Chlorophyll Conversations

A few days ago, I jumped at the opportunity of 'converting' yet another fellow urbanite. My cousin wanted some help in planting pudina (mint) in his balcony and we soon got talking about various aspects of plant care. Watering can. Pic:Vinita It was then I realised that while watering appears to be a simple activity, it is in fact one of the most misinterpreted, often with disastrous consequences for the plant. When understood and carried out properly, it is capable of significantly influencing the relationship with the garden. So, let’s start at the very beginning. We don't water plants, we…

As urban gardeners, we have several simple organic options for ensuring adequate input of nutrients to the soil and plants. Panchagavya One of the most effective and common liquid nutrients for the garden is Panchagavya. It consists of five main ingredients from the cow (ghee, milk, curd, cow dung and cow urine) and serves not just as a growth promoting hormone and immunity booster but also as a pesticide. It is also a good source of micronutrients for plants and the soil. The usage is as simple as spraying a three percent solution on plants every 10-15 days. Seeds can…

In my unending search for resources that familiarise children with the environment I had chanced upon the 'Garrulous Gastronaut' a few months ago. So it was quite a coincidence that my daughter was invited to a workshop titled, 'Planting an edible garden' recently held at Galleryske, Richmond Town. Pushpi Bagchi's Garrulous Gastronaut. Pic: Pushpi Bagchi Conceived and facilitated by Pushpi Bagchi, a young Illustrator & Visual Communication Designer from Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, the three hour workshop was a fun mix of story-time, experience-sharing, eating some delicious food prepared from fresh vegetables and finally some hands-on seed…

Like many others, I watched 'The Lorax' about a month ago. While the movie itself was something I wished we could publicly broadcast at various venues in our city, it was the post-movie conversations among the children in the audience that actually left me thinking. BM English School Green Club green club members 2012-13. Pic: Vinita Young ones compared notes on their preferred character; some older children felt that adults would only continue to chop down trees and we would really need electric trees on our streets! Some even shared facts about global warming and climate change. And yet when…

Who doesn’t like being around a friend? Around someone with similar likes perhaps? Or in whose company we bloom to our fullest or even someone who offsets our own quirks? Well, as it turns out this may be a natural instinct for all living things, including plants. Maybe we've learnt this behaviour from plants? Watch them grow in the forest and you find they thrive in the company of some and are unable to in the presence of others. It is interesting to understand how this works and use it to the advantage of all plants in your organic garden.…

Try this – Close your eyes and describe the image that comes to mind on hearing the word 'garden'. I tried this with my family while writing this piece and was surprised to hear the different responses that emerged. For my 6-year-old it was all about brightly coloured flowers and toys, her father spoke of cobbled pathways, birds chirping and greenery all around. For me, the word 'garden' always brings to mind an image of butterflies flitting around lots of plants in bright sunshine! Caterpillar basking in the sun. Pic: Vinita Squirrel scrambles up the nearest tree. Pic: Vinita ant…

In the previous article we discussed about handling pests in general. Here are a few examples shared to show how pests can perhaps be dealt with, without the use of chemicals and dangerous pesticides. Powdery Mildew Caused by fungi, the leaves in this case develop cloudy whitish spots are a common problem faced by several terrace gardeners. Starting out as a few spores on the leaves, powdery mildew quickly spreads, ultimately yellowing the leaves and causing leaf drop. It stunts plant growth, distorts the flowers and fruits and weakens the plant in general. Spores never stop producing more spores, so…

Dr B N Vishwanath of Garden City Farmers Trust, in his talks gently but firmly reminds you that we humans are just one of the species on this planet. There are several hundreds of insect species, we have no right to try and exterminate insect-life in the garden or even indiscriminately refer to them as 'pests'. At the National Seminar on Organic Urban Gardening in 2010, Dipak Suchde (www.prayogpariwar.net) made a pointed observation that when insects affect a particular plant in the garden, they are a sign that the given plant is not fit for our (human) consumption. This was…

Just the other day I was at this store, eager to pick up their weekly fresh organic vegetable produce. I overheard another customer ask the store owner to please cut away the leaves of the cauliflower as she did not know what to do with it. The store owner agreed, adding that she was also unaware. Pic: Vinita I could not resist jumping into this conversation. After all I had recently learnt something interesting about cauliflower leaves and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to share it! Julius Rego, a powerhouse of simple, practical and interesting information on plants and…

Most of us who have tried to grow plants are sure to have encountered these 'troublemakers'. They have often 'spoilt' our well-laid plans for the garden, or harassed us into spending extra time, clearing them from the garden. In fact it has become such a habit, that even while walking through or sitting idly in the garden, we can catch ourselves picking them off the soil. I am talking here about what we all refer to as 'weeds'. Only of late, have I tried to change my lens for viewing these plants. And it's been a great learning. Contrary to…