the story of my experiments with seeds

how we made a mud and straw brick stand for our kitchen sink

2011-08-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

so we decided to make our outdoor kitchen sink standing, with more comfort and ease of access being the buzz word. ram, whose anju's brother in law, decided to help one sunday morning, and the process was under way. we thanked teh rain goddess for giving us a day's respite, and the sun goddess for the warmth she brought.

in the beginning, we started with clayey soil, which incidentally we had an abundance of, owing to the huge amounts that had to be dug out for our pond. i felt anxious thinking how and where would we arrange the dried straw from, straw being teh binding force, as when it dries up, it keeps the structure together. ram came to the rescue, very nonchalantly observing, the mulch lying everywhere is what will be used, and then it struck me, ofcourse, when teh grass shavings dry up, they resemble straw like consistency and texture. ok, so the straw and clayey soil we had in abundance, but what about the bricks.

when we began 'parshada', we were and are continually inspired to work with local resources, which most times mean, we collect the dry leaves from roadside parks, or when people prune their ashoka's, to form a neat hedge like structure on theie house peripheries, we are right outside, with a cart or pik 1, our resident 'all in one' vehicle, to pick this valuable bio-mass. recently, a neighbourhood house, which has a 1 1/2 kanal empty land in it's boundary, started using the area for farming. when the next door neighbour, sweety, asked them what they intend on doing with the piles of grass they had stocked up, the would be farmers replied, we are going to make compost, inspired by that farm down the road.
it feels so inspiring and hopefull to hear these accounts, of people's lives being touched with what we practice here.

just as we thought the day could not be turn out any better, with ram offerring his gift of making the choolha stand for the sink, chotu and ram kumar pedal in, with a whole rickshaw of ashoka leaves and
branches, which they had collected especially for us. with sweety, our neighbour from down the road, walking in yesterday and offerring a gift of some bamboo fencing alongwith her own garden's leaves and grass shavings, the number of houses that we recieve mulch from is now eight. this is really a huge support, and shammi has been a support in getting this started. somehow, when i had asked the maali's last year for their garden waste, they hadn't really started giving us the mulch on a regular basis, but now with regular requests, and upon witnessing the effects of their mulch, the maali's drop in everyday with their garden shavings and leaves.

so once the dried up grass shavings or straw, have been added to the clayey soil, a lot of kneading of this dough, will result in a binding substance which is called 'ghaani' in punjabi. when kuldip, from next door walked in and saw me dancing on the mud trying to knead it, she says, 'manu, you are making a kahani, now what do they call this in english?' in all my excitement, i responded, 'a story', she said , 'yes!'.

later on i realized she meant to announce the punjabi word for the mud itself 'ghaani', and i thought she meant to describe teh whole process of making the sink in this way.

so in our time honoured tradition of working with local resources, we decided to use teh bricks that our neighbour had gifted us, though our original intention was to make a roof top garden with them , we felt they would be more useful in the standing kitchen sink structure. so in teh beginning ram simply put all teh bricks togetehr without teh 'ghaani', to have an estimate on how much area would the sink cover.

we decided to put a stone slab (again a local resource, as these stone slabs have been leftover from the building construction) on teh soil, to serve as a platform. this was an important step as the rains and water in teh soil would make teh structure unstable, so a concrete or stone or even a brick platform is important as a base.

in between every layer of bricks, some of teh ghaani is added, to help in teh binding. each time a new layer of bricks is added, the position of teh bricks is changed, so that no two layers have bricks in teh same position. this helps in making teh structure stable.

we ran out of our binding supplies, so more ghaani had to be made. to not use cement, inspite of having four sacks of cement(left over from teh construction) was a conscious decision. we really wanted to work with building materials which can be easily put back in teh soil, when no longer needed. also if we use cement, the whole texture changes, one no longer touches it and feels the sense of touch, as the feeling that accompanies working with mud. however, a mud structure has a lot of maintenance that comes with it. since it's not 'permamnenet' like the cement structures, it needs constant 'care' and looking after, to and froing of covering the structure with a plastic sheet to protect from the monsoon rains, the relationship that folllows is owing to it's very 'temporary' nature, that one is drawn to care for it's life-ness.

this is what a half way process of making the ghaani looks like, the grass hasn't fully mixed in with the soil. every few minutes, one has to push the mud back into a heap and begin teh kneading with feet process all over again.

this is a ready mixture, in it's present form, waiting to be applied between layers of brick , where it will find it's new life form, as it dries up, and one day this form too will change as it cracks up, with time.

chotu and ram kumar were soon back with another full load of ashoka leaf mulch for us. we have now made a dedicated area where all the green mulch is kept for drying or simplly till we find newer homes for it, in between our vegetable beds.

we made four pillar stands for teh sink, this is important as sometimes there are utensils in the sink and it can become heavy, so a stable structure of four pillars is essential.

as chotu cycles out with an empty rickshaw, priyanka, who is teh resident twelve year old photographer, clicks his light hearted melancholic spirit.

the almost finsihed sink, it will be more finsihed when we fix a water tap behind it.

most of these pictures are clicked by priyanka.

pumpkin harvest

2011-08-26T06:09:00.000-07:00

the makka plants have been left in the garden, because we thought the pumpkin might like the extra support, and how it balances itself between two stalks of now dried up makka, is still an awe inspiring sight to behold.

august is here

2011-08-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

in august last year, as the paint was drying up, and the winter planting beginning, i found myself postponing the plan to go travelling, for want of more planting to be completed in september, as well as in a weird way keeping a sense of commitment alive, by choosing to stay with the space i had been working on creating. this was the face of it as i spoke to shammi, who was to be my travelling companion for teh next six months, but in the background, i was burnt out, i had been running out of energy to sustain the farming space single handedly. his words inspired me to stay with the plan to travel, leaving behind the farming, for then, and to go in search of inspiration, in the hope to then come back with a vigour and renewal in energies.
and renewal it has been!
since the last few seasons, i had not been able to keep to the planting calender, either due to teh pull of teh road to tarvel, or another workshop to go for, somehow, planting was done in a hurry, and when i got back to teh garden after a hiatus of six months, i knew i wanted to stay and nurture this secret sacred garden.
secret beacuse, i naively thought no one in my extended joint family (who actually own this space and teh half finsihed house therein) would ever find out, and i could go on with my , as jonathan and anarkali would say, 'wee' farming experiment.
ofcourse, the secret was another way of looking at the aspect of farming on common land, without seeking permission and consent, from the owners. at the time, however, i couldn't hear a 'no', and asking the family meant putting myself open to a refusal, so i didnt go down to ask for that route, because i knew that's not the village i want to go to. the literal translation of a punjabi saying, ' jedey pind naheen jana, usda raah puch key kee karna eh?'

sacred, in every way, the garden has grown in it's power and awe it inspires within, and strangely it's reminiscent of a story i read in childhood where a secret door opens to take this girl into a secret garden, complete with a garden bench and pond.

the pond has arrived, we await a bench and a 'wee' gate now.

Before and After

2011-03-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

now, one and a half year later.....

