Beginners Guide to OTG - The 4th quarter.

One of the biggest challenges for folks who wish to start off with an organic terrace garden is what to buy and where. Over the past 2+ years of gardening, I have a fairly good knowledge on the same. You may refer to my blog, Resources. 

Precautionary measures and feeding plants.

As your garden grows, you will be a bit overwhelmed with maintaining them. Here are some tips on precautionary measures, feeding plants and maintaining them:

Compost : Take 1-2 handfuls of compost and hand feed your plants. Dig out about 1 inch of the top soil. Put in the compost and cover with the same soil again. General recommendation is to do this once in 2 weeks.

Leachate : In case you have a composting setup at home, either the DIY or Bokashi or VermiComposting, there is a good chance that a dark brown coloured liquid is dripping out of the setup. This liquid is called leachate is rich in nutrients as this is the liquid part of the composting process. Collect the same by placing a cup/bowl below the drainage point of your bin. Use in 1:10 ratio with water. Can be used for directly watering your plants or for foliar spray.

Compost Tea (CT): Is a liquid organic fertilizer that you get by soaking compost into water along with other ingredients. Following are the steps to make the same ...

- Take an old sock and fill it up with compost; better if it’s vermi-compost and even better if it has earth worm castings (excreta) in it.
- Tie the open end of the sock and place it in a bucket of 10L of water.
- Add about 2 handfuls of jaggery into the water.
- Use a fish tank air pump set and place the open end of the air pipe into the bucket. You let the air bubbles aerate the water for 48 hours.
- Every 8-10 hours, take out of the sock, squeeze it hard to get the thick concentrate liquid and pour it back into the bucket.
- After approx 36 hrs, the liquid should bubble up nicely with some foam. If this does not happen, add more jaggery the next time.
- After 48 hours, you get compost tea.
- Dilute with 1:10 water and water your plants. Dilute 1:20 and use as a foliar spray.
- Use up the whole amount as soon as possible, else the live micro organisms in the CT will perish. Once you get an idea of how much you CT you need for your garden, adjust the amounts accordingly.

Panchgavya (PG) – PG is made out of 5 ingredients and hence its name – cow dung, cow urine, cow milk, ghee and curd. Bananas and jaggery are added too. Making PG is rather complicated process and takes roughly 45 days. Hence 
urban farmers prefer to buy these instead of making them on their own.

How to use PG :

- Dilute 30 ml (for the first time you can use 20ml) of PG into 1 liter of water. Different manufacturers/farmers use slightly different methods for preparing PG, so it is best to find from them about usage. 30/20 ml per liter of water is a standard combination.
- Once in 2 weeks, instead of watering the plants with plain water, you can water with diluted PG.
- Concentrated PG shelf life is about 6 months, but do check with the supplier. It is advised to keep it in a ventilated place, so that the aeration process keeps the microbes active in the PG. Keep it in a large bottle or a can type of container which is not closed. Cover the opening with a cloth, to promote aeration.

A word of caution: when opening an airtight PG bottle for the first time, make sure you direct the opening away from you and open slowly in a open place. Else it may fizz out like a cola drink! Also, for first timers, PG smells really bad. But the 2nd time, you will look forward to it.

Amrutjal (AJ): Is similar to PG, but with lesser ingredients. Pour 1/2 litre cow urine, 1/2 kg cow dung (preferably fresh) and 2 glasses of sugar cane juice into a can. Mix the same into 5 litres of water. Keep it partially covered for 3 days. Stir the mixture everyday, 2-3 times. And you are done.

Dilute 1 litre of this mix with 10 litres of water. Use it as a foliar spray or to water the plants. The undiluted AJ can stay active for a few months.

Neem spray keeps away most pests. 10ml of neem oil mixed into 1 L of water with a few pinches/drops of mild soap. Spray all over the plants, especially on the back of the leaves.

Cake Mix : Take 250 gms of Honge cake, neem cake and castor cake. Add to 10L of water. Keep aside for 1 day. Keep mixing often. Strain out the remnants of the cakes which will be in powder form. You can add this to your compost bin or mix along with compost and other solid nutrients and hand feed your plants. Dilute concentrated liquid mix in 1:10 ratio with water and water your plants.

Training Courses/Sessions/Events/Horticulture centers

There are a few organizations which conduct training sessions and courses. You will have to be on the lookout for these.

Oota From your Thota (OFYT): Refer link for FULL details.

VMSRF: They conduct one- day sessions, around once in 3 months. They charge around Rs 1,200.

