With all of these methods, we have obtained a good yield. I must mention that the taste and quality of the crop were far better than anything we had experienced in the local market. You can choose either of these and try to grow Spinach at your end by following the simple steps given below.

For germination, we have used the following three different kinds of media. (we have indeed used many more media like a sponge, cotton, rock-wool, sand, etc. but from a research perspective)

1. Cocopeat
2. A mix of cocopeat, perlite, and vermiculite
3. Oasis cubes

In terms of results, the second one was the best performing, followed by cocopeat. Still, we never used it again after our research indicated that perlite is carcinogenic, a fact most of the sellers hide while selling perlite to the unsuspecting gardeners. Using Oasis cubes is the costliest and trickiest of all, but it helps in reducing labor and effort involved in transplanting and is often used in large commercial setups. 

Spinach needs a humidity of between 40% - 70%. In arid areas, moisture content can be increased by giving foliar spray of water. In extremely humid areas, proper ventilation can help in reducing the humidity. 

We have experimented growing Amaranth using each of the following mediums:

1. Coco-peat
2. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)
3. Deep Water Culture (DWC)

As long as conditions like temperature and humidity remain balanced, Amaranth can be harvested within 4-6 weeks. In all mediums, due to the harsh heat, we gave the plants a foliar spray of plain water as and when they looked too dry. Our results indicate that both NFT and DWC result in taller plants.

Hemp first originated in central Asia. Its production was rampant in many countries like China, Europe, Japan, Chile, and other countries for years. Before 1985 it was entirely legal to grow Hemp in India. In fact, During the time of World War 1, India used to be the largest manufacturer of hemp. Hemp is usually grown in temperate regions. In India, Hemp grows in abundance in Himalayan belt states.

There are more than 30 countries which produce industrial hemp. France leads the world in hemp production. It meets 70% of the world hemp demand. China is the second-largest producer. Small production occurs in Europe, Chile, and North Korea. Countries like India, Australia, Japan, UK, and others also grow hemp. India banned the production of hemp in 1985 and made its use a criminal offence. As on date, the policy is changing. States like Uttrakhand, UP, MP, and Manipur have either allowed or working towards allowing cultivation of commercial hemp. 

Hemp can be used in multiple ways. It can be consumed raw, or it can be processed and then used for industrial purposes.

• Cleaning of wastewater - Hemp helps in cleaning wastewater such as sewage effluents by using the process of phytoremediation (using living plants to clean air, water, and soil).
• For weed control - It is used as a mother crop, which stops the growth of weeds. It can be used by farmers to avoid the use of herbicides and other chemicals on plants, which in turn affect our environment. CBG (Cannabigerol) is the compound present in hemp, which opposes the growth of weed.
• As biofuels - we also get biofuels from hemp by using seed oil and stalks as well. By fermenting the whole plant, we can even get alcohol fuel (methanol).

The main constituent of cannabis Sativa is THC, but it contains more than 500 other compounds; among them, 113 are cannabinoids produced in trace amounts. Research is going on to find out the use of these compounds present in hemp.

The important compounds apart from THC produced in larger quantities are CBD(Cannabidiol) and CBG(Cannabigerol).

Apart from the medicinal benefits, there is another advantage of growing hemp too. It is a short crop cycle crop, so farmers can grow and use it as a cash crop. If you do plan on growing hemp, do check your state regulations and take necessary permissions from the authority before starting.

Happy Growing!

One important point is that while pruning, only prune the indeterminate varieties (where plants will tend to produce leaves and flowers throughout its growing season). If you are pruning determinate varieties, it may lead to less number of harvests.

If left unattended, the plants become more like an overgrown mass of leaves and shrubs, defeating the purpose. The plant sugars must be channelized towards better fruiting, generating a higher yield, and better quality of the fruits. Pruning of unnecessary growth in tomatoes can achieve this objective. The key is to prune enough, but not too much. Pruning should be done in such a manner that the fruit receives adequate sugars and protection from the leaves against sun scorching.

We can prune tomatoes once it starts producing flower clusters.

It is difficult to control an airborne disease as we cannot restrict air movement. Of course, to some extent, we can avoid disease establishment in a protected environment (poly house, shade nets), but we cannot avoid it completely as there will be air movement in the poly house as well. The management of the pest in a poly house after the establishment of the disease is challenging. This is because, in a covered area, the air movement within the structure ensures the quick spreading of the disease.

The establishment/development of any disease or pest population needs a suitable climate.

Powdery mildew occurs in the following conditions:

• dense growth achieved in the plant,
• high relative humidity with moderate temperature
• shady conditions (rather than in the full direct sunlight)

Identification is easy as the signs/symptoms are easy to find out, but the handling of the disease is a relatively tough ask.

The damage effect will be seen in terms of mal-formed and sun-burned fruits as the plants lose their leaves in the early stages. The severity of the disease leads to smaller and less number of fruits in plants. 

• Remove disease infected leaves at the earliest sighting to avoid further spread. This will, however, only kill the existing infection.
• Fungicide sprays - Spray protectant fungicides (horticultural oils such as neem oil) where it will prevent the new infections from occurring

• Grow plants in an area with full sunlight.
• Provide sufficient space for plant growth to ensure better air circulation.

We hope our experiences will encourage you to move beyond short term challenges to a beautiful lush green vine with little hanging gourds in your garden. We still vouch for the joy of growing these gourds. There’s nothing more beautiful and enchanting than having a garden with plants growing across its ceiling and testifying to a forest environment - in an otherwise concrete jungle.

Happy Gardening!

