Farewell, watering woes!
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So now you know you don’t need space to have a garden. Ah, but there’s one small problem. Who’s going to water it? I agree, there’s nothing as depressing as looking at a bunch of dead plants when you return home from a trip. Well that settles it then. No more gardening for you, right? Wrong! Fortunately, there are some easy ways to tackle the issue.
First, choose your plants wisely. If you have a lifestyle that keeps you out of home a lot, choose plants that will tolerate drought. That’s right, if you don’t water them, that’s what your plants think it is! Succulents, cacti and some varieties of grasses are known as xerophytes: they survive not being watered, very well indeed. Remember not to overwater them though. You’ll overload their systems!
Succulent Garden by MySunnyBalcony
If you’re an occasional traveler, you might want to try placing your pots in tubs of water, filled to about an inch or so, while you’re away. This keeps the pots hydrated for some time. Don’t do this for more than a week or so though. Your plants’ roots will rot if they’re stood too long in water.
Self-watering pots are an excellent idea too. They contain a reservoir of water that the plants can slowly drink from, for extended periods of time. Used plastic water bottles make excellent self-watering pots. Cut them about a third of the way from the neck, invert the cut off portion and pot your plant in it. The bottom of the bottle now becomes the water reservoir. The larger the reservoir, the less often you’ll need to refill it. MySunnyBalcony’s design team churns out an ever-changing set of decoupaged self-watering pots every week, for flowering annuals, kitchen herbs and indoor plants!
Decoupaged self-watering pot by MySunnyBalcony
Well, what are you waiting for? Go get yourself some succulents and self-watering pots, and you can kiss your watering woes goodbye!
–Sriram Aravamudan, co-founder, mysunnybalcony
This article is part of the Constant Gardener column in the Deccan Chronicle, authored by MySunnyBalcony.
Sprucin’ up your indoors
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Rhapis Palms and Ficuses in White Terra-cotta urns – MySunnyBalcony
“But I don’t have a balcony! Where do I grow my plants then?” you say? Well I say, bring ‘em indoors!
Growing plants inside your home isn’t as daunting a task as you think. They clean up the air in your home beautifully, and provide that much needed green foil for your dreary looking living room.
First off though, you need to choose your plants right. Unless you plan to invest in expensive grow lights and elaborate artificial environments, choose only deep-shade tolerant to grow indoors. Select a resilient, tough-to-kill variety, like a Zamia, Dieffenbachia, Parlor Palm or Sansevierea for your living room, and an orchid or succulent for your bathroom. Shade trailers like Wandering minstrel (Zebrina pendula) and Tincture plant (Hemigraphis colorata) do well in low light too.
Even a shade plant needs some light. If your plant is turning lanky, or is losing leaves fast, it isn’t getting enough. Position the plant near a window or skylight if possible. Allocate a brightly lit area to move your plants to on a periodic basis, if they don’t seem to be doing well where they are usually placed.
Water your indoor plants sparingly. They don’t need as much water as plants that are placed out in the sun do. If the bases of your plant’s stems are beginning to look soft and gooey, that means they are rotting away because of too much water. Go easy on the aqua!
Zamia in Fibreglass Urn – MySunnyBalcony
Lastly, always pair up your indoor plant with a great looking container. A plastic pot stuck in the corner of an elaborately done-up living room just doesn’t cut it! MSB’s mosaic, fiberglass and terra-cotta planters are great for the indoors as well, to add that extra bit of green oomph to your living space. Pebbles placed on the surface of the planter keep the planting medium hydrated and non-messy.
Bamboo in Mosaic Urn – MySunnyBalcony
Lastly, you need to catch the run-off water from your plants, unless you want your family to have a skidding match in the hallways! You can do that by placing your pot in another watertight container, or by placing a saucer under the pot. Remember to drain out the run-off water though, as stagnant water isn’t great for the plants, and could be a breeding ground for insects and pests.
All set? Let’s bring ‘em in then!
