Growing Coriander

Split the coriander seeds for better and faster germination. Soak them in water for a day. Let them settle down. Take a potting mix with good drainage ànd water it nicely. Make groves for sowing the seeds. Sprinkle the seeds in thé groves and cover with a thin layer of soil. Spray water to keep the soil moist. Don't over water. Coriander will germinate anywhere between 4 to 15 days time. 

Choosing the right seeds is the key to growing Coriander. Green coriander seeds germinate better. 

Happy Gardening!!!

Home remedies for Powdery mildew

Powdery mildew is a fungal infection that affects a variety of plants especially gourds, watermelon, pumpkins, brinjal, okra, roses, strawberries etc. The infected plants are very easily identifiable with the white powdery like residue on their leaves and stems. It's like as if someone has sprinkled some flour on them.

There are many remedies available which one can try to control powdery mildew on their plants. am sharing a few of these with you.....

1. Mix 1 tbsp baking soda, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp soapnut liquid and 4 litres of water. mix everything well and spray on the plants.

2. 2 to 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar added to 3 to 31/2 litres of water also controls powdery mildew.

3. One part milk to 2 parts water if sprayed weekly is also effective in controlling powdery mildew.

4. Blend 2-3 pods of garlic with little water, add some soapnut liquid. strain this mix with a fine cheesecloth and keep overnight. next day dilute in water and spray.

5. Just jet spraying some water will help scrape off the powdery mildew from the stems and spray aloe vera juice

6. spraying 3 g spray

7. Pruning the plant, keep space to allow good air circulation and not over watering will help.

8. Onion peel water will help. Soak two handfuls of onion peels to one litre of water, keep aside for a day or two and spray.

9. Prepare buttermilk and place any copper vessel or wire or piece inside it. Cover and keep aside to ferment for 15 days. Dilute this liquid 10ml - 20ml, to one litre of water and spray. You can even add asafoetida to this mix.

10. Most effective when most home remedies don't work is the use of bio fertilizers and bio pesticides in the garden. Take 20ml of pseudomonas florescence to one litre of water and spray and use as soil drench too. 

11. Use Trichoderma Viridi 20ml to one litre of water as spray and soil drench 

12. Take 1tbsp organic turmeric powder dilute this to one litre of water, add little raw milk and spray.

13. Making a concoction of ash 1tsp to one litre of water and approximately 25-30ml of raw milk and spraying will help too.

Most of the times, addressing the issue in the initial stages helps. So we need to correctly diagnose and treat the infestation.

If powdery mildew is left untreated it will result in retarded growth, rotten or poor yields , leaves shall start to wither and die and ultimately result in the plant dying.

So be aware, your plants talk to you, observe and listen...

Happy Gardening!!!

How to get maximum blooms on your Jasmine plant

Jasmine's are my all time favourite flowers the fragrance of the flowers just soothes the senses and is so heavenly, the entire garden is like paradise.

Over the years I have learned a few things which I shall share here with you all, how to get maximum blooms from your plant.....

1) Do not throw your dried flowers away, crush them and put them back in the same pot. All the nutrients your plant needs to flower is there in the flower itself.

2) When I have a lot of flowers at home I make my own bio fertilizer....300gm of flowers(could be fresh or dried) 100gm organic native jaggery and 1000ml of water. I mix all these and keep it in a loosely fitted lidded plastic container. Loosely fit lid allows gas which is formed to escape. After 3 months my bio fertilizer is ready for use and the shelf life of this is like forever ...use 10ml to a litre once in a while.

3) Every time your plant finishes blooming trim back the stems, cut the ones which are dried out and feed your plant some vermicompost...one fistful to one pot should suffice.

4) Keep your pot in full sunlight

5) Ensure it has good drainage

6) Till the soil regularly

7) Repot once in two years

8) You can make a slurry of the flowers and water, dilute that and water the plant ....strain the mix well else it may attract ants to the pot or harden the top soil

9) Talk to your plants, thank them for the flowers, say sorry to have hurt you when you trim it back, explain its for their own good....I know it sounds silly but trust me they listen n respond.

A little care from our end and you will see the results. Any or all of the above mentioned points will help you bring in max blooms ....if you don't have the time just drop in the dried flowers in the pot itself that will also work fine.

Happy Gardening!!!

