Gardening: Growing vegetables, leading an organic life also produces Happiness

Living in the tropics, and also belonging to a coastal state with wet deciduous forests is an enabler for a conducive environment for different types of food crops and vegetables.

Location-- 7R2R+JQ5, Odisha, India

I belong to the Bargarh district of Odisha, India. Bargarh is located in the western part of the state and also a neighboring district of Chhattisgarh. Bargarh is the rice bowl of Odisha state, thanks to Hirakud Dam for the irrigation facilities.

We have a garden of size, 75 X 42 ft. And we grow almost all kinds of vegetables. Other than that we have 2 acres of Agricultural Land where we grow paddy. Paddy is the main crop that people grow here and that is the backbone of the economy of our district.

Now coming to grow vegetables in our garden. Generally, we grow seasonal veggies. Summer is in full swing, and generally in Summer the prices of veggies go up compared to winter. So that is one reason, other than that it brings a sense of happiness when you pick vegetables directly from the garden and cook them.

So organic+cost-effectiveness is the motivation behind growing all these veggies.

I am sharing a few shots to depict how we have grown a variety of veggies in our garden and how we cook organic and healthy food.

It must be noted that we do not use any kind of fertilizer for the veggies that we grow in our garden. If you grow according to season, then you may not need fertilizer.

So the thumb rule is that always grow according to the season, don't defy it, that will be healthy as well as cost-effective.

भिंडी(Okra)

It is grown using the "row to row spacing" method and spring is the best time to grow it. However, during early monsoon also it is recommended to grow.

Banana

It's an easy plant to grow, with low maintenance, just make sure you keep watering it sufficiently.

You can consume it raw as well as ripe, but we will wait for it to mature to consume ripe banana.

Bitter Gourd

The ideal condition of the soil is sandy loamy and here in my garden, the soil is the ideal soil for growing bitter gourd, however, we do grow it here and they bear those bitter gourds. It's a local variety and not the general variety.

It does not require much maintenance except regular watering, particularly in Summer. Moderate warm temperature is ideal, in extreme summer try to cover it with Green Shade Netting. We have not done that, but we have chosen an ideal location where it gets sufficient shade and is not exposed to direct heat throughout the day.

Cucumber

Cucumber is another easy one to grow and spring is the best season, and most of the people here grow it especially in spring to beat the summer heat. You will generally find a salad of Cucumber in their lunch and the easiest one to grow and it requires almost no maintenance.

The problem is the monkey menace here. The monkey used to visit our garden at least twice a week and we have to be watchful to protect our veggies. We do not harm them but make arrangements to repel monkeys from our garden.

That's all. We also grow many other veggies and fruits like Cucumber, Coriandrum, Ridge Gourd, Cluster Beans, Jackfruit, Mangoes, etc.

I have not collected their pics, so I rest this article here, Some other day I will produce them in detail.

This is my participation for the Initiative: May Monthly Prompt

Check out the above post if you are keen to participate in a particular topic of the day.

Thank you.

Original Photography using my Smartphone