DoH and GKVK: There is a wealth of information and resource at these government organizations. Its upto your capability on how to make the most of it out here.

Garden City Farmers is an organization run by Dr. Vishwanath Kadur, which conducts OTG workshops quite often. Next workshop is on 28/Mar/2015. Contact them via their website http://gardencityfarmers.org/activities/workshops for further details.

Organic Garten also conducts worskshops. Contact them via their website.

Make sure you join the Organic Terrace Gardening Facebook group. The folks out there are extremely helpful and I am sure you will get enough guidance to turn your thumb into a green one. It is a definite one stop place for starting your experiments with growing your own food.

Happy gardening!

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Beginners Guide to OTG - The 3rd quarter.

This is part 3 of 4 of the series of ‘A beginner’s guide to Organic Terrace Gardening (OTG)’.

Seeds

There are various types of seeds – heirloom, open pollinated (o/p), hybrid, GMO, etc. This link gives a good explanation about them. If you can, try to get hold of either heirloom or o/p seeds. I started off with buying seeds. However, now that I have a good network of gardening friends, we keep exchanging seeds and have gone to the level of sending it across through post too! There are quite a number of "green" events held, mostly in Bangalore, which do have stalls dedicated for seeds and saplings.

Germination

Invest in a seeding / potting / germination tray. A basic one costs about Rs. 30.

For the potting mix only for seeds germination, take 5 handfuls of coco peat + 2 handfuls of compost + 1 handful of neem powder. Mix them all up and fill up the individual slots. As mentioned earlier, coco peat has no nutritional value. So a little bit of compost gives them that extra punch. Note, that the basic requirement for seeds to germination is moisture. Germination time depends on various reasons like climate, source and health of the seeds, etc. On an average seeds of common greens/veggies like palak, tomato, brinjal etc take roughly 1-2 weeks. 

- Fill the slots with the above germinating potting mix.
- Moisten the whole tray.
- Make a small hole in the middle of each slot, with your finger/pencil, a fwe millimeters deep.
- Place the seed. Its a good idea to place 2-3 seeds. The reason being at least one will germinate. Also there are sometimes LOTs of seeds in a single seed packet, which eventually one does not end up using. Use your own judgement !
- Cover with the potting mix around the slot, then give a gentle press.
- Place the tray in a bright but shaded place, away from direct sunlight.

Once the seeds germinate, let them stabilize for a few days. The initial leaves that come out of the seed are not the real ones. They are called as cotyledons. After a few more days, you can see more sets of leaves growing, which distinctly look different from the cotyledons. These are the "true leaves". Once you get about 5-6 true leaves, its time to transplant. While the seeds are in the initial germinating stage and young saplings are growing, water very gently so as not to disturb the seeds or the delicate and tender roots that are still in a developing stage. I use a dahi cup with a small hole at the bottom and let the water trickle down around onto the soil. Avoid the water to fall directly on the young sapling. As an alternative, you can sprinkle around the plant. During the germination stage, place the container/tray in a bright sunny place and away from direct sunlight.

Excellent document by another OTGian ...
https://www.facebook.com/notes/organic-terrace-gardening/seed-starting-tips-what-to-keep-in-mind-when-you-sow-seeds/731325836930414

a. In the dahi cup on the right, I placed all the seeds from a green capsicum used in the kitchen. After a few weeks, they germinated. Transplanted a few good ones, like the one in the left dahi cup, so that it grows well and on its own.

b. Placed a over ripe corn hob directly into a potting mix in a tetra box and this is how it looks now. Notice the un-germinated corn kernels

c. New batch of seeds in a seedling / germinating tray.

d. Like the capsicum seeds in point a, I placed all seeds from a tomato into a dahi cup. After a few days they germinated and transplanted the healthy ones seperately in a tray. 

I personally do not prefer to sow seeds of under ground grown veggies, like carrot, radish, beet. Its better to direct-sow them, instead of transplant. Mainly because these veggies might have already established their root (veggie part) growth during the initial stages.

This also applies for greens like palak (spinach), mint, coriander, methi (fenugreek), amaranthus, etc. Mainly since they are quite delicate plants during initial stages.

Sapling / Transplanting

When you are transplanting from the seedling tray to the final destination container, make sure you are not doing it under direct sun. Do it around 6-7 AM or 5-6 PM. Once transplanted, keep the container in a shady place. This is so that the sapling is able to bear the transplant shock. Water the container carefully, so as not to harm the sapling, as mentioned in the tips above.

Refer section "Mixing it all up !" at the end of the previous post for details on how to prepare the potting mix. 