Jasmine - how to get maximum blooms

Jasmine

Orchid care

Orchids look so beautiful and we all love seeing these exotic flowers. When I started growing these couple of years back in my garden I had no clue on how and what to do, that too in a city as hot as Chennai. Sanjay got a shade net done and we kept our pots and they were looking so pretty for quite a while. It's only after the blooms died out and the plant was bare of any new leaf or bud that the actual learning & experimental journey started. Prithvi an avid home gardener with an enviable collection of orchids helped us along the way. So here we are sharing our learnings with you. 

 It's pretty easy to grow these provided you keep few points in mind....

1) Never over water. Over watering can rot the roots.

2) Do not mist the flowers

3) Ensure your pot has good drainage

4) Do not use your normal potting mix for most orchid varieties. However Spathoglottis and Epidendrum need regular soil.

5) Don't cut the aerial roots

6) Do not keep in direct sunlight

although some varieties do need 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight.

7) Don't separate pseudobulbs individually, they are energy centers

8) Don't use ice cold water to water your 

9) Do not water by pouring from top 

10) Ensure there is aeration or circulation of air where you place them

11) Water your orchids in the morning hours, it gives time for your leaves to dry out.

12) Watch for the colour of your leaves, if they turn yellow it could be becàuse of too much light

13) Use a water-soluble fertilizer mix. Spray it onto your plant about once every one to two months. Organic NPK , Epsom salt, Rice water got from washing rice or as some say even cooked rice are good sources of nutrients. Use diligently. You can add crushed egg shells ( please wash, dry, crush and use) and used tea bags (open the tea bags and add the used tea leaves). Milk residue ( after pouring the milk from the tetra pack or bottle or sachet) swished with water, diluted canbe used. Diluted buttermilk is also a good fertilizer.

14) Orchids bloom for weeks. When a flower starts to fade, simply pinch it off.

15) When a stem starts to fade, cut it back, do not throw the orchid away.

16) Orchids need to be placed with other plants...could be orchids or different plants.

17) Leftover coffee grounds when sprinkled around the pot helps prevent slugs and snails. If diluted and used it's a good source of nitrogen for your plants.

Caring for orchids is easy. Talk with them daily. Whenever you see any disease on the leaf please remove it immediately and water less, spray a good bacterial organic spray to curb the infestation in the beginning itself. With the right light, moisture, heat and fertilizer your orchid will add elegance and beauty to your homes.

Happy Gardening!!!

Bío Enzyme

Bio enzyme

3G spray

Grind approximately 20gms each of ginger, green chillies and garlic without water, if needed add oil while grinding. You may use gingelly/rice bran/sunflower oil. Put this paste in a bottle and top it up with approx 100ml of oil such that it covers the paste. Keep it aside for 15 days. Soak the rind of one soapnut in a little water and let it stay for a day. Filter this nicely and add more water to make this a litre. To this one litre of soapnut water add 1ml of your 3G's paste. Mix well. Add a few drops of neem oil. Filter and spray on your plants.

This is a very effective pest control remedy which canbe made and kept for use in your gardens. When the oil reduces you can add more oil to top it so as to cover the paste.

Happy Gardening!!!

White flies, alphids, leaf curl Remedy

Take 100gms to 150gms of garlic. Take 100gms curd. Mix both and grind in mixer. Add to two litres of water and keep this mixture covered in a corner undisturbed for seven to ten days. This will stink very badly, but it's an effective remedy. Strain this liquid and put in a sprayer bottle and spray thoroughly lifting the underside of the leaves too. Repeat once in ten days. This liquid has a shelf life of a month. 

Leaf curl Remedy

Take some sour curds dilute with water and strain n spray. The leaf curl will not straighten out the existing leaves but the new leaves which grow shall be all fine.

Virus attack Remedy

Boil 250 ml water with 2 heaped spoons of turmeric powder. Decant and keep aside. Take some garlic pods and crush in mixer with some water. Strain this mixture and add enough water to make the total mix upto a litre of water (incl the turmeric water) let it cool and spray

First anniversary celebrations of Green Goddesses

https://youtu.be/4RmXx2na5jk watch this to get a glimpse of some of our activities.....

Earthworms- friends or foe, Yeo or yo, 👍 or 👎

Earthworm

How to make your own bio enzyme at home

300 gms fruit peels

100 gms jaggery

1 litre water

Mix all ingredients together and store in a plastic bottle or container with a lid loosely closed to allow the gas formed to escape out for the first ten days. Once the bubbles stop close the lid properly and keep aside in a cool place for three months. Shake the container once in a way to mix everything.