–Sriram Aravamudan, co-founder, MySunnyBalcony
This article is part of the constant gardener column in the Deccan Chronicle, authored by MySunnyBalcony
Get the creeps, this monsoon!
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Hello, not-so-novice gardener, how’s the monsoon treating your plants? What? So you’re bored of the same 6 ones that you have and want something more exotic?
There’s no satisfying you, is there? Fine, let’s think of some easy-breezy ones that you can grow without busting a gut, shall we?
Creepers happen to be awesome exotic flower providers. Have you seen the Passion Vine (Passiflora) in bloom? It’s a sight for sore eyes, and grows easily from seed, or a sampling from your nearest nursery. Other fabulous looking, easy-grow creepers you can consider are: Flame vine (Pyrostegia), Butterfly pea (Clitoria), Trumpet Flower (Allamanda) and so many more! Train them up your home walls, railings and trellises, and treat yourself to a riot of colour all year around.
Semi-shaded areas can host some amazing beauties too. The Anthurium, among the most prized cut-flower desirables, happens to do very well in half-shade. Remember to plant them in a loose, permeable soil mix though.
Another spectacular beauty is the Epiphyllum oxypetalum- known in various parts as the Bethlehem lily, the Brahmakamal (not to be confused with the Himalayan version) and so on. Its enormous fragrant white blooms never fail to make you gasp, when the buds burst open at midnight. It is, in my opinion, the easiest plant to grow and maintain. Just take a cutting of its fleshy leaf-like stem and plant it upright, in a largeish pot. Water it sparingly and leave it be: it’ll take its time growing. Every so often, when it looks like it might rain, you’ll see buds on the plant, that swell to gigantic proportions over a week or so. When you see a small wisp of a petal peeking out of the bud, you know it’s about to bloom. Invite your loved ones around for dinner, so you can all enjoy the blooming together!
I’ll see you at your next Bethlehem Lily dinner party then, shall?
–Sriram Aravamudan, co-founder, MySunnyBalcony
This article is part of the Constant Gardener column in the Deccan Chronicle
The Maximum Medium
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This article is part of the Constant Gardener column, authored by MySunnyBalcony, in the Deccan Chronicle. See the paper article here
MySunnyBalcony’s cocopeat based potting mix
Oh, you’ve repotted your plants, have you? With a lot of rich, red soil that your nursery supplied you? Nice! A month of continuous watering later, the soil in your pot looks like the Rann of Kutch? Err.. not so nice! Caked up soil doesn’t allow your plant’s roots to breathe, or the pot to drain. The result: A lanky, wan looking plant that’s crying for attention.
Familiar? Fortunately, help is nigh for you and your plants! Here’s how you can make your own lightweight, porous potting mix that your plants will absolutely love.
First, start composting! All the organic waste that you generate at home can be turned into compost. Ready-to-use composters make your job even easier!
Next, go out and get some coco-peat: It’s made out of good old coconut fibre, and is used extensively to lighten and aerate potting media. It’s locally available, and ecologically sound!
Finally, drag out the caked up red soil that you bought from your nursery, and give it a good thwacking to loosen it up and make it lump free. Feel a little less tense about your life now? Great.
Your final step. Mix ‘em up: one part of compost to one part of coco-peat, to one part of red soil. If you want to get very fancy, you can chuck in a fistful of perlite – a water absorptive mineral that will keep your pot hydrated for longer. And you’re done! A nice, lightweight, water-retentive, porous, nutritive planting medium that you and your plants can work with happily for a long time to come!
MySunnyBalcony’s landscaping team has a few more age-old Indian agricultural tricks up its sleeve. Panchagavya and Jeevamruta, both ancient ayurvedic preparations made from the byproducts of a cow, are excellent nutritive additives, soil conditioners and pest repellents. Dose your plants with them regularly, and watch them grow and prosper!
Still here? Oh sorry, we’re done. Go forth and.. err.. compost, now!
–By Sriram Aravamudan, co-founder, MySunnyBalcony
So what’s your favourite Pink?