Visitors at the Farm

2011-03-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

jasdeep and navjeet harvesting lettuce

Winter Greens on Balcony

2011-03-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

Urban Farming Magazine

2010-07-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Last week I received my first four back copies of Urban Agriculture magazine from RUAF, Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Production,in Netherlands and i am busy devouring these. There is so much to learn from innovations worldwide, that such a platform, galvanising this work is beautiful to behold.

Moonstar Kaur Doad visits the home of Meenakshi and Dinesh, a couple who enjoy growing their own vegetables organically on their terrace, and share great tips with us in this video.

2010-07-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/06/25/organic-city-farm-in-chandigarh-india/

2010-07-06T00:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/06/25/organic-city-farm-in-chandigarh-india/

Compost at Home

2010-07-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

So after the many trials and false starts ,from the nerve filled train ride back from Delhi carrying the first Urban Home Composter Daily Dump unit,to working with the peculiarity personified potter to sourcing the compost accelerators,and preparing the lemongrass spray,the perseverance has indeed come to fruition. A stock of 22 composters with 8-10 more in production,bears witness to the adage,"a Ladoo can't be made overnight"!
A ready stock of composters,only the rains have come in as Monsoons,which means i need to now scout around for raincoats..albeit ,I am thinking of alternatives.The good news is that i have talked the local Cafe's,and the staffers into off-loading their day end coffee granules in return of good karma points.These will serve as an accelerator as I haven't been able to procure the mainstream accelerator's as there aren't any local suppliers.With all the work put in during spring ,at dry leaf collection,and the diligent collection of wood shavings from neighbouring saw mills,the coast is clear.Now bowlines can be thrown in, the Daily Dump ship is ready to set sail in Chandigarh.

On a recent Urban farming workshop trip to Delhi ,I visited Manzil (NGO in Khan Market) and was very happy to give an SOS service to their Daily Dump Composter. As IYCN(Indian Youth for Climate Net.) are happily endorsing Daily Dump,Delhi looks like it could become a happy urban compost heaven in the near future.Now,if only we could get such luck in Chandigarh....

the pond arrives

2010-07-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

Monsoons have been eagerly awaited ,to embellish the plant-lings,and to fill the makeshift rain-water harvester,albeit in the guise of a lotus pond.It took some digging,and some weekends of frantic worry and looking up, to check on the monsoon clouds beckoning at the horizon.The timeline was almost nature driven.The heat deterred the diggers,postponing the hard labour work till the weather relented, towards the first week of June.Thundershowers in June facilitated the rock hard soil avail some much needed loosening up.

Digging resumed and next came cement and brickwork, to seal the base of the pond.I struggled with this part for at least a few weeks,if not months.The need to recharge the water table below, is urgent and immediate.So what use is a water reservoir if it doesn't meet this need of the land it is dug out of,in the womb of whom it will lie,the same womb it will wound ,with cement and such.

Looking hard and long for an alternative,I came across the clay mud wall practice,which entails building a two feet thick wall of clayey soil around the pond.To add to the complexities of such a practice, is the requirement of building slanting walls,giving a rectangular shape to the pond.From the pond's upper surface area,these slanting walls will have to reduce in depth in order to safeguard the reservoir and to prevent the surrounding mud walls from caving in and sealing the pond.

I discussed this water recharging pond concept with a few contractors,but in vain.Since I myself hadn't been able to unearth such a pond in the vicinity of Chandigarh,the pond Contractors cited this as the reason for their inability to build such a technically novel water harvesting feature.Indians are great at making copies,and this was a close testament to that innate ability,we possess.The contractors refusing on the grounds of an absence of the prototype,hence rendering the production of a 'copy' impossible,is quite humorous if it weren't unfortunate.So the circumstance for my water recharging aspirations evolved to contain rain water from this year's monsoon, as the only source for filling up the now cemented reservoir.The six feet depth was layered with two feet soil and five types of water plants were planted.

Water Lettuce,Lotus,Lily,Water Hyacinth and Bullrushes(also known as Reedmace/Cattails),earnestly borrowed from friends' ponds,became the beginnings of the home for the new inhabitants called Gombusia,a fast and furious fish.The manager at a Fish Seed Farm behind Sukhna Lake,in Chandigarh,readily offered these mosquito feeding fish,albeit only after I conceded to the existence of a twin sister fond of flashing a camera at anyone claiming public property and it's benefits thereof,to be an exclusive prerogative of a select few VIPS.The manager had made a point of highlighting this status quo on my last visit ,upon which I had raised much eyebrow and huffed and puffed my way out.The considerable time lapse since the previous visit,and my current admirable mellowness filled demeanour,served as the silent conspirators in the twin theory.So much that a friend who had come along to help carry the fish to their new home,waited till the manager was out of earshot before asking,"Why haven't you introduced me to this sister of yours? Is she cute?" I chuckled my way to the bank,oops ,i mean ,pond.

The wise Manager cautioned against adding any slow and meditative fish like Goldfish to this fledgling marine eco system lest i wanted to be purvey to a fish-picking anecdote. Gombusia,apparently thrive best amongst equally fast and furious fellow fish like Gappi. Almost on cue,as if coming a full circle in my virgin pond attempts,it was at the same Fish Farm that I came face to face with my genesis.A water reservoir with slanting though cemented,side walls and a mud base,facilitating groundwater table recharge.They say life gives you a second chance,seldom,though.I eagerly await mine.

Mango Kulfi

2010-05-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Serves 24

Mangoes : 3 medium sized
Milk : 2 1/2 kgs
Sugar : 200 gms
Cardamom/Elaichi : to taste
Cornflour : 2 teaspoons

Cook and reduce the milk to about 1 1/2 kgs,adding cardamom if desired.Let the milk cool down and add some cornflour mixture with 4 tablespoons cold milk.Add sugar to the milk and allow it to cool down before adding the pureed mango pulp (in a blender) and mixing them together.

Fill in containers and seal the lids with some wheat (atta) dough and oil to prevent frost-bitten ice-cream.

After an hours interval remove the mixture and blend it once again before leaving the ice-cream to set and pray to the electricity goddess to bless you with a few hours of electricity.

Pumpkin Blossoms Pizza

2010-05-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

In my continuous attempts to harvest everything edible from the farm,i chanced upon this great blog by Alexandra,and decided to experiment and here is my adopted Pumpkin Flower pizza recipe.The flowers are of the indigenous variety of squash "Black Forest",the seeds were from Annadana Soil and Seed Savers network.

Serves (10 medium sized pizzas : 30 people)
Pizza
5 cups organic flour
2 1/2 cups organic wheat flour
4 teaspoons fresh yeast
5-6 cups water
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons olive oil(any other will do too)

Mix the yeast,sugar and water,and leave overnight.Knead the dough ,adding everything.Make 10 palm sized balls and coat with enough oil and leave in a warm place covered with a wet muslin cloth,to allow them to expand in size.Check after two hours,and can use if they have increased or leave for some more time if they need to expand more.Adjust yeast accordingly for next time.

