I am thrilled that I was able to get back to some serious gardening
after a long time. It was a lovely morning and I was out in my little
green patch (In the meshed portion), digging and breaking lumps of soil
and adding compost and sowing and transplanting... a cold and throat
infection notwithstanding.
After clearing up the avrikaayi ballis/bean creepers last month, I've just not been able to revive the four beds in there. It's either been lack of time, or some basic resources like compost, or my ill health. A couple of days back, I managed to get some compost and seeds from the local nursery (Unfortunately the beeja maaro ajji/seed lady from the market has been absent for quite some time) And last morning, I got down to some hard core gardening.
I had watered the beds the previous night and they were quite soft enough to dig. But I had to still deal with quite a few stones and pieces of concrete rubble. That taken care of, I made small pits for the badnikaayi sasi/brinjal saplings and bhendikaayi/ladies finger and chavalikaayi/cluster beans in the back. These would form the tallest row at the back. In front of that I planted the donngaayi/capsicum saplings and planted a few celery and nasturtiums in between to add colour and act as pest repellants too.
The row in front of that was for a mix of palak/spinach and beetroot (For the greens). I also planted a whole lot of Maanga inji/Ambe halad/Mango ginger in pots. After a round of watering the newly planted seedlings and beds, I knew I had to wind up, or I'd break down.
This morning, I was able to put in some work and added a wide row in front of the spinach and beet row. I sowed a mix of kotambri/coriander, sabbasgi/dill and ajwain/carom seeds here. This has formed the first row of two beds. I ran out of seeds and have yet to add mixed greens seeds to two more beds. Which I may do tomorrow morning.I managed to plant some of the potatoes in pots. To plant the rest of them in the ground (As thought of earlier) I will have to loosen the soil quite a bit. That is going to take quite some physical effort from my side and I am not up to that yet. I may leave them in a cool shady space between pots and plant them later. Or may end up planting them in pots. I still have to plant doddapatre/coleus aromaticus cuttings, some onions and garlic and some marigold seedlings randomly in between the beds, to act as pest repellants/trap crops. I also have to sow some corn and other greens in the first bed. I hope to get that done in the next few days...
Well, I am more than satisfied with the work I have put in and very happy that my meshed portion is finally on the road to recovery... Now I have my fingers crossed...
After clearing up the avrikaayi ballis/bean creepers last month, I've just not been able to revive the four beds in there. It's either been lack of time, or some basic resources like compost, or my ill health. A couple of days back, I managed to get some compost and seeds from the local nursery (Unfortunately the beeja maaro ajji/seed lady from the market has been absent for quite some time) And last morning, I got down to some hard core gardening.
I had watered the beds the previous night and they were quite soft enough to dig. But I had to still deal with quite a few stones and pieces of concrete rubble. That taken care of, I made small pits for the badnikaayi sasi/brinjal saplings and bhendikaayi/ladies finger and chavalikaayi/cluster beans in the back. These would form the tallest row at the back. In front of that I planted the donngaayi/capsicum saplings and planted a few celery and nasturtiums in between to add colour and act as pest repellants too.
The row in front of that was for a mix of palak/spinach and beetroot (For the greens). I also planted a whole lot of Maanga inji/Ambe halad/Mango ginger in pots. After a round of watering the newly planted seedlings and beds, I knew I had to wind up, or I'd break down.
This morning, I was able to put in some work and added a wide row in front of the spinach and beet row. I sowed a mix of kotambri/coriander, sabbasgi/dill and ajwain/carom seeds here. This has formed the first row of two beds. I ran out of seeds and have yet to add mixed greens seeds to two more beds. Which I may do tomorrow morning.I managed to plant some of the potatoes in pots. To plant the rest of them in the ground (As thought of earlier) I will have to loosen the soil quite a bit. That is going to take quite some physical effort from my side and I am not up to that yet. I may leave them in a cool shady space between pots and plant them later. Or may end up planting them in pots. I still have to plant doddapatre/coleus aromaticus cuttings, some onions and garlic and some marigold seedlings randomly in between the beds, to act as pest repellants/trap crops. I also have to sow some corn and other greens in the first bed. I hope to get that done in the next few days...
Well, I am more than satisfied with the work I have put in and very happy that my meshed portion is finally on the road to recovery... Now I have my fingers crossed...
A view of the four beds in the meshed portion.
The narrow long beds on the right (Not seen in the picture) unfortunately get hardly any sunlight. It's going to take m a while to revive them and grow some shade loving greens or herbs there.
The narrow long beds on the right (Not seen in the picture) unfortunately get hardly any sunlight. It's going to take m a while to revive them and grow some shade loving greens or herbs there.
All ready for planting and sowing...
You can see the badnikaayi/brinjals already planted and the small pits are for bhendikaayi/ladies finger and chavlikaayi/cluster beans.
Look at what I found while digging !
A Colocasia stump that was left over from the clearing I did last month. It had just a few tubers and had begun to spring new shoots. I will transplant all of these in the backyard.
A Colocasia stump that was left over from the clearing I did last month. It had just a few tubers and had begun to spring new shoots. I will transplant all of these in the backyard.
Compost added to this row and ready to sow a mix of palak and beetroot seeds.
Palak and beetroot seeds...
A glimpse of the first row, with compost added and a mix of kotambri/coriander, sabbasgi/dill and ajwain/carom seeds sown.
Kotambri/coriander, sabbasgi/dill and ajwain/carom seeds sown.
All the newly planted seedlings and seeds watered and I am done for today !
All the newly planted seedlings and seeds watered and I am done for today !
Couldn't resist adding a picture of another one of my turmeric plants that has flowered. This time all my turmeric plants seem to be flowering one by one. Though I have been growing and harvesting them for quite some time now. This is the first time they are flowering !
And adding a picture of my other small bed towards the front of the house. It's doing pretty will with mainly tomato plants all through the bed. A few bush beans scattered in between. A mix of mustard, coriander, ajwain and sorrel greens as the ground cover. Moolangi/Radish and ajwain/carom greens in small plastic pots on the bricks at the edge. And in the larger pots behind the bricks, I have a mix of mensinkaayi/chillies, donngaayi/capsicum, kosu/cabbage, shunti/ginger, pundi soppu/roselle and some basil.
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