Usually the posts that I write in this blog are about what grows in MY garden and the methodologies I follow while growing the plants. Nothing can become the best testimonial for the methods mentioned here than a success story. So here goes. In this post, I introduce to you, a passionate gardener Ramesh.
Ramesh has been growing lot of vegetables in his terrace garden. His setup being few wooden boxes and whole lot of paint buckets. Okay. I will stop here and let him continue.
I started gardening about year and half back. This duration has given me an excellent learning opportunity. Now, visiting garden early in the morning has become routine in my life. On many instances I have cut short my visit to native.
My garden setup:
I have a greenhouse/shade house of 10ft X 20ft. In which I have two numbers of square feet garden boxes measuring 4ft by 4ft. Couple of 20 liter paint buckets, dustbins with tank nipple fitted and cement/plastic pots.
Growing mix: I use coco pit, Compost (Horse manure + leaf compost) and perlite in 1:1:1 ratio. Initially
I was using vermiculite but I switched over to perlite looking at its water retaining capability. Also one
more observation is vermiculite becomes powder after some time. Cost wise, looking at the usage both
works out same.
Plants : I have tried growing Tomato ( Heirloom varieties and Beefsteak), Bhindi(Okra), Capsicum, Chili (Guntur and Banana early), Brinjal, Radish, Spinach,
Coriander, Cabbage, Beans, sponge guard, bitter guard, beetroot, Sambar cucumber, cluster beans,
kohlrabi, carrot , etc.
Normally I buy seeds from Namdhari, INDAM, Lalbagh, Bio center and whenever I visit some shows at Lalbagh.
Nutrients: This is one thing which is very important. Though I use mix of compost when it comes to NPK, it is not sufficient. I have seen plants growth limiting. I use 19:19:19 on weekly basis and got some micro nutrients which I use it by weekly. Use of 19:19:19 has shown good result.
Pollination: Since the plants are in green house, I do take care of the pollination. I have been planning to write one article on pollinations itself with pictures let me see when it materializes.
Ok, too much of introduction is done; let us walk to my garden
Here is the cherry tomato plant; you can see it is almost touching the roof. My green house is of 8 ft
height.
The small tomato plant next to it is black prince. It is grown very big now and I have harvested couple of Black prince tomato today.
I had four plants and use to yield crazy. Believe me it is one day harvest.
I got these cucumber seeds from one of the organic mela at lalbagh. Till the plant started fruiting I did not know it is sambar cucumber. It was a nice surprise; here were four cucumbers from this plant. You can also see some mint(pudhina) leafs. I just planted one small stick which we got from shop. Today it has covered one full pot and we started sharing it with neighbors very often.
Marigold and Okra. Next to Marigold you can also see Radish. In one marigold plant we had plenty of flowers. Even with this Okra plant we got more than 20 Okra’s. Though I just had two plants also most every alternate day I use to get one or two.
Capsicum and Purple long brinjal plants. Now I have started harvesting form these plants.
Kohlrabi is getting ready; I have about 6 plants coming in two pots and couple of bitter guard I harvested.
Now the most awaited harvest which I had recently. Yes, it is beefsteak tomato. I got these seeds from GG when I visited his place. Sowed the seeds on 31st July and so far harvested about 6 tomatoes. Still I have around ten tomatoes in the plant. Let picture speak the rest….
Each tomato is around 300gms, the weighing machine what you are seeing is 200gm one and it shows full. When I cut the tomatoes for seeds, it had very few seeds. I have put the seeds with plum in a glass and it is under process.
The harvest on a single day!
This is my experience so far. Hope you all enjoyed it. Happy Gardening – Ramesh(FutureGreen)
Back to GG.
When I was sent these pictures I kept looking at them again and again. Very healthy plants and amazing harvest too. Success stories like these are the main source of inspiration for any gardener. Now I am rushing to sow some Eggplant and Capsicum. How about you?
If you have a success story and want it to be featured here. Do send me the pictures of your garden and a write up about it.
Have fun.
GG
98 Responses
Hi
I am interested in gardening and I have been following your blog for sometime. We are moving to a new house where we are planning to have a terrace garden since we dont have much land around the house. Can you please give me some pointers in how to setup a green house and maintain it?
