How I started Gardening?
By now, we all know how important veggies are for our health. It was in my 9th grade when I realized that all the vegetables we get in the market aren’t healthy and have lost most of its positive, nutrient factors and may be poisonous because of the chemicals used in it. So, here’s when the thought of gardening strokes me.
Luckily my mom was in this activity of gardening for ages, but she used to grow mostly flowers and crotons. I got help from her, and we planted a lot of varieties of veggies like maize, tomatoes, litchi, carrot. But unfortunately, I had to stop this pleasure of me, as I had to flee out for studies.
I stay in Bangalore, where I study and cook for myself. I’m always in a rush and rarely get enough time to cook myself a grand meal. I usually visit a supermarket beside my dorm, and I notice not all the veggies and fruits in the market are fresh, or even I’m not sure if they are pure and healthy.
But thanks to Covid_19, it has helped me revive my memories of gardening. And, lately, there is a lot of buzz for terrace and home gardening.
I love greenery. And probably by most of my pics, you may notice that almost every alternate pic has green leaves popping out.
Note: I have mentioned only the ways I tried and that have turned out to be successful. And, no inclusion of complex composting and techniques.
Using the seeds
We have a garden at the back of our home. So, what we used to do is plant every possible seed we got from the vegetables and fruits we ate. It’s so simple right to eat, and instead of throwing the seeds into the dustbin, throw it into your garden and nourish them with water and soil.
You won’t believe it, but this works. We grew up muskmelons, tomatoes, French beans, green peas, long beans, and bitter gourd with this technique.
By using coriander seeds, methi (fenugreek) seeds, you can plant them under the soil and water them regularly to grow coriander and fenugreek plants. But make sure not to expose them directly to the bright sunlight as this may dry up the plant #Ihavedonethismistake.
Plant the bulbs and veggies
For the fruits and veggies that do not have seeds in it, you can opt for this method. You have to sow the veggies directly or edges of the vegetable and cover with soil and nourish daily with water.
For instance, take a small bulb of onion, place it under the soil, and water it, it will turn into spring onions. Or, do the same for sweet potato, radish, ginger, potato, and all such kinds of foods.
By this method, we successfully got the plants of cauliflower, ginger, potato, ad carrot.
Plant the stem/part
We have grown plants like mint, strawberry, curry leaves from this technique. You can grow chillis by both seeds and stem. By using stems, I feel we can successfully grow almost all kinds of plants. Unfortunately, I can’t show you the images of coriander because a mighty rat has eaten them up argh!
Especially I saw my mother planting roses, money plants, and other flower plants in this way. You can even combine two stems of two different colored rose plants, and it results in the growth of a pleasant color-combined rose.
I agree most of you may think, but we don’t have enough space to grow, but I feel you can grow in small pots, and now that micro-farming is buzzing so loud, why not trying that way of planting.
My gardening stories have been successful because of my mom. She got up all these ways of growing different plants in our garden.
If you have never tried gardening, I swear its worth a shot! The first time I planted something was carrot, and I still remember the immense joy I felt when the carrot started sprouting up with small leaves.
Moreover, in this time of the pandemic, it would be the best option to pick up when we are not sure what the vegetables and fruits in the market may contain. You can cook with utter surety and safety from your self-grown veggies.
Also, I read in a magazine that gardening can increase the serotonin levels in our bodies. Serotonin is a natural anti-depressant, and hence it will help to reduce our stress and sadness.
Honestly, I don’t know till when these stories of gardening may continue because once I go back to Bangalore, I will have to restart my life with market veggies but, I know my mom would continue this spirit of planting.
But a sad note is some plants can’t be alive for all the seasons. Like French beans, it is a sort of creeper plant. It was so healthy for a few months, and suddenly it dried up not because of less watering but due to off-season.
I hope at least one of you may step up for gardening. If you do, please let me know through the comments or mail me.
