How To Grow Cilantro/Coriander From Seeds In Pots.

Cilantro or Coriander is widely used In Asian,Mexican, Spanish and Latin Cuisine.Its a popular herb that is catching up fast and gaining popularity in other countries as well.Its a herb that you can either love or hate due its distinctive flavor and aroma. The roots,leaves,stems and dry seeds are used in cooking.Its a fairly easy herb to grow and can be easily grown in small pots or containers,without taking up much space so its an ideal choice of herb to grow in a small balcony/ garden .So here's a pictorial step by step guide on growing your very own Cilantro/Coriander from seeds .

Begin by taking some dry Cilantro/Coriander seeds,then spread them out on a flat surface and gently crush them using a rolling pin,don't over do the crushing part or else you will end up turning the seeds into coriander powder and we don't want that,do we !! so be gentle and crush lightly applying  just enough pressure to help split the seeds into two half's.If you prefer you can sow the seeds whole, but it will take more time to germinate in comparison if you split them.

To speed up the process of germination you can soak the crushed Cilantro/Coriander seeds in warm saline water overnight,or else you can just skip this step and get to sowing them directly.

Prepare the potting soil in which you will be growing your Cilantro/Coriander  by mixing together,cocopeat,garden soil and compost in equal quantities,its important to give the Cilantro/Coriander good quality potting medium that is rich in organic matter and natural hummus and is well draning, as we will not add any additional fertilizer once the seeds sprout and begin to grow. 

Fill a pot with the potting medium and lightly scatter and spread out the pre-soaked split Cilantro/Coriander seeds over the potting soil,then gently cover the seeds with a thin layer of potting soil,water lightly and set the pot in a spot that receives full to part sunlight. Root rot and dampening off are some common problems that one can face when growing Cilantro/Coriander,and one of the main causes is over watering, its highly recommended that you just sprinkle or spray the soil lightly with water just to keep it moist and not water logged,also pouring water directly displaces the seeds.

Depending on the temperature Cilantro/Coriander seeds can take anyway between 7 to 10 days to germinate.Cilantro/Coriander needs cool weather to grow.In India you can grow Cilantro/Coriander from October to February. 

Once the first set of true leaves appear and the Cilantro/Coriander has established itself , water every alternate day keeping the soil damp but not soggy.

You can thin out the Cilantro/Coriander at this stage,simply pull out the smaller ones that are about 2 inches (you can use them in your cooking or as a garnish) and leave the rest,I do not thin out mines as i grow a Thai dwarf variety of Cilantro/Coriander called Pak Chi so i just let them grow and leave them as they are.

Cilantro/Coriander cannot tolerate heat or extremely warm climate,it just bolts or goes to seed in short.Hence its advisable to grow it only during the cooler season,this reduces the chances of the Cilantro/Coriander bolting or going to seed prematurely,Cilantro/Coriander also bolts due to other reasons such as over crowding,irregular watering,and due to poor soil that lacks organic matter.

To harvest the Cilantro/Coriander you can snip the top part away using a pair of sharp scissors,take as much as you want to use and leave the rest to grow back again.

Cilantro/Coriander plants get feathery and wispy when they bolt and they produce lovely lacey clusters of flowers that are called umbels these pretty looking flowers can range from white to pale pink in color. 

Cilantro/Coriander flowers are useful in attracting important pollinators like bees,butterflies and birds in your garden.

There will come a point when the Cilantro/Coriander will eventually Bolt or Flower/Go To Seed,so if you intend to save seeds you can let the flowers stay, once the tiny flowers bloom and fall,tiny green round Cilantro/Coriander seeds will start forming.

To collect the seeds simply let these seeds get fully matured and dry on the stems then collect and store them in a ziplock or paper pouch in a cool and dry place for future use.

So that's it friends,i hope you like and find this post useful,so until next time.... Its Happy Gardening To All ☺

Heirloom Tomato Harvest 2016 From My Potted Garden

I would like to wish all my blog readers a very Happy New Year 2017, i would love to share my last blog article for 2016 that's my tomato harvest pictures with all of you , was so short on time that i could not watermark my pictures with copyright :( so since there is a time crunch i wont be writing much,i will let the pictures do all the talking and speak for themselves in this post,until  next time its Happy Gardening & see you all on the other side in the new year ☺ 

Growing Purple Cabbage From Seeds In Pots In India

I love Purple cabbages and i have always seen Purple Cabbages denuded of its outer leaves and buffed(waxed) to shine and ready to be sold in markets and neither were they organically grown,i had never grown cabbages before , so this year i decided to go ahead  and try and grow my every own organic Purple cabbage from seeds in  a pot on my terrace garden.It was a pleasure to see the humble yet exotic looking "Purple cabbages" grow and form heads,so beautiful,vibrant looking in their natural state and most importantly they were free of pesticides.Patience was the key to growing them waited for six long months before i could actually harvest my very first home grown organic Purple Cabbage.