If you can cover the sapling with a plastic bottle, like this, then you may do so. If at the initial stage, you feel that your plant needs support, you can stake the plant for support. Staking is placing a thin but strong piece of wood or pipe or bamboo, a few cms wide and 1-2 foot high. Insert it into the pot near the seedling, but not too close to the roots. Use a thread and tie the sapling loosely to the stick.

new life

Insect/Pest management

What is a garden without insects ? Its like life without problems ! Like them or hate them, they will be a part of your garden and they are here to stay. The most common insects that can create havoc are mealybugs, aphids and spider mites.

a. Aphids on the back of a leaf.

b. Aphids on the stem of a beans plant.

c. Mealy bugs.

d. Mealy bugs.

e. Spider Mites

f. Spider Mites

Some common remedies :

- First use a jet spray of water and get rid of all the insects from your plant. Use your fingers or a cotton swab or a small cotton ball if needed. Usually the bottle spray is not useful here. Instead use the water hose directly. Give the plant a complete wash. Wait for a few days and see if they come back. Give a second wash if necessary. If this does not help, use the options given below.

- Neem oil: Add 20 ml of neem oil to 1 liter of water. To this, add about 5 drops of liquid handwash or 2-3 pinches of detergent. Mix it all well and give a generous spray to all the affected parts of the plant, especially the underside of the leaves. Easily available on online gardening stores and in nurseries.

- 3G formula : Take ginger, green chillies and garlic each 100 gms. Grind it to paste . Take 5 ml of this paste and mix with one liter water and spray. This spray can be continued once in 10 days regularly.

- Sprinkle wood ash on the plant, preferably from wood that has not been treated chemically.

Once you have an attack of aphids and if you are really lucky enough, you might have a very friendly visitor. Some call it “ladybug“,  others “ladybird”, some others “lady beetle”. And they feast on these aphids.

One indicator when there is an aphid infection is the presence of ants on the plant. Ants do not directly harm the plants, but they help spreading and protecting the mealybugs and the aphids. The mealybugs and aphids take off nutrition from the plants and the ants then feed on them. So once you see ants on your plants, you know for sure that there is something “buggy” going on. Most of these insects will be on the back of the leaves, so it is difficult to spot them. Another option is also to spray boric acid, turmeric powder or talcum powder on the outside of the pot, not inside.

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Beginners Guide to OTG - The 2nd quarter.

This is part 2 of 4 of the series of ‘A beginner’s guide to Organic Terrace Gardening’.

Soil and Nutrients

Plants need nutrition to grow. You don’t survive only on water or one particular type of vegetable; the same goes with plants. Plants need air, light, warmth, water and nutrients for their growth.

Nutrients from air and water are Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen.
Nutrients from soil are of 2 types ... 

1. Macro Nutrients 
• Primary Macro Nutrients are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K), commonly referred to as NPK. These are the major nutrients usually  lacking from the soil first because plants use large amounts of NPK for their growth and survival. And hence need to be added at regular intervals.
• Secondary macro nutrients are Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), and Sulphur (S). There are usually enough of these nutrients in the soil so fertilisation is not always needed.
2. Micro Nutrients.
• Boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), chloride (Cl), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn). These elements essential for plant growth which are needed in only very small (micro) quantities

The mix of soil and the various ingredients (detailed below) is commonly referred to as potting media, media and potting mix. All the above nutrients are initially provided by the soil when you make a fresh potting mix. However over a period of time, these are used up by the plants and hence you need to keep adding them to the soil in different forms. Remember not to overdo and to make the best out of resources that are easily available and procurable.

A short video about the importance of soil.

Red Soil

You can get red soil from any good nursery; the nearer the better, as it can be really heavy. A cement bag of red soil costs around Rs. 30-50.

Cocopeat / Coirpith

This is made from coconut husks and has absolutely no nutrition in it, but has excellent water retention capacity. It is added so that the container retains more moisture and it reduces the weight on your balcony/terrace. Cocopeat is available in a few forms:

1. Compressed block: In 1 or 5 kg blocks, it looks like a solid brick. Soak it in water and it expands in size. This simple video explains how to break down a cocopeat block easily. A 5 kg block expands to around 25 kgs loose ready to use cocopeat. A block is easy to carry. A 5 kg block costs around Rs. 100-150.

2. Loose, uncompressed powder: Difficult to carry as it is sold in 25-30 kgs sacks.

Pic a. Cocopeat block.