Topping
Pumpkin/Zucchini/Bottlegourd Flowers : 40 (ones without a fruit germinating below them)
Mozarella : 500 gms (50 gms/pizza)
Shallots/v.small Onions : 50-60
oregano or other available herbs
basil or tulsi leaves (as desired)
tomatoes : 20-30 (or tomato puree)
Ghee : 10 tablespoons

After washing the flowers (i found some ants and kind in there,busy feeding on the juices),stuff them with a mixture of grated mozarella and seasoning.Prepare the tomato sauce for base by pureeing skinless-tomatoes in a mixer and cooking slightly with seasoning.Let it cool for a while and then add the shallots,which have been separately sauted/stir fried.Prepare the pizza base with stretching the dough ball with both hands and circulating the hands continuously in a clockwise direction,akin to the wheels of a cycle.The pizza base can be coated with a spoon of ghee,then tomato shallot base goes on top,then 4 flowers and sprinkle mozarella,and herbs.Final topping of the tulsi/basil/mint leaves.Preheated oven at 165 degrees ,and leave the pizza for 10 minutes.Voila!

Kakri

2010-05-15T00:10:00.000-07:00

Recycle~Reuse~rePlant

2010-05-14T23:19:00.000-07:00

Any old cement or vegetable sack can be reused as a zero cost and low weight planter for your terrace.

Sugar-Cane bagasse can be reused as the first layer in the planter,which serves as a good drainage system as well,coconut husks can be used too.

Chilli (Mirchi)

2010-05-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

compost experiments

2010-05-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

first there are the kitchen peels..

then grand entry made by fungus...
meanwhile the breakdown of material heats up the compost ..

then there is bacteria arrival,

heat slowly comes down to normalised levels,

maggots come with infested mango leaves,

ammonia comes with more than 40% water,

The sack i decided to start with was filled only 1/3rd,so there was far too much air ,and it impeded the process as the material is getting dry far too early.I will have to fill another sack up to the mouth and put a wet sack atop it,to create damp and shade conditions.

Also,i didn't keep the ratio exact,half dry (Dry leaves and vegetable peels) and half wet,Gobar/cow dung.
So after 9 days of composting in both a terracotta pots and a sack,i will transfer both these contents into a new more breathable sack,with exact ratios.

it is important to keep adding cow dung manure to the compost.

Vegetable Marrow - Chappan Kaddu- Pumpkin

2010-05-08T23:13:00.000-07:00

Some three year old organic seeds from Annadana ,Botanical Gardens,Auroville showed the spunk that we know as life,by germinating against the huge stack of odds.

The double digging bed experiment has 6 plants,which were transplanted here due to lack of space in the original Pumpkin (chappan kaddu) bed.The seeds being 2 years old from Auroville's Annadana project,surprisingly sprouted very well,and caught us by surprise as after waiting a few weeks,we planted tomatoes in that bed.The result ,a jamming session with tomatoes and kaddus.

The plant was originally put up a trellis of bamboo ,almost 10 feet high.This mulching experiment followed a series of rotten fruits,when they reached a 1 inch thickness.

The mulching experiment came out of advice from a dear farmer friend,who pointed out the summer loo as being to harsh for the tender fruits to survive it,besides he added,they needed the ground to make further roots as they creep along,for food and water.So we put dead leaves on the bed and brought down the creeper stem .We also added 5 litres of Amrit jal mixture to the bed,as the soil lacked fertility and health.(this is a construction site,and this is a guerrilla city farm)

Mulching works,it allows the right temperature for the fruit to grow in the initial stages.

Fruits of labour,the pumpkin has a sweet mustard taste,remnants of the mustard oil cake we gave them.

Mustard oil cake

2010-04-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

There is a deep mustard aroma throughout the farm this week,owing to a mustard oil cake tea that we served all the plants.A farmer friend suggested this for soil nourishment as well as a good taste addition in all vegetables.

Home Vegetable Gardening in the news

2010-04-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Gardening is in!! Thanks to an organic terrace farmer friend at Pune,Vanaja Vaidyanathan, I came across this news on her blog.

Compost Heap

2010-04-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

We sprouted some seeds(urad dal,chaney ki dal,moon dal,methi) overnight,and sowed them on the compost heap,with plenty of mulching to avoid squirrels and birds from finishing of the seeds.I plan to let them grow till 2 feet before removing the top half for mulching.This process will not only help speed up the compost process,but also provide great mulching source at the same time.

Beans

2010-04-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

Planted 7th April,we got late due to the lack of fertility in the soil,we were busy mulching and preparing amrit jal for it.

Watermelon (source :Bikaner) Tarbooz

2010-04-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Planted these quite late in the season,17th april,and inspite of a dog attack (apparently the smell of gobar they couldn't resist) and uprooting of a few seeds,6 of them germinated within a week,the first true leaves can be seen here.

Brinjal -Baingan -Auberjine

2010-04-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Big round baingan's,planted too close in March due to lack of space.we transplanted 6 plants to the raised beds in front garden.Let's see how they fare in the heat,albeit with the help of ample mulching.

Overall the aubergine/brinjal/baingan are growing well,with minor infestation of white and black flies.i carefully sprayed neem oil spray on the leaf surface,and will repeat in three days time.

The white flies seem to have retreated or found some other mealy food around,am happy.

onion harvest

2010-04-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

so 10 weeks later the first harvest of spring onions,today.I was full of relief as in between around month two,they were showing such a laggard growth and the local villagers who live there,were of the opinion that the onions had died.I waited and a lot of manure(cow dung ) and rounds of Neem khalli (neem cake,after the neem oil is pressed,the residue is still very potent and used by most organic farmers as natural pest repellant ),later,they look sprightly.

Bitter Gourd /Karela

2010-04-25T23:31:00.001-07:00

Ridge or Sponge Gourd/kali tori

2010-04-25T23:28:00.000-07:00

Aloe vera

2010-04-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

Trees galore!

2010-04-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

This is either a Peach/Aahroo or Plum /Aloobukhara tree,and as to the visitors,i ain't got a clue.Have seen a red bug visitor a lot around here though.

Planted by a flying friend,this Mulberry/Shehtoot managed to take root right next to a cemented area,nature rules!!

Molinga Oleifera,Drumstick as it is popularly known,is a great tree to have in any farm/house/patio.
Sehanjana (punjab) has a plethora of uses,ranging from diabetes to joint pains.Starting from the leaves,crushed and dried,they form a good source of vitamin C and are added to sauces and soups.Fresh leaves make a great supplement of spinach."It is commonly said that Moringa leaves contain more Vitamin A than carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more Vitamin C than oranges, and more potassium than bananas . In Bengal it's called Sojne Phul,and the flowers are used in a delicacy with green peas and potato.In Siddha medicines, these drumstick seeds are used as a sexual virility drug for treating erectile dysfunction in men and also in women for prolonging sexual activity."(source : wikipedia)

I planted two banyans(Ficus Religiosa /Sacred Fig) ,and my household help informed me of the myth ,"one can plant a Peepal tree but cannot cut one,as this leads to the death of one's parents." Appropriate mythology has safe guarded some vital forests and we need to understand the place of these myths and legends in our fore-fathers and fore-mothers stewardship of the land,water and forests.(jal.jangal.zameen)

Arjun (Terminalia arjuna)

Musk Melons/Sarda kharbuza

2010-04-25T22:58:00.000-07:00

The leaf minor has attacked the musk melon plants as well,i plucked and buried the leaves,hoping they don't return.Out of the 21 seeds we planted,only 6 have come up.I hope the sun is strong enough as the three storey buildings around ,shade the backyard for a considerable part of the day,and am told it's the heat and moisture that gives the melons the sweetness.

