Growing the Feathery Cypress vine,गणेशवेल

This plant is an annual and a very easy to grow plant.Infact one of the most beautiful and easiest annual to grow in pots.

Most importantly it will produce hundreds of flowers and each flower pod will produce 4 seeds.So you will be rewarded with hundreds of seeds for next season.

Scientific Name : Ipomoea quamoclit

Family : Convolvulaceae (morning glory family)

Common Names : Cypress Vine, Star Glory, Hummingbird Vine

Sunlight exposure : Partial Shade,Full Sun.

Water Needs : Medium,Can tolerate more.

Bloom Time : Seasonal, July - November.

This vine grows very fast and aggressively, producing bright red star shaped flowers.Another attraction of this plant is its foliage.Its leaves are extremely soft and feather like which looks attractive.Hence many people also grow it for its attractive foliage in shaded area.Its quite hardy plant and maintenance free.

Soil: Cypress vine grows well in any soil type.

Planter: This plant requires medium planter,at least 12" or 18". It can also be grow in small size planters but a bigger planter will help it grow much bigger and produce more blooms.

Fertilizer: Cypress vine will be more than happy just with regular compost or cow manure.No need to get stressed about fertilizing it with different fancy fertilizers.Simple compost will do the trick.

Water & Sunlight: Cypress vine requires full sunlight for more blooms but will also grow well in partial shade.If grown in partial shade it will produce less blooms.It hates full shade.Give it plenty of water.

Pests:It is extremely resistant to pests and rarely bothered by pests.

Propogation:The best way to propagate Cypress vine is from seeds.It grows very easily from seeds.

Growing Cypress vine:

• It is easy to grow this beautiful plant, making it a favorite with the gardeners. 

• The plant is grown from seeds and grows fast.

• It's leaves are feather like and very delicate.

• This plant starts flowering after about 50 days after sowing seeds and will produce countless blooms.

• Cypress vine is grown in summer and will bloom till about start of winter.Plant will die back in winter.

• Beautiful star shaped red flowers bloom till October.

• The flowers usually close by afternoon and wither by the end of the day.

• Once the bloomed flower drops,don't cut the flower pods.

• These pods will dry out completely at the end of the season i.e in winter and each pod will produce 4 seeds.

• Water these plants enough so as to keep the soil always moist.

• This plant is almost pest free.

Grow this red beauty and it will give a stunning look to your balcony.

Growing the Aromatic White Ginger Lily,सोनटक्का

White flowers are very pleasing to eyes. They also go well with any type of decor or designs in the balcony.

Scientific Name : Hedychium coronarium

Family : Zingiberaceae

Common Names : White Ginger lily, White Garland lily

Sunlight exposure : Partial Shade,Avoid direct sunlight.

Water Needs : Medium,Can tolerate more.

Bloom Time : Seasonal, August - November.

This white beauty has a very fine fragrance, making it hugely popular among the garden lovers.
This plant is extremely easy to grow and needs no special care except regular watering.
Even if it gets ignored sometimes it will reward you its beautiful fragrant blooms.
But it won't tolerate dry soil for long.So don't miss watering.

Origin:

This white wonder is the national flower of Cuba. In the Philippines, it is called as Camia and is commonly worn by women as garlands.These flower resembles a butterfly.This flower is used in many parts of the world  to manufacture perfumes & scented soaps.

Soil: White ginger lily grows well in any soil type.

Planter: This plant requires deep planter,atleast 24" or 30".It can also grow in medium size planters but a bigger planter will help it grow much bigger and produce more blooms.

Fertilizer: Ginger lily will be more than happy just with regular compost or cow manure.No need to get stressed about fertilizing it with different fancy fertilizers.Simple compost will do the trick.

Water & Sunlight: Ginger lily requires filtered sunlight or partial shade.It hates full or direct sunlight.Give it plenty of water during growing season in summer.Slow down watering during its flowering period in monsoon.

Pests:It is extremely resistant to pests and rarely bothered by pests.

Propogation:The best way to propagate ginger lily is by dividing rhizomes.Although it can also be grown by seeds,rhizomes are best to grow them.

Growing White ginger lily:

• It is easy to grow this beautiful plant, making it a favorite with the gardeners. 

• The plant is grown from rhizomes and can reach a height of up to 1-2 feet.

• It's leaves are about 10 to 15 cms long and 5 to 8 cms wide with pointed tip.

