Today instead of recipes, I am sharing with you few pictures from my kitchen garden. I love gardening and enjoy cooking with fresh vegetables from the garden. It is a great stress buster. It not only keeps me very happy and relaxed but also gives me immense satisfaction. Moreover it keeps me away from the computer at least for a few hours. Now-a-days, most of the food we get in the market are sprayed with pesticides and harmful chemicals. Though I do not have much space, in whatever space available, I am growing few fruits and vegetables using natural fertilizers. By growing our own fruits and vegetables, we know what we are eating is free of harmful chemicals and pesticides as we were the one to nurture the plant.
Now-a-days Organic food is becoming very popular. Let us see what is organic food?
What is Organic Food ?
I do not want to go in detail into the subject. In simple words, Organic food according to organic.org is food made or grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.
What are the advantages of eating organic food
Organic food can reduce the risk of pesticide exposure.
Organically grown vegetables and fruits tastes better than non organic fruits and vegetables and they also cook faster.
It improves our immune system and helps prevent chronic diseases like cancer.
Studies have found that organic food is richer in antioxidants.
Organic food is often sold locally, so it is mostly fresh (no shipping or transporting across long distances etc).
Preserves our ecosystem.
Reduces pollution – protects water and soil.
Ensures safe and healthy world for the future generation.
Pictures of my harvest and my small backyard kitchen garden
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| papayas |
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| Papaya tree |
Herbs are easy to grow and so rewarding. Once you use home grown herbs in your cooking, you will never like the ones in the market. Home grown herbs are fresh, full of flavor and very delicious. You have to grow it to believe it. You do not need any space for growing herbs. You can grow in pots in your balcony.
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| Mint-Pudina |
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| Brinjals in grow bags |
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| Pasalai Keerai |
Home grown vegetables grown using natural fertilizers, cooks faster and tastes great. Of course it is free of harmful chemicals and pesticides. It gives me lot of happiness when I cook with vegetables from my garden. Picture of ladies finger I harvested from my garden.
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| Fresh Lady’sfinger from my kitchen garden |
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| tomatoes from my garden |
At times, I decide my menu on what is available in my garden. I made keerai kootu, ladiesfinger poriyal and vallarai thuviayal on the day I harvested all these.
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| Radish |
Even if you do not have ground space, you can grow veggies in grow bags or pots in your balcony.
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| Cluster beans and radish in grow bags |
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| Taro root and aloe vera |
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| Sapodilla tree in our backyard |
Backyard Composting with Khamba
I do not prefer wasting my kitchen waste (vegetable waste, fruit peels, used tea and coffee ground etc). I compost them using this composting pot. You do not need much space, just a corner in your garden or even balcony. I use the compost for my plants. I have long time back posted tips on how to compost using wire mesh compost bin. This is another method of composting using the khamba pot which I will share it soon with all details.
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| Composting at home with Khamba |
Let us together make this earth a better place to live and ensure safe and healthy world for the future generation.
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Amazing. Ofcouse your hardwork is there. But the joy will be unlimited. Please post the process to plant all these veggies.
Wow! now I really wish I was living near to your house… It looks so fresh.
Great job. I am planning to start this. Inspired! , THANKS
What a lovely garden you have ..Where do you live ?
aweesome padu
Amazing padhu! Well done
Great…. Looks wonderful and also veggies are very fresh.
Well done !
Wow! Looks amazing! 🙂
It looks so fresh n beautiful! Love the brilliant green color!
I was waiting for a post on ir garden padhu. . Can u also write abt how to plant these? I mean from scratch. . Like methi leaves Comes from fenugreek. . I don't want to buy seeds from outside.. afraid of quality
Grt inspiring post for a healthy life.please tell us the way how to grow puthina in pot
Hare Krishna. I am happy to see so many vegetables being grown in the organic farm. I was able to do this when we were in New Delhi with a good amount of open space attached to the apartment. Daily we used to collect vegetables (bindi, bengan, papaya, spinach, etc.) and prepare dishes to be sent as lunch for the children, which they cherished. Hope FB friends who have facilities for kitchen garden, follow some of the steps that you had suggested. Hare Krishna.