Bottle Gourd/ghia kaddu

2010-04-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

transplanting Bottle Gourd/ghia kaddu,we kept a huge diametre,and true to form the leaves didn't fall a bit in their new home,as chirpy as if they had never been moved at all!

Notice how the first two true "oval shaped" leaves are different from the regular "spherical" shaped leaves.

okrik tales

2010-04-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

good bhindi(okra) harvest,such a relief to see them flower,after umpteen predictions of no harvest owing to the lack of chemical sprays in the farm,i beamed as the flowers emerged.also the okra and tomato plucking was my first from a plant,having lived all my life buying vegetables of the vendor or off the shelves in supermarkets.I want to involve the kids in the next seasonal harvest,as the joys of plucking these fruits are invaluable.

tomatoes

2010-04-25T22:46:00.000-07:00

I had such a shock when I saw the leaves of almost all Broccoli,Cauliflower,Red Cabbage,Pak Choi and Tomato plants have a strange wriggly crawl in a lighter colour.Upon investigation and frantic SOS calls to my farmer friend,the culprit appeared to be a Leaf Miner,a larvae of insects that live and eat the leaf tissue inside a leaf.I was really worried as the plants were planted too close which allowed for easy transfer of any pest.I made a mental note to leave apt gap next season.The SOS call yielded in removing all leaves infested with the Leaf Miner and burning them right away.Now I had just finished watering the plants,so the wet leaves took the longest time to burn.The next step was some wood ash ,which then mixed with kerosene oil is an excellent bio-pest control.Now,in India one usually finds everything in the neighbourhood as community life is still very strong,but my mind completely blanked out when I though of where to find ash.Then a friend suggested a Tandur (underground clay oven) and there is one I have been regularly visiting since a few weeks now.A frantic dash to the Tandur resulted in dismay as they had recently given it away ( wow, i am not the only organic kitchen gardner with pest attack in town..?).

But as syncronicity dictates when I asked the soft spoken amritsari Tandur Baker , where would I find "raakh" at the earliest,he pointed to his left ,where sat the Dhobhi ( Coal Iron Person ) who had a big heap next to a tree with his recently emptied Iron.I thanked them all profusely and rushed back to the garden with the rescue remedy in hand.My heart hurt and i said all my prayers..please let these plants live...why are pests made anyway..what is their use in the wider play of things...

the cherry tomatoes were full of the second leaf minor attack after the first round of infestation and a lot of leaf suckers.the result leaves have curled inwards.a trial of neem oil spray every other day follows a lot of pruning the infected leaves.

Also the trellis that i had been suggested by a farmer friend,turned out to be an unnatural restraint on the growing arms and limbs of these tomato plants.I tried to free them after much discussion and anomaly seeking advice from a friend,the result is clear for all to see.they are definitely happier.

So this weekend we had the first tomato harvest,almost 20 tomatoes everyday,since.

Amrit Mitti Round two

2010-04-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Started the second batch of Amrit mitti,which is almost double the first heap.The first heap had the alternate layers of straw soaked in cow dung,soil and raith(riverbed soil).I planted a few sprouted beans mix to the first heap last week,and inspite of the cat scrounging there,and a dog leaving his digested food debris on top,i hope to have some saplings under the mulch of dry leaves,which serves as a slight protection from the visitors.
The second heap though had a slight variation made on Pradyut's suggestion.We alternated layers of straw,wood ash and fertile soil,with a two inch thick soil on top.I will plant some sprouted beans on the heap next week.

Cucumber Germination

2010-04-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago ,with an intention to plant cucumber seeds the following day,i had soaked a few seeds overnight in amrit jal.alas,the room i had left the soaked seeds in ,was initially locked for safety, but ended up becoming a virtual prison cell for one whole week(on account of the keys having been misplaced) for the poor seeds.
A friend passed by with the keys a week later saying she found them mysteriously in the inner pocket of her purse.Well,me and maali bhaiya,were both sceptical to the fate of these seeds.Most definitely had it been water they were soaked in,the seeds wouldn't be burnt by the heat of the cow dung in this case.

However,we planted them anyhow,let's see we mused.Five days later,we have the first saplings of cucumber,making their way gallantly off the soil,reaching for the sky,defying gravity in this very instance.

second amrit jal

2010-04-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

since the amrit jal was hardly enough,i started a second batch today.
i had brought a 20 litre bucket full of fresh cow dung from the village on sunday and mixed with water.this i observed fluffed up with water overflowing with air entering the dung.the aim is to keep the amrit mitti heap double of 1st batch(1feet width,2 feet length),in order to have enough for the monsoon planting season.

euphoria

2010-04-18T11:59:00.001-07:00

this beautiful plant is in full bloom in the terrace garden,euphorbia-euphoria!

raindrops

2010-04-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

sitting in the terrace garden this morning,i forecasted rain,as some clouds appeared above.they took their time,and the day it seems,as the clouds borke around 11 p.m. tonight.the heat seems to be receding,with the first rainfall,announced with thunder and lightening,sounds that these ears were thirsty to hear,and after a span of two years,i listen with child like awe.renewed.bringing in its wake incessant barks of neighbourhood dogs followed closely by Saras (crane) calls .how the animals and bird share there relief from the heat,with each other,and us humans,sitting in concrete jungles,coy and civilised,don't utter a word in jubilation.except for some,who share the joy with text messages abound.may all the farmers dance with joy at the quenching of the land's thirst by rain goddess.

terrace garden visitors

2010-04-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

after the recent additions of bamboo,prasiya,lantana,pathar-chut,begunia,hibiscus and chlorophytum comosum,saw a mynah and koel (cuckoo) on the same morning,gratefull and hope they visit again,especially as the respite comes from the 43 degree celsius heat after the first rainfall of this summer blessing us today!! thank you o' rain goddess...

bird watching cycle ride

2010-04-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

went to the local lake forest,bamboo groves,beautiful landscape and wild life abound,peacocks and deer.
the fallen trees finding their own way back to mother earth,wood decomposing in its own time,to meet the soil and grow back like a phoenix..but not before its own time.

a sad sight to witness though,was a bunch of old life jackets dumped here by the local lake club sports authorities,in a bid to escape hard work by finding the appropriate landfill site,on the outskirts of the city.
I need to remember to o back there and capture this atrocity to send it to local papers for some coverage and awareness.

sun rise and sun set

2010-04-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

the casual remark by my mother harking the practice of refrain from planting post sunset,received a cold,"i know better than to hear your criticism about my passion and commitment to gardening."

few days later,when none except 4-5 of the 70 odd plants survived,that i naively sowed around 9:00 p.m.,i wizened to the nature's law of work and rest.when asked the Mali(gardener) i work with,offered,"that's nature's way,and that's the way we have to follow."
i am full of new found respect and awe,for this creation,how some mysteries exist,and continue,regardless of human consciousness,nature continues to flower.

