"Refuse/Reuse Plastic Covers" Drive

Refuse / Reuse Plastic Covers

Everybody would have heard this a million times. But have we REALLY given it a thought? Why do we, specially educated people do this? Is it because of the ease of not requiring to carrying bags? Look what we so called "educated" people are upto! We see the below state of the city almost in every street, yet do not bother, thinking it is BBMP's work and they are not doing it.

Streets piling up with plastic covers - is so alarming !!! 

Until the BBMP picks them up, many cattles come and feed here, consuming plastic covers. So what? It is from this cow, you will get the milk and consume it yourself. And that cattle dies eventually due to KG's of plastic covers in it's stomach. 

Remember - "What goes around, comes around!" Yes, this is THE RULE nature follows. 

Pic Source : Internet

Pic Source : Internet

Even though BBMP takes it away from this spot, the maximum they could do is dump it to the landfills. What happens there? Has anyone given it a thought?

Trucks to dump the waste we generate in landfills - Pic Source : Internet

Can you imagine the smell this generates in this area?  Pic Source : Internet

These landfills will have these for centuries together, as the plastic is NOT decomposable. So what?

If pictures are not convincing enough, take a look at the vidoes showing what is happening in the landfills -

(Video Source : Deccan Herald)

(Video Source : Deccan Herald)

After looking at these video, what is the feeling we get if we are real, educated human beings? It should be "the guilt".

Oh please, let us stop blaming someone else for the things we are responsible for! Look what have we been doing to the Nature all these years. It is high time, we REFUSE plastic covers at the first point.

Also a reminder that Plastic Covers are very much REUSABLE. We all understand that it is not practical to use cloth bag every time, but we can ALWAYS REUSE these plastic bags already at home!

Since cleaning begins at "home" we, volunteers of South Bangalore Organic Gardening, (group named The SOUTHekais)  planned and set out to make the "Refuse/Reuse Plastic Covers" Drive on 6th Dec 2015 near the Mini Forest Park, where we see roadside veggie vendors selling on daily basis and their customers are mostly the morning walkers, who after a stroll in the park, take back the veggies home on daily basis, also taking back NEW plastic covers every single day (a regular pattern as observed in any area probably)

The target was to spread awareness on this among:

• The roadside veggie vendors
• Their customers, who EACH time took a new cover every day.

So ,we prepared ourselves with a few banners on what we want to convey, a table, few cloth bags, compost bins for demo (an additional msg to re-use the kitchen waste) and setup a stall on the road side by 7am.

Pic Source : TSK

Looking at the new faces, people started getting curious or probably wondered if we are new veggie vendors in the area :-P

At first, they were hesitant and were scared to pass near to our stall. We welcomed each passer by, who looked at us and few were courageous enough ( :-P ) to ask what were we upto!

While we observed the vendors who were giving away plastic bags and also observed the walkers, who carried plastic bags and then and there started conveying and they said "sure, we know... but still..." , we also saw a set of people carrying their own cloth/jute bags. We clapped in group for them and thanked them for carrying their own bags and they felt proud, smiled back and said "Yes, we understand and we practice it" ! 

Those who were curious about the bins labelled as "Demo Bokashi Bins" and the tiny Khamba, came nearer to ask what was that about and we gave various details about - what is composting, different types of composting and how easily we can do it either via a DIY way at home or buy readily available stuffs from Vendors. 

We also informed them about how harmful is using disposable containers - the paper cups (which is wax coated and contains a plastic layer in between), the disposable plates which contains harmful chemicals , which when used on a longer period of time, can cause harm.

Milkman - encourages bringing own bags

A silent crusader, the milkman as we saw, did not give away plastic bags so easily. He asked if the customer has brought his bag. Proud to have such informed people around! 

The "technique" of folding a Plastic Bag

Well, it is not a robotic science :-D , but this triangular fold definitely works like a charm! And then you could put them in your vanity bags, laptop bags, car, scooter, or even your pocket! 

