1. HOW TO REPOT A PLANT
When a plant is root-bound, there is no more space for the roots to grow and they start peeping out from the bottom drainage hole, it is a good time to move the plant to a bigger pot. If you see the roots growing out from the base of the pot, you can be sure that the plant is root-bound.
Further, when you buy a plant from the garden centre that comes in a plastic sleeve, you can transfer the plant to a new pot.
Here is how to go about it.
a. Stop watering the plant for 2-3 days, allowing the soil to dry. This will reduce the chances of hurting the roots when you pull out the plant later.
b. On the second or third day, gently pull out the plant while giving support to the main stem at the same time. If need be, you can turn the pot upside down and give it a slight nudge at the base of the pot. Repotting should be done during the evening so that the plant is not exposed to the sun (read: heat stress) immediately.
c. In case you notice that the roots are overgrown/root-bound, try loosening them gently, otherwise avoid disturbing the root ball. For a healthy repotting, keeping the main root undisturbed is the key.
d. The new pot where you wish to transfer the plant should be 2-3 inches bigger than the current pot.
e. Fill the lower one-third of the new pot with soil, gently pressing it to block the drainage holes. This will allow only water to escape and not the soil.
f. Now place the plant in the pot and fill the empty space with soil, keeping the top one inch vacant for water to sit whenever you water the plant.
g. For repotting, it is important to place the plant in the shade for at least a day or two, so that in case you happened to disturb a few roots, the shade will keep it cool and comfy for the plant to recover from the shock.
At times, a plant may take longer to recover. If your plant continues to dry and droop, don’t be disheartened. You can try practicing repotting with a different plant again. The key is to loosen the roots in order to break their root memory while keeping the root system intact so that they can quickly settle in a new pot.
2. HOW TO GET RID OF INSECTS
Primarily, there are two kinds of troublemakers in a home garden: insects and fungus.
Insects may be eating your plants (e.g., caterpillars, beetles), sucking on your plants (e.g., mealybugs), colonizing your plants to lay eggs (e.g., whiteflies), or just crawling in the soil (e.g., nematodes). To get rid of any of the above, you can use various neem derivatives.
For infected plant parts above the soil, spray a mixture of 10 ml of neem oil in a litre of water with 3-5 drops of liquid soap (soap will help the oil to bind with water).
For infected soil, mix 200-300 grams of neem cake or neem powder in the top 2-inch soil layer. The chemicals in neem interfere in the hormonal system of insects and hamper their growing and laying of eggs. The abovementioned dosage of neem is recommended for a medium-sized pot (10-12 inch deep). You can scale to proportion accordingly for bigger or smaller pots or follow the instructions on the product label.
Please note that not all insects are bad. Ladybugs, mantises and bees are a few of the good ones which you would need in your garden and which contribute to the good health of plants.
3. HOW TO WATER A PLANT
Different plants may have different water needs, but there is only one correct way of watering them: thoroughly!
Add water to the soil, ensuring that the pressure is not so much that the roots of the plant get exposed. Keep watering until it starts coming out from the base of the pot. While watering, you can also practice watering the soil evenly. Such thorough and even watering ensures that the entire root system gets water. Shallow watering reaches only the top set of roots, keeping the bottom roots thirsty. This uneven watering can lead to the slow deterioration of the root system, eventually stunting the growth of the plant.
You can also find people spraying water on the plant. This practice can help to increase the ambient humidity, reduce the ambient temperature or even clean the leaves, but for a plant to absorb water, you will have to add water to the soil directly so that the roots can transfer that water to the various plant parts.
For watering, I recommend using a watering can with the nozzle or a watering hose with a sprayer at the end. If you are using a mug or a bucket, do not water from a height as it displaces soil, thereby exposing the plant roots and causing hurt to delicate plant parts. You can also try placing your fingers in between to reduce the pressure of falling water from a bucket or a mug.
Alternatively, you can also make a DIY watering can. Take a 2-4 litre plastic bottle with its cap. Make 4-8 holes on the cap and use the bottle as a watering can.