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This article is a part of a regular gardening column in the Deccan Chronicle.
Petunias at an MSB Garden
Never could quite tell Petunia pink from Carnation pink? Well, here’s the best way to know ‘em: Grow ‘em!
Neither of these lovely plants is Indian in origin, but their cultivars have been around in India for centuries. Petunias are not just pink though, they come in a riot of purples, reds, whites, and even stripes! While most varieties of Petunia prefer drier, cooler climates like Bangalore, some varieties can even tolerate the harsh desert conditions of the middle-east!
Petunias are annuals: they die down after one flowering cycle. You can raise them from seed, or just go buy yourself a new set of plants every season. They can use as much sun as they can get, so remember to place them in a bright and sunny spot, and water them sparingly.
Carnations on the other hand, can be raised as Perennials. You can plant them as cuttings, or even raise them from seed. Carnations need to be watered carefully though. Give them some sun, be careful not to over-water, add a pinch of soda into the soil, and you’ll have a lifetime supply of these delicate scented beauties, right in your garden.
What? Now you want to tell the difference between violet and fuchsia? Ah, well – you know what to do then!
–By Sriram Aravamudan, co-founder MySunnyBalcony
The Wistful Water Lily
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This article is part of a regular column in the Deccan Chronicle. View the column here.
It’s going to be that time of the year again soon. As the lakes and ponds around you start filling up, they’ll take on the myriad hues ofIndia’s most cherished bloomers: the majestic Lotus and the serene Water-lily. Yet strangely, the one in your little urn remains as glum as ever. You fuss over it, talk to it, curse at it – and still, not one bloom! Ready to give up? Ah, don’t. Try these tips out, and I’m sure it’ll finally give you some long-awaited joy this season!
Lotuses and Water-lilies are happiest on the mucky beds of natural water bodies, and need a lot of coaxing to bloom outside their natural surroundings. Water-lilies, however, are a bit more cooperative than Lotuses. You can grow them in disused bathtubs, wide urulis, large cement pots or even terra-cotta urns. Just make sure your container is watertight, at least a foot deep and at least 2 feet wide at the surface.
Have you chosen a shaded, cozy little nook to place your container in? Charming, but sorry, wrong choice! Water-lilies, like many native Indian flowering plants, need 4-6 hours of direct sunshine every day! The ideal place for a Water-lily pond is out in the open, or in the middle of your terrace, where it can soak up as much sun as it needs. If you live in a hotter climate, you could try blocking out the harsher afternoon sun, but don’t go overboard with that. These are hardy native plants that survive the heat a lot better than the cold.
You can plant your water lily in pond or potter’s clay, directly into your water container, or in a smaller immersible pot. Make sure there are at least 6 inches of water above the rim of the pot though. If you notice that your mother-plant is producing offspring from its roots, you might want to use one of the baby plants instead, as it’s likely to bloom better. Retain the mother plant in another water tank though. You’ll get plenty of babies that you can propagate!
Fertilizing a water plant can be tricky. Wrap a fistful of bone meal (or washed and crushed eggshells) wrapped in a plastic bag. Puncture holes into the bag and weight it down with a stone at the bottom of the tank, to keep it from floating up to the surface.
Lastly, you need to keep your tank pest-free. Introduce native fish species like Gambusia into your container, to keep the water clean and mosquito larvae-free.
Don’t stress if your water lily sheds all its leaves and plays dead the moment you plant it. Just leave it submerged for a week or two, and you’ll see new leaves gradually emerging. In climates with distinct cold seasons, water lilies often go into hibernation and don’t show any signs of life until the weather begins to warm up. Relax, they’re just following their seasonal cycle. Keep your plant submerged, make sure it gets plenty of light, and it’ll be back in action in the summer, providing you another season of brilliant blooms to enjoy!
Urban Vegetable Gardening
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This article is part of a regular gardening column authored by mysunnybalcony, for the Deccan Chronicle.