amrit mitti

2010-04-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

started the first batch of amrit mitti after endless straw cutting hours,mostly early mornings and late evenings.the straw was recycled from a local nursery where a truck load of flower pots were being offloaded and the straw used as break-proof packing,discarded by roadside.they let me whisk a few away and the young udaipur lad offered to show me his natueco technique,learnt from deepak suchde in bhopal.
the first tilling is in a week's time,and has to be repeated every week for a month.will post a link to the short video we filmed soon.

death and life

2010-04-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

a dear friend's little pet,a kitten,passed away this morning.few of us gathered to bury the little one in a corner at the farmhouse,and plant a hibiscus atop.it was a ritual i learnt from a wise little friend in auroville,where we buried a ballooned up frog and planted a tree to prevent dogs from digging it up,and ofcourse,"for the soul to return to earth as fruits,"as percy wisely put it.

bird watching

2010-04-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

the healthy signs in the farm garden,brought the first bird,an asian Koel ,which follows half a dozen butterflies ...

flower sherbet

2010-04-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

the lad from udaipur brought enthusiasm and ideas galore.upon his suggestion we went for a neighbourhood flower gathering spree and returned to make the first batch of hibiscus sherbet.
soak 35 flowers in 1 kg lemon juice for 6 hours approximately.Squeeze the juice out with a muslin cloth and mix 1 kg powdered sugar.voila...ready for the summer,instant hit with friends and family.
only job remains to return to the neighbours with small bottled sherbet,so they realise the importance of their gardens and hopefully inspire them to start sher-betting!

Sustainable Traditions of another era

2010-04-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

The importance of traditions like organic farming and the sustainable methods of pest repellants,which big Bio Chemical Firms (MNC's) like Monsanto are hell bent upon making us forget,has not been documented enough. These days every single maali or farmer in main-stream ,rushes to get DDT/DYE/UREA for the plants (flowers/fruits/vegetables) whereas the sustainable methods of pest control,which only 30 years ago were the only thing they knew, neem,chilli,garlic,salt,tobaco,khatti lassi, soap water,haldi/turmeric,rice water and other household- nuska's sprays,were so common.I want to document this and other sustainable methods like preparing herbal remedies,with aloe vera,haldi,adrak,tulsi and ajwain,at home.Also, the age old tradition of composting house kitchen waste and garden leaves is extinct ,but a small but sure population in the cities is walking this long forgotten path,once again.

The villages never left these traditions so surely the change needs to be spear headed by the people which separated themselves from these traditions,which is the residents of the cities only. These traditions need to be brought back because no longer is a neem tree or tulsi grown in every house with the level of respect that these plants had in our grandparents generations.

Punjab being the agricultural hub,this archive becomes even more prudent to document,and hopefully propagate.

amrit jal

2010-04-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

added curd (dahi) and jaggery (gur) to the mixture of cow dung and water.this has to be left to ferment for 48 hours.

new volunteer

2010-04-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

the farm received it's second volunteer today,the first one was for too short to mention.
agnihotra,amrit jal,compost heap sprout growing,self healing camps and natural food workshop stories followed.a 16 year old with experience in zero oil cooking,acupressure massage,waste recycle and organic farming,is a maverick in short.grateful for the help.first thing he did was mix the dried up cow dung manure with water,in preparation for amrit jal.

Plumeria rubra acutifolia : West Indian Jasmine Apocynaceae

2010-04-05T03:49:00.000-07:00

This is teh plant i loved as a kid and want to get a cutting of it from somewhere...still looking

http://indigarden.blogspot.com/search/label/Zinia

water potter

2010-04-05T02:24:00.000-07:00

between the number of people that visit the vegetable garden,i think it's bets to summarise the situation with the o=adage "two-many cooks spoil the chef' .Reason for my worry is the over watering of the plants,by all the noble samaritans,and the yellow yellow dirty fellow song that they are hearing from the birds and bees,because of the leaves turning inwards and going strange shades of yellow.Tomato and muskmelon are the big hits.I hope to stagger the watering and try to limit the inputs from neighbours and family alike.

Flower (Pow)er

2010-04-05T02:01:00.000-07:00

So here are the flowers i picked up from the co-operative kitchen gardner's nursery :

portulaca

Picture from : http://gstuff.co.nz/shop/garden/images/portulaca
cosmos

Picture from : http://www.missouriplants.com/Others/Cosmos_sulphureus_plant.jpg
gailardia

Picture from : http://www.cicekresimleri.org

rudbeckia

Picture from : http://www.tipsblog.us/Blog.flowers-plants-gardening-advice.com

zinnia

Picture from : http://www.parkswholesaleplants.com/spring-plants/annuals-jz/zinnia-dreamland-mix/

Geranium

Picture from: http://marcellepollington.blogspot.com

Balsum

Picture from: http://vanillaseven.com

Welcome to the first bamboo

2010-04-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

I love bamboo,the sounds in the english word as well as the hindi and punjabi words for it,baans. The senses , visual,touch,hearing and taste,all love bamboo.The shoots when harvested young,are delicious,so let's hope this young plant takes to the soil.The sector 23 kitchen gardner's nursery were selling a 6 foot plant for Rs.100,so i resisted.But since they didn't have bougainvillea plants,so i went further aground in my search , and on the way out from Durga( near DT) Nursery i casually checked the rate of bamboo.Pleasantly surprised at the Rs.15 quote i picked one up even though it's barely 1 feet tall,let the land take over.

Mulching

2010-04-05T01:28:00.000-07:00

On a flower purchase trip,i found a nursery dumping their straw on the road,which initially served the purpose of break proofing the terracota gamla's(pot's) in the truck.I stopped and checked with the workers whether they had any qualms if i took some bundles,they happily if rather amused,yielded.And that was the good deed of the day for Ram Nursery,(en route to DT) who otherwise fancy mixing grass with cow dung manure if no one is looking.So even steven score ,i say.

The front garden,soil would love this mulch,as there is no respite from the intense summer sun there.I hope to focus on raised beds in the front garden and not adopt any other method , paired with loads of mulching.
The compost pit was filled (4 by 8 feet) today.Yesterday i stopped the sugarcane juice vendor in the street and invited him to dump his juiced out bagasse in my compost pile.I don't know the downside yet,but this morning a huge colony of big red ants had moved it,well i couldn't blame them the fragrance of the sugar cane was intoxicating for myself as well.I just hope these ants don't end up harming any of the plants,and in an attempt to smother the sugary aroma,i dumped dried leaves and flowers that i scavenged from my family's dustbin downstairs.Apparently it was someone's birthday and the rose bunches had to be individually shredded using garden clippers,as my Mali was wary of their breakdown timeline.

Picture from : http://goree.rice.edu/files/images/Bougainvillea

An organic farmer friend also chipped in the use of this sugarcane bagasse in my terrace farming sacks,in stead of the coconut husks that i had been collecting recently.So two plants of Bougainvillea and one of Palam Bego,will be the first experiments in the sack pots,in the terrace garden.

