Help your garden take root
A dying fern? A jasmine that
stubbornly refuses to bloom?
Tips for struggling amateur
gardeners
Did you begin with passion and a
grand green vision but soon found your plants dying out on you? That can be
pretty depressing but take heart; this is something that could happen to the
best of gardeners.
And for fledgling amateur gardeners,
it’s just a part of the learning. We suggest that you check if you are making
any of these common gardening errors. If you are and you can correct them, then
you could easily get back on the green track soon.
It is easier to understand the
nuances of gardening and get tuned to plants’ needs by beginning small, rather
than try to start gardening on a mega scale. There is a certain extra care and
sensitivity associated with raising plants, but the rewards are well worth it.
Sunlight
quotient
Choose plants according to where
they are going to be placed. For instance, if you want a palm tree on your
balcony, go for the cactus variety of palm that can best handle the heat. Then,
indoor plants too need some exposure to sunlight and fresh air.
“If you are going to confine them to
an air-conditioned room, they suffer. You can keep two sets of plants and
rotate the pots from inside to the outside,” suggests Navneeth Raghavan,
landscape and environmental consultant.
The symptoms are pretty clear; make
sure you respond on time. Scorched leaf edges and yellow or brown patches might
indicate that the plant is getting over exposure to sunlight, while drooping or
faded leaves and bent stems are indicators that the plant isn’t getting enough
sunlight.
Watering
errors
“If you last watered your plants
yesterday morning, you can’t relegate today’s watering to the evening,” says S.
Radhakrishnan, avid roof gardener and founder-president, Good Governance
Guards, which has been working to promote urban gardening in a big way.
Watering has to be done at the same
time everyday. And it must be done in the mornings or evenings, never when the
sun is high in the sky.
If the soil is hot it heats up the
water and that can kill cells in the tender root tips. Moreover, watering
should take note of the plant’s stage of growth. “A new sapling requires about
100ml of water a day, while a 2-3 feet high plant will require more. For
example, a grown brinjal plant in a standard 10” by 10” pot would need half a
litre of water everyday. Some plants like chilly require more water, while some
like country beans, greens and coriander (with roots less spread out) need less
water,” says Radhakrishnan.
When you water the plant, sprinkle
it on the leaf surface. Plants enjoy this, just like humans enjoy a shower.
If your plant is too soft-stemmed,
with leaves turning yellow despite judicious watering then “it might be due to
a clogged drainage hole that doesn’t let excess water seep away. Or the soil
might be too compacted and not porous enough,” says R. Srinivas, landscape
consultant.
Slow
growth?
If your plant is not showing good
growth, maybe it is not getting enough food. You might add some organic growth
booster granules to the soil around the plant. “But don’t over-fertilise, that
will harm the plant,” says Srinivas.
Some plants need support. “For
instance, tomato and brinjal do not give much fruit unless propped up by a
stick (you may tie the stem loosely to the stick), whereas a lady’s finger
plant will stand upright by itself. And, of course, creepers need a ‘pandal’,”
Radhakrishnan points out.
Watch
out for pests
If you notice a white powdery or
other deposit on the plant, it might indicate a pest infestation. Deal with it
right away or it will spread. “Wash that part repeatedly with clean water and
once the plant is dry, spray the plant and the affected area in particular with
10ml of herbal pesticide concentrate in 1 litre of water,” recommends
Radhakrishnan. Once in a while, as a preventive measure, a mild spray of 5ml
herbal pesticide concentrate in 1 litre of water can be used.
Why
no flowers?
It could be lack of sunlight. If
your garden or verandah does not get enough sun, consider growing foliage
plants instead. If your plant has flowered once, then you need to prune its
branches, leaving a few inches at the base to stimulate the growth cycle.
“Otherwise, the plant will just grow wild with foliage, leaving out flowers,”
warns Raghavan.
HEMA VIJAY TH120907
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