What are Micro Nutrients?

Each flowering plant requires minor elements or micronutrients besides the chemical or organic fertilizers. These micronutrients help the plant in many ways, such as give more numbers of flowers, larger flower size and good luster of the petals.

The above diagram shows symptoms associated with deficiency (shortage) of each micronutrient  in the plant. If your plant has any micronutrient deficiencies, it will warn you by showing these symptoms on the leaves and will eventually affect the plant in serious ways.

Micronutrients are usually in a liquid from, or sometimes mixed with a fertilizer -and is mixture of seven essential micronutrients necessary for growth of plants. Some of these are explained below:

Manganese- Functions with enzyme systems in the plant which are involved in breakdown of carbohydrates, and nitrogen metabolism. 

Iron- Essential for formation of chlorophyll.

Zinc- Regulates the consumption of sugar in the plant (sugar=energy!)

Boron- Aids production of sugar and carbohydrates

Copper- Important for reproduction of plant- ie fruit and flowers

Molybdenum- Helps the plant capture nitrogen

There are several micronutrient brands out there such as Garden Green by Ranker Agro,  Neepaj, Devimicroshakti, Sun Khanij Bhandar  etc. 

We like Sun Khanij Bhandar becuase it comes in small packaging! This unique formulation is available in liquid and granular form. Liquid Sun Khanij Bhandar is useful for soil application as well as foliar spray, whereas granules are used in soil application only. How to use it:

Dosage

Liquid:

Sun Khanij Bhandar Liquid can be used as soil application or as foliar spray. When using as foliar spray, use either early in the morning or late in the evening.

Field Application if you have a big farm house:

6-10 liters of Sun Khanij Bhandar can be applied per acre. For soil application dilute the same with appropriate quantity of water and is applied either as flood irrigation or in drip. Apply twice, once as pre-planting dose and second prior to flowering.

Garden Application:

It is used as foliar spray. Add 45 ml in 15 liter of water and spray on the potted plants.

Granules:

Field Application:

Sun Khanij Bhandar micronutrient granules are meant for soil application. You can use about 30 Kg per acre. Apply twice, first during pre-planting in field and second time prior to flowering.

Garden Application:

Use about 5 g of granule per 12 inch size potted plant, no more than twice a year.

Simply pluck it, cook it, and relish it!

Grow your own organic vegetables

Simply pluck it, cook it, and relish it!

Imagine cooking a vegetable immediately after plucking it from the plant! It may sound like a dream. There are several easy ways to make your dream come true! There are many companies such as Sun Agrigenetics in Vadodara, that provide consultancy on how to go about it, and provide plants such as Parwal, Tindora, Chilly, Brinjal, Tomato, etc and even fruit trees such as Banana, Papaya, Lemon etc.

If you have a garden area, an open backyard or side space, that's perfect. If not, you can still grow vegetables in pots kept in the balcony or terrace. Says Dr. Prashant Bhatt, Managing Director of Sun Agrigenetics, "Any vegetable with shallow root system viz; onion, tomato, brinjal, potato, cabbage, chilly, cauliflower, garlic, coriander, etc. can be grown on a terrace with  even a minimal space of 10’ x 10’ x 0.5’. All you need to a raised bed and coco peat layering".
Emphasizing the advantages of organic kitchen gardening, Dr. Bhatt says, “You plant a good seed, provide organic manure and kitchen waste and water – that’s all. No fertilizer, no poisonous insecticide, fungicides, viricides, bactericides, or weed killer”. The kitchen garden can produce ample amount of fruits and vegetables to feed whole family.

            The company provided handy Easy Gardening Kits with free plants at the Horticulture Exhibition held at the Model Farm, Genda Circle on 12-13-14Feb in Vadodara. "The kits were a great success, and we hope people will try growing their own food" said a smiling Dr. Bhatt. We tend to agree with him. Watching your food grow makes you appreciate it even more. Anyone out there with a story to share? Just write in to us, and we'll feature your garden.

Acid Limes FAQS

1) Lemon trees are short and prickly, but give a nice shade and aroma to the garden. You can  plant some varieties only in the ground- such as acid lime (the common lemon we use in everyday cooking); Acid limes do not work in containers. Being prickly, they can be grown next to compound walls to deter animals and humans climbing over the wall, and make a good privacy shade.

2) Acid limes aka Mexican limes or Key lime (botanical name Citrus aurantifolia)  take up to 2 years to give a good yield of lemons. It is a type of citrus fruit, rich in vitamin C and natural sugars and is the most prolific yielder among the family of limes.

3) These trees are very hardy and easy to grow, all they need is slightly sandy and loamy soil with adequate drainage. Provide lots of micronutrient and organic manure for good growth and lots of fruit.

4) Acid lime trees don't need a lot of water! For few months in a year, stop watering your lemon tree, or reduce watering if the tree is still young. Over watering will lead to vegetative growth, and you will have a fabulous tree, but no lemons. Water the plant immediately after planting, and provide it good shade for the first few weeks. After the plant has settled down in its new home, give it full sunlight and water it at every 4 to 5 days interval during the first month.  Later on, water it at 8 to 10 days interval. 

5) Ideally, plant your acid lime trees in  Dec-Feb or June-Sep. Dig up soil thoroughly and make 60 x 60 x60 cm pits, with adequate spacing between rows. Allow them to soak up sun for 2 weeks before planting your trees.

6) Lemons can be had all year round! Most of the fruit can be harvested between

December-January and July-August seasons.

 

Welcome to the Kitchen Garden Blog!

Hi Everyone,
This is the blog that will aim to answer all of your  kitchen garden questions and we hope you'll contribute by spreading the knowledge around...

The Baroda Horticulture Committee has organized the 40th Fruit and Flower Show at Model Farm, Baroda and we hope you'll make the most of it !