Pic b. uncompressed cocopeat

Compost

This is a broken down and decomposed form of kitchen waste, dried leaves, cow dung, etc. The process of decomposition takes about 6-8 weeks. There are additional supplements available which help speeding up the breaking down process. These are called as 'accelerators', like sour buttermilk or ready-to-use "microbes powder". When this breaking down process is done with the help of a specific breed of earth worms (common name: Red Wiggler; scientific name: Eisenia fetida or Eisenia andrei), the end result is called vermicompost. This is one of the most important items, that makes your garden organic. On an average, compost costs approximately Rs. 5 - 25 a kilo. Composting is quite a vast topic and like gardening, one will learn only when one takes a leap into composting.

Vermi Compost Pics courtesy (Uma H)

Cow dung

Cow dung is mainly used as manure in agricultural farms. Do not use fresh cow dung as they contain harmful bacteria and can kill the tender roots. It should be allowed to age/mature for at least 30 days before using in any form or for any gardening purpose.
If you have a source for naati/country cow, then nothing like it as there is a significant difference in the cow dung properties from these types of cows, as compared to the hybrid/jersey cows.
Try to locate a cow shed in your vicinity. Cow dung cakes are sold for about Rs. 5-10 per piece.

Horse/Sheep/Goat dung

Similar to cow dung, Horse/Sheep/Goat dung is also useful as manure for enriching the potting mix. Usually available at nurseries.

Neem oil/powder/cake

The Neem tree is considered to be very sacred in India.

Its oil, combined with water, is usually the first organic and natural pesticide used to get rid of insects from your plants. After the oil is extracted from the seeds, the leftover is the cake.

The cake is further processed to be converted into a powder form. Its quite a laborious task to break down the cake into a powder form manually. There is a chance of adulteration while converting the neem cake into neem powder. So, if your source of neem powder is credible, then its a good idea to use the powder. Else its a safe bet to use neem cake directly. The powder is used mainly while preparing the potting mix, as it helps to avoid root based infections, like fungal infection and nematodes.

Neem oil costs about Rs. 150 for 250 ml, Neem cake about Rs. 40 per kg, and Neem powder about Rs. 20 per kg.

Sand

The sand used in construction activities s sieved to get rid of larger pieces. Adding sand prevents the potting mix from becoming too clayey, and helps the potting mix to be well drained. Like cocopeat, sand has no nutritional value. Though there are exceptions and a few folks are growing leafy vegetables with beach sand. Overall, the purpose of adding sand is for maintaining a well drained potting mix.

Mixing it all up !

Proportions of each of these components depends on the plant you are growing, experience and availability. An average mix is 1:1:1 of compost : cocopeat : red soil, plus a handful of neem powder + sand. Some plants need a loose mix (well drained), so put less red soil and more sand. Mix up all these ingredients well. There should be no lumps. Move this mixture into a container. 

Do use gloves throughout this process. And also when you are handling different types of manure/dung. Sometimes, it may be uncomfortable to do gardening activities with the gloves on. In such cases, do wash/clean your hands thoroughly, as the soil, compost, etc tend to get stuck under your nails.

It is very important that there is no water stagnation, so ensure that the container has drainage at the bottom. In case you are using a container with more holes or holes larger than a marble, cover them with coconut husk or a small piece of net or something similar. This helps the water to drain, but not the potting mix from the pot.

Fill the pot till about 4/5th of its depth. This is so that you can add more compost and nutrients in the future.

Once the container is filled, pour in water lightly until all the potting media gets wet and water starts to seep out of the holes, and your container is ready!

Picture of fresh potting mix for sowing sambar onions. This has more of red soil and vermi compost, less of cocopeat.

AND ... do remember to take a couple of deep breaths to smell the earthy potting mix !!!

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Disclaimer :  All prices mentioned are estimates.

Beginners Guide to OTG - The 1st quarter.

Part 1 of 4 of the series of ‘A beginner’s guide to Organic Terrace Gardening (OTG)’.

I started my terrace garden towards the end of 2012. The two main factors that pushed me into it was the Facebook group "Organic Terrace Gardening" and availability of terrace space. Gardening is not something that was a hand-me-down. It was something that hit me when I came across the OTG page on FB and I was getting into a major landmark in my life – getting my house built. Since both coincided, I wanted to give it a shot. As time passed, I have been getting more and more into it. I do not have the greenest thumb, but I’m pretty happy with what I am doing. So, based on my experience over the past 2 years or so, here are my thoughts, inputs, suggestions and tips. This post is quite specific to terrace gardening and more or less to Bangalore.

General Recommendations

- Make a start and get your hands dirty! You will not learn everything on day one. It will take some time for experience to kick in and make the best out of the knowledge gained.