Now, if you are wondering what the right time to water your plants is, I would suggest early morning. During the daytime, especially in the afternoon when the sun is intense, the temperature is at its highest and, consequently, the rate of evaporation for the plant (loss of water) is also at its peak. Watering in the mornings will help your plant fight water stress. In case you water in the evening, your plant will be standing with wet feet (clogged soil pockets for roots) over the entire night when the water stress is the lowest.
Therefore, watering before the sun gets over your head is a good practice. However, having said that, my personal recommendation is that whenever you remember to water your plants, just water them. There is no evidence suggesting that a certain timing of watering helps plants grow better for home gardens. Water whenever you can!
4. HOW TO PROPAGATE A PLANT
Propagation technically means growing a new plant, which can be done through a seed or even from a part of the parent plant. Here are some common ways you would need to know for propagation of your plant.
a. How to Propagate a Plant From a Cutting
Cutting means a section of a plant that you can take to grow more plant babies. The most common way of doing that is by looking for a node on your plant. The node is that part of the stem where a stem is dividing into another stem or branch. Take a cutting
by chopping just underneath the node. Ensure that you have 3-5 leaves on the cutting. The point from where you take a cutting has the ability to grow a callus or tiny roots. Once the cutting develops roots, it can be potted in soil or allowed to continue in water.
Plants like golden pothos, most kinds of philodendrons, monstera, lucky bamboo, and mint can very easily grow roots on the cutting when kept in water for a week or more. Thus, growing them from a cutting is the most convenient way instead of growing them from a seed.
To improve your success with cuttings, try and take multiple quantities of them. For example, to grow one cutting, I start with at least three. If done right, all three of them may root. However, sometimes only one or two may root. There are two stages where I have seen people go wrong with the stem-cutting propagation.
- The cutting might turn yellow and dry without developing roots.
In such a case, in your next attempt, first ensure that you make the cut below the node because this point releases growth hormones that help in root growth. Further, always choose a healthy-looking stem to take a cutting. If you see any kinds of marks or spots on the stem, avoid using that one to take a cutting.
- The cutting develops roots but fails to establish itself in the soil and dies quickly.
This happens when the cutting undergoes shock and fails to sustain that shock. When you move a cutting from water to soil, life can be difficult for that cutting because water is not that easily available for the plant to absorb anymore. To improve your success rate with a cutting, keep it in a shaded space for a couple of days when you pot it so that it is not exposed to the sun. This will reduce the wilting that intense sunlight causes in a newly potted cutting and give time for the cutting to establish deeper roots.
In the chapters to follow, I will refer to this propagation method as the ‘stem-cutting’ method.
b. How to Use Rooting Hormone
Some plants that can be propagated using cuttings sometimes need a little extra help to develop roots. This extra help can be provided in the form of a synthetic rooting hormone, which is a chemical powder that protects the cutting from rotting (developing fungus) when placed in soil.
The process of taking the cutting remains the same: just dip the fresh exposed part of the stem in rooting hormone and place it in the soil directly in a 4-5-inch pot. Water the soil whenever the top layer feels dry upon touching. In 7-14 days, the cutting should develop roots. You can continue in this pot or
move the cutting to a bigger pot. Plants with hardy or wooden stems, such as fiddle-leaf fig and rubber plant, propagate well with rooting hormone.
Instead of the synthetic chemical, you can also use an organic substitute-honey. Antimicrobial properties of honey help the plant develop callus without fungal decay in the same way as the synthetic rooting hormone. However, in my experience, the success rate with honey has been relatively much lower as compared to rooting hormone. If you have a bunch of plants to be propagated, I would recommend investing in a small 50-100-gram box of commercial rooting hormone powder.
In the chapters to follow, I will call this propagation method ‘cutting with rooting hormone’.
c. How to Divide and Propagate
In a mature plant of banana, aloe vera or alocasia, you can spot a bunch of the younger versions of the plant growing alongside the main plant. These young ones are lateral shoots coming out of the soil. If any of them are growing in a pot, pull out the entire plant, holding it at the base of the stem, along with the soil. Look for small shoots that have healthy leaves as well as roots. Separate such shoots (or pups) and pot them in a new pot (4-5 inches deep). If the plant is growing in the ground, you will have to dig around the pup to separate it from the mother plant.