Regards
Srividya.
You can check out the post written specifically about a green house in this blog.
Hi GG,
I could not find out the write up on Green House on the blog. Could you please help me?
Regards,
totalview
Hi
What a green and healthy garden with its produces !! I need a clarification, do you grow in greenhouse to avoid pests? Will the use of these nets reduce sun light for plants?
Thanks,
Bala.
Hi Bala, could you get a reply to your query about the necessity of green house? I was wondering too…
Very motivating article for non-land owners 🙂
Btw, where do you get the Perlite from? And what is the substitute if Perlite is not available?
Is 19-19-19 not too strong? Anyway, can you suggest any brand or mix which offers you this NPK of 19-19-19? Also which micro-nutrients to you use and where do you get them from? I sourced few some time back but it was too expensive for regular use.
Go green!
Hi GG,
I have been following your blogs and your posts are quite inspiring 🙂 Now, i wanna have my own garden. Where can i get coco-peat, compost in chennai ?
Compost is available in most of the nurseries. Cocopeat.. I am not very sure. You can check with bloompeat.com
Thank You! I will ask around.
Madam Divya
You can get from Tamil Nadu horticulture near anna arch
Hello Ramesh and GG,
It is very interesting, useful and encouraging when I read such live experiences. GG, Your blog has continually kept my hope going since my gardening is very slow progress. I have not started the terrace garden yet. Just waiting for my vermicompost pile to cook fully. I am expecting, in a month’s time I will be able to start. Couple of months back, I collected vermi worms from local soil around the house while digging a trench for compost pile. I added the worms in a kitchen trash bin and layers of dry leaves and everyday kitchen waste and covered it with coconut fiber and cardboard and covered it. Placed in a shaded spot. It has been two months now and all the waste has turned beautifully into black gold. So I have started doing the same on the ground as big scale so it will be ready for the terrace garden in about 45 days. I have added cow dung mixed in water in each layer. Out of exitment, thought I would share this here.
Awaiting the pollinaton tips from Ramesh.
Two questions:
1. Do anyone grow Kalamansi lime tree? Is it available in india (Chennai basically)?
2. Ramesh, How deep is your 4×4 and how much of coco peat did you need for the 4×4?
Thanks again Ramesh for sharing your experiences.
Hi Anandhi,
Good start. I was never interested in composting from kitchen waste, but after reading many posts here, even I am planning to.
The 4X4 SFG is 1 ft in depth. But i suggest 1/2 ft height is sufficient to grow most of the vegetable plants and also it is easy to handle. For 1 ft depth, it took around one full cocopeat bale, around 15Kg compost and 5Kg of Vermiculite.
Happy Gardening.
-FG
Another suggestion I would like to make here is, that vermiculite can be avoided too. Esp the ones we get in bangalore are either too fine and too coarse. It doesn’t really last long. It holds way too much water and might result in water logging. Its expensive too.
Congrats Ramesh on your success with terrace gardening. Its going to give a lot of inspiration for all of us.
GG, you are a true inspiration for many in this area.
I am in IT guy and my life got changed when I got into terrace gardening. I used to be under tremendous stress due to work pressure and never had time for anything. From the time I got into terrace gardening (though didn’t get success yet), things have changed. I look forward every day and evening to look at my small plants and to see their growth inch by inch. A small tomato that starts makes me feel so happy. I suggest gardening as a real stress bursting alternative for all.
Ramesh/GG, Is it possible for me to have a look at your setup and learn some techniques?
Absolutely Sasi, you are welcome anytime to have a look at my garden.
Very nice post Ramesh. I really envy the guys who have so much garden space in Bangalore. I have one teeny weeny balcony and that is full. Where can I get seeds for beefstake tomatoes and how much do they cost?
Good one Ramesh! Congratulations!
Where can I purchase cherry tomato seeds. I would love to have this in my garden with tons of fruits hanging. Infact I had cherry tomatoes in my patio during summer when I was in US, and the yield was huge.
