7:16 pm

December 22, 2011

Hi Everyone,
I am a software engineer working in chennai and I am very much interested in gardening.
I am planning to set up a terrace garden in my house.
I would really appreciate people who could help me in buying the basic gardening stuff like veggie seeds, potting mix, compost, coco peat etc..,
I am just interested with vegetable gardening..
So please let me know what is good to grow for chennai climate and where can I get all the required stuff from..
Thanks,
Apoorva
8:47 pm

Welcome, you are in the right place. For seeds I recommend T-nagar, TNAU in AnnaNagar. There are lots of seed shops in T-nagar. You can also try your local nursery but might be costly. For potting soil, manure, the best place is in ECR in between toll and Mayajaal- lots of nursery selling these on the way. For other organic inputs vermicompost, pest control, fertlizers it is better to source directly from the companies selling them. Your biggest expense will be in containers and soil if you follow the DIY route.
6:29 pm

December 22, 2011

camaroon123 said:
Welcome, you are in the right place. For seeds I recommend T-nagar, TNAU in AnnaNagar. There are lots of seed shops in T-nagar. You can also try your local nursery but might be costly. For potting soil, manure, the best place is in ECR in between toll and Mayajaal- lots of nursery selling these on the way. For other organic inputs vermicompost, pest control, fertlizers it is better to source directly from the companies selling them. Your biggest expense will be in containers and soil if you follow the DIY route.
camaroon123 said:
Welcome, you are in the right place. For seeds I recommend T-nagar, TNAU in AnnaNagar. There are lots of seed shops in T-nagar. You can also try your local nursery but might be costly. For potting soil, manure, the best place is in ECR in between toll and Mayajaal- lots of nursery selling these on the way. For other organic inputs vermicompost, pest control, fertlizers it is better to source directly from the companies selling them. Your biggest expense will be in containers and soil if you follow the DIY route.
Hi..
Thanks a lot for your response. I bought the seeds from UHDC (Urban Horticulture Development Corporation), Anna Nagar and Compost from a nursery garden in Kotturpuram. I couldn get peat, perilite from that nursery anyways..
I tried to sow some INDAM naveen variety tomato seeds, Brinjal Seeds and Green pepper seeds in plain compost.
I sowed them almost 2 weeks back. But nothing has turned out. I have sowed them in a tray which is 6 inches deep.
I have placed the tray in my balcony.
Can you please suggest some good techniques of germinating the seeds, since I dont know where I am going wrong.
Or should I have to wait for some more time for the seeds to respond.
Thanks,
Apoorva
12:06 pm

December 22, 2011

Hi,
The Container in 6 inch deep, but i sowed the seeds by just digging a furrow which is 1/4 inch deep.
Anyway, I tried to germinate some tomato and capsicum seeds in paper towels.
Today morning i was surprised to see some tomato seeds sprout with 2 small leaves.
Now the challenge is to transplant them to a container.
Please give me some suggestions on how to transplant them and the medium which is best suited for growing tomatoes.
The capsicum seeds have not yet germinated, how long does it normally take to germinate??
Thanks,
Apoorva
2:18 pm

September 1, 2011

2:53 pm

September 1, 2011

3:05 pm

June 26, 2011

8:45 pm

Farm Manjari or MAC farm have very good stock but costly. Last time I asked vermicompost was about Rs10per kg. I got few bags of potting soil for Rs65. They have "Fancy" cow manure packets which is priced I think about Rs60 per kg
As I mentioned the best place to get cow manure is in ECR where I got them for about Rs60 per cement bag. They were a little amazed that we were ready to buy cow dung for such a price.
In the Porur place, you can get vermicompost for 5Rs per kg when bought in bulk. They also have a "enriched" vermicompost mixed with all bio-fertilizers which is very good for potting soil.
8:55 pm

apoorvas said:
Hi,
The Container in 6 inch deep, but i sowed the seeds by just digging a furrow which is 1/4 inch deep.
Anyway, I tried to germinate some tomato and capsicum seeds in paper towels.
Today morning i was surprised to see some tomato seeds sprout with 2 small leaves.
Now the challenge is to transplant them to a container.
Please give me some suggestions on how to transplant them and the medium which is best suited for growing tomatoes.
The capsicum seeds have not yet germinated, how long does it normally take to germinate??
Thanks,
Apoorva
Sorry, I misunderstood your comment about the depth of sowing. Tomatoes handle transplantation well. I think tomatoes are heavy feeders, but I dont have experience other than normal soil with manure, bio-fertilisers..etc. I recently had a harvest of about 3kgs from 2 plants. If you are planning to use chemical fertilizers then the initial potting composition does not matter much except for water retention capability.
Chillies or capsicum need warm weather to germinate. But otherwise I have a bad experience with both and cannot comment on them.
1:07 pm

December 22, 2011

Thanks for your response.
I am planning to grow tomatoes organically.
I am planning to transplant the seedlings in a mixture of potting soil and compost(equal ratios).
Please let me know if this is the right way to grow the tomatoes and also let me know how to fertilize this as they grow.
Thanks,
Apoorva
10:12 pm

I am not expert in this, but a mixture of red soil, cow manure, vermicompost and bio-fertilizers worked well for me. You can get the "enriched vermicompost" or add the bio-fertiliers yourself. Lookup my other thread on bio-fertilizers. Unlike chemical fertilizers the micro-organisms take time to produce results.
Regular dose of Panchagalvya, cow manure and vermicompost will be sufficient.
12:47 pm

March 1, 2011

camaroon123 said:
Farm Manjari or MAC farm have very good stock but costly. Last time I asked vermicompost was about Rs10per kg. I got few bags of potting soil for Rs65. They have "Fancy" cow manure packets which is priced I think about Rs60 per kg
As I mentioned the best place to get cow manure is in ECR where I got them for about Rs60 per cement bag. They were a little amazed that we were ready to buy cow dung for such a price.
In the Porur place, you can get vermicompost for 5Rs per kg when bought in bulk. They also have a "enriched" vermicompost mixed with all bio-fertilizers which is very good for potting soil.
Could someone tell me where is vermicompost and enriched vermicompost available in Porur. I reside in Valasaravakkam and got a small garden around my apartment with close to 40+ pots.
Can someone also refer me to a good quality seed shop around my locality.
7:56 pm

Get it from here,
http://www.manidharmabiotech.c.....quiry.html
If have sufficient demand for their products, we can present a consolidated demand and procure things relatively cheaper.
2:50 pm

March 1, 2011

1:59 pm

Hi Chennai gardeners,
I have just started vegetable gardening. I had a very poor germination rate for okra.. 1 in 8. I tried twice with 2 different sets of seeds from diff. nurseries. Let me know where I can get quality seeds other than thilokchand seeds in t.nagar. I called up Tnau in annagar but they do not have.
I would also like to know if carrot grows here.
Thanks
3:59 pm

March 7, 2012

Hi – I normally get my seeds from susie seeds from natesan street chennai for Okra – You could try kaivalya,annanagar or the horticulture centre in gemini for namdhari or indam one's. Contrary to others I have always germinated Okra indoors in compost and when they are about 2 weeks old I have transplanted them. I have enjoyed fairly good germination rates this way.
I have carrots in my garden - Since this is my first time growing them I will leave it for experts to guide you - You need to sow them in loose fertile soil - seedlings look like grass when they germinate and it takes about 10 days to germinate.
Good Luck,
Regards,
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