Page 34 - seniors today August issue

Hobbies

How does your

garden grow?

You don’t need oodles of space or fancy equipment
to nurture lovely flowers or luscious veggies,
writes Sheila Jain

I will be 70 soon, but I don’t feel it because my not always possible for you to go to a nursery. In
hobbies keep me going. Among other hobbies, fact, your kitchen is your seed house. You can
gardening is my passion. I work for four hours grow mint, methi, haldi, karela, tomato, red, yel-
regularly in my small garden. low and green peppers, coriander, ginger, onion,
Gardening is meditation to me. It is my joy potato and green chilli easily.
time, gratitude time. I forget myself when I am You can dry and use as seeds, the puja flowers
surrounded by plants. I talk to them, bathe that you get. Grow these in baskets or pots. You
them, feed them and even dress them by shap- can be very creative.
ing or putting a knot or stitch to make it straight.
If you have a hobby in your old age your mind The benefits
will be alert. You will keep planning to do so Every time you achieve something you will feel
much in the garden that you will not age sud- so happy, and in return you will be grateful so
denly. keep thanking God for all these creations. When
you are in contact with Mother Earth you will
What do you need? get energy from there.

You don’t need a garden to do gardening. In a For gardening, reuse and utilise things that are
flat you have balconies, where you can grow lying as waste.
multiple hanging baskets and pots. You don’t Always grow vegetables of one type in 2-3 pots
even have to buy baskets, you must be hav- so that you get some yield.
ing old plastic colanders. Put coconut fibre all When I get 5-6 bhindi from my garden, I am on
around or a fine mesh that you get from potato top of this world and enjoy every bite of it.
vendors.
If you don’t want to buy soil, you can even
make your own compost in a covered bucket or
earthen ghada. Fill this container with kitchen
waste but not cooked food, all raw vegetable
and fruit peels, eggshells, tea leaves, even dry
flowers from a bouquet can be put. Cover with a
layer of soil, cover the lid and keep aside. In 2-3
months, compost will be ready.

What about plants?

There is no urgent need to buy plants, as it is
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SENIORS TODAY | Volume 1 | Issue 2
You can reuse household containers to grow plants in your balcony