Of delightful little harvests, a sense of awe and humility...

"I have found, through the years, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share; to find sanctuary; to heal; to honour the earth; to leave a mark. Through gardening (especially growing vegetables) we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon our land."
Julie Moir Messarvy

And I think I have found all of that and much more through my little green journey... And when, as an added bonus, my patch gifts me a continuous string of these delightful little harvests, my joy knows no bounds and I join my hands in awe and bow my head in humility...

The bush beans have started producing and now I am going to be gifted these many beans, every alternate day. I have grown about ten to twelve bush beans in the first round, in the ground. And then, I have been staggering the sowing over the days. And I now have quite a few of them growing at different stages in both, the ground and in pots. That will ensure me a steady supply for at least two months. The potting mix for my beans is an equal mix of soil and vermi-compost (bought) and a handful of neem cake powder, to arrest fungal infection to the soil/roots. For my beans, I usually add a little more compost when they begin fruiting. I haven't added anything else in terms of additives or sprays. Thankfully, I haven't had any pest/health issues with my bush beans till now. Except for an occasional leaf miner or a Caterpillar/grasshopper munching away at a few leaves. (Touch wood !!) For leaf miner, I just snip the affected leaves and that's it. As for caterpillars/grasshoppers, I hand pick them and leave the out on some plants, for away from the patch.

My bush beans begin flowering and fruiting in a months time from sowing and produce beans for about a month and a half. Staggered sowing, ensures some other plants are ready with beans, as one batch stops producing... This is exactly what I did with bush beans in my balcony patch too, though the number of plants (Mostly growing in 2 litre soft drink bottles) were lesser in number.