Purple cabbage belongs to the Brassica Oleracea family,its a cool season crop and can be easily grown in pots or containers.Purple cabbages get their gorgeous distinctive dark color from anthocyanins and are loaded with antioxidants.As an amateur gardener if i could grow them anybody can !! The best time to grown them here in India is Mid of June.All you need is good hummus rich soil and your ready to grow ☺

So here's a step by step pictorial guide which will show you  how to grow purple cabbages from seeds in pots/containers.

Start by choosing the type of cabbage you want to grow,Cabbage seeds can either be hybrid or heirloom.I choose to grow a large heirloom variety of purple cabbage called Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage which produce large purple heads.

Purple Cabbage grows in soil that is rich in hummus so prepare your potting mix by mixing equal proportions of soil and composted cow manure,add half the quantity of compost or worm castings and a handful of ground Neem cake,you can also add dry leaves to the potting mix,mix all the components of the potting medium to incorporate,line the base of the pot/container in which you intend to grow the cabbages in,with dry hay/pieces of broken bricks/gravels.

Cabbage seeds need humid weather in order to germinate so i sowed the seeds in the last week of June on the 20th, i used the direct sowing method and sowed 3 seeds per hole and spaced the seeds 10 inches apart from each other,after a week tiny purple cabbage saplings emerged from the soil.

I had 100 % germination rate,using a pair of scissors i carefully snipped out 2 seedlings leaving only 1 healthy seedling per slot.I ended up with 4 healthy seedlings in a 2 1/2 foot long pot.

Within a weeks time the first set of true leaves appeared on the saplings.Soon enough new leaves kept on forming i watered the saplings very sparingly as the weather was gloomy and cloudy with frequent light showers,as i feared that the cabbage saplings would succumb to root rot or water logging.

Almost a month had passed by and the rains had arrived the saplings were growing but very slowly, i added a handful of homemade compost at this stage.

Since the potting mix was porous and light, rain water drained of easily also the drainage holes at the base really helped.The purple cabbages started changing their shape slightly.

Up until this stage the cabbage saplings grew really well,they were hale,hearty and healthy and showed no signs of pests.Every two weeks i poured a weak brew of vermiwash followed by a handful of compost.

3 months had gone by no major changes in the purple cabbages ,i would always make it a point to check the undersides of the leaves for aphids and other pests,they did not have any and i was so happy.

At the end of the third month  they were some visible changes in the cabbages the leaves started cupping or forming the head,The leaves were so glossy and large with beautiful purple veins.Now i fed the Purple cabbages with well composted cow manure,i simply spread a handful around each cabbage plant.

  

So far so good things were going well, until one fine day the aphids came knocking on one of the purple cabbages door,my  worst nightmare was staring  at me right in my face !! I immediately got cotton ball dipped it in some diluted soapy water and wiped away those nasty aphids from the undersides of the leaves.But the next day they would be back again with a vengeance and in double the numbers than the last time.Fearing that they would spread to the other healthy cabbage plants i had to remove it with a very heavy heart :((

Now out of 4 purple cabbages, i was left with 3 and as a precaution i sprayed the cabbages with vermiwash,just to be on the safer side, i also could not afford to lose them to any pests at this stage,It was almost 5 months and it wouldn't be wrong for me to say that i had been caring for the cabbages like my every own babies,this time i would not have the heart to lose a single one of them.

I then changed the location of the pot in which the Purple Cabbages were growing from a spot that receives full sunlight to a spot that receives partial sunlight (around 6 hrs of direct sunlight followed by shade) on my Terrace garden.

The Mammoth Redrock Purple Cabbages were getting huge now true to their name and baby cabbage heads started forming and taking on shape,they also seemed to like their new spot on the Terrace Garden and were growing happily much to my delight.

I continued fertilizing them with undiluted vermi wash,composted cow manure and compost by lightly digging in a handful around the base of the cabbages, be careful while doing this you dont want to damage the cabbage in any way.

Things were going just fine until one fine day i happened to spot a cabbage moth larvae beneath one of the leaves,i squashed it then and there itself.It was time to make a dacoit moth to scare the real ones away☺

I used empty yogurt cups to cut out a butterfly shapes and then using a permanent marker i drew eyes and spots then poked a piece of copper wire through it and that's pretty much it,stuck it between the cabbages and work done !! 

