vegetable garden....

Lifestyle Parenting, Household Affairs and Cuisine corner
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please share your exp and thoughts about how to start, what all I need to start, and how to do it please…

Balcony/back yard both types..

Thanks.

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Re: vegetable garden....


do u have community farm? if u do, then i got some good ideas :)

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Re: vegetable garden…

There have been a couple of threads on this topic, I think it’s about time they get compiled in one location:

http://www.paklinks.com/gs/household-affairs-and-cuisine-corner/416972-gardening-no-one.html

http://www.paklinks.com/gs/household-affairs-and-cuisine-corner/307740-compost-for-seedlings.html

http://www.paklinks.com/gs/household-affairs-and-cuisine-corner/291284-growing-coriander-and-mint-in-an-apt.html

Anyways, for backyards, a few things to remember:

  • Pick a location that gets plenty of sunlight. You have nooo idea what difference a full day’s on sunlight can make on the plants. Lots of plants fare a lot better in full daylight, even simple things like herbs.

  • Similarly, if you’re planning on growing creepers, then find a wall spot, or have a trellis or something that gets good sunlight.

  • You need to make sure that you dig deep enough into the ground before you do any planting. The soil needs to be throughly aerated. 3-4 feet is good. Once you dig the ground, you have to break the big chunks of soil down into smooth soil.

  • You will also have to supplement the soil by adding bags of soil. Any normal would do, doesn’t have to be special. You’re going to be supplementing it with compost/fertilizer anyways.

  • I find seedlings easier to deal with when it comes to vegetables, then growing them from seeds. If you’re planning on growing them from seeds, that has to be done well in advance before the first sign of spring. However, seedlings can be planted once the scare of frost is over and then planted. But if it’s like coriander and other herbs that can be started from seeds then you can plant them along with the seedlings.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, ask and I and a couple of other vegetable afficianado guppies can help :smiley:

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Re: vegetable garden…

Murgi , thats awesome advise :@: I am gonna make this a sticky thread now , so many others can gain helpful insight from this .

I have question : Can we grow corriander and mint indoors? like if i use small plant pots and keep them near the windows where they can get the sunlight through the window… is that possible at all ? the same with green chillies? :hmmm:

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Re: vegetable garden…

You can grow anything in a pot. I know someone who grows Roma tomatoes in a couple of pots, out on their balcony, and they sometimes fare better than my tomatoes, I’m afraid to say :bummer: But coriander can definitely be grown inside. Mint as well. In fact I think Mirch said that he is growing mint in a pot because it’s essentially a weed and just spreads like crazy.

As for green chillies I think they can be grown inside too, provided they get plenty of sunlight. I’ve found the more the sunlight they get, the more the fruit. However, since it’s a flowering plant and it needs pollination, I don’t know if it can happen as well inside or not, ie if it’s done by bugs or air or what.

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Re: vegetable garden…

hmmmm .. That sounds good … considering i have never ever done planting before :hinna:

What do you recomend I buy from the market to get my corriander and mint plants going? I am thinking of the following stuff , please feel free to add to the list :

1- Planting pots
2- Corriander and mint seeds
3- Soil
4- Compost

anything else ?:hmmm:

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Re: vegetable garden…

for backyard

I’d prepare vegetable boxes/sections instead of planting them directly into the ground, similar to these, http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.2bconsultancy.co.uk/images/04_design/softworks/Ornamental%2520Vegetable%2520Garden.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.2bconsultancy.co.uk/softwork.htm&usg=__aRVYlmSUiAUxcnVAyZFhmk8GnTo=&h=396&w=600&sz=83&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=fTUQM1LgV1VpsM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=190&ei=BLuZTZrjKYmi4Qb1leWRDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvegetable%2Bgrowing%2Bgarden%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1C1SKPL_enGB405GB408%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D869%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=430&oei=BLuZTZrjKYmi4Qb1leWRDA&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&tx=102&ty=24

Basically you make wooden boxes and fill them with soil, compost and top soil and either put the seeds directly or you grow them indoors in trays and then plant out when long enough to handle.

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Re: vegetable garden....

wonderful ideas, thanks everyone...I don't have the luxry of a backyard at the moment, so I am thinking to start planting in the balcony.

I am in bangalore and the weather is very different than where I used to live before. Jan-Feb is spring, march-april and part of may is summer, then the rain season starts. I am thinking I will go and talk to some local garden centers and get some ideas and materials from them.

thanks a lot guys, i think changing the way we live will not only benefit us but our coming generations too.

Please keep posting ideas and lets keep this sticky active/alive.

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Re: vegetable garden....

I've started my veg already...this year I'm doing tomatoes from scratch.I've got my seedlings going.
I'm trying melon too...have got around eight tiny plants from seeds.Just need to keep them warm until ready to plant outside.

I usually swap plants with a neighbour,so end up with quite a few,one way or another..:)..like courgettes,beans,peppers.....I'm actually incredibly lazy when it comes to gardening,so I have tons of pots I bought from Poundland and just use those.

Plus...my apples,pears,plums,strawberries,raspberris,grapes all come from my garden esp for Ramzan.

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Re: vegetable garden....

Hmm I like this thread. I am trying my hand at gardening this year. I got a Jiffy plant starter kit from Home Depot. It is made of all natural material and each section (has 36 sections) had pellets that you add water to and it expands. I have sowed the seeds and placed away from direct sunlight (as package says). Now waiting for the seedlings to sprout and than I am supposed to transplant into garden. /////i have yet to get hubby to work the soil in the backyard. Let's see how it goes.

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Re: vegetable garden....

Oh yes do contact the garden centers. The people there have been doing things for year and they know the weather in the areas they work, so they would definitely be able to give you advice as to how to work the weather in your area.

I like those paper-plant-holder-thingies. It was just easy to rip the planter open and plant the seedling and leave the pot in the soil. It did take it forever to degrade though. But I just counted that as further food for the plants :D

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Re: vegetable garden....

Our mint grows in a pot in the backyard, cilantro is at the edge of the vegetable patch lane that runs along the backyard fence. My mom grows tomatos, onions, garlic, green peppers, corn, bitter gourd, and eggplant. I love fresh sabzi in the summer time and love how we always have that available. There is a different taste or perception of food when you are freshly picking vegetables off the vine than selecting them from a grocery store.