Growing Vegetables at home !!

इस पन्ने को हिन्दी में पढ़ें

Dear Readers, spring is the most beautiful time of the year. This is the time when I start planting the seeds and making other required preparations for my vegetable garden. I thought it would be a good idea to share these ideas with many of you who are thinking about growing your own vegetables.

Growing vegetables at home is becoming more popular these days. There are plenty of reasons as to why people like to grow things in their own garden....Some people worry about the use of chemicals/ pesticides in the vegetables and fruits, while others like to be close to nature, and find it relaxing to work in the garden. Some enthusiasts also grow rare vegetables which are hard to find in the supermarkets.... Whatever may be the reasons for thinking about growing your own vegetables; it should be fun for you, and not a chore....

I love gardening. My family shares this passion. We plant the seeds, wait for them to germinate. The seeds sprout, and then the first set of leaves appears. Kids keep an eye, and inform " Mom it is growing taller and taller". The cycle of careful watering and waiting continues. Slowly, the plants bear fruits, and the long awaited moment arrives- we enjoy the freshly picked herbs, fruits or vegetables.... When we harvest our homegrown plants, it feels like a big achievement, it is a pleasure, it is healthy, and it is satisfying to use home grown vegetables in our cooking.

I like to grow lauki (bottle gourd), Karela ( bitter gourd), different varieties of tomatoes, different varities of chilies, Eggplant, Spinach, and also some herbs such as mint, coriander (cilantro), fenugreek, basils etc.....

So if you have proper summer weather in your part of world you can easily grow vegetables at home. Many of these veggies and herbs can be grown in a pot as well. Here I am mainly talking about some vegetables which are sometimes hard to find outside India. When you find them they have already travelled hundreds of miles and are not as good and tasty as they could be...

Enjoy Gardening,
Shuchi

Some Tips/ Suggestions about Vegetable Gardening

From where to get seeds- I live in the USA and can't say about your local seed shop/ nursery. You will have to check with your local nursery for the seeds. You can also search online if they deliver seeds to your city. Lots of plants seeds like, bhutta, beans, karela, lauki etc can be made at home from the fully ripned fruit. Methi, dahniya, sarson (mustard), etc can be grown from the whole seeds we use for cooking. Hope it helps!

Growing vegetables in the pots/ containers- eggplant (Brinjal / Auburgine), squash/ bottle gourd (lauki), tomato etc can be grown in containers or pots. The answer is "yes"!! This year we planted all the vegetables in the pots. The results are awesome! I took some pictures of the pot grown veggies to encourage you and show you the final produce. Be confident and plant the veggies in the pot, water them regularly, feed them and enjoy home grown veggies.

Many of you have also asked about the most natural way to get rid of infections in the vegetable plants. We use "neem oil" which is completely natural and does not affect the fruits/vegetables and just kills the infection. Neem oil also works well on the most common disease -- powdery mildew -- of bottle gourd/ squash. Please check with your area's local nursery for detailed information about planting!! Hope it helps!!

I grow a variety of vegetables and some berries in my home garden. I have explained about growing some of the vegetables in separate pages still a lot more to write about growing vegetables. I will try to update this page on regular basis. Thanks for your patience and support. Please keep sharing your thoughts and suggestions.

Vegetable Gardening idea-

• 

  Amla (Gooseberry)

  Amla is considered as one of the best sources of vitamin C. As per Ayurved, amla has 5 tastes out of six and should be included in diet on regular basis. I have grown this amla palnt at kitchen garden. This is an American gooseberry plant and it can take even -40C temperature.

• Homegrown Tulsi/ Basil

  Basil can be easily grown at home. You can start by the basil seeds or can plant a baby plant directly. Basil seeds as well as plants can be easily found in most of the nurseries in spring season. One can plant basil in the ground or it can also be planted in the pots. Basil is a summer plant and it cannot tolerate even a light frost.....

  

• Planting Mint in kitchen garden

  Mint is a perennial so just plant it once and it comes back every year by itself. The mint comes back itself only if you have planted it in the ground. Mint is an exotic, excellent aromatic herb; it contains Vitamin A and C and is also rich in a number of minerals......

  

• Growing Eggplants in the Garden

  Eggplant, also known as aubergine in British English is a tropical perennial plant. In India, eggplant is commonly called as brinjal or baingan. Eggplant can be easily found in regular super markets in America, however it doesn’t taste as good as fresh eggplants we get in Indian sabji bazar. ...

  

• Homegrown Lauki (Bottle Gourd)

  Lauki, Ghiya, Kaddu, Doodhi, Bottle Gourd and here in America it is also called as Squash. One vegetable and so many different names. Bottle gourds contains about 96% water. They are rich in dietary fibers, and are also a good source of vitamin B and contain iron as well. Bottle gourd is one of the lightest vegetable and it is very easy to digest...

  

• Homegrown Methi/ Fenugreek

  Methi, also known as Fenugreek, is a strongly aromatic, annual green belongs to legume family. Methi is medicinal plant rich in protein. Methi leaves are rich in magnesium, iron, calcium etc. In Indian cuisine it is used extensively in various forms. In Indian cooking fenugreek seeds are used as a spice....

  

• Homegrown Tomatoes

  Tomatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow at home, in ground or in containers. Tomatoes come in a wide range of sizes, shapes and colors. For several years we have been growing tomatoes in our kitchen garden. Tomatoes are rich in vitamin A and C, and are also rich in minerals. Tomatoes are used in salads, soups, curries....

  

• Homegrown Karela (bitter gourd)

  Karela is a very bitter vegetable and is very popular in Indian subcontinent due to its medicinal values. Karela can be easily grown in ground as well as in a big (about 10-12 inch ) pot. This climber / vine loves hot and sunny weather. So if you have nice area where you get sun you can easily grow this non attention seeker vine. I start growing karela from its seeds. If you live outside India you can order seeds online.....

  

• Homegrown Chilli/Peppers

  There ia a large variety of chilies all around the world. Some of them are real hot while others are mild. These chilies/ peppers are used as spices, vegetables, and also as medicinal products. Chilies contain a substance called capsaicin, which gives the characteristic pungency/ hotness to the chilies. Shimla Mirch, also know as Capscium.....

  

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