Seeding

2010-04-05T01:14:00.000-07:00

I am letting the red lettuce (saplings from a local kitchen gardener's nursery,sec 23,chandigarh) grow and flower.This is going to be my first attempt at seed making. In spite of being in close proximity to many a seed making rituals and witness to Anandana's summer routine of harvesting ripe vegetables into seeds which they then distribute nation wide in small 5 cm by 10 cm plastic pouches,didn't filter in,as my interest in farming had not developed then.I wish i had retained the flowers of pak-choi and made seed,alas,lessons learnt.Of the 7 cabbages i am still awaiting ,after the pest control with mirchi and garlic spray worked off the aphids and caterpillars,i hope at least 5 are healthy for human consumption.

Pest woes

2010-04-05T01:08:00.000-07:00

a stark sight awaited me in the garden today,where the baingan planted 2 1/2 weeks ago,has an attack of fruit n shoot borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralida),i think.The white coloured flies are everywhere on the soil and on the stems and leaves.The leaves have see through veins as the flies have sucked the juices out.Th leaf minor is on an attack as well and i removed all the leaves and buried them for the first time.I will do a round of neem oil spray tonight and wait and watch.

Meanwhile,the anar tree sapling (planted 1 1/2 months ago) was a fatal casualty to the deemak (termite) ,which i refused to kill using DDT and treated with neem oil spray.I lost this fight and the dried and shrivelled up anar(pomegranate) tree was the offering that mother earth (dharti ma) wanted off the garden,so be it.Let the season begin.
The tomatoes which were sprayed with ash from the neighbourhood dhobhi's generous offering,have such a high spread of leaf minor and a kind of black fly,that they look so sad when i visited this morning.The trick or treat of painting cans with the colour yellow and leaving them in the field with wax smeared around them,so the flies get attracted to them and end up stuck and dying,didn't work out of a sheer lack of regularity ,on my part.So i felt very responsible and guilty to see the sorry state of these cherry tomato plants.One more thing i need to make proper labels for all the fruits,vegetables and flowers in the garden ,so i know when they were planted and when they would be ready to harvest,and at what stage in their life span they become most vulnerable to pest attack.

Social Forestry

2010-04-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

Meeting India's tree planting guru

By Amarnath Tewary

BBC News, Bihar

An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a novel way of providing employment to millions of poor in the eastern state of Bihar.

His campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.

Evidence of Mr Raju's success could clearly be seen on 30 August, when he organised 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony.

In doing so the agriculture graduate from Bangalore has provided "sustainable employment" to people living below the poverty line in Bihar.

'Lack of awareness'

Mr Raju has linked his "social forestry" programme to the central government's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) which is also designed to provide employment to poor people.

“ I told the villagers that they would get 100 days employment in a year simply by planting trees and protecting them ”

SM Raju

Under NREGA - initiated in February 2006 as the government's most ambitious employment generation scheme for poor people - the authorities are bound by law to provide a minimum of 100 days of employment a year to members of families living below the poverty line.

About 44% of Bihar's population fall into this category.

"The scheme has brought benefits to thousands of families since its implementation," said a recent International Labour Organisation report.

But Mr Raju says that Bihar - being the poorest and most lawless state of India - has not been able to spend the allocated NREGA funds.

"This is because of a lack of awareness among officials about the scheme," he said.

The poor monsoon this year has led to lower agricultural outputs, while flash floods in some northern districts has made the situation even worse, he said.

"So the idea struck to my mind, why not involve families below the poverty line in social forestry and give them employment under this scheme for 100 days?

"Under the scheme, each family can earn a minimum of 10,200 rupees ($210)."

Target

The civil servant immediately made a blueprint of his idea and got the support of senior state officials.

In June Mr Raju released a comprehensive booklet of "dos and don'ts" and distributed it to village heads and district officials.

His initiative meant that NREGA funds were fully utilised - in the past this has not always been the case.

"I told the villagers that they would get 100 days employment in a year simply by planting trees and protecting them. The old, handicapped and widows would be given preference," he explained.

Every village council has now been given a target of planting 50,000 saplings - a group of four families has to plant 200 seedlings and they must protect them for three years till the plants grow more sturdy.

"They would get the full payment if they can ensure the survival of 90% of the plants under their care. For a 75-80% survival rate, they will be paid only half the wage. If the survival rate is less than 75%, the families in the group will be replaced," the guidelines say.

Under NREGA rules, each worker has to be paid 100 rupees ($2) per day for 100 days in a year.

Increase in funds

Mr Raju even came close to planting one billion saplings on a single day.

"I started preparing for this and motivating villagers by announcing the date as 30 August," he said.

"The target for every village panchayat (council) was to plant 6,000 saplings from 6am to 6pm to achieve the target of one billion. At the end of the day, we found out that we were just just short of the target, but it was still a world record," the beaming civil servant said.

Significantly, his scheme has even stopped the migration of poor labourers from the area in search of employment elsewhere during monsoon time.

"We never thought we would get employment for planting trees and protecting them," said Paigambarpur village head Indra Bhusan, whose community - like many others - planted over 30,000 saplings mostly on both flanks of the 14km embankment which criss-crosses their village.

The saplings planted are both fruit and non-fruit trees. The non-fruit seedlings have been planted on the banks of the embankment and on state and national highways - while fruit bearing trees are planted inside the villages.

This year the central government has given more money to the scheme.

Meanwhile, the Bihar civil servant is busy collecting the facts and figures to get his feat listed by Guinness World Records.

"Bihar has edged out Pakistan from the record book," he said flashing a confident smile.

"Its all become possible due to villagers. I owe them a lot."

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/8257563.stm

Published: 2009/09/19 00:11:52 GMT

know your fruits know your neighbours

2010-04-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

this summer coming to your neighbourhood,"watch your fruits diversify offer"!!
By committing your garden fruit tree to the Community Supported Horticulture.You give us your fruits and we give you mixed fruit boxes.
too tired of eating the same fruits every year,be it mango,guava,chikoo,litchi,lemon ,papaya or banana.
no fret,help is here.we , a group of chandigarh community activists,will pick ,wash,pack your single,mono-culture fruits into beautiful mixed fruit boxes.it's a win win situation,where the reward of our labour is literally fruits of your garden.

Pind (village) Pippal Mangoli,Organic Farming Training 31.3.2010

2010-04-02T02:19:00.000-07:00

Subhash Sharma the organic farmer from Yavatmal,Maharashtra,where his experiments with the seeds and organic methodology have indeed resulted in the wisdom that he is now spreading through sharing with Punjab farmers.His ideology is four fold,holy cow (cow dung ),trees (for birds) , biomass (re worked into the soil upon harvest and birds for the lovely music that they sing that entertains the plants into healthier elves and of course the minor element of them being natural checks for the pest attacks.

