To continue the circle of life, a living organism must produce its progenies. Plants are no exceptions to this natural cycle. Plants develop their progenies by creating seeds for the next generation. The process of pollination aids the circle of life in the case of plants. Proper pollination increases the percentage of fruit set in flower. Later, the fruit will produce the seed, thus completing the circle of life. 

Self-pollination, as the name suggests, does not need any external vector. The anther and stigma are positioned such that the transfer of pollen grain happens naturally. Cross-pollination, however, requires external stimuli, often a vector, like an insect, to transfer pollen from one flower to the other. 

Cross-pollination is normally aided through insects. Insects collect pollen and nectar from the flowers as food. As they forage, they spread the pollen from one flower to another flower, one plant to another plant. In an open environment, this process works well, and environmental factors like wind, water, rain, etc. further aid the process of pollination. A protected environment restricts the movement of natural pollinators. This limitation leads to a reduced rate of, or improper pollination, which results in no fruit set or deformed fruits and seeds.  Due to this, yield reduces in the plants grown in a protected environment. In such cases, a farmer can aid the process of pollination by carrying out manual/hand pollination. 

Lastly, there are a couple of more things that one should take care of if doing hand pollination. 

• One should take care to ensure that stigma does not get damaged during pollination. 
• Also, one has to be aware and informed regarding the perfect time for pollination. The stigma receptivity varies for different time crop combinations. For cucumbers, the best time to pollinate is usually between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM.

Taking care of the above-listed aspects, the grower can increase her chances of getting proper shaped good cucumber fruit. 

Happy Growing!

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. 

In the case of the mighty mites, prevention is always better than cure. This, of course, is easier said than done. So we will look at other possible alternate means:

• Ensure regular watering for the plants as these mites prefer dry and hot climate for the multiplication.
• Allow natural enemies like lacewings and ladybugs to feed on them.
• Predatory mites of the family Phytoseiidae, like Phytoseiulus persimilis, will eat the adult mites and eggs.
• Use of neem oil sprays at 20-30 ml per liter of water depending upon the infestation levels
• Application of Harpin Alpha Beta (a protein which stimulates the plant's natural defense system and helps in restoring the sap sugar levels and encouraging in replacement of damaged plant tissues
• The last method is the use of the insecticide 'Acaricides.'

Don't undermine the might of a mite! 

Happy Gardening!

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.

The seeds germinated within a week. And from then on, we waited with bated breath to see the transformation and growth of this plant. Plants started growing well. For nutrition, we provided the plants - CG Symphony, our nutrient solution. We initially started with a dosage of 2 ml of Greens + 2ml of Nutes per liter of water. This concentration was gradually increased up to 4ml (Geens 4ml +Nutes 4 ml) and addition of Blooms at the flowering stage ( which was around the 5th to 6th week). Just like many other plants, these also need enough sunlight and optimum temperature for their proper growth. Any fluctuation in climate will impact plant growth, which will delay in getting corns to harvest. We have had to face fluctuating temperatures and climates in Bengaluru, and yet we were able to harvest corn within 6-8 weeks. 

deally, one can harvest healthy corn within after 8-9 weeks of planting.

We allowed a few of our plants to grow beyond the baby corn stage, and they are now maturing into maize or corn.

Some others were harvested earlier as baby corn. Fortunately for us, we did not have to fight any disease or pests for this crop. Initially, we did notice some micronutrient deficiencies in the plants. This was then eliminated by using our CG Nutes solution. We hope this encourages you to add this vegetable to your growing collection too.

Happy Growing!

Firstly, not all flower drop is a concern - for example, in the gourd family (cucumber, ridge gourd, etc.), male flowers naturally drop off from the plants after few days - once their primary purpose of pollinating the female flowers is complete. Having said that, a healthy blossom that drops off suddenly should be a cause of concern.

It turns out that multiple factors often working together are responsible for this. Listed below are few of the major causes of Flower drop:

• Grow varieties that are suitable to the region and climate (Ex. Varieties which can tolerate high/low temperature)
• Ensure the provision of proper macro and micronutrition to the plants. Micronutrients such as Boron are essential for flower development.
• Regularly water the plants in the right quantity depending on the climatic conditions. The growth medium should always be kept moist.
• Monitor for pest activity at regular intervals

Happy Growing!

Happy Farming!

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!