Cheers, STS
Hi STS,
You can buy cherry tomato seeds from Biocentre Hulimavu. I have seen in other places the price of cherry tomato seeds is pretty expensive.
Try if you can get it from Biocentre it is fine, otherwise i have some and can share it with you.
–FG
Thanks Jamey,
I got beefsteak seeds from GG some time back. With the last harvest i saved some seeds. You can send request to GG or send me a mail, we can share the seeds.
Happy Gardening.
-FG
So I was shopping at Spar today and went to the veggie section and saw beefstake tomatoes there and jus for kicks picked one up and put it on the weighing scale and guess what? 230gms 🙂
Hey Jamey,
Please tell me that you bought some of those. If not, just get those and lets try to save some seeds. Would be nice to try sowing them and see how it turns out.. Any one interested?
🙁 No I did not buy. I was already late… meaning when I entered Spar they were closing:) I will go over the weekend and check and see if they are available. I will also take a picture and post it to make sure its the same thing.
Oh ok.. Check it out in the weekend. Did they label it as “Beefsteak”? Check with them where they get it from..
A picture would be just amazing!
Nice Post Ramesh and GG,
Its so nice to see such a flourishing garden. 🙂 You guys sure have a green thumb. I have tried to grow a mint stem from market so many times but have never been successful. Is there any trick to it? Also, is there an organic variant for NPK 19:19:19 fertilizer? I have seen it being stressed a lot in this community. I am trying my hands at organic gardening on my terrance and hence, wanted to know what could be useful.
Thank you.
Sam
Thanks Sam,
Mint is one thing which is must grow in your garden.
Thanks Sam,
I have mint grown in one pot, which is lush green and with good aroma :-). I use cocopeat, compost and perlite in 1:1:1 ratio. picked up one thick stem from the bunch what we got from shop to grow it. It came up well and it is one full pot now. Normally i apply NPK 19:19:19 once in a week and micro nutrients (i use Mangala 3X, which also got NPK in it) once in 15 days. We normally cut the full branch while using, this also helps in thinning the plant and you can see new branch coming. It is very easy to grow and you can try.
All the best.
-FG
Hello Sam,
I will tell you a way to get 100% success with mint cuttings. Buy mint bunch from the shop and when you pick them, choose the ones that have sturdy stems. Use tip cuttings of about 4 inch length. Take a small pot or a seedling tray(if you want more cuttings). Stick cuttings into every cell or pot. Water it and then cover it with a polythene bag.
Next day, All the mint cuttings will look so fresh and will not wilt at all. Keep them covered with the polybag for a week and gradually remove it. The cuttings would have already rooted . In my experiment, the cuttings rooted in just 3 days.
Hope this helps
Hey GG,
Quick update on the mint experiment – I put the mint cuttings and covered it with polythene. I stuck a couple of store bought basil trimmings there as well. There are some nice and green cuttings of both basil and mint in there. Its been about 10 days – should I remove the polythene? I am feeling bit scared and apprehensive to to remove it though. I hope the plants will not gradually wilt and die once I remove it.
Sam
Hi sam,
Thanks for taking the time to experiment. By this time, mint would have root. What you need to do now is harden the cuttings. Remove the polythene just for say 15-30 mins in the morning and then put it back. Slowly increase the time every day till you feel the cuttings are OK. Removing it abruptly will shock the plants and they will droop.
Hi Sam,
There are organic equivalent but may not be with the same analysis(19-19-19). I suggest you use Bone meal( approx 4-12-0) , Manure and wood ash( potassium).
I have a stock of Bone meal, Hoof+Horn meal (12.5-2-0) for sale.
GG
Thanks GG,
I am definitely going to try your Polythene bag trick with the mint cuttings (with this week’s groceries ;-)). Do I keep the polythene covered tray in sunlight or not?
Also, how much does bone meal that you have costs? I am near cantonement area – do you know of any place that sells these things near by? Can I get it in Lalbaugh?
Thanks much again,
Sam
Hi Sam,
The one I have is for INR 30/kg. You might be able to get it in some shops in NewTharagupet. Lalbagh doesn’t stock this.
Thanks GG. Do you know of any specific shops (shop names) in NewTharagupet?
