Balcony Garden

Ever since I was a teenager, I have been gardening. But, Lockdown (Due to Covid-19) has amplified this interest in me and I have experimented quite a bit with my small balcony garden. I often like to figure out a way to grow a vegetable successfully and ensure that I have a regular supply of it. I now have a descent supply of tomatoes. I found a rare variety of tomato (Naati grain or Organic seed) in the Cow-dung manure that I use. These taste far better than the hybrid varieties. Have you noticed yet that hybrid tomatoes are tasteless and also have less nutrients than the authentic varieties?  The main intention of hybrid vegetables is to have longer shelf life. 

With Tomatoes set, I moved towards leafy vegetables such as Dil, Palak and Pudina. All three now continuously provide us good yield. 

We also have good supply of this plant that we call in Mangalore as  "Yelemoori Soopu". I do not know it's English name. These healthy leaves can be made into tasty dish called "Thambli" that is often served with rice. 

In the past, growing Rose plants has been a big challenge for me. But looks like, I have finally found the best way to maintain a rose plant. My Orange rose plant has been flowering really well.

Apart from Cow-dung, I also use a homemade organic mixture or powder made of Dried garlic, onion and banana peels and used tea powder. This blended mixture seems to be working great with all my plants. 

A friend of mine has a beautiful terrace garden. When I visited her, she gifted me this lovely Strawberry plant. Instead of going for a pot on the ground, I choose to let the Strawberries hang. We now have some regular visitors who want to taste these delicious fruits - Red whiskered bulbuls and Barbets. 

My three cats also seem to love the plants. Specially around summer, they prefer lying down by some greenery and water. While Puppy is rarely at home, Pintu and Babru love to spend their time in the Garden.

Puppy

Pintu loves the rose plant and Babru has made my rain lilly pot, his bed.