Hello my fellow Garden lovers,
Greetings from Sri Lanka. It has been a long time since I have not been able to submit a content related to gardening, so I decided to publish this. Of course, everyone wants to see their garden flourishing. However, some gardens are not fertile due to lack of proper care and maintenance. Anyone with a small space can thrive with proper maintenance. For that, attention should be paid to the condition of the soil, weather condition, amount of fertilizer and water to be applied. Also, what type of plants should be grown in the space should also be considered. In order to increase the beauty of gardens, space should be reserved for planting ornamental plants and flowers. Also, more value can be obtained by growing more medicinal plants.
Cassava is a type of potato that can be prepared very deliciously. These are a plant that can be grown by cutting the stems into small pieces and planting them in the ground. Proliferating cassava can produce many kilos of tubers. Below the aunt's garden, you can see some trees that were growing very well like a bush. These can be harvested after six months of growth.
Long beans are a type of vegetable that grows on vines. Anyone can grow it in the garden. Since these grow as vines, they should be sent up using vines. Long beans are a vegetable full of flavor and goodness. It is a crop that can be grown easily from the garden for home consumption, so unnecessary expenses can be reduced. Long beans are a popular vegetable among the people of our country. It is a vegetable that has been popular among farmers since ancient times as a garden crop and as a hay crop.
Two bitter gourd vines also grow in the aunt's garden. Many people do not like to eat these because of their bitter taste even though they are highly nutritious. But I am very fond of eating bitter gourd. We also had some small bitter gourd vines growing in our garden. Here the flowers are yellow. It is not the flowers that bear fruit that appear for the first time. It is followed by flowers with small spikes. As the pods may be damaged by insects, they can be protected by applying a polythene cover.
Turkey berries are one of my favorite foods. But turkey berries are sold at a very high price in our market and are never bought for cash. The turkey berry tree in my aunt's garden had a harvest, so I asked her for this turkey berry fruit. I was happy because she told us to break them. Turkey berry cultivation is currently done as a single crop due to its high price. In the market, we have to pay a higher price for turkey berry because its medicinal and nutritional properties are understood. The medicinal properties of thibatu are also very important. A well-maintained tree can harvest for several years. If there is space, the plant will spread its branches well. Even in a garden with limited space, it is more beneficial to plant two such trees.
Our aunt has grown some pineapple plants in her garden, and she was happy to see some of the plants bearing fruit. If there was a ripe fruit, I would have been able to get it too. Pineapple has a high value in the Sri Lankan market today. Therefore, it is more advantageous to plant several pineapple plants that can spread more in a small space. The nutritional value of pineapple is also high. After growing well, the plants yield without much care.
These days the tomato harvest is bearing fruit in our garden as well as in aunt's garden. Unfortunately they don't come in large sizes. Maybe not using organic fertilizers. But from what I have seen, compost improves the quality of the harvest. Tomato is a vegetable rich in vitamin C. It is used to enhance the taste of food. Raw tomatoes are used to prepare sambal. Tomatoes in particular retain their nutritional value by eating them raw.
Plants of a deliciously edible yam known as Gahala in Sinhala were planted in empty rice bags. By planting in the ground, it is possible to get more fruits because the tubers spread over a wide area. Planting in polythene bags will only spread the tubers in a small area so you cannot expect a big harvest. But this method is suitable for land with less space.
Sugar Melon is a fruit that is high in starch. They also grow on vines and the flowers must be protected from insects. Especially these are widely grown in the dry zone of Sri Lanka.
As I mentioned in the beginning, flowers and ornamental plants should be planted to increase the beauty of the garden. Flower plants and ornamental plants can be planted using very little space. Anthurium is a beautiful flower that grows even in pots. Anthurium flowers are used for wreaths. Anthurium flowers come in different colors and the ones in my aunt's garden were red.
Some ornamental foliage is very attractive. There are some that produce flowers and some that don't. These can be spread around coconut husks in flower pots, polythene covers or on the ground. The demand for orchids in today's market is high and the price is also high.