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