Its only at this very last stage that i learned that cabbages love high doses of nitrogen,and they grow faster,will definitely keep this point in mind when growing them the next time. 

Another point to keep in mind is to water the cabbages every day,and do not let the soil dry out completely,you can add mulch to help retain soil moisture.

Cabbages are ready to harvest when the heads are firm,big and glossy and feel a bit heavy when you touch them,It was harvest time for my cabbages as the heads now were huge enough....

The long wait was finally over, the moment that i had been long waiting for was here !! It was time to taste the fruit in this case the (cabbage) of my labor !! Lol ☺simply cut the entire head and pulled the outer leaves and they just snapped off so easily,exposing the deep rich purple colored cabbage from within.

I turned the Mammoth redrock purple cabbage into a delicious Coleslaw, and enjoyed it with my family,It was by far the best tasting slaw we ever had, still have two more cabbages waiting to be harvested.

So my dear Friends i hope you like my post and experience on growing cabbages and also hope you find it useful,if you have any feedback or suggestion please do leave a comment below,Until next time "Happy Gardening ".

Growing scarlet globe radishes/red radish from seed in pots/containers.

Scarlet globe radishes are not only pretty to look at but they also taste amazing and are just as easy to grow from seed.They are perfect for growing in small spaced gardens,balconies,patios,and pots/containers.These lovely little bright scarlet colored beauties are a classic variety of round red radish,its a taproot that bulges and grows beneath the soil and its this root that is eaten it has a crisp, tender,and sharp tasting white flesh from within.A popular choice of vegetable to grow among home gardeners around the world.

Here's a step by step pictorial guide on how to grow your very own Scarlet Globe Radishes from seeds.

Begin by choosing the type of pot/container that you intend to grow your radishes in,since varieties like scarlet globe have shallow tap roots they don't need pots/containers that are too deep.You can use plastic,cement.terracotta pots or even grow bags.I choose a long wide cement planter that looked like a trough that was 1/2 feet deep  and about 2 feet wide.Make sure the pot/container has drainage holes at the bottom.

Line the base of the pot/container with any one of the following dry leaves/straw/pieces of broken bricks or terracotta pots,make sure you don't close the drainage holes when lining the inside of the pot.I used dry leaves as the base  and covered the inside of my pot base with it . 

Next you fill in your potting soil mix,i had taken equal proportions of garden soil and compost.Make sure that you use rich potting soil because once you sow your radish seeds and they grow, adding fertilizers later on does not help,so you  want to give the seedlings a healthy, humus rich growing base from the very start itself.One important point to remember when growing any type of edible tap roots like ( radishes, beetroots,carrots,kohlrabi etc) is that you want the soil to be free of stones or debris this way you get perfect shaped root if there are lots of debris or stones in the soil then the roots get deformed,you can sieve the soil and compost before using.

You can choose between hybrid and heirloom varieties of Scarlet Globe Radish seeds, i choose a hybrid variety called Radish Imp Scarlet Red Globe from an Indian seed company called Omaxe,costed me 65rs/- and there were about 100 plus seeds within the pack.The seeds come in a double seal pack.

Using your fingers draw small lines in the soil and care fully sow a radish seed in the groove,space the seeds 2 inches apart from each other and sow about 1/2  an inch deep and cover with a very thin layer of soil . Do not sow the seeds to deep or else they will not germinate properly.If you are a lazy gardener then you can go ahead and just scatter the seeds but then you will need to thin the seedlings later on once they germinate,for proper growth and formation,to thin out the unwanted saplings simply snip them with a pair of sharp  gardening scissors.

Depending on the climate and temperature the seeds may take between 3 to 10 days to sprout.Keep the soil moist at all times but not water logged to prevent damping off and root rot in the radish sprouts. 

Scarlet Globe Radishes are a cool season crop but they do need sunlight to grow,so place the pot/container that receives full or partial sunlight.

Retain soil moisture and make sure it does not dry out as this may cause the radishes to split.You can add some mulch like dried hay/straw or leaves.Radishes are ready to harvest when they have grown lush green tops with almost 6 to 7 leaves.You can pull one out to check the size,make sure you don't leave them to long or else they will turn fibrous and hard from within.So far i have not encountered any pests on my radishes,and it feels good for a change to grow something that is not attacked by pests or disease.

   I loved the color of the freshly pulled scarlet globe radishes,we had them in a salad.I Hope you all find this article helpful,until next time.....

                                    Happy Gardening To All