Expressions

Garden Green

Passion is what one enjoys doing, be it at work or at leisure!

Though Gardening being one of my passion, I had got less time and opportunity to practice it.Of recent, I have spent about three months to practice this passion which drew me closer to the functioning of wonders of Nature.To begin with, on my home terrace I started my little vegetable garden.

Nothing great about it ! Any one could say that but that's not my favorite point of expression, as I raise my tiny little garden.

I had neither a flower pot nor the soil when an idea sowed itself in my mind to spend my free time to bear fruits. Five Grow bags, coco soil and a few seeds is all I had bought from a nearby Botanical garden to begin with. This was going to be my trial and error to raise a garden without using mud. After three days I was delighted to see the fenugreek seeds sprout. in a couple of weeks I had a rich harvest. The aroma of fresh leaves filled my kitchen! tasted Yummy! Inspired, I began to extend my garden. Thus ten grow bags had spinach, beans, bitter gourd, snake gourd and spinach by regular watering and weeding. Spinach grew quickly, they needed to be transplanted. I got five more bags and transplanted them giving them enough room to grow and yield well.

Every morning I would run upstairs and greet my new friends lovingly. Good morning Darlings! Sitting near them, watering and weeding gave me a sense of joy, that was delicious! I began my research to get a better yield. To keep it pest free, I used a mixture of soap water and four pearls of crushed garlic and sprayed, it worked well. The ants and fungus were kept at bay. Within a couple of months, the leafy vegetables were ready for harvest. The beans flowered within a month and I plucked around ten beans from a single plant on my first harvest.

Through my research I got to learn more about various creative methods of raising one's own vegetable garden. First and foremost is to make your own compost with vegetable waste. A compost pit or a bin is very useful and hygienic to create your own organic compost. This helps you monitor the plants growth. Like a child's growth a plants needs its nutrients. Earth worms, the tiny little beautiful creatures of the Earth become your favorite friends as you spend time digging your nails in dirt. Vermin-composting is a speedy way of making compost at home.

Water reservoirs can be made with used water bottles or soda bottles to water your plants while you take off for a couple of days on a vacation. Water retention and conservation is also another art you learn through this process.

Time and space management is part of Interior Designing which can be applied while the garden begins to expand as per one's requirement.

One can make the garden as creative as possible by using various waste products. A Tyre, a soda bottle, used cans, anything that can spur your creative instincts ! Spend time with your plants, talk to them and watch them respond to your love and care. Effect is therapeutic as well as Meditative!

As you improve you may even try Aeroponics or Hydroponics system of growing vegetables.

Best time of my day is when I spend sitting in the company of the young plants speaking nothing and thinking nothing.

Mother Earth is so very generous!

Sumathi Mohan

6.10 p.m.

9/2/2015