In the chapters to follow, I will refer to this propagation method as the ‘divide and grow’ method.
d. How to Start a Plant From a Seed
Seeds can be germinated in soil, tissue paper or even in expandable cocopeat balls. They essentially need a substrate that can provide support for the roots to grow and moisture for the seeds to sprout. When the seed opens up and sends out cotyledons (the first set of leaves), they do not require an external source of nutrients since the seed itself is able to provide the nutrients for them. Therefore, for germination, you can use any of the abovementioned substrates. Seeds that germinate easily (e.g., spinach) do not need to be put in a tissue paper or any kind of a starter ball or seedling substrate. You can directly put them in soil. For seeds that need some sort of preconditioning to open up (e.g., chillies, lentils, capsicum), use the tissue-paper method. Place a couple of seeds in a tissue paper and cover it with two more layers of tissue paper. Spray just enough water to keep it moist but not soaked in water. Now place them in a poly bag or a zip-lock bag and try to seal it so that minimum water escapes from the bag. Place this in a sunny spot or a place that will keep it warm for the seeds to germinate faster. As the cotyledons sprout out from the seed, you can take this ‘seedling’ carefully out from the tissue paper and plant it in a 2-3-inch pot in soil.
In the chapters to follow, I will refer to this propagation method as the ‘seed germination’ method.
5. HOW TO INCREASE HUMIDITY FOR PLANTS
Plants like calatheas, caladiums and aglaonema appreciate high humidity (approximately 75%). There are two ways to artificially make a space more humid:
a. Invest in an ultrasonic humidifier, a machine that dispenses vapours of water into the air. They are compact and small machines that barely make any sound. Humidifiers come with a range of water storage tank sizes ranging from 300 ml to a couple of litres.
b. If you have only a few plants, you can also use a DIY-humidifier. Take a drainage plate filled with gravel and add water to it. Keep your plant on top of this gravel and fill water as it dries up in the plate. This method works very well for plants such as maidenhair fern. As the water evaporates, it will make the immediate space around the plant cool and humid.
c. You can also use a large plastic box as a greenhouse that helps in reducing water loss. Choose a box with a lid, fill the base with half an inch of water and place the pots with seedlings inside this box. This is super helpful in improving germination.
6. HOW TO MAINTAIN SOIL IN POTS FOR LONG
As the soil gets ‘old’ in the pot with a plant growing in it, two things happen. First, the soil loses nutrients as they
are taken up by the plant or washed away with water. Second, the soil becomes more compact with reduced air cavities. Here are two steps you can follow to ‘freshen up’ the soil:
a. Stop watering the soil for a day or two. Pull the plant out as you would do for repotting. Gently try loosening the soil from the roots to break root memory.
b. Mix equal amounts of perlite (not compulsory), cocopeat and compost. Use this potting mix to layer the base of the pot, place the plant back and fill the empty space with the new potting mix.
By doing so, you have added a new source of nutrients (compost) for the plant, cocopeat and perlite to keep the soil lightweight and create air pockets for new roots to breathe and grow. A plant needs this kind of repotting only once in 2-3 years. If you continue repotting your plant as it grows out of its pot, you wouldn’t need to do anything new for it.
7. HOW TO GROW MICROGREENS
In the section on edibles, I cover mostly herbs, vegetables and fruits. However, in the last decade or so, a new concept of food growing that has emerged is ‘microgreens Originally, it was reported that microgreens had first been sighted in the state of California in the United States of America in the 1980s. In India, however, it is only in the past few years that you may have noticed a tray of tiny greens growing on restaurant countertops, especially
in high-end hotels and airport lounges. The reason for their popularity is partly the hint of freshness and taste they add to food and partly for their nutrient content.
a. What are Microgreens?
Microgreens refer to the first stage of seed germination when you see 2-4 leaves sprouting out of the seed. One can harvest these leaves along with the stem and use them uncooked in salads and sandwiches.
b. Which Seeds to Use?
Microgreens can be grown for mustard, beetroot, carrots, radish, amaranth, sunflower, fenugreek, green moong dal, rajma beans, spinach, broccoli and kale, to name a few. A precautionary advice: not all kinds of plants growing from seeds can be grown as microgreens. Some edible plants like potatoes actually have toxic leaves. So, a quick search on the internet for confirmation is advisable.
