Green Curtains From A Lovely Country

It is a dark time for the human race. We here at Greenbay want to express our grief and sadness of recent tragedies in New Zealand and now Japan. Some of the best things come from Japan- Bonsai trees, ukiyo-e, and Nintendo wii. It is unfair that such terrible things happen to such good people. Our prayers are with them.

 Here’s an example of the fantastic creativity and environmental consciousness of Japan: Green walls at Kyocera Corporation, a leading company of Japan that produces a range of things from solar power energy solutions to kitchen appliances.

Image taken from the Kyocera Corporation Website

 The company website has very interesting information on how to build a green curtain and provides first hand information on how much it can cool your home! They have grown Karela (bitter gourd) on a wire mesh and trained it up the building walls. 

Just Imagine:  if we all do this for our homes in our city, how much relief we would have from the heat…

1) Building a mandvo is the traditional Gujarati way of growing creepers or vine vegetables like Karela , Parval and Tindora.  If you want to do in at your home, but don’t have a big enough backyard, you can do it on the terrace. Just remember, these plants require full sun and long days. Do not plant them in a shady place such as under a tree.

 2) For terrace gardens, install angles on the sidewalls of the terrace to support GI wire mesh structure from all corners at the top. Plant seeds in a seed tray or pot, or get seedlings (dharu) from a nursery (Go to Baroda Roses Nursery in Sama or Tropical Horticultural Service in Gotri for Speedy Dharuä Seedlings)

3) Plant the vegi plants ideally around Jan-Feb as it starts getting warm and throughout monsoon to early fall.  Fill a pot with mixture of mud, organic manure or vermicompost  and cocopeat. Plant the seedling preferably during late evening to give enough time for it to stabilize before the harsh rays of sun. Water well.

After a few days give it a good dose of micronutrient and liquid chemical fertilizer like Sunpurna. You won’t need to use these again for a while- ideally, use micronutrients only twice a year, and chemical fertilizers very sparingly may be every month.

4) As the plant grows, trail it with a string and help it climb up towards the mesh. As the plant grows it will cover the entire ceiling.

 

5) Move plant into a bigger pot as it grows, or it will get pot bound. You can get big cement pots (15cm diameter) or use plastic drum or barrels. These are available from factories in Gorwa and some times offices throw them away. Be creative in your container search. If you can’t find anything, nick your neighbour’s.

6) Water once a day during morning or evening for pots, and once a week for soil beds. These plants like warm and humid atmosphere, but well drained soil.  Dig up soil to aerate it once every 2 weeks. Use “Chinni Kam” or a herbal neem based pesticide if you see any signs of trouble.

7) Parval and Tindora produce vegis almost all year round.  Parval goes dormant in winter, and starts shedding its leaves. Don’t panic. Water it less frequently in winter and give it lots of water-soluble nutrients.

 8) Start picking the vegetable 2 weeks from first vegetable appearing, and then pick them once a week.

 9) If the plants starts flowering, but is not developing any vegetable, be sure to use Sunzyme or a similar plant growth hormone. Another reason for no Parval could be that the male plant has not pollinated the female flowers- you need move them closer and pray. Ideally you should have 1 male plant to every 9 female plants. For other plants like Karela and Tindora, you don’t have too worry, all flowers will turn into fruit!

 10) Enjoy your home-grown vegetable in 2 to 5 months from planting. Karela is a powerful aniviral, antimalarial and anticancer food- it’s so good for you, that’s why its bitter. Parval is good for digestion disorders, strengthens eyes and is great for immunity. Tindora is a powerful anti diabetic food. Both have been recently found to have Cholesterol reducing property and they taste good in curries as well.

"NPK- The big three" FAQs

1)    What is NPK? All plants, any species in the world, needs 4 major elements for its survival, growth and reproduction -Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K) and Carbon (C). The first 3 are coined as NPK available as chemical fertilizer and carbon is generally available from organic manures.

2)    Great, where do I get it? Your plant will get these normally from soil and manures. However, they need to be broken down into forms that can be absorbed so the plants can use them. Our invisible friends such as bacteria and visible wriggly friends such as earthworms do this. Think twice before you chuck out the hardworking critters.

3) What does Nitrogen do?

• Nitrogen is a part of all living cells and is a necessary part of all proteins, enzymes and metabolic processes involved in the synthesis and transfer of energy.
• Nitrogen is a part of chlorophyll, the green pigment of the plant that is responsible for photosynthesis. 
• Helps plants with rapid growth, increasing seed and fruit production and improving the quality of leaf and forage crops. 

4)    What does Phosphorus do?

• Like nitrogen, phosphorus (P) is an essential part of the process of photosynthesis. 
• Involved in the formation of all oils, sugars, starches, etc.
• Helps with the transformation of solar energy into chemical energy; proper plant maturation; withstanding stress.
• Effects rapid growth.
• Encourages blooming and root growth.

5)    Why Potassium?

• Plants absorb potassium in larger amounts than any other mineral element except nitrogen and, in some cases, calcium. 
• Helps in the building of protein, photosynthesis, fruit quality and reduction of diseases.

6)    So do I need to add a chemical fertilizer containing NPK to my soil?

Yes and no.  Often a cause of debate (chemical fertilizer production causes pollution and harms the environment in some cases) NPK formulations have been used since as far back as 1800’s. Farmers and commercial growers swear by it, because these fertilizers are fast acting and absorbed by the plant very quickly. They also need to be used in smaller quantities for same result as organic manure- because they are concentrated.

7)    Are chemical fertilizers more expensive? Of course! But you do get more bang for your buck…

8)    Are they all I need? No. Fertilizers containing NPK, contain just that. They are the basic plant food, but not the complete set of nutrition. Plants still need micronutrients, other macro elements like Carbon, Sulphur, Calcium, and Magnesium etc.

9)    So should I stick to organic manure? Sure. But if you have very old pots with soil in them, or you have moved into a newly built plot with no garden, just bare empty soil in your backyard, the soil will need to be replenished. Use a combination of NPK, which will give a quick boost of nutrients to your plant along with organic/farmyard manures or compost, which will release smaller amounts of nutrition over longer period of time.

10) Have you got a drip irrigation system? Water-soluble NPK formulations will work great with your drip system and because they are absorbed quickly, and dispersed more accurately than flooding the bed.

OUR FIRST GUEST POST!

We asked Dr. Santhan of naturalremedy.com about his views on kitchen gardening in general. Here's what he has to say:

"Kitchen gardening is good hobby and can be done around the house or even on the terrace.  Mushroom can also be cultivated at home by getting spawn from near by agri universities/science universities. Bhendi, chillies, brinjal, drumstick, herbs like mint and coriander can easily be grown in containers or shallow beds.

Also bitter-gourd, bottle guard, papaya, radish, cow pea etc can be grown at home and eaten as fresh vegetables.  Greens and culinary herbs from home can be grown in pots or bases of plastic drums! Anything can be reused. Soil, sand and farm yard manure should be mixed in equal proportion and filled in it and planted. All the care you need is regular watering and weeding. Good sunlight should be available to the plants. In a short while, we can relish the taste of our efforts."

Write to Dr Santhan about growing medicinal plants at: santhan_herbal<at the rate>yahoo.co.in

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.