Hey GG,
I would like to buy some of the bone mean from you. What’s the best way? I work near ShivajiNagar area.
Thanks much,
Sam
Thanks for sharing this story; inspires me to continue my experiments in our terrace garden!
Regards,
Asha (rake-and-spade)
Hi GG & others,
I live in Mumbai and would love to grow vegetables in my balcony. I have not had the satisfaction of being able to grow from seeds yet. All the seed packets I have purchased at HomeTown never germinated. Even those that did open, did not make any true leaves. Just died.(There are no nurseries here, just roadside vendors of crotons and roses) I found a grown tomato plant at an exhibition and bought it. Had just 3 small tomatoes on it but that is also not growing in the new pot. Plants get plenty of sunshine and I also apply the Green gold fertiliser every week. (pack does not give any content information. The only plants that are doing well are money plant, roses and chillies. I dont know why I am not able to grow brinjal, tomatoes etc. Please suggest some remedies.
Brinjal and tomato plant need big container to grow well and also need plenty of sunlight. If the plants are stunted then something is wrong with the fertilizer you are using. Either it is too strong or too weak. How big is the pot? How many housr of sunlight they are getting?
Hi Ramesh, The square feet garden boxes, did you purchase them or assemble it yourself. Where did you purchase from and how much was the cost.
I have been to providers who sell this along with their media at Rs. 250 a sq feet. I did not like the overall quality of the box and thought I could assemble this myself if I get to know the source of material used for building the boxes.
Cheers, STS
HI STS,
This i made it on my own. I got pine wood form timber depot near Mysore road. But this was about 1.5 yrs back. You can buy wood in lot from them and get it cut the way you want. If you are planning, make sure that thickness is around 1inch and height is around 6 to 8 inch. Otherwise you will end up filling lot of media and difficult to move it around.
Other materials like clamp, screws, paint etc you can source it from local hardware shop.
There are some negative point about this:
1. Too much weight, and difficult to move.
2. Difficult to control pest. If one plant gets infected, easily it spreads to other plants in the box.
3. I had strange problem, Initially when i kept the box on open terrace, some stray cats through i have built good toilet for them 🙂 this is the reason i have to start thinking of greenhouse.
4. Since we use cocopeat and compost. It is difficult to stack the plants in this box.
I hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any more query.
-FG
Ramesh,
This is excellent info. The paint on the wood and the way blue sheet is fixed made me feel that you must have done it yourself. Its different from what I have noticed in the local market.
Any particular type/quality of pine wood to look for? How about the blue plastic sheet – type, quality, grade etc? This has to be good enough to withstand direct sunlight. How about water drain from the box? Do you make holes or use take out lead at the bottom?
I had ideas of purchasing or making one which is 2×2 in size. Purchasing did not sound cost effective and I did not find much info on how to make it with materials sourced locally, so I went for plastic trays. Which has worked out well so far. With your help, I plan to make couple of 2×2 or 3×3 boxes soon.
Your point on stray cat is very valid, I experienced that recently with the bigger tray I have in my garden.
Cheers, STS
STS,
I selected a log at timber depot, which was pretty old and got it cut as per my requirement.
If you keep the box in direct sun light, the blue sheet will last for about 1.5 to 2 yrs. I had one box outside the green house and the sheet requires replacement now.
I had made drainage holes on the bottom sheet. But i suggest you can make on slide about 1inch above.
-FG
Hi Ramesh and GG,
Thanks for your suggestions. I will try with 1/2 feet depth and very little vermiculite first, since I am planning to grow some greens only in that box.
As STS, I have the same questions in my mind about the drainage and the plastic sheeting requirements.
Also I am thinking of building a new wooden box with wheels at the bottom for easy handling. Any thoughts on this?
Happy Gardening,
Anandhi
Anandhi,
I suggest to keep the thickness of 3/4 inch and 6 inch height. With this weight will not be much. Regarding the drainage and blue sheet i have given info in STS’s reply.
Let me know in case of any further info required.
Happy Gardening.