• This plant forms tall erect stalks from thick rhizomes which grow skywards.

• These stalks continue to grow throughout the summer.

• As monsoons start a cone shaped bud will form at the  tip of each stalk.

• Beautiful butterfly shaped flowers(white with pale yellow at centre)will continue to emerge from these cone shaped bud throughout the monsoons till around November.

• The flowers bloom at night and wither by the end of next day.

• You can pluck individual flowers directly from the cone shaped bud(don't cut flowers or cone bud).If you do so you will destroy upcoming blooms.

• Once all flowers have bloomed and cone becomes hollow cut the entire stalk from bottom.

• New stalks will emerge soon and will become ready for bloom in next season.

• Water these plants enough so as to keep the soil always moist.

• These plant is almost pest free.But Sometimes it's attacked by whiteflies but it won't harm the plant or affect the blooms.

Grow this white beauty and it will fill your balcony with amazing fragrance at night.

Growing Betel Leaf easily at home

There are very few plants that are super easy to grow and have many benefits and look very beautiful.Betel leaf is one such plant.

Scientific Name : Piper Betel
Family : Piperaceae(Pepper)
Common Name : Betel leaf

Sunlight exposure : Full Shade
Water Needs : Medium,Always moist, Don't over water.

Betel leaf is basically a herb commonly called as “Paan” in India.It is widely used in various religious/pooja events and even on auspicious occasions like weddings and festivals.

Betel leaf is an evergreen perennial climber and its leaves are glossy heart shaped that have a sweet scent.

Here are some of the benefits of Betel leaf

• Chewing 1-2 betel leafs daily can provide the calcium.
• Eating betel leaf after meals can help lighten stomach and even prevent indigestion.
• Betel leafs are also used as mouth freshener and help control bad breath.
• Dried betel leafs are used in preparing various mouth fresheners.

Soil: Betel leaf grows well in any soil type.

Planter: This plant requires medium planter,at least 18".It can also grow in large size planters for bigger plant and more harvest.

Fertilizer: Betel leaf will be more than happy just with regular compost or cow manure.No need to add any fancy fertilizers.Simple compost will do the trick.

Water & Sunlight: Betel leaf requires filtered sunlight or partial shade.It hates full or direct sunlight.Give it enough water but don't over water else it will rot.

Pests: It is quiet resistant to pests but spider mites can sometimes create havoc.

Propogation: The best way to propagate betel leaf is through cuttings.

Growing Betel leaf:

Most balcony gardeners are unable to grow many plants due to lack of sunlight.Its a major issue which people face when growing plants in balcony.

But Betel leaf is one such completely shade loving plant and hence a must have for every balcony gardener.

Betel leaf plant can be easily grown in pots almost anytime of the year.

One can also grow them in hanging pots.

Betel leaf plant cannot grow in hot climate and its leaves start turning yellow and drop.

It requires outside shade ,not indoor shade.So avoid growing it indoors.

The most easy way to grow this plant is by cuttings or saplings from nursery.

You can take a healthy stem  and make a 45 degree cut below the leaf node.Now remove all lower leaves, leaving only the top 2 leaves .Place the stem in a bowl of water and keep it near windowsill.

Replace water every 2 days.Once enough roots are formed shift them into containers.

As betel leaf is a climber it must be grown over a moss stick for healthy growth.

Betel leafs can be grown in any soil type.All it requires is lot of compost and always moist soil.

Remember to pluck leaves regularly to encourage new growth.

This plant is not generally not affected or troubled by pests.

But it can sometimes be attacked by spider mites which can be controlled by neem oil and soap solution.

My betel leaf plant during initial stage of growth.
So start growing this beautiful and hugely beneficial herb.

Growing Ginger With Patience

So from my first experience unlike Garlic,Ginger is a super easy plant to grow in pots even if you are a beginner without any knowledge.

You just need to keep in mind few basics about Ginger.

The part of the ginger plant which you eat is called rhizome and its a tropical plant.

Ginger can be grown in india around march and would be ready for harvest around December. 

Let’s now see what Ginger plant Loves and Hates.

Ginger plant loves,

1..Sheltered spot

2..Filtered sunlight

3..Warm/humid weather

4..Rich & moist soil.

Ginger plant hates.

1..Direct sun

2..Frost

3..Strong winds

4..Soggy, waterlogged soil

So to start just buy a few ginger rhizomes from nearby store.Make sure they are fresh and plump in size so that it will increase your chances of good & healthy harvest.

