Lessons

A number of days have passed since I posted last. Well, the plants kind of have taken over the process of growing. In fact, if at all...that's the problem. They continue to grow. The ceiling of the green house is seriously low for their tall branches. It pains when I need to literally bend a branch or two to untangle it's leaves from in between the wire mesh and the poly-film. Primarily, it's the tomatoes, the one chilly and the cucumber that have so far found the vertical inadequate. But, I believe it's just a matter of time when the bell peppers would feel likewise. 

But, I have a plan. It's definitely more ambitious than the humble green house. There's this existing plastic sheet based shed that I have in the rear of the house. 

If I'm able to find a way to cover it's sides with shade net/ any other material that allows ventilation and if I'm able to replace at least a couple of sheets which allow a lot more sun-light, the problem would be sorted. Let's see what I do. But whatever it is, I know it needs to be soon. For the three tomatoes planted later, have already started bearing fruit.

And Oh! we have a little bell pepper showing up. It's beautiful.

Meanwhile, I look at the general health and bloom of the chilly plants and the bell peppers and I'm reminded of how withered they'd looked just a few days before. And I draw a lesson. Had I given up, the capsicum above or the chillies below wouldn't have been. It seemed like a tempting option and the easiest one. But I decided to give it a try...and then another and another. And then I struck success. It's a different high. To be on the brink of failure...to try yet and then emerge stronger. I hope it works similar with people and relationships. And I wish they have 'Neem oil' remedies for human bitterness and second chances.

The second lesson I draw is when I see the cucumber. While you try your best again and again and live by the 'never give up' attitude, you should also know when to let go. A new beginning deserves equal opportunity...especially if you're convinced from inside, that you couldn't have done any better. So it feels good to see the yellow flowers adorning healthy baby cucumber heads, in the very setup where just a few weeks back, you saw eaten leaves and dead branches.

And then, change being the only constant...the spinach and the Swiss chard after bearing dark green beauties for 7-8 times presented their swansong. The leaves have left...it's time to change and move to a fresh lot of plantation. Hopefully, sometime next week.

It's raining cherry tomatoes. And I feel like being drenched. They are succulent and exude joy.

Lastly, the transplanted basil is in good health. Right at the entrance, both the plants welcome you inside, as if showering you with their good aromatic energy.

Sweet basil

 So, as I'd written earlier...the two basil plants by their sheer size were not only proving to be unmanageable in the current raft system but were also almost completely cutting out the sun for the smaller plants growing under their shaded canopy. The rocket leaves especially got the raw deal.

 So something had to be done. And it was. I didn't have any more grow bags left. But garbage disposal bags and other polythene bags I had in plenty. So sturdy transparent polythene bags went into the soot-black garbage disposal bags...coco-peat prepared yesterday went into the transparent polythene bags...and the basil plants went into the coco peat. Thus...

The last bit about the basil plants was though, easier said than done. As, before they went into the coco-peat they had to be taken out from the raft system. And that was tricky. Both the plants as can be hopefully seen in the topmost picture, are fairly large. That implies, they are healthy with healthy roots (read root-systems), which got so deeply-completely entangled among themselves, it actually required force and a hard heart to rip them apart. Here's how they looked inside.

Any how, what had to be done...had to be. And so in the greater good of everybody, the plants were liberated thus...

And then immediately transplanted into the awaiting coco-peat.

Finally, a lot of pruning was carried out and in spite of the transplant shock and all, both looked at peace in the new medium.

The pruning has led to a lot of leaves. Understandably, this afternoon's salad then (both Shankar's and mine) is expected to have a rather strong flavour of sweet basil. 

Meanwhile, I took it as a good opportunity to clean the raft itself and completely replace its nutrient solution. So the one oregano, one parsley and the five rocket leaf plugs (in greying shades of health) rested while the cleaning and the refilling happened. All in all, it looks like a much cleaner system now. I hope the rocket leaves revive. The vacant slots have for the moment been covered, but would soon be plugged with some more rocket leaves.

And last but not the least...the cucumber is truly in bloom. It brings a strange sense of relief, especially since the last time, it was just before this stage that the aphids began their devastating attack on the first plant.

Produce

It's the weekend. The solitary reaper in me set to work. Rewarding work. So the greens (to include both the spinach and the Swiss chard), continue to mesmerise. I have partaken leaves from both the rafts at least seven times already. Almost every week or so. And there they are, bountifully willing to give more. Here...

Ah! and along with the leaves came along a friendly grasshopper. He seemed to be at home inside the house...though possibly slightly dazed, as to why he was no longer under his mouth-watering camouflage.

And then the tomatoes. Both Suhyana and Cherry. Words would fail me, if I tried to describe how I felt as I plucked the first lot ever. Incidentally, I didn't even know how to pick the blood-red beauties, until videojug.com's film on how to harvest tomatoes taught me. So it was with immense tenderness that I began plucking the fruit, careful that I left the calyx intact. The calyx is the flower shaped green leaf on top of the fruit, which when left to be with the fruit continues to help it in ripening at the correct rate. Here then...