-FG
Hi FG,
Thanks for the reply. Regarding plastic sheeting, I wanted to know:
1. Where do you purchase it?
2. What is it called?
3. How much does it cost?
4. One more Q, does the planter box have a wooden base and the plastic is laid on top of that?
Since we have clay tile roof it is important that it is protected from fungal growth due to regular watering.
Thanks
Anandhi
Hi Anandhi,
This is available at JC Road in Bangalore, it costed me about 600/- for one sheet of 10ft by 20ft.
I used 6mm waterproof plywood at bottom. Still this plastic sheet is necessary to protect the wood and plywood.
you can put one or two takeout lead or tank nipple and drain it through pipe.
-FG
It is wonderful and inspiring for sure.
I just attended a terece garden training on sturday and just started my garden today, planted few vegitable seeds.
My question is each one talks about different growing media, i am so confused which one to use. I have used 3: 1 cocopeat and compost ( laef compost i bought from lal bagh)combination for rideg gaurd and snake gaurd.
I want to try one more mix and grow the same to see if there is any difference i will try what you have used.( 1:1:1) right? cocpeat, horse menure and leaf menure? But is it the same combination even if not in green house? also when should i start using 19:19:19?
thanks
nalini
Hi GG, I m very impressed with your terrace garden. I m also having Vegetable growing on terrace and some poultry in coop on terrace…
Constructing a Greenhouse on my Terrace.
Hi GG,
I am in the process of constructing a greenhouse on my terrace. The area to be covered is 12 X 22 ft. I would like to draw from your experience as what precautions should be taken to cover it. I have asked the fabricator to construct it with 10 ft. height. Further, it will be on mild steel pillers. I expect a detailed write up from you in this regards. Thanks a lot in advance for your valuable suggestions.
hi totalview, Request you to pls post this in the discussion forum.
Cheers, STS
Hi:
Thanks for your post, it has been very informative and has inspired me to get my terrace garden more organised and fruitful. I was just wondering why exactly are you using green house and not direct sunlight.. will this sunlight through the shade be enough for vegetables to grow.
Thanks
Thanks Seema. I use shade net only for protection from Wind. Also, at times, sun’s heat can be quite harsh during the summer.
Hi
I am new to gardening.I basically ave somewhere around 10 to 15 pots in my terrace.I am planning to grow vegetables in pots.Where can i get good seeds(tomatoes,brinjal,beans)?
are they available in lalbagh?If yes where in lalbagh(east gate,west gate)or nearby location.
I wanted to know if we can grow tondekayi and cucumber from seeds we get from the fruits?
You might get them in Lalbagh. Check it out.
geek
you have said in the above post that you have planted one stick of mint and it covered whole.can you tell me how you don or else please post a guide on this.
We have inserted some sticks and they have been grown very small leafs and then they are not growing now at all.
Can you guide me step by step methods how to use them also how to water them
Mint is done the same way Coleus propagation is done . THere is a post written on coleus. Stick the cuttings and cover it with polybag.
Hi GG,
Its so nice to see the tomato plants with ripe and healthy fruit. Mine are just not fine except for one which has now borne fruit.The leaves are curling up and no signs of flowers or fruit. What do u suggest I do?
Pratima
Leaves curling up is deficiency of potassium . Use a fertilizer high in potassium.
Thanks Ramesh for the information. I have 20X20 place where i am planning for gardening on the roof and have attended on training too… I want to know more on fertilizer and also which is the place to buy organic seeds. Regarding fertilizer, i am not getting the terminologies used. So, please help where to get and what to ask to start with roof gardening
Hi GG & Ramesh:
Hats off to you guys – to GG for the wonderful initiative and Ramesh for what you’ve pulled off! Amazing – you guys!
Now my peeve – i saw Ramesh reeling off stuff like Perlite / Vermiculite etc., – do we really get this stuff in India. I was/am as passionate abt gardening as you guys, but these very things put me off – where on earth (more specifically in India) do you get these. I am from Hyd and i think in terms of the material available, we Hydies are primitive (still) We dont even get Coco peat!
Please help me take my passion to the next level – could you give me the co-ordinates of guys who can supply all over India – PUHLEEZ!!!!
Thanks again, guys for re-igniting the passion!!!