Most important steps.

1.Wash the ginger rhizomes very well so as to remove any chemicals or pesticides from the rhizome.

2.Cut the washed ginger rhizome into small pieces.Each piece can be planted in separate pots and each tiny piece will grow into a big rhizome.

3.Now keep this cut pieces in a dry area for 2-3 days to allow it to heal properly.After 2-3 days the cut surface/area will dry out and form a protective callus which prevents it from any infection or fungus when planted in soil.

Soil for ginger should be very porus and well draining.Hence take 50:50 mixture of regular garden soil + sand.The soil should not be loamy.

Ginger generally grows horizontally under the soil.So take a much wider pot rather than a deep one.A 12” or even a 8” pot will do.

Now bury these pieces about 2-3 inches deep in soil.

Bury only a single rhizome in each pot to prevent it from getting over crowded.

Water it well and place in a shaded but bright spot.

Just remember to water it daily.

Initally it requires well watering.

Ginger will take a long time to show initial Green shoots.So be patient.

Once the ginger plant gets going it will mostly take care of itself.

Once it reaches a height of about 2-3 feet(its max height)slow down on watering.

Water only when soil feels very dry.

Regarding fertilizer ,You can just add regular compost or cow manure every month.

Ginger plant takes almost 8-9 months to reach harvest stage.

When climate turns cold around winter the plant will start to die and all its foilage will dry out.

That's when u remove the entire plant and harvest rhizomes.

You can also dig the soil from sides carefully without damaging the roots and harvest few rhizomes after about 4 months.Then leave the plant to grow further.But its flavor will be very mild.

Wait till the plant dies completely to get a strong flavor.

A few snaps of my ginger plant and harvest.

 Initial shoots after about a month👆

Growing well....After about 3 months👆

 Final harvest after 8 months from two 8"pots.👆

So guys get going and start growing your own ginger,and believe me it won’t disappoint you.

Transform your Balcony into a mini Garden

Since last few years I have developed huge interest in gardening.Since childhood I used to see my maternal uncle develop huge space available in his bunglow plot into lush green garden with all possible kinds of flowering and foilage plants.

Always had a dream of having a beautiful garden,but space was a huge problem since I had only a small balcony.Still I had few plants planted there and created a small green corner.

Now  that I have moved to a bigger house with much bigger balcony,I grabbed the opportunity and started work on developing an ultimate balcony garden with lawn.

My basic idea was to convert the balcony(an L shaped balcony)into a perfect mini garden with all things one can imagine in a balcony garden like

1..A Small swing

2..Sitting bench

3..Small lawn(preferably artifical)who wants to mess with natural lawn and it's maintenance....😜

4..Wind chimes.

5..Decorative lamps

6..Small fountain.

I wanted all the above things in my balcony with the condition that it should not look messed up or overcrowded.😀

A few snaps showing the initial look of my balcony.Not impressed though.😏

 

I have simply placed the artifical lawn on existing tiles(without sticking,so I can change it's position  for a new look if required without much hassle).Thick granite strips equal to the thickness of lawn placed from all sides to hold the lawn in place and to cover the visible rough edges of the lawn.

I will now directly give u glimse of my balcony after the final makeover.Did couple of changes in the arrangment.Luckily this time all things fell into place and the arrangements look stunning.

As u can see above there are  so many  pots in such a small balcony.This was possible because of box grill fitted to balcony rallings from inside rather than from outside,as it gives easy access to plants.It had an added advantage.I could place double the number of pots ,few in stands and same number of pots below it.Smart space utilization.😎

I also covered the front portion of the box grill by green net.Not only did this hide the grill but also gave a feeling of more greenery.Also this net made the planters almost invisible with only the plants visible.

The pebbles and the toy tractor were lying unused.Now they have found perfect place in my garden and look beautiful.These small thinks add extra beauty.

The sitting bench was a huge obstacle while moving within the garden.

So Later converted lawn into an L shape with bench sitting in the corner perfectly.👇

Finally the tiny fountain found the perfect place in the corner.👇

So guys.what do u think of this makeover.Do reply or share ur views.

Hope u all get ideas from this and start work on ur balcony makeover.

Happy gardening!!!

🌱🌲🌳🌴🌸🌹🌺🌻🌼 


Gautam.