Video 

Overall Experience 

By the time the TSK team wrapped up by 9am, we had the sense of immense happiness that people actually wanted to know (about composting), but did not know where to gather the information from; that people agreed on re-using plastic covers; that people actually showed their interest in growing veggies organically at their home!

It is just the beginning and we have more such campaigns planned up! And yes, we are volunteers and do this for FREE :) We would like to encourage every individual to contribute in below ways :

• Reuse plastic covers. Refuse new ones.
• Spread awareness among your family, friends whenever you see them asking for a new plastic cover or not carrying their own bags, when they very much know that they are out for shopping.
• Compost at home, you can even do it at your apartment level or community level
• Join the subgroups of Organic Kitchen Gardeners and be present physically for such events!

Everyone can do their bit. Let's get responsible :) 

Bio Enzyme : A cleaning agent made from Citrus Peels

Cleaning Agents = Lot of non-biodegradable chemicals

The commercially bought cleaning agents (Bathroom cleaners, Floor Cleaners, Soaps and Detergents and likewise) are so powerful and strong. Have we ever wondered how much of chemicals are going into making them? Are they bio degradable?

Pic Source : Internet

 Pic Source : Internet

Pic Source : Internet

While a few category of biodegradable cleaning agents are available in the market, you could make them on your own at home using citrus peels, thus reducing the landfill, reducing the water pollution made from chemically made detergents - basically reusing and utilize what is given to us by nature.

What is Bio Enzyme

We all might already know the power of Lemon as a Cleaning Agent, used in day to basis. The good news is that, even the peels of the citrus category fruits could be used as cleaning agents! 

How to make Bio Enzyme

Ingredients

• Citrus Peels (Lemon, Orange, Mosombi and likewise)
• Jaggery
• Water
• A 25 ltr bucket with a lid (to make about 10 ltr of bio enzyme). You could also make it in a 1 ltr bottle to start off with. Adjust the ratio accordingly. 

Method Of Preparation  

• We had made juice out of 2 KG mosambi and hence you can imagine the quantity of the peels. You could add any citrus peels together for this solution. Remove the pulp and clean the peels as shown in the pic below 

• Take approx 10 ltr of water and soak the peels as shown below. I tore the peels further - smaller pieces, faster the decomposition. 

• Add about 1/2 KG Jaggery to begin with. You could keep adding a handful of jaggery if required on fortnight basis if you see white worms sitting on the inside of the lid.  Close the lid and keep it aside (away from direct sunlight and outdoors to avoid any foul smell) 

NOTE 

If you are using 1 ltr bottle, do NOT close the cap tightly. Leave a gap open for the gases to escape. Otherwise the bottle could bulge and burst when you try to open it the next time. Shake the bottle once in 2-3 days to give it a nice mix.

• Keep stirring the solution once in 7-10 days and keep a check on white worms. The peels will start to break down soon and you could see them as settling at the bottom of the bucket as sediment. It would looks like the below pic after 2 months. 

• This is how it looks after 3 months - light yellow liquid, which could be used a floor cleaner, utensil cleaner, bathroom cleaner, glass cleaner. The expected smell should be of fermented citrus. 

Usage 

Dilute it or use it as concentrated, as you use other cleaning agents. 

Troubleshooting

• If you see it getting smelly, add more Jaggery and stir the solution. 
• If you feel that it is stinking a lot and is unbearable, just pour in down the drain, it will clean up your drain. 

Drip Irrigation - a boon for urban gardeners

For whom

You could consider Drip Irrigation to be installed for your garden, if :

• You are elderly/senior citizen and cannot physically lift / move the heavy/tangled hose pipes.
• You do not have a gardener, or you do not like to depend on someone to water your plants.
• You are a busy person, but still love to maintain a garden at home.
• You are regularly away from home for days together/ travel a lot from office, which is stopping you to own a garden.
• You have health issues, which does not allow you to lift weights or climb the stairs on daily basis.
• You love to have a garden, but you are lazy by nature and don't want too much work on your hands. 