Peace, love & Go-Green!
Ajay
Hi Ajay,
Thanks for the nice words and sorry for the delay.
To be very honest, you don’t need any of those things to start a garden. Just red soil and manure is good enough to start a garden.
Thanks
GG
Hi anyone from chennai has done roof gardening.
Hi GG, first let me thank you for the initiative , i am living in chennai and i would like to know if you still have brinjal and tomato seeds , if yes i can ask my friends living in blore to pick it from you , pls provide your contact details.
thanks and regards
suresh.
Hi Suresh,
I do have brinjal and tomato seeds. Send me a PM to admin@geekgardener.in with your phone and address. I will ship it or you can have your friends pick it up from me.
GG
Hi Ramesh and GG,
I’m new to gardening and this blog. Its nice to see the terrace gardening its very beautiful and inspiring. I have a question placing such huge containers on terrace i mean it weighs heavy does that cause damage to terrace.
From long time i’ve this question in my mind.
thanks,
Kishore
I want to make a terrace garden. Can you guide me?Do you know someone in Gurgaon who does terrace farming?
Hi GG & Ramesh,
It is wonderfully inspiring!!I have been trying my hand at terrace gardening but have’nt been too successful.I am a resident of Delhi,the extreme weather is hard to manage.Also I have had trouble with bugs.I am trying to keep it totally organic,but just compost is not sufficient.I would like to know if NPK 19:19:19 a chemical manure? If yes,Is there a organic equivalent of this?Can you suggest the right proportion to use along with cocopeat & compost.
Thanks
hello, you have a lovely site, very informative and interesting! i’ve only just picked up some onion, coriander, spinach and chilli seeds from lalbagh and am going to get started with my balcony kitchen garden.
have you considered having an archive list somewhere on your blog so readers can look at past entries easily. that would be very helpful.
HELLO GG & RAMESH: IT WAS NICE COMING THROUGH YOUR ARTICLE ON SUCCESS STORY OF TERRACE GARDEN. CONGRATS. INTRODUCING MYSELF AS 77 YEARS YOUNGSTER HAVING INVOLVED IN TERRACE GARDENING ONLY A FEW MONTHS BACK. I HAVE 100 POTS OF FLOWERS & VEGETABLES. IS IT NECESSARY TO HAVE A GREEN HOUSE. MY CREEPER PLANTS LIKE KARELA, GOURDS ETC DO NOT COME HEALTHY AND PRACTICALLY THERE IS NO YIELD. HOWEVER I GET GOOD PUDHINA, CORIANDER AND METHI. I TRIED LADY’S FINGER AND CLUSTER BEANS AND WERE NOT COMING UP HEALTHY. COULD YOU GIVE ME SOME GUIDANCE ETC. THANKS AND WITH BEST WISHES — RKRAJAGOPALAN
Hi GG,
Got back after a long time.:-) found the pictures in Google+ very good.
BTW I was surprised that Garden enthusiasts in Hyderabad are not getting Coco peat. So much is available in various places like Basheer bagh(hyderguda), Secunderabad and good stuff in Chilkur area too. Most of the stuff is available here. Visiting Public Garden on Sundays also might help. There is a horticultural society which tires to help as much as they can.’
Thanks.
Hi GK ,
I am very much impressed with your success story on terrace garden, and method of sharing practical knowledge on growing vegitables on terrace.
I was growing only seasonal flowers in the pots on terrace till last year. Besides flowers, few plants of cherry tomatoes were also grown and we harvested about 2 Kgs. of tomatoes with in a period of one month. This crop inspired me to grow more vegitables on my terrace.
I have sowed the seeds of Chilli,Tomato,radish, bell pepper.broccoli. Four radish have grown and used. I am waiting for cherry tomatoes to ripen.
thanks
B.K.Saxena, Lucknow
Dear GG,
You are amazing. Iam very interested in starting a kitchen garden.Would you help me by selling the vegetable seeds,cocopeat,manure etc.
I live in Kamanahalli. Pls give me your phone and directions to your home.