For the plant list mentioned above, you can buy the regular seeds (used for growing the actual plant) for microgreens as well.
c. Steps to Grow Microgreens
- Take a 2-3-inch-deep plastic pot/container with a few drainage holes at the bottom and fill it with regular garden soil. Instead of soil, you can also use moistened cocopeat.
- Spread the seeds on the soil in any fashion (at least 1 cm apart) and cover with half an inch of soil.
- Add water, ensuring that the seeds are not exposed, until it starts running out from the base,
- Place the container in a spot which receives 2-3 hours of direct sunlight. You can also cover the container with a lid to reduce moisture loss. Otherwise, add water every time the top layer of soil looks dried up.
- Depending on the kind of seed, you should see the plant cotyledon emerging in 5-10 days. Let them grow for another 2-3 days and harvest using a pair of scissors.
You can store microgreens in a refrigerator inside a steel box lined with tissue paper and use as a topping for any dish that you wish to make more interesting. They can also be fed to children as a nutrition-rich dose of greens.
8. HOW TO PREPARE COMPOST AT HOME
Compost is decayed kitchen waste that can be a great nutrition source for plants. You can start composting at home in a couple of simple steps.
a. Things You Would Need
Nutrient source: Food waste (>250 grams) (except for bones, meat pieces, fish parts, lemons and chillies) and dried leaves (the proportion of food to dried leaves should be 1:2).
Microbial source: A glass (250 ml) of buttermilk/handful of garden soil, bokashi powder (important when you don’t have access to dried leaves)
Container: Composting bin/terracotta khamba/large terracotta matka
Space: Preferably a warm space with ventilation
b. Steps to be Followed
Step 1: Collect kitchen waste every day and start dumping it in a terracotta pot that has a few holes at the bottom or use a khamba (see illustration)
Step 2: Mix the kitchen waste with buttermilk and soil.
Step 3: Line the mixture with 1-2-inch layer of dried leaves. If you don’t have access to leaves, use bokashi powder.
Repeat steps 1-3 every time you have to add kitchen waste. You can do this once a day or even once a week, depending on the waste output from your kitchen. Buttermilk and soil can be skipped once you have started the composting process.
c. Science Behind Composting
Your food waste is a rich source of nitrogen that is balanced by the carbon from the dried leaves. Microbes performing the decomposition of food waste will need a balanced source of nitrogen and carbon as otherwise your compost bin will start smelling.
Bokashi powder is fermented organic matter that can be super helpful in improving the composting rate and reducing the smell from the bin.
Heat and moisture also contribute to speedy composting. Therefore, placing the khamba or composting bin in a balcony or terrace helps. The compost takes 40-60 days or more to be ready depending upon the ambient conditions for the microbes to do their job.
d. Issues You May Face
Insects: Spotting spiders, lizards, beetles and worms is completely normal in a compost bin. They are all helping in the process of composting. In fact, imagine your compost bin as a mini ecosystem where all the flora and fauna play a key role in the sustenance of life. However, if problematic insects such as ants
start flourishing in the bin, use a concentrated neem-based repellent spray around the bin.
Foul smell: The carbon to nitrogen ratio needs to be right in order to balance and counteract the smell. Use dried leaves or bokashi powder for this purpose. Additionally, aerate the mixture every 20-30 days in order to introduce more oxygen for microbial decomposition.
Slow decomposition: Eliminate the factors such as
moisture and microbial source to figure out what is delaying the decomposition. Start with ensuring that there is enough soil and buttermilk to initiate microbial growth, then see if the bin is placed in an area with a temperature of at least 25°C or higher.
Further, the mixture in the bin should neither look watery nor completely dry as otherwise the microbes will not do their job efficiently. You can manipulate the moisture either by adding water or by adding dried water-absorbing substrates like sawdust and dried leaves. Some people may recommend cardboard or newspaper pieces, but I have found them to decompose much slower than food.
Tip: I add two large handfuls of cocopeat and cow dung balls per 20-litre pot of compost bin to improve its nutrient content. You can also mix ground eggshell in the compost bin to make it phosphorus-rich, something that works wonders in flowering plants,
e. Why You Should Compost
Firstly, when you start separating the kitchen food waste from the rest of the waste going out of your house, you are significantly reducing the burden on the landfills. These are large mounds of waste that are situated outside every big city/town of our country.
