Do you remember the times, when we were very little like 8-12 years, we used to go to our grandparents home for vacations, especially during summers? Their home would have a garden area where we used to play a lot. Those gardens would have a lot of trees like mango, banana, coconut, etc. I got reminded of those old times when I entered his garden. Interesting?
Gardens Around Me | Episode – 3
In today’s episode of Gardens Around me, we are visiting Mr.Ragu’s Garden. He is very kind enough to let us explore his garden and patiently answered many of my questions.
I have split this episode into 2 parts. In this part, we are going to see what are different plants he is growing in his garden and a simple guide to learn how to grow banana plants at home. In the next post, we are going to see his simple and easy tips to grow and maintain a healthy garden (it will be posted very soon). Also, if you are not a blog person, we have attached a video at the end.
Ragu’s Garden
As soon as I entered his backyard, I saw a lot of banana trees, a few coconut trees, and some other fruit trees. It looked so dense and green. His garden made me smile in reminiscence.
Ragu is from Arni, a town in Tamilnadu, India. He is interested in gardening and started growing plants right from his very young age. Currently, in his garden, he is growing and harvesting
- 4 types of bananas,
- Coconut trees,
- Fruit trees,
- Vegetables,
- Some herbs,
- Hibiscus
- Ixora
- And Croton varieties.
Let’s see them briefly in this post.
Growing & Harvesting
He is growing, everything in his garden, “Organically” with homemade manures and composts. In a little conversation with him, I learned a lot.
The Banana Trees.
In his garden, he has 4 varieties of bananas. They are
- Red banana / Sevvazhai (செவ்வாழை )
- Rasthali Banana (ரஸ்தாளி)
- Karpuravalli / Karpuravazhai (கற்பூர வாழை)
- Plantains / Vazhakkai (வாழைக்காய்)
How to grow banana trees at home?
When I asked him about the basic steps to grow bananas at home, he shared some tips as follows.
1. Get the good quality of banana sapling from a nursery.
2. Dig a hole 1ft x 1ft and plant those saplings.
3. Make sure the saplings are upright in the soil.
4. Plant the saplings clusters so that it can shield the plants from wind. It also preserves precipitation and grows well in its own shade.
5. Make sure the saplings are receiving good sunlight and the soil with good drainage.
6. Provide manures and nutrients once/twice a month.
7. Avoid the weeds growing near these plants. If you see any weeds near them, remove it because they compete with our saplings for nutrients.
8. Keep an eye on the plants for any discoloration of leaves, pests/bug attacks, dying leaves, etc. If you notice anything, make sure you take the necessary steps asap.
The coconut trees.
He has two coconut trees. They are flowering at the time when I went to his garden. He says he has harvested many tender coconuts from these two trees.
Homegrown tender coconuts are so tasty than the store bought ones. Since they are grown organically, they are healthy too.
The other fruit trees.
Apart from banana, Ragu has 3 varieties of fruit trees in his garden. Such as,
- Guava,
- Custard apple and
- a naga pazham/black plum tree.
There is one guava and one custard apple (சீதா பழம்) tree in his garden. They are just starting out. Naga pazham is also called Indian blackberry, Jamun fruit, Java plum & Black Plum. So many names, interesting right?
Vegetables and Greens
He is harvesting all the necessary veggies and greens for the family from his garden itself. He is growing
- Lady’s finger
- Raddish
- Arai keerai
- Siri keerai
- Curry leaves
If you are interested in knowing how to grow Lady’s finger in your home easily, I have written a separate blog post. Click the link to read more – Growing Lady’s finger in pots.
Medicinal plants.
The following medicinal plants are growing in his garden.
- Aloe vera
- Tulsi/holy basil
- Karpuravalli/ Mexican mint.
Aloe vera
I have written a post about A complete guide on how to grow and maintain aloe vera at home. Click this link – How to grow aloe vera at home.
Tulsi/Holy basil
He says Tulsi and aloe vera are the plants that everyone must grow in their home. They have many medicinal benefits added to that they also purify the air and spreads the positive energy around us.
Karpuravalli.
This plant is also called Mexican mint. They are very useful for treating cold and sore throat. Steaming with a few leaves of this plant will help in reducing headache.
Hibiscus
He is having 7 varieties of hibiscus. He says they are very easy to grow. The only challenge is the bug attack. The flowers are doing so great in the summers. He harvests hibiscus in different colors like, red, yellow, pink, white, orange.
Ixora
Peach colored Ixora is growing in his garden. This is also a summer plant. The only challenge with this plant is the bugs and leaf-eating worms attack. He also has a red Ixora plant.
Croton varieties.
He has some croton varieties like Areca Palm and Dracaena and a type of jade plant.
Ragu says “we will add plants to our garden according to the seasons and we will keep experimenting by growing different trees and it never stops. So, when you come next time, you will see many different plants.”
In the next post, he is talking about “How to water the plants for efficient growth.” & “How to deal with the pest attacks.” Click here to read next post – Episode 3 (part 2)
Here is the youtube video of Mr.Ragu’s Garden. Check it out.
Also, if you missed any of our previous episodes, here is the link to the playlist. Interested to explore more gardens? Click here – Gardens around me.
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