Thank you,
Ruby
Hi,
As I have not have the experience on Terrace Gardening, But I am insisting by the above discussion of you people,. I have only one question from long time, to ask some have good experience on Terrace gardening, My question is, Every one knows about the Chennai Climate how hot,it is.
so If I grow any Garden, by keep in pot, It’s not at all getting grow instead, It’s getting burn by this hot climate, So Please let know how to avoid/ prevent our garden from the hot climate?
Please give me some tips to make start my terrace gardening,
One thing I want to mention here, is I got very good Idea from this discussion forum that insisted me to make my terrace gardening.
Hi GG & Ramesh,
Kudos to you guys. You are ‘The Green People’. I am a beginner in Gardening, just about some months old. I have a huge terrace and doing container gardening in Pune. I have planted about 10-15 varieties of Roses & Hibiscus each, lots of Jasmine varitities, tuberoses, lilies etc and they all are doing very well. However, I have just started growing veggies recently. Planted few tomoatoes, bottlegourd, chillies,mint,curry leaves,okra and brinjal. It has been almost 2 -3 months now. The tomatoes have started flowering but the flowers are drying up. Same is the case with brinjal. The bottlegourd though is flourishing, I am able to view only the male flowers yet. Please suggest some remedy to the withering issue. Also, how long does it take for a normal brinjal & tomato plant to bear fruits.
Hi,
Flowers drying up can be due to lack of proper nutrition in the soil or due to lack of pollination(very unlikely in case of tomato and brinjal, but possible). Female flowers in gourds will show up. give it some time.
gg
Thanks a lot GG. I will need your guidance in my kitchen garden going forward. I have viewed almost all your posts in the last couple of days. Everything is so inspiring and exciting too. My aim is to grow veggies to such extent that I do not have the need to buy them from the market and educate my little daughter in the process and make her eat veggies :). Thanks again…
Hello,
its been a pleasure reading thru your blogs. I have recently acquired interest in this field and have since then been reading and trying to learn.
you have mentioned about pollination being a problem in a Shadenet garden or green house.
How can this be solved. Please explain.
Thanks in advance
Hi Guys
I live in chennai and a beginner for roof garden. Can you guys give me your opinion about how successful roof gardening can be?
Hi GG,
Whats your name and contact address. I want to see you when i come to Bengaluru
pls. add me in your list.
regs,
SAYED
hi GG
ur posts n pics r very encouraging, i have a small garden which i maintain myself but hv not had much success with veg. also i see most of the post r from people of b’lore, which has a friendly climate for plants . i stay in delhi which is very harsh for them , kindly start something where delhi gardeners post their info n queries it will be very nice n helpful,
thanx
sk
you can register yourself in the forums. there are lot of people from the capital. i am sure you will have fun!
Hai geekgardener. I live in chennai and i have set up a small roof garden with about 20 pots, plastic containers etc. Now i have a few large plastic bins with me and i plan to grow low hanging/bearing fruit trees like Guava, sapota and also banana varieties(the one used as a vegetable -eg mondhan variety in tamil). kindly help as to where to get the saplings or seeds for them at reasonable cost. Thanks a million.
hi GG. I am in chennai. I have roof garden. I read most of your articles and posts. following your guidance. Tomato, brinjal, chili, beans, greens etc. Not yet harvested except some greens. waiting. But I am using only panchagavya and neem oil
Hi,
Can you let me know where you purchased square foot garden boxes?
Thanks,
Jagan
Hi, This is great blog. I recently came to know about your blog.
I have a small terrace garden measuring around 50 sqft. I am growing brinjal, Tomato, Beans and some leafy vegetables. Tomato and Beans are recently planted. I can see that growth is not at expected levels. I recently put a bit of micro nutrients. Can you suggest me some good nutrients? you have mentioned about 19:19:19. What’s this and at what frequency this needs to be used. Is there a brand name for 19:19:19?
Thanks
Shashi
its great.
Hi
I want to know, whether you are into micro farming full time or part time. You have not mentioned how much of your time in invested into this hobby? I have got a site 40X60 which I want to dedicate for micro farming, do you advice for green house to keep out all kind of intruders? and what about sunlight?