Lovely Garden.
Lovely Garden. I have brinjal in pot, getting flowers. But it is not going beyond that. Flowers are dried and falling. Should I use any fertilizer. What fertilizer I can use.
Kalai Vani – After buying pudina, use the leaves and plant the thick stem alone. It will grow.
Sweetygirl – Sow the fenugreek seeds you use for cooking. You can buy it from organic stores.
Gayathri – Yes, you have to put fertilizers. I use vermicompost and cow dung. Then you have to soak neem cake overnight in water and use that water to prevent pest and insects. Also you should use 3 G spay now and then to control pest – grind ginger, garlic and green chillies to a fine paste- dilute it in water, filter it and spray on plants to prevent pest and insects from harming the plant. Your brinjal flowers are falling due to lack of nutrients. Use vermicompost.
Wow! Feast to the eyes! Where do you live?
Thank u for replying padhu.. Can u also tell how to plant brinjal, tomato etc.. do u sow store brought seeds?
Yes, I buy good quality seeds and sow them directly in grow bags for ladies finger. For brinjal , I sow it in a tray or a pot, once it grows to a small plant, I transfer it to a separate pot mostly in the evening. If I transfer in the morning, it might die due to the heat.
Rama – I live in South India
Beautiful pictures.. They are a feast for our eyes! I am a fan of your blog and love all your posts 🙂 Thanks!
Wow!lovely and very inspiring garden..kudos to u..gr8 job..nothing can get equal to harvesting from u'r own garden and cooking it..hope to hav one like u'rs in future..where can I get details about 'grow bags'? Thanks 🙂
Awwsome post 🙂 for healthy life
I have lil place in my apartment i.want to plant corriander leaves n tried with corriander seeds but it didnt grown
So pls can u tell how to plant corriander leaves
Hi Padhu, This post is as fresh as your receipes. Recently i am on the look for setting up one for myself. I am new to Bangalore. can you pl share your wisdom on where to find good soil something like in 75Kg or so (not the costlier nurseries one!)
Harini – You get grow bags in all nurseries. I got some in Chennai and some in Coimbatore. I got it in Porur in Chennai
Umatejest – Do not rub the seeds,break it and sow – sow it as a whole seed. It needs a very fertile soil .I tried many times and gave up
Rama – I have no idea about Bangalore but you can try in Govt horticulture Dept.
Thank u for the reply padhu garu 🙂
Plz tell us the name of container were you kept pasala Keerai also where can we buy it
Beautiful pictures and a lovely garden! I am a fan of your blog and love all your posts!
Thank you. As you told how days once i have to use vermi compost for the plants.
Kalai Vani -It is a milk crate. You can try in shops which sell plastic items. I am having it with me for years. Do not remember where I got it.
Lakshmi – Thank you so much for liking my blog and recipes.Feeling happy.
Gayathri – You can use it once in 15 days.(2-3 fistful)
Lovely organic garden and fan of your blog.I am too much inspired and definitely try these in my small garden 😉
Thanks. Thanks a lot.
Great job Padhu – u r a good source of inspiration to all of us – where we waste time in what's app and face book – God bless
Beautiful garden…happy gardening! 🙂
Hi padhu..seeing u'r blog I sowed methi and chillies as a start and am so happy and excited seeing the methi growing :-).reg milk crates, can v put soil in it directly and sow or shud v line the crate vth sum sheet or sumthng? And shud v transfer plants frm growbags to pot latr?
Awesome!! I feel so happy Harini. You do not have to line it with anything. If you feel that the sand will get wash off when watering, you can line it with an old mosquito net or any other net. Regarding your second question – you do not have to transfer from grow bags to pots. The plants will stay happy in grow bags itself.
Padhu, very happy to see ur otg. I too am into otg n i am to bokashi composting. Though no land space, i have planted in grow bags, pots n many other unwanted containers.
Hi paddu….. I want to know about the type of pasalai keerai you grow…… Is it edible or some thing ornamental… I have it at my home since many years but never cooked… By the way I don't know Tamil… So what is this variety called in english
It is a variety of spinach called tharai pasalai. What you see in the picture about in that yellow milk crate is edible. You can make kootu in that. It has Mucilage (slightly sticky) so only kootu or dal tastes good.
