home gardening – That Madras Mom

Well it is said that you can name yourself an adult when you have a bar cart, book shelf and nowadays people include an indoor plant. But I’d say to have a green thumb you needn’t be an adult. The age as a number isn’t a deciding factor here.

Where to start is the first step and probably most people get stuck here. This is where brands pitched in with starter kits or list of plants that you could choose to start having at home. Before that we must decide what part of the house would look much better with all the greenery.

The next thing that needs to be considered is the climate. And the windows in our house that would let in light. So the amount of light that would be coming in and the climate we’re located in play a major role in deciding what we get home.

Interacting with indoor plants in a way helps in reducing psychological and physiological stress. They help bring in a positive impact on mental health. Calming anxiety , helping in realigning your focus and making you more productive are much more benefits of having indoor plants.

And if you are in an apartment this is a great way to bring the outdoors home.

So here are reasons for you to join the bandwagon of having indoor plants at home.

Help in purifying air– House plants helps in purifying harmful pollutants such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ammonia and pollen. They could cause headache, allergies, fatigue and sickness. These plants help improve air quality and make the air cleaner for better health.

Stress reduction– Besides the making the air cleaner the psychological benefit of helping in reducing stress is another important advantage of having indoor plants. The plants help in reducing stress, lowering blood pressure and also helping in spreading positive vibes.
Great for styling vignettes- They’re a great fit for the shelves. They help in adding break ups along the hard lines of continuous range of books and stuff.

Help in sharpening your attention– When you work alongside with live plants on your desk, you could notice a difference in your level of attention. On contrast plastic plants do not provide you the same benefits.

Increase recovery rate- The recovery rate from an illness, surgery or an injury is faster when you look at plants or flowers since it is therapeutic when you take a glance.
Help in adding colour- Plants help in adding colour. They help in adding much more texture and colour.

5 plants with easy maintenance

Money plant or devil’s ivy – The plant can withstand extreme climate conditions and requires minimal maintenance. It is one of the most common plants which can grow on fences and in pots. It helps absorb volatile organic compounds and helps keeping air cleaner. If you are a believer of vaastu, the plant is said to bring in material abundance.

Snake plant -It has sturdy and pointy leaves which are long and helps in keeping air pure by absorbing almost 100 different air toxins like oxide, chloroform and alcohols. The plant releases oxygen during the night hour in comparison with other succulents thereby making it a perfect plant for the bedrooms.

Aloe vera– Another common plant in most households known for its numerous benefits in terms of health and skincare. It exudes positivism and hence is great for the living and bedrooms. An ingredient that finds its place in many home remedies, cause of its goodness to skin and hair.

Bamboo palm– The plant has an affinity to benzene, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. It grows quick and helps in eliminating toxins. Also known as butterfly or areca palm and also grows in dry weather conditions. It helps in purifying the air making it a great indoor plant.

Peace lily– Very commonly found across the subcontinent. It is not only visually eye-catching but also great in absorbing toxins emanating from the electronics indoor. It is known for its adaptability to extreme and sudden weather changes. Its also intelligent to let you know to water it when the leaves droop. Great when it is placed in areas prone to dampness say your bathroom.

The list curated above is specific to Indian maintenance and keeping in mind the sub continents climatic conditions.

So plants can only thrive with people who have green thumb is logical to olden days. Some of these plants require low or even zero maintenance. Though some may not help you with keeping the air clean, but are a great addition to decor and no compromise on the psychological benefits.

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This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.’

The lockdown made me think on a lot of aspects. It was also the time that I had delivered and I needed something to keep myself occupied and not get into PPD. That is when I stumbled upon kitchen garden.

Growing up I’ve always enjoyed watching Nigella Lawson use herbs in cooking from her kitchen. The sight of bright green tiny herbs that are brimming with freshness definitely could be felt even if I am watching it over television.

I did set up one in my balcony that had spinach, coriander, mint , chilli and mustard. I also did try and have some microgreens since I recently read about the benefits of consuming them, so I thought why not give it a try. I did and I succeeded. I had good yields but not for long. My plants needed something more.
What was it? Fertilizers. They help in boosting the growth of plants offering necessary nutrients to the soil. That is when I started my web search to understand more about fertilizers.

I also read about the harmful effects of pesticides and fertilizers that are being used to give quicker yields. The health hazards that are waiting to attack once you consume the yield made me think that if this is what we have been consuming all along.

These fertilizers though are being used to boost the growth to meet the rising food demand of the growing population. Though on one hand it is deemed to be a scientific evolution that fertilizers and GMOs can give you tremendous yield. The effects in long run on both the humans and on mother earth is definitely going to be of humungous amounts.

What are the effects on environment?

Poor quality of soil

Using too much of fertilizers can give you yield results in multiples but on the longer run the usage of the same oil will become a bigger question mark. On repeated usage of fertilizers the acid levels in the soil seem to be getting higher upon each yield. Acidic soil does not give any or much yields so in the longer run it would be of no use. So it is paving the way for slow depletion.

CHANGING WATER BODY BIOLOGY
The fertilizers used contain phosphates and nitrates which when combined in the sewers are released into the oceans. This results in increased growth of algae and decrease in oxygen levels. SO therefore we see a lot of destruction in marine life resulting in an imblance in the food chain.

HEALTH OF HUMANS

The nitrates and phosphates also contaminate ground water which the humans consume resulting in various health hazards. Not only ground water but also the vegetables and grains that are yielded with excessive use of fertilizers will lead to human body collapse involving the failure of multiple organs.

CLIMATIC CHANGE IN THE WORLD

The nitrates, phosphates, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide have also contributed on a large scale to the emission of green house gases. The global warming and drastic weather changes are the end result of excessive fertilizer usage. So in order to satisfy the demand now we see to be digging ourselves and the world we live in into bigger problems.

Let’s take a look at using options at home that help make good fertilizers.

BANANA PEELS: Bananas are rich in potassium which make them the main reason for us to consume. The peels are rich in potassium as well. So they make great alternatives to potassium fertilizers. Simply burying them in the soil in a hole beside the plant gives you the needed benefit. This works best for roses. So as it grows you could bury on the layer at the top.

EGG SHELLS: Egg shells are great sources of calcium carbonate or lime as its commonly known. Its main benefit is to reduce the acidity of the soil. Plants do not grow in highly acidic soil. Next time don’t throw away the egg shells. Crush them and use it up.
COFFEE GROUNDS: Some plants like tomato only thrive in acidic soil. The use of coffee grounds is to increase the acidity in the soil. Or alternatively you could also pour in the decoction.

FALLEN LEAVES: Leaves which fall in have some trace minerals and also retain moisture and hold the soil tight. They also attract the earthworms which are known as the farmers friend.

KITCHEN SCRAPS: These include vegetable and fruit peels. You could add them to your compost
They release nutrients in a slow manner but yield good results. This does not require any application of fertilizer even up to a year. The compost also has moisture holding capability which is must needed for plants to make them thrive under the dry summer conditions.

WEEDS: Weeds are unwanted plants that grow alongside in the garden . Though they are deemed unwanted they are rich in nitrogen so its a reason to retain them to extract that benefit. So prepare a weed tea , by soaking the weeds in a bucket and fill up with water. After two weeks when it turns brown you could just use it on your garden.

Using these alternatives as fertilizers are small steps that we could take in order to bring in big changes.Lets hold hands and keep mother earth safe for future generations.

‘This post is part of #CauseAChatter with Blogchatter’.