Secondly, you become self-reliant for fertilizer production needed for growing your own food, flowers or ornamental plants.
9. HOW TO GROW A BONSAI TREE
Growing a small tree in a container by maintaining the shape and scale of that of a full-sized tree is called Bonsai. It is a very popular artform practiced in Japan, and it is
believed to have originated first in the Chinese Empire. One does not need genetically dwarfed tree seeds but rather a lot of patience to make a bonsai.
a. Starting a Bonsai
You can start from a seed, but it can take a very long time to have a sizable bonsai. Therefore, sourcing from a mature plant works out better. Depending on the plant type and accessibility, bonsai artists generally use a cutting from an older plant. For home gardeners such as myself, buying a prepared bonsai and then shaping it further is more practical than starting from scratch. If you wish to start from a cutting, use the air layering method (this is discussed in the chapter on ‘how to grow edibles’).
b. Requirements
Pot: The size of the pot depends on the size of the bonsai you are starting with. It should be big enough to accommodate the soil covering the roots for moisture but, at the same time, small enough for restricting the plant growth.
Soil: The soil should have good drainage properties in order to avoid root rot.
Drainage aid: You can use small crushed coal pieces or some gravel.
Accessories: Moss can be added to accessorize your bonsai.
c. Method
If you are going to use a small tree already in a bonsai state, or a rooted tree branch or a new plant that you want to shape into a bonsai, prune it into the desired shape and leave for 2-3 days to recover from the open cuts.
. Take the plant out of the original pot and try getting rid of the soil sticking to the roots. Sometimes the roots may be highly entangled, in which case you can clean them with a brush and remove as much dirt as possible from them. If the brush does not work very efficiently, then you can also use a water spray and wash away the small lumps of soil.
Once the roots are clean or you have a clear visual of them, prune the root branches to adjust them in a new bonsai pot.
Pruning the roots to the right size is important. If they are too big, they quickly run out of the bonsai pot, but if they are too small, they might not be able to sustain the water requirements of the plant. The trick is to get rid of large and thick roots while retaining the thinner ones that won’t show above the soil and will help to retain the plant’s health.
To prepare the right kind of drainage for the bonsai, cover the bottom drainage hole of the pot with a large piece of gravel and then add a thin layer of crushed coal (this helps in the efficient removal of extra moisture from the soil). Top that with a well-draining soil. The composition of soil may vary depending on the plant species used for the bonsai. If you are buying the plant, use the potting mix it came with.
Add the plant carefully, burying each root gently with a wooden stick (alternatively, use the end of a paintbrush). Use extra soil to hide all the roots and sit the plant firmly upright in the pot.
As we would do for any kind of repotting, give a few days for the plant to settle in the new pot by placing it in semi-shade conditions for 7-10 days.
Shift the plant into the desired environmental conditions that it can grow in (this depends on the plant species).
Once the plant has settled in the new pot and new home, you can now train your plant into a
desired shape and size by trimming the leaves, pruning, wiring and clamping (training to grow in a certain shape), deadwooding (stripping the bark to simulate natural scarring on the tree trunk) and defoliation (removing all the leaves at once). You can use a mix of these techniques or try them individually.
Growing a bonsai into an expected form may take months and years, but the effort is worth the joy.
10. HOW TO PROTECT PLANTS FROM EXTREME HEAT
If your plants are burning or shrivelling in the heat, move them to a spot that doesn’t compromise on any of the necessary resources (water, light, nutrition and humidity) required by the plant to sustain good growth. Generally, making adjustments to the current space can prove to be more efficient in protecting the plant. Here are some practical suggestions:
a. Add mulch. Cardboard pieces, dried grass, straw, newspaper, sawdust, husk from crops, black plastic sheeting-there is an abundance of options available
to cover the soil and reduce water loss. b. Water in the morning instead of evenings. This will ensure that the roots are well hydrated to sustain
daytime heat waves as the temperatures are relatively lower in the evening or night time.
c. Install shade cloth. Agriculture-grade fabrics can reduce the impact of the sun’s heat on the plant by up to 50%. They reduce the rate of water loss and also protect the foliage and flowers from the burning sun.
