India - Edible Garden 31.10.2013

My Edible Garden: Anil Shenoy re-discovering ‘Micro Greens’ to combat pests

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The constant gardener

I’m a traveler on a path to sustainability. Living in the city with a small edible garden puts you in touch with nature. Growing leafy greens and veggies gives you a better idea of how wrong our current food system is. Plants and nature are incredibly resilient. Just by creating the right environment and planting the seeds and occasional monitoring and guiding, you can receive abundant harvests. Make a start today and be the change.

Starting my own kitchen garden

Researching the dangers of GMO pushed me to look at how the food we eat is produced. How far is it transported? After I started growing my own food I began to look at how difficult is to grow organic food without using chemicals and pesticides.  A lot of chemical use is unregulated in agriculture and a lot of those chemicals end up in the vegetables and food that we eat. Poor quality and vegetables without real nutrients are causing a rise in the health issues in modern society.

The more space and good potting mix you use, the better the plant will grow.

The first harvest

Tomatoes have grown well this season with focus on having a few healthy plants. Local varieties of greens include Palak, Chilly, Amaranth, green/purple Malabar spinach and Nella Basale have grown well, too.

Some not so common veggies I have been growing are Kale (the most nutrient dense green leaf), Collard greens,  Bok Choy, various types of Lettuce, Clove bean and Asparagus (Perennial).

Tomatoes

Challenges and lessons

。Not to overcrowd plants in a single pot/grow bag. The more space and good potting mix you use, the better the plant will grow.

。A healthy and strong plant will be more resistant to pests, take in the nutrients better from the potting mix and will produce better fruit.

。Spray organic mixtures sparingly and only if situation is out of control. Taking care of the above two points and you will ensure a good level of protection from aphids and mealy bugs. However, the worst pest I encounter are the spider mites which spread very quickly. If natural predator controls do not work I try to control using a plain water spray and then use a mix of neem oil and soapy solution – 10 ml to 3 liters of water.

Due to severe pest problems while growing radish I came across a new (actually old) concept called Micro Greens (sprouts). You can use veggies like Radish, Kale, etc. and grow them and harvest them before they grow their true leaves.

Kale & Collard greens

Gardening guide for the geeks

After working with pots and soil on the land I found that the hands are the most versatile tool you could use. It is good to use gloves to protect them. Procurement of good quality seeds have been a challenge. There needs to a concentrated effort by nonprofit organizations to promote and save our local varieties of seeds.

Solution: Grow plants from heirloom seeds and you can save the seeds from the fruits/veggies (when you grow and save seeds the plant and fruits will retain the characteristics of the parent plant, unlike hybrid seeds)

A useful tool has been using Excel to keep track of seeding, germination and planting of the various veggies. Have a track of when they were planted will help you to check and track how the veggies are doing compared to the normal growth periods. Especially for crops like radish, onions which grow below the soil it is important to keep track of when they were planted.

Communal gardening

After about a year of growing, I’m now confident to share some of the lessons I have learnt on my Facebook page, Permaculturebacktoroots, and on the Organic Terrace Gardening Facebook group.

I also try to participate in the events organized by the OTG (OrganicTerraceGardening) Group, which has been the biggest motivating factor to grow more.

Worm composting

Recommendations to first time growers

Start small and start now. Research more on soil fertility. Using just soil and compost the plant will grow fast and green but may not fruit well or be susceptible to disease. Treat early disappointments as small learning steps. Learn using Google, and YouTube videos on how to grow each type of plant. Learn about companion planting to provide a diverse habitat for all type of insect life (good or bad). Talk and learn from people who have been growing for a while.

Gardening has helped me live more sustainably because…

It helped me to reduce my footprint on Mother Earth. Rain water harvesting, using kitchen waste to make compost, Reducing food miles by growing my own food and the overall satisfaction of being able to grow healthy good for me any family.