Inspite of the overhead sun,farmers flocked in good numbers to hear the experience of one who has gone organic with a vengeance in 1994,albeit from the antipoedian end of India.But where were all the women? I asked the only lady in sight,putting ghee on chapatis,apparently the lady of the farm where the camp was held.She said that in Punjab,only men are the farmers,women aren't.Then what of the seed sowing,tending to the cows and bullock,milking them,feeding them,putting cow dung through the process of drying,ready to be used as oil cakes for cooking later.To this she replied,somewhat without a second thought,"well,then you can say ,men are farmers in the way that they make all the decisions around here,so if there needs to be a decision to go organic/natural farming,it will be the men who would make the decision."Initially,i felt a bit uncomfortable,as being the only woman,at the first ever farming camp in Punjab,i didn't want my experience to be tainted by this glaring imbalance in the gender ratio.Tying of a white turban to escape the intense heat,meant i stood out further,in their conventional eyes.and here i was thinking it would make a difference as i would be accepted albeit in a turbaned way.

Dr.Amar Singh Azad (in 1970's when he was sitting for his 10th Exams,his teacher gave everyone in the class the option of choosing their own surnames,which would then become legal and stay with them lifelong.He says his friends suggested the name "Azad" inspired by Chandrashekhar Azad,indian freedom fighter,as the character closely resembled that of Amar singh.He obliged and the rest as they say is his-story.

The organic food lunch;hari moong and chana dal,alu and gajar sabzie,and mithey chawal with saffron and coconut,was the best langar i have ever tasted.and to be able to see where the food was grown,cut,washed,and cooked,and then have the proof of the organic food in the taste,was a delicious experience.Regardless to say,no hue and cry was made as to the organic certification of the lunch,as Subhash Sharma shared of heir organic produce in Maharashtra,"we simply sell the produce as normal in the farmer's market,we have the prices slightly higher than non organic simply owing to the taste,which consumers willingly pay,not because we beat the drum of some fancy organic label."

Farmer's Almanac

2010-04-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

Soil Preparation

Planting :

Season : Cool or warm

Height

Shape

Root Depth

Maturity

Spacing

Light requirements : South or North facing

Forecasting Weather

Pest Management :

Companion Planting : Marigold,Calendula,Buckwheat,Cosmos,Dills,Spinach & Basil(tomato),Dhania(bhindi) , Borage,Nasturtium (cucumber & Squash )
Sage (Broccoli & cauliflower ) ,Rosemary (cabbage & Carrots )

Monitoring

Thresholds

Cultural Control

Biological Control

Harvesting

Record Keeping

offerrings to dharti ma(mother earth)

2010-04-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

the anar (pomegranate) tree was the second offering (after the failed cabbage crop last season).
mali bhaiya offerred ddt (read poison) ,but i reasoned with him,this is merely a small offering to the bigger wounds that need to be healed in mother earth.his silence is heart rendering,inwardly,i like to imagine,his relationship with the mother earth is undergoing a change....

and they go..la..lala..la..la..la

2010-03-29T03:43:00.001-07:00

Garlic Spray for caterpillars

2010-03-29T03:19:00.000-07:00

I had a really bad pest attack,now caterpillars were the latest house guest, and three weeks ago,i used this garlic spray.On Raj's blogspot (http://rajsmusings.wordpress.com) I read that garlic spray is effective for caterpillars: Ingredients are garlic (2-3 bulbs), chilli powder (1-2 tbs), liquid detergent (2 tbs),vegetable oil (1tbs) and water (7 cups). You can put them all in a blender , mix and then strain through muslin, a coffee filter or similar. Pour what you need into a spray bottle for use.

My room is full of so many home made sprays,fermented buttermilk(khatti lassi),Garlic spray,boiled neem juice,rice water.Yet they come,and they come in their numbers,for once,"the more",isn't necessarily "the merrier".

the green one

2010-03-29T02:45:00.000-07:00

from one pyre to another

2010-03-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

There was an infestation on all twenty Red Cabbage plants and fifteen green cabbage plants.The aphids I had spotted while an organic farmer friend visited the garden,a few days ago and which I had agreed to treat (with tobacoo and turmeric) instead of removing the plant ,had by today multiplied it's hold and now thronged the entire crop.

The most important lesson,learnt here,has been error of the late plantation of these vegetables.Which in turn meant that the plants were almost out of season and as a result weaker and easily fell prey to these pests.I even grappled with my first few caterpillars in the garden in one of the green cabbage's today.
Earlier today I had given an old lady a ride to the Shamshaan Ghat (Crematorium) which was on my way.The visit down memory lane was an important piece of the big puzzle that life is and unravelling it ,I started interviewing women who were crying over the loss of their loved one,albeit from a safe distance from the burning pyre.Only the men are destined to light the pyre and be by it's burning side,so the tradition commands.When quizzed,the women reasoned,men are calmer and more in control by nature,while women loose heart easily and hence it's the calmer sex that's given the historical right to cremate their dead.
I saw a group of four labourer's who were native to Chattisgarh and one of whose sister and another's wife had met with an accident and died.Witnessing the rituals of the dead,where water and wheat have great symbolic value,was humbling.I held back tears as i witnessed three families mourn and bid farewell to their dead.The electric crematorium bore a lonely look with hardly anyone preferring the instant and absolute cremation of their dead.The burning pyre set the record straight as the fire always purifies,albeit as a witness ,for the pure need not be purified and impure will never know the difference.Being present to the ceremony,I felt ,fire purges the wounds of the alive and meets the spirit of the dead in the smoke of reunion.

I felt strange uprooting almost ready vegetables,they were almost three months old.
Second,most important lesson,instead of greed over using the available space to the benefit of maximum number of plants,it is imperative to give the plants appropriate spacing,in order to ensure the leaves have room for sunlight.

Third,insight is that I haven't been visiting the garden regularly to prevent any form of pest trickle from developing into a pest attack.The garden has been largely ignore as i don't afford it enough time on a daily basis.The lack of observation and inspection meant that an oversight turned into an overhaul of half of the entire first season.

The uprooted plants need to be burned,in order to ensure the pests do not multiply.This will be a fire of loss and it comes in place of the joy of harvest.

studying the life cycle of a Pest

2010-03-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here is the advice from an organic farmer friend from Orissa/Bengal.
In order to understand the reason for the pest attack,one must first go deeper into the four root causes behind an over infestation of any pest,Pradyut says.
Firstly,the pest will attack a crop,only if the plants are weak.So the weakness of plants need to be addressed.
Secondly,pests will become unmanageable only when there exist no natural predator for these pests.Here you need to find out which predators feed on these pests and try to introduce them to your garden organically.
Thirdly,pests will infest when there is a lack of sunlight in the garden.
Fourthly,pests will also multiply when there is an excess of sunlight,so the balance needs to be maintained.

In order to have a reasonable pest control,it is very important to study the pests life cycle.
Also when red ants start becoming visible in a garden,take that as an advance notice or a trailer to the real movie which is about to start soon.The red ants come to eat the sweet juices left behind by a pest called afid,so upon catching sight of red ants,gear up with neem oil spray or rice water spray on all leaf surfaces of the plants.
An important note of caution,as oil s insoluble in water,neem oil will need to be diluted in soapy water before diluting it further in water.I made this error a few times before a veteran farmer friend pulled me up.

