biggest resources then and now has been the Facebook group ‘Organic Terrace Gardening’(OTG). The group has a large population based in Bangalore, and now has members from all over India and even the world. It is very inspiring to see the harvests and results people achieve with just the limited space of a balcony or even a couple of windows.

The group was started with the initiative of the Garden City Farmers (GCF), an NGO that consists of individuals who are passionate about the cause of organic farming among others. In order to reach out to a larger populace, GCF is also involved in events like ‘Oota From Your Thota’ that is held every quarter in different parts of Bangalore city. You can meet the members of GCF and the OTG group at the upcoming Lalbagh Flower show where we will be showcasing our home-grown plants and produce.

Comments:

  1. Rajagopalan Krishnaswami Rajagopalan says:

    A very good write up Aparnaji. It is an inspiration to everyone to go in for Organic Gardening at the earliest. All the best.

  2. Aparna George says:

    How kind of you Rajagopalan sir :). Thank you so much.

  3. Jyothi Prasad says:

    Hats off to you. You are one of the inspiration for people like us πŸ™‚

  4. Aparna George says:

    Thank you Jyothi!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Quirks of being a Kitchen Gardener/Composter

I haven’t got around to writing a new post in a few weeks, and part of the reason was this inspiring set of posts from fellow gardener Srikant that left me thinking what more I could write. This is part 3 of his beginner’s series that also has links to the previous 2. http://thealternative.in/environment/a-beginners-guide-to-organic-terrace-gardening-from-seeding-to-pest-management/  A discussion with a friend the other day on how to get started off on waste segregation set me thinking on some of the ways composting, segregating waste and gardening have affected my life. Here are a few: Buttermilk is now no longer something that quenches…

Similar Story

Your waste can be rewarding!

I’m sure many of us never think of waste and rewards in the same breath :). When something is useless in our eyes, it just goes into the waste bin and then who cares what happens next. Well, I did start caring at some point and it was one of the most enlightening journeys of my life, in fact I credit it to be the beginning of my gardening journey as well! Once I started consciously thinking about the amount of waste generated by my household, it has never been a question of “Why we should manage our waste” but…