My first introduction to gardening was in my school, in 4th grade, where we had specific allotted classes and workshops dedicated to getting our hands dirty. My first ever experience and memory of growing something was using a coconut shell with some soil, easily available kitchen ingredients and a sprinkle of water. I remember placing the coconut shell on my window sill and taking care of it like a baby. To be able to see the tiny greens of germination over the next few days, gave me great joy. We also drew faces on the coconut shell, which was so much fun.
However, that remained as a one-time experience for many years after, until I decided to transition from having a brown thumb to green fingers, in this quarantine. It has been almost two months of trying my hand at gardening and it has been nothing but a continuous learning experience for me. This write-up is my attempt to share the exhilarating and joyful journey that gardening has been so far, with the world.
The most powerful driving factor for me to embark on this journey has been the fact that I am living in my village right now, where I have access to soil, natural animal fertiliser and lots of space. This is not to say that people living in the metropolitan cities in cramped apartments cannot do gardening. They absolutely can, more on that later. To kickstart my journey, I went to a nursery nearby to buy some plants. Most of them were flowering plants like Hibiscus, Rose, Jasmine, etc. But I was very keen on wanting to grow my own food, so I went to another nursery to get my hands on a few Tomato, Brinjal and Green Chilli plants. I came home extremely excited to plant them and that night I slept with a huge ear-to-ear smile on my face. At the same time, I could not wait to wake up, greet them and water them.
They were not lying when they said ‘Be careful about the gardening bug’. I don’t know when I got bitten by it, but all I wanted to do, was to grow more and more plant varieties. So on my next trip to Hyderabad, I bought an assortment of pots and seeds, some of which included Amaranth, Malabar Spinach, Parsley, Basil, Fennel and Drumstick.
It is interesting to know that on the very same day, I learnt that one does not need to necessarily ‘buy’ seeds. We can grow vegetables and herbs from our own kitchen and also propagate plants in water. I immediately rushed to the kitchen and planted coriander and fenugreek seeds.
A few days after this, on a calm cloudless evening, I found myself playing in the mud in a small space in front of the house. Touching and holding the soil in my hands, observing the tiny colourful mineral particles, feeling the warmth and moisture within them, made me feel grounded, peaceful and connected to the earth. That day, I planted six more saplings of Rose, lily and Hibiscus.
What about the people who live in small houses? No worries at all. There are myriads of options available, to upcycle and use as a pot. For instance, coconut shell, take-away boxes, delivery boxes, paint buckets, tyres, rice bags, broken or spare utensils, etc. Apart from this, few hours of sunlight, a little water depending on the moisture of the soil and a small space like your window sill, balcony, kitchen top or dining table is all that is needed. As a cherry on the top, you can make your own compost to nourish your plants from the kitchen waste. Any complaints/ excuses now?!
There is an inexplicable joy in harvesting your produce and letting it dictate your menu for the day. My own version of ‘Farm To Table’.
Gardening has helped me understand my food better. I cannot imagine wasting food now because I know the effort and time that went into bringing that food to my plate. Also, it helped me consider venturing into other sustainable practices like composting, making my own natural fertilisers and pesticides and adopt every possible way to reduce my waste generation.
With every sapling you plant and take care of, you learn responsibility, patience and gratitude. I urge everyone to start their journey and find a newfound appreciation of life, on their way.
Happy Gardening! ☘️☘️☘️
By Dr Meghana Reddy Tandra
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