New member from Chennai

New member from Chennai · varaahan 9/29/2012, 3:34 am

Hi All !

I am from Chennai , India and I love SFG .
I don't understand about Peat Moss and Vermiculite.
Are they available in India ?

Re: New member from Chennai · **camprn** 9/29/2012, 7:05 am

$glad you\'re here$ to the SFG Forum! I think it would be difficult to find peat moss in India, but you could use coconut coir and of course compost. Do you have a garden now? If you do, post a few photos.

Re: New member from Chennai · varaahan 9/29/2012, 12:17 pm

What is vermiculite ?

I can get compost and coir pith .

My backyard is very small and I'll post a couple of photos shortly.
Mostly there are weeds and a few flower plants.
The available space is already occupied by 4 coconut trees and a mango tree .
Besides another two mango sprouts are coming up on their own.

Re: New member from Chennai · quiltbea 9/29/2012, 12:22 pm

Welcome to the forum. If you can't get all the ingredients for Mel's Mix, then fill in with lots of compost, compost, compost.
We love to see pictures.
Just keep posting and you'll find answers to your questions here. Lots of willing helpers with experience in SFG.
Vermiculite? It similar to perlite which is volcanic rock, very tiny, and blown up and light weight.

Re: New member from Chennai · varaahan 9/29/2012, 8:17 pm

Both vermiculite and perlite are unknown.

But I can get a lot of rock dust , that is , the powder obtained from granite quarries.

Interestingly it ( rock dust ) is one of the ingredients for Stone meal , a mixture recommended by Julius Hensel.

Re: New member from Chennai · quiltbea 9/29/2012, 11:52 pm

I've heard good things about rock dust from the youtubes of growingyourgreens.com. John, the host, has a great-growing organic garden and uses rock dust.
I don't think you have to use much of it. Its not the same as vermiculite and perlite which is basically inert and used as a filler to lighten the soil. Rock dust has useful properties, so don't add too much of it to your soil. The soil will use the minerals from the rock dust to improve.
You might want to check online to find out more about the value of rock dust and the amounts one should use in a garden bed.

Re: New member from Chennai · Nonna.PapaVino 9/30/2012, 12:54 am

varaahan, welcome. I look forward to your posts. What a treat to have a mango tree in your backyard. Mangos are so good, fresh, cooked, in chutney, with yogurt in a drink. Wish we could grow them here in the Pacific Northwest. But this past summer, I did manage to grow an Indian cucumber called Sikkim. Fascinating fruit/vegetable, especially when mature and the skin turns brick red. So far, I've made pickles with them, used them fresh in salads, and when large and beginning to turn red, I've cooked them with tomato sauce using a German recipe. Are you familiar with these cucumbers? If so, how do you cook with them? They are so new to me, I'd like to learn more ways to use them. Nonna

Re: New member from Chennai · varaahan 9/30/2012, 4:08 am

We have green cucumbers . These are rich in water . While travelling in train I bought one cucumber which looked very dry with lack of moisture and freshness . But when I ate it I was astonished as to how the water flowed through my palm. So external appearances are deceptive. We use cucumbers as salads . Sliced cucumbers strewn with pepper,Jeera powder and little salt is very good for health.

We use cucumber fruits ( yellow or red in colour ) with jaggery . This is also very good for our health especially in our tropical summers when the day time temperatures shoot up beyond 40 degree celsius ( more than 108 in Faranheit ).

I'll try to post a few photos shortly.

PS: How should I upload the photos ?

Re: New member from Chennai · **walshevak** 9/30/2012, 4:27 am

Welcome to the forum. Here are instructions for posting a picture that is in your computer.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t129-how-to-post-a-picture-located-on-your-computer

Also, check out the website for the education and gardens the Foundation did in India.

Kay

Re: New member from Chennai · varaahan 9/30/2012, 8:11 am

My mango tree between two coconut trees.

New member from Chennai Dsc02611

Re: Jeera · Nonna.PapaVino 9/30/2012, 11:58 am

Is the jeera powder you mention the same as kalonji or kalo jeera seeds? If so, do you roast them before grinding them into a powder for the cucumbers? You can probably tell, I'm rather a beginner in cooking Indian cuisine, but we love it. Also, I had no idea mango trees grew so tall! But then, I'd guess there are more than one kind of mango, right? Nonna

Re: New member from Chennai · varaahan 9/30/2012, 9:06 pm

Plz find attached the photo of Jeera we use.

New member from Chennai Dsc02612

Wo don't process it in any way. Just powder it in a mixer grinder and use it with pepper powder and salt . Jeera is an appetizer , digestion improver and aromatic. In many of the south indian cuisines Jeera is one important component. pepper is a germ killer especially it kills germs in the throat which give rise to cold , sore throat etc. Most infections start at the throat resulting in body's retaliation by cold , cough , fever etc.

Mango trees grow much larger , more than 30 feet in height and 10 to 20 feet in width. That depends on the variety planted. Some hybrid dwarf varieties grow very short and usually give fruits within a couple of years.

Re: New member from Chennai · Nonna.PapaVino 9/30/2012, 10:22 pm

Thank you, veraahan, for the information--looks like another trip to the Portland Indian market, because the picture you kindly posted doesn't look like the tiny black seeds I have on hand. Today I harvested what's probably about the last of the sikkim cucumbers, but they keep well enough to have on hand for a couple of weeks--plenty of time to find the real jeera and try it as you suggested. Weather is starting to get cooler and makes me want to fix a Lamb Rogan Josh now that we have wonderful new potatoes to serve along side it.

Re: New member from Chennai · Sponsored content


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.