Thanks
Ravi Narayan
Hi,
I am very impressed by this Blog. I live in Gurgaon,Haryana and have a small front and rear garden and a sunny terrace. The rear garden is partially shaded but have successfully grown Sem(Broad Beans), Kundru( tendli),lemons,Karela and curry leaves.It helps that I have a trellis. I also had a few snake gourds this year. My Grape vine has not borne fruit as yet. In the front I have a Guava tree, lots of Narangi ( China orange) and a lemon tree which ripens to an orange colour, but is very sour and can be peeled. It smells like a Malta orange. I have bottled many a Narangi sharbat bottles as they are heavy croppers.The rest of the ground and pots is dedicated to seasonal flowers in winters. On the terrace I have successfully grown Turai,Brinjals,Tomatoes ( various kinds) ,various kinds of beans,green chillies,Mint,Coriander,Dill,Aragula ,Spinach,Methi . I have had limited success with Broccoli,Capsicum and Lauki. I like to experiment with new varieties ,but also like to save the seeds.I compost all Kitchen waste ,grass clippings and Tree leaves. I agree with Mr. Kapoor above that Delhi has a harsh climate and frequent watering is required in summers.
hi,
I have been following your blog quite sometime and have a small kitchen garden of my own now. Just some greens. I had previously tried my hand at tomatoes etc but it didnt come out well. Is there someone whom I can contact, who will visit my home and handhold a bit? I am ready to pay for the consultancy.
Thank you
I am living in pune. from where I am growing pumpkin seed from pumpkin. I used homemade compost for sowing seed . how can it grow nicely. what should I have to mix in soil to grow faster & healthy
Hi
I am new to gardening in my terrace.I am planning to grow vegetables in pots.Where can i get the trays,accessories and good seeds(tomatoes,brinjal,beans,etc)?
are they available in Chennai(or) Coimbatore nearby location.
Nice site.Is it still active? anyone into Sq.Ft.terrace gardening in Pune? Will alu.trough(4’X4′)work?
Appreciate inputs.Tnx.
fine I want do terrace vegetable garden for my family organically
Sir,
I am having a small veg fruits and flower garden in my terrace. I get greens, ladys finger, brinjal, bitter gourd, white pumpkin, musk melon, snake gourd, cluster beans from my garden. I have lemon plants in container which is three years old but not flowering and guava and papaya plants which are one year old. Kindly let me know whether they will bear fruit or otherwise it is waste of time growing them. After a long time my pomogranate plant incontainer has borne a fruit.
What is the size of the container? The fruiting depends on nutrition there plant is getting.
Can you suggest me some good nutrients? you have mentioned about 19:19:19. What’s this and at what frequency this needs to be used. Is there a brand name for 19:19:19?
N =19
P= 19
K= 19
Could you please explain about unit of measurement.
19 grams each per plant(directly application)
or
19 gram/liter of water
Thanks
Leo
Hi, I am doing roof garden for the past 2 years with coco peath, red soil, dry cow dung manure and vermicompost. The items tried by me are Okra, tomato, bringal, chillies and greens. The initial growth is good in the first one month but the yield is very low inspite of applying cow dung powder & panchagavyam alternate week. Pl suggest what is the best fertilizer for such veg items and frequency. Thanks in advance.
Sundar, Chennai.
Yield coming down is due to the following reasons.
1. Low nutrition in the soil.
2. Repeated croping of the same type in the same place.
Please apply a compost and let it be for a month. Dont plant anything. You can also add some oil cakes. This will take some time to decompose. It will rejuvenate the soil. Add earth worms. Adding panchagavya is good. But it mainly provides microbes. For the microbes to wokr they need ffood.
Alternatively you can also add, fertilizers like 19-19-19 to give the plants a boost. Its your choice.
Hi Sir,
I have already bought 20 kg of vermiculite by seeing California gardnening. Shall we add Perlite also along with Coco Peat, Compost, Vermiculite. 1:1:1:1
Kindly advise.
Regards
Geetha S
Vermiculite is not really necessary. Cocopeat holds enough water and vermiculite also holds lot of water. In my experience, you can use cocopeat and compost. If you have already purchased you can use may be 10-20% of the total mix.