How to become a Pro in plant care and God of your garden!?

Hello everyone, I have loved plants since I remember. I used to grow everything and anything that I could grow with my granny in the yard beside my childhood home. I remember growing veggies, flowers, pulses, fruits, tubers and what not. I knew nothing about how to technically grow, but all I did was imitating my granny's actions- sow, water and enjoy watching them grow. I learnt growing plants watching the elder ones do it, who in turn learnt by watching their elders do it, who learnt from theirs and the history grows. I fell in love with growing plants eventually without knowing myself. I even ended up at farm degree for my under-graduation.

People love growing plants and do it without actually knowing if they are doing it right or not. Sometimes they fail, sometimes they know the reason but most times they don’t, sometimes they find a way of correcting their mistakes, sometimes they just give up. I grew up experiencing all of this. But today I have learnt and am still in the process of learning answers to most of the mysteries of plant care and I want to give those answers to the ones that are in search for it, so here I am starting this blog.

With this blog let us try to learn every detail of gardening and let us grow together towards being a pro gardener. Starting from the basics of gardening to plant care necessary for each type of garden plant let us learn everything we need to. Without further ado let us start this new journey.

Gardening simply is growing plants, any plants that you love, any plant that you wanna grow. There are no strict boundaries in gardening, it can be done at any place and with any plant/s you choose. Though specific plant species require specific plant care, most plants have a lot requirements in common. So lets dive right into it!

Proper watering:

Watering at proper amount and at proper time without overdoing it is the most basic and important step at maintaining your plant. Water your plant only when the top soil is completely dry and never when it is already moist. Over-watering your plants suffocates their roots and hence, is definitely not desirable.

Proper sun:

Looking into the sunlight needs of your plant is yet another step at your plant care. Observe how your plants react to different amount of light conditions and place them accordingly. Some plants though labelled ‘indoor’ does well in outdoor shade conditions rather than indoor conditions. So instead of looking into labels observe what your plant needs at your location. Just the way different person require different quantity of food different plants at different phase, require different amount of light, which when not met fails to function to its maximum.

Proper pruning:

Most ornamental plants need trimming by removing extra, dead and diseases plant parts to allow them to grow profusely. Pruning has to be done mostly during late winters or early spring i.e., during december – march.

Nutrient application:

Whether grown in containers or directly on earth, nutrients from the soil leach out eventually and needs to be replenished. One can use compost or animal excrete as manures which has to be applied by mixing with soil or inorganic fertilizers or liquid fertilizers. But I would suggest usage of organic manures since they have more beneficial effects in different ways (which we can discuss in another post) and liquid fertilizers for fertilizing plants in containers, because of their easy application.

Soil loosening:

Regular loosening of top most layer of the soil is also important since it makes way for proper aeration for the roots breathe and also makes way for water to penetrate easily into the soil. In case of plants grown in containers loosening is done not just during re-potting but whenever the top layer of soil gets hard, usually every 1-2 months.

Look out for pests and disease symptoms:

Pests tend to damage your plants and destroy your garden if left unnoticed. They also bring diseases. But if noticed early can be easily controlled and plant's health can be maintained. Pests are most probable to attack during rainy and spring, since these are the period of time when moisture is high and tender shoots are most available respectively. Spraying neem oil is known to control some common garden pests. Even spraying soap solution and later washing off before sunrays hit the plant helps get rid of the biggest enemy- 'mealy bugs'.

Keep clean:

Keep the garden area clean whether it be a roof garden or your front yard garden or your balcony garden or your indoor garden or your kitchen garden. Remove all the fallen debris and keep it clean. This helps in lesser pest invasion and infections. Keeping gardens clean also makes it look further beautiful.

Make time and spread love:

We bond with other people when we spend time with them; same way spending time our plants also bonds us to them. Our attention and love is also required by plants. Study shows that plants respond to light music. Regular cleaning of leaf surface of indoor plants regularly also helps the plants by making whole leaf surface available for photosynthesis.

These simple necessities when fulfilled can help you maintain a healthy and beautiful garden. All it needs is some time, little effort and of course love and passion. No one becomes a pro overnight everything starts with baby steps and if one starts with those little efforts everyone can become a pro. So why delay when you can start today!?

Take care

Grow plants

Xoxo