Whatever may be your reason, our aim is to let the plants keep growing and these reasons not to stop you from having a home kitchen garden.

Does it decrease the "closeness" you have with your garden?

You may argue that we feel closer to nature when we water the plants on our own, because we get to spend the time there physically, it is a form of exercise and the best way to get fresh oxygen early in the morning (Believe me, I said the same too earlier to others), but at the same time, thinking practically, I did not want to stop gardening nor wanted to depend on someone to water my plants because I could not on few days, nor I could see my plants die!

Why did I go for a Drip Irrigation System?

I am a working person, and recently got additional responsibilities and change in job role and on it, I indulge in multiple extra activities (my 1 hour exercise routine, yoga classes, bag making, quilt making, kitchen gardening, giving workshops on composting, cooking, and also cleaning the house now and then - I am sure I have OCD by now :-P ) and over the period of 2 years of starting my garden, balancing all of them got challenging, which showed up on my health (back ache) and eventually on my "once upon a time" beautiful garden! :-(

I enjoyed gardening because gardening was one of the best stress buster for an overly active person as me. I loved observing the plants, touching them, talking to them, watering them; I started off with water cans due to the small number of pots and when they increased, moved to garden hose.

My kitchen garden is on the 2nd floor, I would go twice a day to water them during peak summer time, as the plants would all wither off due to the extreme sun. I never believed in getting drip irrigation for my garden, until a stage came when I could not climb the stairs due to the back ache and when I was getting better after 2 weeks, I was in shock (I was hoping the Rain God would have saved them) to see all of my plants had died. It was so so disappointing to see. I was mourning on this incident for about a week and realized that now that I have come till here in my kitchen garden journey, I cannot stop growing further, so take an action to rectify this!

My garden pic, BEFORE the crises

Harvests before crises

My garden pics, AFTER the crises

Once a gardener, always a gardener

I realized that gardening has reached so deep into my cells! My friends too started asking as to why my posts in the OTG group has decreased in recent times. I was silent there, because I did not have anything to show, which made me feel so bad.

Water is an important and essential ingredient for the plants and I could not always pray for the Rain God to shower blessings in my difficult times of unable to water them. I immediately started researching the options on Drip Irrigation, as now I started looking at this concept as an investment, than a "Fisool Kharch" (unnecessary spending) and that would steal me away from my garden.

Not just a normal drip, but a "smart" drip

With the technology growing, we are lucky to have some things that ease our life.

This concept did not just have the normal water drip setup, but there were additional options to :

• Schedule the watering via mobile phone (with wifi enabled smart plug). 
• Modify or add a new schedule in the app. 
• No worries even if you do not have a smart phone for apps - they have an additional plug with buttons to schedule.
• I could now add the organic liquid fertilizers (Panchagavya, Bokashi Leachate, Jeevamruth etc) into the 100 ltr blue drum that comes along the installation, which would take care of supplying it to all my plants. I need not spray it with my effort of manually pumping the water sprayer to all the 100 plants.  (think of the amount of time and lifting I would be saving)
• I could now travel out of station for days, without worrying of what would happen to my plants  as it is scheduled and it will turn ON and OFF automatically without my interaction.
• Oh and it is not just the drip nozzel, we also had the option to use sprinklers and seperators (specially useful for greens and wider containers where the normal drip would not reach all the seeds)
• One of the best thing is that we need not invest on this at the same time, we could keep extending it when required so that your don't feel burdened about $$ at the same time.
• Now I will also be accountable for the amount of water I would be using for my garden and simply do not let it go waste by over-watering.

Pics of the setup

The blue drum, where I can just pour the organic liquid fertilizers, which will be carried to all the plants.