Isn’t it amazing how a single tomato from your own garden tastes a hundred times better than one from the market? Well, the reason for that is not entirely psychological. Your produce is fresh, it’s local, and it’s probably organic as well. And by growing and harvesting that one tomato locally, you’ve in fact reduced your own carbon footprint and helped save the environment!
Growing and consuming local produce is one of the most sustainable, ecologically sound agricultural practices today. You don’t need a lot of space, or even a lot of help to get a small veggie patch of yours going. All you really need is a little know how, some innovation and a lot of patience!
Any area that receives sunlight for about 5 hours a day is good to start with. If this area is a 2ft x 4ft patch on your terrace, well, let’s work with that then!
Start simple. Spinach, tomatoes, beans, gourds and herbs are among the easier veggies to grow, and it’s a great idea to start off with them. Try to source open-pollinated heirloom varieties of seeds that haven’t been genetically modified.
Once you’ve identified the types of veggies you want to grow, your next step is to prepare the medium for them to grow in. If you don’t have ground space, get yourself some containers that will fit into the space that you have. Pots, recycled crates or even empty paint cans make good containers for vegetables. Make sure the container is at least 8-10 inches high, and drill holes in the bottom to allow for drainage.
The right sort of planting medium is a much debated topic, though it is generally agreed that a rich potting mix of 3 parts red earth to one part each of sand and compost usually works well with most plants. Cocopeat is a lightweight potting medium, made of desiccated coconut fibre. It is light-weight, porous and water-retentive though poor in nutritive value. Cocopeat can sometimes be substituted for red earth, but a higher proportion of compost needs to be used in the planting mix.
Square foot gardening is an ingenious small-space cultivation method that is achieving increasing popularity in India as well as in the west. The available area (usually a rectangular planter box) is divided into areas of one square foot each, and each square is used to cultivate a scientifically determined number of plants of a particular variety. This style of gardening is particularly suited to rooftops and sunlit balconies, and maximizes crop yield in the minimum amount of space. Look it up and go Square Foot today!
A word of advice for novice veggie gardeners though: Don’t be over-ambitious. Start small and build your garden up over time, to a size that you are comfortable maintaining. Most importantly, be patient! Plants do not grow overnight. Lastly, don’t give up! Plants can often be flaky, and you’ll soon intuitively learn how to handle their eccentricities. You don’t need to be gifted in order to possess a green thumb, you can develop one just as easily with a little practice and a lot of patience!
A happy Mediterranean balcony!
Posted by admin | Filed under Mediterranean themes, MySunnyBalcony gardens, MySunnyBalcony theme makeovers
The client wanted something to give her privacy, a lot of happy color and space to chill with her friends! And, MSB helped her do up the space! Do not miss our sunny, Spanish yellow urns and the oh-so-green fence with spectacular Geraniums adding a splash of color!
Before the makeover!
After! 
Tags: Mediterranean theme, MSB makeovers, MySunnyBalcony gardens, terra-cotta pots
Grow your own vegetables and live healthy!
Posted by admin | Filed under kitchen garden, MySunnyBalcony kitchen garden
MSB’s experimental ‘Square Foot’ garden is now yielding a regular crop of tomatoes, herbs, okra, spinach, turnips and beans!
Square Foot gardening is an intensive cultivation method specifically suited to small urban spaces, that maximizes crop yield in the minimum amount of space
We’ve used recycled wood crates, a lightweight, water-retentive coco-compost based soil mix and a completely organic set of pest repellents and fertilizers.
Tags: Grow your own vegetables, kitchen gardens, MySunnyBalcony, Square foot gardeing, square foot garden
A cheerful house garden makeover by MySunnyBalcony!
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Team MSB wrapped up a large house garden last week and here are the pics!
A lawn with interesting mounds, lots of Anthuriums to go with the large tree-lined lawn area, colorful Impatiens, Marigold and Chrysanthemums! And, we have a lovely and cheerful garden at the end of the makeover!
