Right from enhancing the visual appeal of your front lawn to contributing positively to the environment, home gardens offer a variety of advantages. Here are a few tips on how to maintain one from an experienced grower.
Preparing the ground literally means that when you intend to grow your own food. The garden should have the right exposure to sun and a water source.
This process of preparing the earth to play host to your plants is the basic and the most critical aspect in the road to successful home gardening
It is advisable to wear a pair of gardening gloves, especially when working with soil or chemicals like fertilisers or pesticide
Use a shovel or spade to turn over the dirt in the area. If the area is smaller, you may use a miniature which are available at stores or online
Home garden should have rich, fertile soil that is well drained. Break the large clumps of dirt, remove weeds, and to prevent them from growing again remove the roots
Vegetables may be grown in an area as small as 100 sq ft, but fruits may require bigger area. In this photograph of a home garden in Lonavala (near Mumbai), vegetable is grown in around 1,200 sq ft and fruits in about 5,000 sq ft area
Your garden should have sunlight for at least four to five hours a day. Be careful not to overdo the watering, for fruit plants once a week is enough
Be careful when spraying pesticide and fungicide. Try to avail expert help. In case of smaller gardens use organic substance like neem extract or diluted alcohol
Be careful when spraying pesticide and fungicide. Try to avail expert help. In case of smaller gardens use organic substance like neem extract or diluted alcohol
Similarly handle fertilisers with care. Make sure it does not contain hazardous chemicals. Kitchen waste (including used water from sink), used tea leaves, bits of well-soaked papers, etc. can also be used
You can either buy or use available vegetable seeds. For better germination, use coco peat (soil made from the pith inside a coconut husk, which is anti-fungal). Place the seeds on the surface evenly and cover with a thin layer of the mix, and moist using little water. Do not spray water with force. Better cover the seed trays/bags with newspaper and sprinkle water on the paper to maintain right amount of moisture.
For containers, you can use pots with holes so that water may drain out, or cow dung pots, or recycled containers like milk cartons and paper cups
If you have a bigger area, like this farm, you can go for sapling plantation from sapling trays or sapling bags
If you have a bigger area, like this farm, you can go for sapling plantation from sapling trays or sapling bags
Take care of the plants. They need sunlight and water. Be sure to take expert advice on insecticide and fungicide spray and fertiliser application based on plant age and growth