After three months you will hàve a clear liquid on the top with à nice sweet smell.

Your bio enzyme is ready. It's got multiple uses.

Dilute in the ratio of 1:10 and use in your garden.

Pour the concentrated form to unclog dràins.

Pour one càpful with a càpful of vinegar to your bucket of water for mopping the  house.

You can also add soapnut solution ànd use this to wash your clothes.

Onion - Plant management

Friends,

The website : https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/onion/infos has many good article on Onion plant management.

Often we get questions on pests damaging the Onion plants. Here are some details on how to control each of them, other than the various fungus.

Category : Mites

Bulb mites Rhizoglyphus spp.
Tyrophagus spp.

Symptoms

Stunted plant growth; reduced stand; bulbs rotting in ground or in storage; pest is a cream-white, bulbous mite <1 mm in length, which resembles a pearl with legs

Cause

Arachnid

Comments

Damage to plants by bulb mites allows secondary invasion by other pathogens and can cause bulb rots

Management

Do not plant successive crops of onion or garlic in same location; allow field to fallow to ensure that any residual organic matter decomposes completely - crop residues can harbor mite populations; treating garlic seed cloves with hot water prior to planting may help reduce mite populations

Category : Insects

Leafminers Lyriomyza spp.

Leafminer trail on onion leaf

 

Leafminer damage to onion foliage

 

Symptoms

Thin, white, winding trails on leaves; heavy mining can result in white blotches on leaves and leaves dropping from the plant prematurely; early infestation can cause yield to be reduced; adult leafminer is a small black and yellow fly which lays its eggs in the leaf; larave hatch and feed on leaf interior

Cause

Insects

Comments

Mature larvae drop from leaves into soil to pupate; entire lifecycle can take as little as 2 weeks in warm weather; insect may go through 7 to 10 generations per year

Management

Check transplants for signs of leafminer damage prior to planting; remove plants from soil immediately after harvest; only use insecticides when leafminer damage has been identified as unnecessary spraying will also reduce populations of their natural enemies

Onion maggot Delia antiqua

Onion maggot and bulb damage

 

 

Symptoms

Stunted or wilting seedlings; plant will commonly break at soil line if an attempt is made to pull it up; if infestation occurs when plants are bulbing, bulbs will be deformed and susceptible to storage rots after harvest; adult insect is a greyish fly which lays white, elongate eggs around the base of the plant; the larvae that emerge from the eggs are tiny and white and bore into the onion plant; mature larvae are about 1 cm (0.4 in) long with feeding hooks

Cause

Insect

Comments

Females can lay several hundred eggs during their 2-4 week lifespan; insect overwinters as pupae in the soil

Management

Management of onion maggots is heavily reliant on good sanitation; all onion bulbs should be removed at the end of the season as maggots will die without a food source; commercial onion growers must often rely on the application of appropriate granular insecticides and, in some cases, insecticide sprays are also required; home gardeners should try to remove any volunteer wild onion and chive plants as these can act as an infection source; floating row covers may provide protection by preventing females from laying eggs around the plants

Thrips (Onion thrips, Western flower thrips) Thrips tabaci
Frankliniella occidentalis

Onion thrips nymphs feeding on onion leaves

 

 

Symptoms

Discolored, distorted tissue; scarring of leaves; severly infected plants may have a silvery appearance

Cause

Insect

Comments

Thrips are most damaging when they feed on onions at the early bulbing stage of development; both onion thrips and western flower thrips have an extensive host range and can be introduced to onion from other plants

Management

Natural enemies include some species of predatory mite, pirate bugs and lacewings; avoid planting onion in close proximity to grain fields as thrips populations build up on these plant in the spring; overhead irrigation of plants may help reduce thrips numbers; apply appropriate insecticides at first sign of thrips damage

Harvesting Onion seeds

Once your spring onions flower, let the flower dry out on the plant itself. Each bud contains anywhere between four to six seeds. 

How to sow cuttings

Cut an aloe Vera stem into small pieces. Take the cuttings that you need to sow. Cut it at an angle. Clear four to six inches from the bottom of any leaves or branches. Insert this stem cutting in the able Vera piece and sow. The aloe Vera acts as a good rooting hormone and the cuttings catch roots faster and from what I have noticed is that they grow nice, strong and healthy too.