Water would be filtered from the tap and led to the drum

The ballcock, to prevent water overflowing from the drum. I could directly pour the organic liquid fertilizer into this drum.

I cant wait to try my hands on giving liquid fertilizers to my plants this way!

The "Smart Plug" which is wifi enabled and is scheduled via app. I just have to keep it switched ON and do nothing more.

The schedule on the App on Android Phone, which can be modified anytime.

The sprinklers for wider containers

Sprinkler for wider containers

Am I separating myself from the garden by introducing this stuff?

No , this does not mean that I will not be visiting my garden any more. I still have to de-weed, check on the pests, prune, and also click pictures and upload to OTG group right? ;-) 

Now I can concentrate more on improving my back and deal with other things in life and at the same time, not feel guilty of stopping my OTG obsession. I now feel confident about my garden and I wish to see my garden flourish once more like before!

Wish me luck guys :-)

I wish to see my garden flourish once more like before!

DIY Setup

Of course, if you have the patience, time and skills, you could always go the DIY way to reduce the cost. 

While researching, I found that a DIY kit is available here. 

If you reside in Bangalore, a good place to get the products separately for a cheaper price would be SP Road.

Considerations for drip to reach from point A to Z

The reach of water depends on 

1. height of the tank

2. water motor's power

3. the elevation of the ground on which the pipes would lie. 

4. other types of outlets attached than normal drip (example sprinkler,emitter)

Drip recommended for greens

A normal drip might not reach all the greens in the potting mix. Specially during germination time. 

Ensure your potting mix contains porous material (cocopeat or fine compost) so that it retains water and spreads it to other parts of the pot. 

As an alternate, you could use a SPRINKLER or an EMITTER for this purpose. Check below videos to see how it works : 

Drip irrigation - recommended SPRINKLER for greens (on OTG) 

Drip irrigation - recommended EMITTER for greens (on OTG)

However note that when these sprinklers and emitters are used, the power of water to reach further decreases. So, ensure you have a powerful motor (power depends on the length of pipe, elevation etc again) or install a seperate pipe for emitters/sprinklers.

Disclaimer : There are multiple drip irrigation vendors in the market. If you would like to go the DIY way, the information is above. Also Checkout OTG Commercial Posting page, here and here. 

I got it done by Smart Gardens ; Their contact details are here. 

[Video] All about Organic Terrace Gardening

Here is a MUST watch video covering ALL possible topics of setting up and maintaining Organic Terrace Garden.

Topics covered :

1. Why Terrace/Kitchen garden?
2. Types of containers
3. Types of veggie plants
4. Types of fruit plants
5. Types of sowing (direct/transplant)
6. Potting mix ratio
7. Watering
8. Recycling domestic water
9. Mulching
10. Compost / Manure / Other types of organic fertilizers
11. Some Bio fertilizers
12. Companion planting
13. Staking
14. Pest control
15. Birds/Monkey/Rat/Squirrel control 
16. Pollinators
17. Controlling Soil prone diseases
18. Misc topics.

"Oota From Your Thota" (OFYT) Gardening Event and Stalls

How could I not blog about such a favorite event of mine?

"Oota From Your Thota" (Food from your garden) is a tailored event for Kitchen gardeners held quarterly every year. Currently, it is held across all 4 regions of Bangalore (N.E.W.S)

You MUST attend this if you always wanted to start off with a kitchen Garden at home, but did not know HOW TO START and WHERE TO GET STARTING KITS, all at one place.

The upcoming OFYT event is on coming SUN, June 7th 2015 in Rajarajeshwari Nagar.

To know more about OFYT and see the event pictures, visit this blog.

Few glimpse of past events

OFYT events have ALWAYS been fun events, meeting all enthu gardeners, free seed sharing, free advice/inputs sharing, salad party. 

(Pic Source : OTG Members)

Yes, as you see, it is fun! So gooooooooooooooo and share YOUR experience in the comments!  :)