11. HOW TO PROTECT PLANTS FROM EXTREME COLD
Regions away from the equator may experience single digit temperatures and even negative temperatures.
Unless you are growing a native plant, most others cannot sustain themselves in such conditions. They will not only become dormant but might dry up and die as well. Here are some practices that can come to your plants’ rescue:
a. Use mulch. In addition to protecting the plant from the heat, it also helps to retain heat in the ground for longer, especially when the nighttime and daytime temperature fluctuations are major.
b. Cover the plants with a transparent bucket, container or tarp (blue plastic sheet). Ensure that the cover is not in contact with the plant branches as otherwise it can destroy the plant with the gusts of wind.
c. Construct a greenhouse, a permanent enclosure with a covering that does not restrict sunlight but traps heat that can help protect plants from sub-zero temperatures, snow and chilly winds. An artificial heat source can also be included in a greenhouse. If you stay at high altitudes or the temperatures in
your region fall below 10°C for a substantial part of the year, investing in a greenhouse can help you get longer growing periods. This will also give you an opportunity to grow a larger variety of plants.
12. HOW TO PROTECT PLANTS FROM TOO MUCH RAIN
Tropical parts of the world see some of the wettest season/s every year. In fact, in some places it may rain over 100 inches a year! To combat the heavy winds and downpour, one can try the following:
a. Use good draining soil which will ensure that there is an escape for standing water that can suffocate the roots and kill your plants.
b. Prune and cover medium to large trees and shrubs. Monsoon undoubtedly leads to the sprouting of much greenery everywhere, but heavy winds-especially in areas near the seas can take a toll on the plants. After deep pruning of the foliage and side branches, shade net fabric can be wrapped around the plant with a string. This will save the plant from any major physical damage.
c. Add anchors to weak plants to ensure that the plant does not break due to the resistance of the anchor. Use 2-3-feet long bamboo sticks, tied with the main stem of the plant, buried at least 12 inches into the ground. The angle of the stick should be pointing away from the plant (do this angle adjustment before tying the string).
d. Add mulch. Yes, it is the answer to all problems. A heavy downpour may expose the roots and damage
them, but mulch will help reduce the soil displacement and protect the roots.
13. HOW TO WATER PLANTS ON A VACATION
Asking someone to babysit your plants may not be a very practical solution every time you leave them behind. An automatic irrigation system can be super helpful in this regard. Here are some ideas that you can try:
a. Tank and Tube Setup
Requirements: 5-10-litre cans/bottles, a tall stool or a chair, plastic tube whose length and height equal those of the stool, irrigation dripper with adjustable knob and heavy-duty silicone glue
Method
Make a hole at the base of the water container/can big enough to squeeze the pipe 0.5 inches inside the can. Seal it with the silicone glue.
On the other end of the pipe, set up the irrigation dripper and fix it in the pot.
Likewise, you can follow this procedure for other plants as well. Watering frequency can be controlled by the knob on the irrigation dripper. You will have to adjust it in such a way that water comes out drop by drop, neither stagnating in the soil nor drying up.
This may not be the most effective way for irrigation, but it is effective for a low budget. Per setup, your expenditure may be not more than 100 rupees.
b. Automated Drip Irrigation
A more efficient, effective and trustworthy version of the tank and tube setup is automated drip irrigation. I use it for my garden because watering over a hundred plants daily not only demands considerable effort but also makes it easier to accidentally leave the plants unattended.
Requirements: Tap/water source, automation
regulator, drip irrigation kit (irrigation dripper/emitter, connectors, rubbing, drip emitters, holding sticks).
Method
Automation regulator is to be connected to the water tap. On its monitor, you can adjust the timing and frequency of watering.
From the output of the connector, we need to fix the main pipe that will further divide into smaller pipes.
The smaller pipes are fixed with the emitter that directs water to the base of the plant.
Such setups require minimum human interference unless the water in your area is salt-heavy, which may demand cleaning of the pipes once in a while. My only issue with this method is the cost as one may have to pay a few thousand rupees for the entire kit. However, if you have a lot of plants, you can consider making this investment for your garden at some point.