- Grow what you need ! Do not get excited and tempted to grow everything at one time. Start slow.

- Do use a pair of gloves when working, especially with soil.
- Most of us have made mistakes and so will you. Its a steady learning process, but not rocket science.

- Use Google, YouTube and the files section in the OTG FB group can be you best assistants. There’s tons of information out there, waiting to be seen and read.

What do you need to start

Space

Balcony? Ground space? Terrace ? Basically any location which gets at least 2-3 hours or more of direct sunlight. The more the better! A place where you can keep a few containers. The number 1 question asked by newbies – “Will my terrace/balcony be able to hold the weight of pot/plants/containers?” Yes, it will! The average RCC/concrete slab can take huge amounts of weight. Just ensure that adequate waterproofing has been done. If your terrace can bear the brunt of a heavy downpour, then you are good to go with an OTG too. For balconies, make sure, you have a water drainage outlet.

Containers

Think beyond the pot! For a first time gardener, a container is any object like a pot in any shape/size. And yes, it can be a pot too! Most importantly, it should be able to hold water and soil and other ingredients in the container. There will be a time when you will be scouting for any decent sized object. For example, an oil can, an unused helmet, a vegetable/milk crate, specific types of wood, a good thick UV treated plastic grow bag, 1/2/5/10 litre or water bottle/can, used paint buckets, PVC pipes. Rice/cement bags can be used, but not more than once. After about 3 months, it starts to disintegrate. And once that happens, the disintegrated pieces mix up in the soil, which makes it very difficult to remove. So try to avoid them.

Most of the pots available in the market are made out of good quality plastic Overall its OK to grow in plastic containers. If those plastic containers were used earlier for storing any chemical related items, like paint, then ensure that the container has been thoroughly cleaned. If you are really scared and have your own inhibitions, stay away from plastic pots. You have options like clay, mud, cement, terracotta. Plastic pots of size 10 / 12 or more are good enough for a single plant like tomato, chilly, brinjal, capsicum etc. These are some of my containers ...

a. wood fruit box from the local market.

b. kiddy bath tub for carrots.

c. Plastic veggie/fruit container.

d. Commercial PVC grow bag.

e. Packing wood converted into a 3 feet * 8 feet raised bed.

f. wood fruit box.

g. plastic water/oil can.

h. Milk carton for initial seed germination.

i. Egg carton for initial seed germination.

j. sofa backs.

k. nestle dahi cups for initial seed germination / sharing.

l. tempo traveler / vehicle tyres, for non edible plants.

Seeds

Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower. - John Harrigan

There are a variety of seeds available in the market ... heirloom (naati), open pollinated (OP), hybrid and the new danger lurking around us, GMO. Heirloom and OP varieties are a bit difficult to come by. Hybrid seeds are the ones which you find in any decent gardening store and are the most commercially available ones. Let me not talk about GMO seeds !

Another common question from starters ... Where do we get seeds from ? Most common answer from an established gardener to a newbie ... Your kitchen !

For starters, the kitchen is the best source of sourcing seeds to get kick started. Tomatoes, brinjal, capsicum, methi, corriander, corn. Most of the market bought leafy vegetables (palak, mint, coriander) still have the roots attached. Use up the leaves and sow the roots back into the soil. And presto ! You got yourselves a new plant.

Sunlight

Different plants have different sunlight requirements. Some do well in semi shade, some need 3-4 hours of sunlight, some require more and some require less.

Seeds sown in a seed tray / pro tray for initial germination don’t need direct sunlight for the first 1-2 weeks. Place them in bright sunny spot, but away from direct sunlight. You have the option of installing a shade net to cut off the amount of sunlight hitting the plants. You also get protection from rains.


Using this website http://www.suncalc.net, you can determine the sun movement over a period of time and use your judgement accordingly for placing your containers.

Water

Do not over water or under water. On an average, watering once a day is good enough. Do not water when the sun is at its peak. Do not water on the leaves, as this may lead to leaf burn and can also attract insects like mealy bugs and aphids. Either water the plants around 6/7 AM or around 6 PM. Evening is an ideal time, as the water evaporation rate is low. This allows the roots to absorb most of the water. If you over water, the water that drains out will take away the nutrients in the soil. And of course you are wasting water too and soiling your terrace floor.

There is an option of drip irrigation, in case you are a regular traveler or don't have backup watering options.

Soil and Nutrients

Last but the most important requirement for gardening, soil and nutrients. As this is quite a detailed topic, I will cover it in the next part.

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