How to Grow
5 Easy Gardening tips for Beginners
Nature is the most beautiful creation in this world. The word 'Nature' gives us a relaxed feeling irrespective of any sort of tensions. A whole lot of greenery comes into our mind when we think about nature. This greenery symbolizes peacefulness. Living in an atmosphere with greenery everywhere gives pleasure to the body as well as to the soul. Plants are commonly grown for home garden designing, positive psychological effects and for indoor air purification. Plants used in this fashion are most commonly tropical or semi-tropical type.
These should not be the reasons for you to avoid gardening.
Space constraints
In today's congested world we rarely find space to grow plants. In spite of having the interest to grow plants, people living in apartments will not be sufficient space. No need to get discouraged. You can grow plants in pots made of terracotta, metal and plastic. There is no big deal in buying some random pots and filling your place. The trick lies in selecting the appropriate size of pots. They should not consume the space but should fit in the place and beautify the place. Now you will have a question in mind.
What to Grow and how to grow?
Lack of knowledge about gardening may also be the reason. Generally, people prefer growing some vegetable plants or flower plants. How nice would it be if we could grow tomatoes or onions? We can eat the vegetables grown in our own garden.
But they won't be knowing the right way to grow those plants. They will try to grow in some random way but it won't work. At this point, they will lose their interest in gardening. By choosing the good quality soil for plants and treating it with organic fertilizer your dream of having a house garden can be achieved.
Lack of gardening resources
In today's world, you will find anything and everything in the market. In bigger cities, people can get the house gardening materials which they need from the markets or retail shops. But when it comes to smaller cities, there is less possibility of finding the materials which they need. Now the question arises, where can we get the required house gardening materials?
The Internet has made this world smaller and easily accessible to anything and everything. If you are familiar with using the internet and know your complete address, then shopping will be in your fingertip. You can order the required gardening materials online. There are many websites or online shopping forums where you can purchase the required materials.
What plants can be grown in a home garden
Image source
You can grow the vegetables and greens which we come across in our day to day life. Some may require a lot of shade and some may require sunlight. Depending upon the nature of the soil you have to select the appropriate type of plants. For instance, if your place has black soil, it will be rich in calcium and potassium. So you can grow Ladies finger, brinjal and fruits like watermelon. You can also use coco peat for growing plants. It is the substitute for soil. It has a potential of holding a lot of water inside. You can buy this coco peat online.
There are some plants which can be grown in all seasons. For instance, Rose and Hibiscus can be grown in all the seasons. But some plants are seasonal. They grow only in a particular season. For instance, Flowering of Jasmine starts during March–April and continues up to June–July. April –May is the peak season.
2. About the germination of plants
Image source
Germination is a stage where a seed turns into a plant. Most of the seeds germinate in the soil. But some of the seeds can be germinated in moisture. The most common example for germination is sprouting. If you soak green peas in water for few hours, it will be sprouted. This has to be sown in the soil for the further growth. Then arises a question how to sow the seed?
3. Seed Germination tips
Image source
1. Poke the soil approximately to 2inch which forms a small hole.
2. Place the seed inside it and close it with soil and sprinkle a little bit of water.
3. Keep sprinkling the water once in 2 days. within few weeks you can see the germination.
4. Maintain constant moisture in the soil / growing medium.
5. You have to avoid direct sunlight till the seeds sprout.
Do not over water. If the leaves turn yellow, it is the indication of over watering. Even if the top layer of soil looks dry, there will be moisture inside. Use watering can to water the plants. You can make your own watering can from used plastic bottles.
Some seeds germinate within a week but some seeds take more time. For instance, Methi seeds take 2-4 days to in while coriander seeds take about 2-3 weeks to germinate.
If you have bought the plants directly and willing to plant it, you have to dig the soil depending on the size of its roots. The roots must completely bury in the soil. You need to water it once in 2 days.
4. Types of pots suggested
If you have got enough ground it is well and good to grow the plants. But if you are living in an apartment and planning to grow plants, it is suggested to select a right type of pots and right size of pots. Terracotta pots are considered to be the best option to grow plants. As they have tiny pores in it, the roots get more air to breathe. It allows air and water to pass through the walls and promotes healthy plants by staving off root rot and disease caused by overwatering. It maintains the moisture level inside it. You can find terracotta pots of different sizes and different designs in shops as well as online stores. In spite of having these advantages, it has its own limitation. It is fragile when compared to other types of pots.
The next best type of pot is garden planters. This may not have the advantages as Terracotta pots. When compared to terracotta pots, the roots cannot grow freely in garden planters. But the pot can be recycled. This won't harm the environment as it doesn't contain any chemicals in it. You can purchase metal planters of different size and different designs such as hanging planters, railing planters, tabletop pots etc.,
You can also have cement pots. But it has its own disadvantage. These pots are heavy and cannot be transported from one place to another easily.
The next type of pot is plastic pot. This may not be a better suggestion but can be an option. The roots cannot grow as freely as in terracotta pots here. Moreover, plastic pots are not eco-friendly. You can also use grow bags for growing plants.
Although every type pots have their own limitations, they all help in maintaining the greenery around you and also beautify your place.
5. Maintaining the plants
When compared to regular crops, these home garden doesn't require much maintenance. You can use the food waste and the plant waste as fertilizer by the process of composting. You can purchase composter bins which help you in preparing the organic compost in your household. Do not use any chemical fertilizer. If you see any pests eating leaves or affecting plants, then you can use neem oil as an organic pesticide. You have to dilute the Neem oil in the ratio of 1:20 in water and spray it on the plants. Do not use any chemical pesticide on it.
Popular Searches: Garden Accessories for Sale, Compost Bin India, Plastic Flower Pots Online, Contemporary Plant Pots, Hanging Pots Online, Colourful Plant Pots, Bird Feeders Online, Rectangular Planters Online, Small Pots Online, Flower Pots Online, Kitchen Waste Compost Bin, Balcony Railing Planter
Mr Sudhakar,
Neem oil is a great pesticide and your observation is right to the point, you can add a spoonful of any mild liquid dishwashing soap to address this issue. And no, it will not harm the plants since the quantity is very less. Alternatively you can try white vinegar in water to spray in the ratio of 1tbsp vinegar in 5 litres of water.
while the article is interesting, i have following observation on use of neem oil as pesticide. I have tried it myself but not much success. I found it difficult to mix neem oil with water in any ratio as it only coagulates (forms mixture of oil droplets dispersed in water) and oil being highly adhesive in nature sticks to sprayer surface and even the leaves becomes very sticky. it is a messy affair. I did not see any improvements as pests continued to attack the plants happily. This must be addressed clearly so that we best advantage from neem oil. otherwise it is useless in my opinion.
Good article