To understand B.E.R., we need to split this disorder's name to get its meaning - Blossom (=Flower; later develops into fruit) - End (=basal region) - Rot. A dark color spot at the blossom end of the fruit represents Blossom End Rot. Though also found in Capsicum, It's the most common physiological disorder of tomato. It is a disorder that you will notice in your garden if your tomato plants are deficit in calcium, a secondary macronutrient. Other crops that get affected by B.E.R. are Chilli, Brinjal, Watermelon, and Squashes. Blossom End Rot occurs when there is a wide fluctuation in water management as the calcium uptake and movement activity reduce in plants. 

It starts with a small, depressed and water-soaked lesions (air spaces under the epidermis tissue of fruit become filled with liquid) on the blossom end of the fruit. There will be water-soaked spots. As the fruit develops, the size of the spot will increase, giving a black/brown, patchy appearance on the fruit that eventually rots and becomes unfit for consumption. 

In our Research Centre, we transplanted the Kale in DWC medium as well as in a cocopeat bed. We prepared the nutrient solution by adding 2 ml of CityGreen's Balanced NPK solution per liter of water. Initially, we felt that the growth is not very fast. But we realize that kale is a winter-happy crop. It loves cold climates and, in fact, tastes sweet after a real heavy frost! Alas, we are in Bangalore of today, or I am sure the kale would have grown much more happily in a Bangalore climate 10-15 year prior when cold seemed to be the year-round theme in Bangalore.

We aerate the plants every alternate day and keep a close watch to confirming pests are at bay. The kind of pests that take an absolute liking to a crop like kale are

• Blister Beetles.
  
• Cabbage Aphids.
  
• Cabbage Loopers.
  
• Cabbage Webworms.
• Diamondback Moths.
  
• Flea Beetles.
  
• Grasshoppers.

Considering the varying climates and temperatures that the kale faced, we'd say it has been a success for us to be able to see it grow and increase mass.

In the Indian context, it would be ideal for making a kale paneer dish as its nutrient content and properties seem to outnumber spinach. The nutrients in kale can help boost wellbeing and prevent a range of health problems. It contains fiber, antioxidants, calcium, and vitamin K, among others. An excellent source of vitamin C and iron; its one of the must-haves and must grow in your kitchen garden.

Start by sowing the seeds. Ensure that the cocopeat is moist, and the seeds kept in a warm and dark place to promote germination. It will be good to keep an eye and check, periodically, if the cocopeat is moist enough and not dried out. After 7-8 days, the first signs of visible life will appear, which is an experience worth undergoing. Any form of life brings an enthrallment like no other.

Do ensure to provide a good supply of Nutrient solution dose from the time of transplant till harvest. In our case, to start with at the time of transplanting, we used CityGreens NPK solution @ 2 ml/ liter of water. At the end of a month, the plant looked ready and stable and healthy enough with a good root structure such that it will survive in a transplanted environment. So, then the DWC rack was made ready for the kale, and the kale was transplanted.

Our mint journey started with seed sowing around April 2018. As far as possible, we try to start from the seed stage to be better able to understand the dynamics of plant growth. We sowed them in coco peat and clay pellet mixture.

It took around 15-20 days for the seeds to germination. They were growing well in coco peat. While raising them in cocopeat, we ensured that the plants were provided with sufficient (no overdose) nutrients. We used our Greens range of Nutrient for Mint. We also provided plain water so that there is no accumulation of salts in the cocopeat bed. Since we also wanted to try growing them in the DWC system, we transplanted almost month-old plants to the DWC system.

As on date, the mint in our DWC system looks all ready to be harvested. And we are happy to share that those living around our vicinity will be able to taste this delicious and humble ingredient from the farm to the fork. 

With mint, there wasn’t any pest and disease in our research center. But the probable pests that can impact mint are aphids, thrips, mites, and cutworms. Also, look out for fungal rust and wilt diseases, if the plants are overwatered (in soil), and densely grown. Remove the infected plants at an early stage to avoid the spread of the disease and ensure safe control methods.

We are getting new stolons from the plants in our DWC system. These we will use to transplant for the next cycle of the crop after harvesting. Can’t get more natural than this.

Happy Gardening!

So once the cherry tomato seeds were sown we prepared ourselves to experiment with three basic types of growth systems in Hydroponics

• Dutch Bucket System
  
• Deep Water Culture
• Soilless Grow-bed

The seedlings were ready to transplant within a month. In May 2018, we transplanted them into these three mediums.

Strawberry mostly originated from the temperate regions of the world and requires similar conditions for its growth. The USA stands first in strawberry production, contributing nearly one-third of world production. Earlier, the crop was restricted only to the temperate parts of the world, but with the evolution of improved varieties and Hi-tech growing conditions, they are being grown all over the world.

Whatever may be the source of planting material you get, the way of planting them will make the difference between getting a good crop or getting an average or poor crop. So be very careful while planting to not bury the crown part of the plant into the medium.

Strawberries grow well irrespective of the methods you choose. But the main problem with the soil medium is fungal diseases. Also, fruits that sit on the soil surface are easily prone to rot. Hence one of the best methods to grow strawberry is using hydroponics. They can be grown in NFT, DWC, or vertical towers.

If you want to go for a substrate method, go for an ideal potting mix, which ensures good drainage. Also, the medium should be rich in terms of its nutrients supplied.

In NFT, plants are placed directly in the net pots with the addition of clay pellets to anchor and support the plants. Net pots are then placed in the NFT channel, where the bottom part of the net pot should touch the top of the nutrient solution such that growing roots are always suspended in the nutrient solution. This should be ensured and monitored at the initial stage of growth with much care, and caution for this will determine the growth of the crop.

The yield for strawberry will depend on many factors, such as weather, variety, nutrition, etc. A Single strawberry plant will give you an average of 150- 450 grams of strawberry.