Hi padhu, guide me to grow pasalai keerai at home. My neighbour has a plant and I plucked a stem and planted it but no use it was try I two days. Any ideas to grow it in a pot
It is very very easy to grow pasalai keerai. Just plant a stem and water it. You can grow it in pot also.Keep in the shade for a few day and also use a rich soil.(soil mixed with compost or vermicompost)
Hi, Your garden really awesome. I love it. I wish to have a such a beautiful garden. Great blog nice n useful information , it is very helpful for me , thanks for sharing. I am also planning to buy some organic vegetable plants. Let me know any organic fertilizers available in market?
Thanks,
Sathish
Hi Padhu, I keep reading your posts on and off. I find you extremely inspiring. I am beginning my kitchen gardening with 5pots in a couple of days. Thanks for sharing so many good recipes and useful ideas
Hi. Very intresting and practical recepies out of which i have tried a few. Its a lovely blog the pictures r very inspiring and mouthwatering . Even the garden tips r so nice . Will be trying out your ideas . Thx .
Hi padhu .Excellent way of growing organic plants at home. Am a great fan of your kitchen blogs. Few years back I started cooking and now I became expert after following your kitchen blogs. Thanks to you padhu. Wish to see more blogs from you. Happy cooking:-)
Mam wic sand u using ??its looks like black sand
I use a mix of coco peat, vermicompost and soil and a little sand.I also add compost every 15 days. So the color is black.
Thank you so much mam for ur quick response in ur busy schedule ….
Mam Am living near chennai I have a doubt reg .where shud we get quality organic seeds and how much size grow bags is required for brinjal,tomato,chilly,ladies finger etc…. Pls tell me the process to plant these vegetables… A year before i tried all these veggies in my garden but because of big tress like coconut tree,lemon,sapota,Gooseberry it doesnt grow well … so i planned to grow all these veggies in bags….Am very much interested in gardening Pls mam waiting for ur reply …
Standard size bags are enough for brinjal, tomatoes etc. Plants need sunlight, so it will not grow if there is shade. You can grow it in grow bags. Seeds are commonly availabe or you can collect it from those who already have a garden.
Hi padhu,
Really amazed to c ur kitchen garden
I have just now started organic veg terrace gardening at home. However, my tomato, chilli and brinjal flowers r falling off without producing fruit.:(.. Can u suggest a remedy for this problem?
Even I am a learner when it comes to gardening. I learn only by trial and error. You should give good nutrition to the plants every week. To my knowledge compost is the best. I compost my kitchen waste at home itself. Brinjal flowers falling could be due to calcium deficiency.You can pour diluted buttermilk. Spray panchagavya which you will get it in shops which sell bio fertilizers.
Thanks so much for your suggestion. I have recently started applying vermicompost to plants. Will that supply all the necessary nutrition to plants or I have to add compost as well ? Please also let me know the proportion to dilute panchagavya.
Thanks.
Vermicompost is enough. Regarding Panchagavya – You will find instructions on the bottle itself.
Hi Padhu, I used to follow your recipes.Today only I came to know abt ur terrace garden.I too have it but i can't maintain it…….Can you give details how to compose our kitchen waste…..no idea about that khamba also.
Thank you for following my recipes. Writing about composting at home is in my agenda for a very long time but could not find time to do that yet. You can check this for now
how to compost
Hi padhu.. I started growing taro root.. how long it will take to mature and supplements I need to give? How many taros can I get from one plant?
nice
Hi mam,
I m planing to start this..
But I really don't know where to get seeds..
Pls help mee
Try in any nursery or govt agricultural dept.
namaskhar padhu how do we avoid snails eating the small plants. is there any remedy to prevent snail's
Wow!!! Padhu you are my last minute saviour in cooking!!! I love gardening!!! The moment I saw this post I am mesmerized!!!!
It would be very useful if you share some tips related to organic pesticides for kitchen garden
Yes, I too have that in my mind. Will do it soon.
HI , could you let me know which website do you order seeds?