I know it’s been so long I haven’t uploaded blog posts here. It was because, I was focused on shooting and editing videos, which is by the way very new to me. And if you don’t know yet, we have a small YouTube channel called “Diarytale” which is slowly growing and that is awesome. So, apologies for missing in action here and now let us jump straight to this blog post!
Gardens around me
Since I am a garden enthusiast, I created a new series called “Gardens around me”, where we going to explore different gardens around us and we going to chat with some experts to clear our doubts and motivate us to excel in the art of gardening. So, here we are in episode 1 and part 3. Welcome to Gardens around me.
Episode-1 Part -3
In this episode, we are exploring my granny’s (aka ammamma, how I call her) garden. We have two parts before this one, where we explored her garden and seen different flowers and vegetables growing there. If you are new here or want to visit her garden again, here are the links!
Part 1: Ammamma’s garden tour covering vegetables and fruits
Part 2: Ammamma’s Garden tour covering herbs and flowers.
In this post, we are going to have a nice chat with her, where I am going to ask her the questions that you sent me through social media and emails. If you did not find your question asked in this post, feel free to mention again in the comment section, so I will take a note on it and clear it in the next episode.
A small interview with my Ammamma!
Q: About you?
A: I am Mrs.Govindammal Jayavelu from Arni, Tamil Nadu.
Q: How long are you doing gardening?
A: I am doing gardening for about 20 years now and I enjoyed each and every moment in doing so. It is really addictive in a good way.
Q: How do you get interested in gardening?
A: I got interested in gardening since the age of 10. I have seen so many failures in gardening and those failures made me explore more in gardening.
Q: Now that you are doing gardening for a long time, what are your next goals / next step in gardening?
A: My next goal or wish in gardening is to set up a terrace garden. That is my idea now and I am working towards it.
Q: How do you maintain your garden?
A: ► Regarding watering: I will water the plants every alternate day in summers. Before watering, I will check whether the soil is dry or moist and water only when the soil is dry.
► Regarding soil and nutrients: I will add neem cake, cow manure as fertilizers. Also, I will add kitchen waste compost as organic manures.
Q: What do you do if your plants are affected by insects or pests?
A: To treat the plants affected by pests, mites or insect, I will use neem oil, panchagavya, or turmeric powder and chili, garlic mixture.
Q: What type of manures or fertilizers do you use in your garden?
A: I prefer using organic manures. Especially, Cow manures and Kitchen waste compost.
Q: How to grow chrysanthemum in our garden?
A: This flower blooms in the winter. So, in summer, we get the best opportunity to change the soil of that plant, in case if you are growing in pots. So, in summer, change the soil, prune the plant, set it in the pots, water adequately and change its place. This plant will start growing in summers with good soil and water and eventually start blooming in the winters.
Q: 3 tips for beginners for efficient/successful gardening.
A: My 3 tips would be…
- Prefer using good soil and manures. Mix and set the plants in the right composition of the soil-manure mixture.
- Prefer good quality seeds and plants. Always consider growing heirloom varieties.
- If your plants are attacked by any insects or fungus. Do not panic. It happens in all gardens. Every gardener will face this problem in their gardens. So, if you got any plants affected, use organic insecticides like neem oil spray.
Important tip!
Be patient till you get it. If your plant dies or not growing or not blooming. Don’t get sad. It happens for every newbie. Even now I am experiencing this. So, if you fail, start learning from your mistakes. Ask fellow gardeners or search for the proper instructions and gain knowledge until you succeed. Once you start enjoying this process, you will start discovering the nature of each plant and its uniqueness.
There is a proverb that says,
“You must FAIL at gardening to MASTER it!”
Start having fun in gardening and remember to be patient. Gardens will always have its progress slowly. So, enjoy each and every step of it.
Q: 3 plants that grow easily or if you are a newbie, start your gardens with these plants!
A: To grow easily or in other words, if you are new in gardening, start with the plants that will never disappoint you in its growth. For that, consider the following plants.
- All greens and herbs can be grown easily. Eg: Arai keerai, siru keerai, spinach, manjal karisalankanni, ponnanganni, tulsi, mint, etc.
- Try Kanakambaram or the firecracker flower. It can be easily grown and it is not prone to any disease or pests attacks.
- Also, try heirloom hibiscus varieties. It never disappoints you and blooms in almost all seasons.
For the youtube lovers, here is the link to the YouTube video of this episode. Watch it and if you like, then do like and Subscribe!
Do let me know in the comment section if you guys have any questions about gardening and do write us the feedback about this series. Is it useful for you? Follow us in your favorite social media or subscribe to this blog to get notification or alerts when the next episode goes live.
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*P.S. Thanks for those who showed continuous support via subscriptions & in social media.
Have a good day!
#inspiration vibes…. Preparing 4 make a yrd in my home also….. Tq diarytale for inspiring msg frm u nd ur ammamma…. 😎😎😎😎
Thanks, Sri for your kind words 🙂 Keep supporting us!!