CHENNAI: Following the practice of organic horticulture, Savitha Baliga, a resident of Hosa Road, Bengaluru, does it with complete dedication. As a child, she loved accompanying her mother and two siblings on Sundays, which helped her discover her hobby.
Baliga dedicates two to three hours for gardening every day. “A few years ago, when I was working as a freelance corporate trainer, I had 60 pots to maintain. I was staying in an apartment and had space constraint. Now that we are staying in a villa community, we have a garden to maintain,” she said, adding, “I have a vegetable terrace garden that yields brinjal, ladies finger, tomato, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, cucumber, French beans, yard beans, capsicum, chilly, radish, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, beet, local spinach and all kinds of greens, including lettuce,” she said.
Savitha believes in preserving organic food at every level of gardening. “I prefer everything organic as the taste of vegetables turns out to be different from the ones sold in the market. Use of organic manure and pesticides gives a safe aura to food and health. Generally, I compost kitchen waste generated from home. Sometimes, it’s not sufficient for overall use so I have to purchase the organic manure. Neem oil and sour buttermilk works wonders as pesticides for a few plants. Spray made up of garlic, chilli, vinegar, turmeric can be used to ward off fungi from plants. Green tea leaves can also be boiled and used as a pesticide,” she explained.
Baliga had a green thumb since childhood. “Gardening is a great exercise which gives you inner peace. The more you communicate with plants, the more they respond fruitfully,” she said.
Sharing is caring
The abundant produce of fruits and vegetables is not only consumed by Baliga’s family but also distributed to neighbours, relatives, domestic help, and whoever visits her. “It’s satisfying to see that what we grow is not wasted. Sometimes, the yield is in abundance and we cannot consume it all. Coriander leaves and lettuce are taken almost every day by neighbours,” said Baliga.