There have been many changes in the lives of people after the Corona period. Along with masks and social distance, people have also become aware of their food and health. In such a situation, the trend of people towards home gardening is also increasing. Whether it is to purify the air of the house with indoor plants or to grow vegetables at home. But if you haven’t grown any vegetables yet and don’t understand which ones are easier to plant, here’s how to get started. So today you know the answer to all these questions, from Madhya Pradesh’s gardening expert Ritu Soni.
He told that if the roof, garden or balcony of your house gets four to five hours of sunlight, then you can easily plant any vegetable. You can start this by using only the things you have at home. He said, “Those who want to do gardening or grow vegetables, first of all, start making compost from your kitchen waste. So that you do not have to bring compost from outside for the growth of plants. Also, compost made at home is great for plant growth.”
On the other hand, if we talk about easy vegetables, then you can easily grow herbs like coriander, mint, fenugreek in small containers too. There are some vegetables whose seeds you do not have to buy from outside like tomato, capsicum, brinjal etc. You can put spinach in leafy vegetables.
If you are gardening for the first time or have just started, then you can start by planting tomatoes, capsicum and spinach. Let’s know what you will need and what things will have to be taken care of:
soil preparation
It is very important to prepare a good soil for planting vegetables in the terrace or balcony. For this, you put compost and soil in a pot, cover it with plastic, and leave it for about a month. Due to this, the soil becomes well heated, and the chances of insect pests or diseases etc. in the plants are also reduced.
In terms of potting mix, a mixture of 50% soil, 25% sand and the rest of the compost (whether you use vermicompost or homemade compost) is ideal for planting vegetables.
seed preparation
Whatever plant you are planting, tomato, capsicum or spinach, it is very important to prepare the seeds before planting them in the soil.
To avoid fungus in the seeds, for this, you plant the seeds by coating them with turmeric water. Ritu says, “If you get cow urine, then you should dip the seeds in turmeric and cow urine for about 24 hours, then dry it in the sun and plant it in the soil. Due to this, the seeds do not get fungus and they also germinate quickly. You can get seeds for tomatoes and capsicum at home, whereas spinach seeds, you can easily get them from any nursery.
how to plant tomato plant
- Both indigenous or hybrid tomatoes available in the market are easily planted. For this, cut the tomato and take out the seeds.
- Prepare it by dipping the seeds in turmeric or cow urine and turmeric water. After drying the seed in the sun for about three hours, plant it in the soil.
- Now put soil in a small plastic box or tray and keep the seeds for germination.
- After about a week, the seeds will begin to germinate. But before planting in a larger pot, let the plant develop three to four leaves.
- As soon as four to five leaves emerge from the seed, you plant it in a big pot. The bigger your pot, the bigger the plant will be.
- Because the tomato plant needs moisture. Therefore, do not let the soil dry out in the pot, keep adding little water every day.
- As the tomato plant grows, keep harvesting its leaves from the underside. So that the leaves do not come in contact with the soil. Also, as the plant grows, tie it to some wood. By doing this the plant will grow upwards, not downwards.
- Tomato plants are also prone to insects. For this, Ritu recommends mixing 250 grams of cow’s milk in one liter of water and spraying it in the evening.
- At the same time, you can use edible lime for the plants to get the right calcium. You dissolve a little lime in a liter of water and put it in a pot once in 15 days.
- To plant a tomato plant, prepare the soil in the month of May itself. Prepare the plant before the rain. By doing this, your plant will be ready to take the rain for a month after.
- Your plant will begin to flower in about two to three months.
how to plant capsicum?
Prepare the seeds by coating the capsicum seeds brought from the market with turmeric water, drying them in the sun. The method of planting potting mix and seed is the same as for tomato plants. But the seasons show that it takes a little longer for any chilli seed to germinate. Therefore, it should be planted by the end of May, so that the plant will grow properly by the rainy season. At the same time, the need of water in its plant is less, so leave it for a day and give water. The leaves start turning yellow in the chilli plant. Which is usually caused by fungus. For this, you should take care of the water and also keep sprinkling the mixture of milk and water in the evening.
how to plant spinach?
For spinach plant, you can bring its seeds from the market. Its seeds are available very cheap. But if you bring seeds from outside, make sure that the seeds are not too old. For this also you can use potting mix containing tomatoes. Also, for green-green leaves, keep adding compost to it from time to time. You can also plant it in a 6 inch pot. Plant the seeds at a distance in the pot, the distance you plant the seeds, the more dense and bigger the spinach leaves will be.
Give it three to four hours of sunlight and keep adding water daily. Since it is a moisture-loving plant, it needs more water. These plants also mature very quickly. Once planted, keep cutting off the top leaves as new leaves emerge. Also, make sure that the leaves do not come in contact with the soil. If the leaves come in contact with the soil, the plants can get fungus.
So what’s the matter, prepare the right potting mix and grow these vegetables easily at home, and use compost and organic pesticides prepared at home. You don’t need to bring anything from outside.
happy gardening
Editing – Archana Dubey
Also read: Doctor couple turned farmer, grow more than 30 vegetables and 10 types of fruits on the terrace
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