Harvest Season One - Ghanth Gobi/Kohl Rabi

2010-03-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

There were 8 plants of Ghanth gobi and three families cooked the produce.Ghanth in hindi means a knot and if you leave this to mature in an attempt to make a bigger harvest,the vegetable becomes really hard and almost impossible to unravel like a knot.So the younger and smaller it is the better to harvest it then and make a softer vegetable with potatoes and cumin.

Broccoli attempting to flower at Week 10

2010-03-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

An unexpected guest visited last month,an aunt ,who harvested all the broccoli's ,so i never got a chance to capture their growth,these florets remain..suspiciously small...my farmer friend reasons,season over.

Cabbages

2010-03-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

Due to an incessant aphid attack ,and later at the onset of summer,by caterpillars, the green and red cabbages didn't reach their harvest stage.I took most of the plants out and left half a dozen in to test their resilience against the attack with the help of neem oil and mirchi spray.alas,the soil was just not strong enough.This being the first harvest,i was prepared for this ,even though it hurt as hell ,to pluck those plants out.

the peaceful one

2010-03-16T21:47:00.001-07:00

The need for space

2010-03-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

The first feedback from an organic farmer friend has proven what I suspected all along,the vegetables have been planted far too close and this has lead to a lack of exposure to sun and resulted in slow leaf development.The resultant stunted growth of these plants will lead to a considerable loss of vegetables.
So ,in a "race" to grow more and at the earliest possibility,I planted the saplings too close together.

narration

2010-03-15T14:27:00.001-07:00

my mum named me manjot,a lighted heart,and so it was..and this is my story...
One of the most important and formative influences in my life has been that of my dad,who in a relatively young age,taught me the importance of equality of genders and in the process stabilized my foundations for life.He often jested to me and my elder sister,you aren’t my daughters,but my sons.
I was born and have been brought up in a Joint household where at any given point there were at least 15 members living under the same roof.This taught me to be self sufficient as there was an over indulgence of intimacy and resultant needs for boundaries within the common boundary prevailed.One can indeed say ,that the original need for safe individual space,was never met,as I was Physically Abused by two cousin uncles within the household till synchronicity inspired me to leave the house for higher studies.Looking back I can reflect,that this need for self assertion and respect and a need to protect other young people from abuse will continue to remain a lifelong quest.

As a young north indian woman,i face a constant struggle with society,i stand at a crossroads with,where on one hand the stereotyped roles of wife,mother & subservient daughter in law exist which attempt to maintain the status quo,on the other hand new definitions like Career woman and equitable responsibilities in household threaten to shake this status quo to it’s very foundations .

Born in a conservative and extremely Patriarchal family (where the head of the dining TABLE ,was a non-negotiable seat,which was reserved for my Grandfather at all times ) I had to strive for basic autonomy, like what clothes to wear,which friends to meet, which sport to play ,(which after my father’s untimely demise ,was reduced to a blanket ban on all sports,period) etc,etc.This lack of autonomy further meant that my grandfather chose the subjects in my high school and true to the Punjabi thought of Job Security,chose Medicine as the subject of my study.

Now,the second most important influence in my life has been my late,elder sister,Harry.She not only taught me to embrace the vitality of life full heartedly,but also encouraged those around her to not hesitate from showing human emotions at peril of appearing vulnerable.

North Indian society is quite formal and as such there is a general culture of an absence of any display of true emotions like warmth or anger.

It was Harry who lead the way in breaking family taboos and chose autonomy when it came to choosing her high school subjects,where Granddad had insisted Medicine,she dropped Biology and chose Chemistry instead.

I sought to follow her example and resisted Medicine studies in the 1st semester,Grandad yielded and directed me to choose Commerce as the last recourse. Grandad was paying for my education due to the untimely death of my dad and I followed his instruction,still counting my blessings at having been spared the rod of medicine at least.

In hindi we have a saying , “Agey kuan pichey khayiee” and that precisely sums up my educational experience till I discovered the Alternative education philosophized by Sri Aurobindo in Pondycherry/ Auroville. Having sleepwalked through graduation in commerce and masters in international finance and economics,my life ‘s path took the scenic route when I started traveling and on one of my travels came to pass Pondycherry.It was here,I can truly say i had a second birth.Having lost my elder sister, Harry to suicide a few years earlier ,I was hurting and in need of a community to heal and be healed. Auroville,near Pondycherry,with it’s beauty enraptured me and the rat race i was running till then ,came out in its true colors almost overnight.Post acquittal from the race,life began anew;a life of community farming,growing and living in harmony with nature.The years since have been a great journey in self discovery and assertion.

During these years,I participated and facilitated Ecovillage Design Education workshops in Auroville and Findhorn,the beautiful community where i was born again ,into a renewed sense of freedom,in Scotland. Here the most important chapter of my life,that of an autonomous authorship,began with the first page being written in the ink of the new found colors of the name moonstar.

The need to follow socially responsible methods of livelihood was stronger than ever and this took me to Schumacher College in Devon ,england,and again the solidarity of community living and sustainable cohabitation with the land around,rang a familiar chord within.The return to punjab was out of this resonance of choosing the simple yet meaningful life.

Here in my hometown of Chandigarh,in Punjab,are my roots and here is the need for an organic composting and kitchen gardening consultancy that manifested out of my experiments with seeds.Also for the better part of the last year i have been yearning to study philosophy,so that is what i am doing here at the university.Being a woman,i have always had to fight for my right in the patriarchal indian society,and as an ongoing research ,i am studying the social status of women in punjab with respect to the education they receive. Wave has come at this junction and i cannot be more grateful for the tools WAVE promises in reaching a wider audience.After all’ “The people,united have always been victorious.”

three weeks old

2010-01-23T13:39:00.000-08:00

The first pak choi,these saplings were planted on the first Sunday of this year,so these are exactly 3 weeks old tomorrow. Watching life grow ,is very humbling and instills hope all the same,there will be growth,yet.

Guerrilla Farming

2010-01-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

Not despite but inspite of all odds,the secret garden birthed and even a visit by a four legged will be read as a welcome home sign.

the blocked one

2009-12-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

The situation was compounded by the presence of a blocked drainage nala next to the water tap.After some investigation it appeared to be a result of the leakage in the bricks of the tapped washing area.Once the leak was plugged with some DIY cement by Chotu bhaiya,we were rewarded with a slight liftment of the stench in the air.

the neglected one

2009-12-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

The plants on site (this Keinu tree for instance) were badly in need for some care and attention. Neem Spray and cow dung manure followed.

The Shady One

2009-12-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

The first obstacle in this secret ,no permission sought garden,was the heaps of garbage all around the planting site,which had left the top soil devoid of any micro-nutrients.Soon after the garbage had been removed,the second major impediment loomed ahead,the over abundance of shade owing to the overtly tall trees in the neighbourhood(in order to maintain a good health of the trees,regular pruning is essential and an average pruned height of 20 feet allow the tree to develop strong and healthy root system).

humble beginnings

2009-12-07T12:57:00.000-08:00

at first there was the nothing-ness

On an unused piece of land,in an under construction building site,a plan was hatched to rehabilitate the land,and in the process grow some food for the residents and neighbours alike.