And lastly, the cucumber has actually flowered. And what I learnt (thanks Google, for the zillionth time!!!), was that it was only the female flowers that had the little cucumber beneath them. The best thing is, the majority of flowers (or flowers to be) I see on the plant, all have a little promise of a fruit beneath.

See you all next week.

Little ones

Today was one amazing morning. It began much before sun-rise, with a dream. Vivid, beautiful...of the kind that stays with you for the rest of your life. And this, when I don't dream much. 

So with a light step and song in my heart, I later entered the green-house for my day-break rendezvous with the plants. And...both of us surprised each other, this baby chameleon and me. It had possibly walked in earlier and I'm sure after due inspection, in its considered view thought the asparagus and its support to be the best perch in the world...till of course I interrupted its silent contemplative reverie. It eyed me with disinterest, yet kept me under observation. It also very patiently allowed me to take a picture or two. But when I went nearer to tickle its belly, it seemed to have had enough of it and ran for its life...tail high in the air. 

A beautiful little green chilly has also peeked into the world. I see a lot of white flowers on almost all the chilly plants. Very soon, I hope we'd be spiced up.

What's taken me by surprise is the cucumber. From the last time, I remember that it was the flowers that bloomed first and only then did I get a glimpse of baby cucumbers. This time however, what seems to have already appeared is the baby cucumber, with a flower still forming on its top. So either, I remember wrong from the previous instance or what I'm presuming to be cucumbers are nothing but buds for the flowers to be. I'd wait, watch and tell.

Meanwhile, four little seedlings of bell peppers have also germinated. I intend to put them all in individual grow-bags. 

 And these little rucola leaves aren't having it easy. The basil on top seems to be hogging all the sun-light and possibly its' well-developed root system might not be leaving much for the tiny roots of the rucola. In any case, both the basil plants are proving too big for the raft. Let's see what I do about it.

Surprisingly then, the oregano under the very same basil and conditions seems to be happily thriving.

 And well, the little one of the chameleon really seems to have taken a liking to its place astride the asparagus support. Late in the evening, just before I shut the doors for the night, I happened to peek inside the green house. And sure enough the little fellow was found sleeping like a...well, baby. And while it slept, it seemed to be praying or may be from the experience of the morning it besought me to leave it alone.  I let it be and wished it good night. 

Homecoming

I'm back. Exhausted with rejuvenation. Travel in India can do that to you. Among other things, I was fortunate to visit the Sundarbans. Though the Royal Bengal Tiger eluded, the mangrove trees didn't disappoint...as didn't the waterways and the tiger reserve watch towers and the long jungle canopy walk (an elevated concrete path through jungle) and the boat & its crew and surprise surprise!!! Airtel connectivity. Consequently the GPS on the phone constantly showed us as a languid red dot on a blue streak connected through a myriad of numerous other azure waterways right up-til the sea into the Bay of Bengal. That, and the uplifting experience at Karar Ashram, near the sea beach at Puri. 

But, I get carried away and this post is not about any of what I've mentioned. This one is about the magic of overwhelming nature and its welcoming shades of red, green, crimson, pink, white et al. All of them in unison and concentrated in a 9 x 6 sq ft of hard standing, canopied by poly-film and flanked by shade net. So in my absence Shankar has done well, the plants have cooperated happily and that unseen blessed presence continues to grace. I present to you Tomato Suhyana...in its' different stages of colour and prime.

The cherry tomatoes are also beginning to blush...also, they are  beginning to surprise me with their abundance. I never knew so many grew on one plant. But as I said, this place is blessed.

And on the subject of tomatoes...the three additional tomato plants (two Suhyana and one Cherry) have suddenly decided to shoot up. Not only are they already touching the ceiling, they are also giving the little space inside the greenhouse a jungle like quality. And I don't quite know how to deal with this sort of a phenomenal growth!

In the picture above, the right-most plant is a chilly. Surprisingly, it's already almost as tall as the tomatoes; it hasn't flowered as yet; it's healthy and green and it just continues to grow. And on the subject of chillies and sweet peppers, I'm happy to announce that I have finally found a very effective solution in the Neem oil/ washing liquid soap concoction to get rid of the aphids completely.Thanks geekgardener.in!!! So, all the affected peppers are now thriving and showing healthy green leaves again. The following picture shows a stark comparison of an aphid struck leaf on the red bell pepper, with the fresh green leaves that are now showing signs of flourish, on the same plant.

Here are the others. Some among them blossoming white. I hope that's a sign of chillies to be. Which reminds me, that I need to read a lot about how chillies/ peppers develop and what they need through this magical process.

And then the cucumber. It's caught on!!! Already a tall plant, with healthy leaves and the characteristic spiral- curl ended vines clutching to grab on to any support they find...egging on the plant skywards.

Even the asparagus has grown both in the number of fern like stems and in height. The oldest fern for instance is almost a foot and a half tall now.

The basil plants continue to grow, exude that subtle seductive scent and while they do that, they've also got clusters of leaves the colour of dark chocolate...and daintily placed on these are petite pink flowers.

The lush of the greens (spinach, swiss chard and radish leaves in that pictorial order) then, as if completes the ensemble of this beautiful, humbling, warm homecoming.