How to grow Beans in pots at home

Beans, which belong to the legume family, are some of the most popular vegetables grown in the home garden. In fact, beans are right behind tomatoes in popularity. Green beans (also called snap beans), the kind most often found in home gardens, have many essential vitamins and minerals including calcium, potassium, vitamin A, folate, vitamin K and, of course, fiber. It is interesting to note that green beans also come in yellow and purple varieties! Growing snap beans is fairly easy to do and once you get the hang of it you can be harvesting and enjoying delicious beans year after year.

Green beans require full sun (at least 6 hours a day) organically rich and well-drained soil. Beans do not do well in cool, wet soil and will produce poorly if planted in these conditions. They prefer a soil pH of 6.5-7.5 Fertilization is not a necessity if the soil is organically rich.

Beans are a warm season vegetable and will need to be planted after all signs of frost are past and the soil is warm. Green beans are planted from seed. When you buy bean seeds from the garden center or nursery, store them in a cool, dry place and plant them as soon as possible after purchase. Do not use seeds from a prior season.

Sow the seeds about an inch in the soil and cover. Bush beans should be sown about 2-4 inches apart in rows that are 18-24 inches apart. Pole beans should be sown 4-6 inches apart in rows that are about 3 feet apart. You can also plant pole beans on small hills. If your soil is lacking in organic matter, you can add compost or manure to the soil. Give the seeds a good watering after planting.

Beans need about an inch of water per week. If they do not receive an adequate amount through rainfall, you can supplement by hand watering. Do not overwater the plants. Keep the bean plants free of weeds, as they will compete for nutrients and water supply as well as damage their fragile root system.

Your beans are ready to harvest when they are long, slender and crisp. Do not let the beans become overly mature (if the seeds inside the pod are bulging they are overly mature). Harvest your beans when they are completely dry. Picking beans when they are wet increases the risk of spreading bacterial blight.

The bean plant is fragile so be careful not to break the stems as you pick the beans. Your bean plant will produce new beans if you continue to harvest them. If you leave mature bean pods on the plant it will decrease new bean production and eventually stop.

Once you have harvested your beans you can store them in your refrigerator for up to 7-10 days. Green beans can be frozen, canned or dried. If you decide to freeze your beans, you will need to blanch them first. Go to these sites learn more about blanching vegetables or how to can vegetables.

Bacterial bean blight is a common problem with beans. Signs of this disease are yellow, water-soaked spots on leaves or lesions that look like the leaves are burned. Plant only disease-free certified seeds and do not touch or harvest bean plants when they are wet. Avoid overhead watering methods. Here’s more information about bean blights.

Bean mosaic disease is another common problem. This causes the bean to produce few or no pods. Signs of this disease are yellow/greenish plant leaves and irregular shaped leaves. There is no sufficient treatment for this at this time. Use disease-resistant varieties to prevent this problem.

Pests that bother beans include:

Leaf miner

Bean leaf beetle

Mexican bean beetle

Corn earworm

Slugs

Control methods include hand picking and disposing of pests or using organic pesticides when necessary.

How to grow Bitter Gourd in pots at home

Since we will be practicing organic vegetable gardening, I advice that you keep a supply of organic fertilizer made from your own compost bin. You must apply compost after tilling to give your soil nutrients that your plants need in order to grow well, also make sure that your garden has enough sunlight because our bitter gourd wants a lot of sunlight.

Next thing you need to acquire is the good quality seeds. You can go to your nearest agriculture store or supermarket to purchase the seeds that you need, different varieties have their own advantage and disadvantage. In my case, I choose hybrid seeds that are pest and disease resistant and give me harvest that are in demand in the market so I will earn easy cash by selling bitter gourd in marketplace. Since we are living in internet age you can easily choose and buy bitter melon seeds online.

If you already purchased the seeds then its time to germinate them, don't be nervous and just soak them in water for 24 to 48 hours until the coat becomes soft, when this happens put them in container of directly plant them in your plowed soil. Be patiently wait for six to seven days until the little cute seedlings start to emerge, this will be the critical time in planting because they are prone in being crushed to pieces by your pet dogs; if you have one.

If you do the transplanting method (plant the seeds first in containers and transfer the seedlings later in the soil when they are already ready) then you must carefully remove the bitter gourd seedlings in the containers and gently plant them directly in the soil, do the transplanting late afternoon so you will spare the little bitter melon seedlings from direct sunlight in noon, this will reduce mortality rate. After transplanting give them water after transplanting.

Remember that you must create a proper drainage in your planting area to avoid fungal infections on the roots of your plants which is caused by too much moisture in the soil, too much watering is not recommended and excessive application of organic fertilizer is not a good idea. Too much is not good so always do it moderately or if you really needed to do it.

Water your bitter gourd when the soil is dry, you can do this every morning or in the afternoon, remember that you must not over water the plants. When your bitter gourd is big enough you must train the vines to cling on the trellises, tie them if necessary. The fruits of bitter gourd will be straight when they are hanging and they are safe from any harmful things on the ground. Watch out for pest like fruit flies because they will give you nasty damage if they left out uncontrolled.

When harvest time comes it is the most exciting period in growing your own organic vegetables, the recommended time to harvest bitter gourd is in the morning and afternoon so you will not punish yourself under the sun. Harvest them before they turn yellow, yellow bitter gourd is not edible because its not delicious. Newly harvested bitter melons are the best, there are many ways to remove their bitterness and make them delicious, common way of removing the bitter taste is by soaking them in the water for a while before cooking. I love it when they are cooked with beef broccoli.

How to grow Radish in pots at home

If you want almost instantaneous satisfaction, grow radishes! They are fast and easy to grow, and so pretty. Even if you don’t like to eat radishes, it’s worthwhile growing them because they’re so much fun. You can grow radishes anywhere you have moist, fertile soil and sun, even in a big pot (a fun garden project for kids). Radishes like cool weather, so it’s best to start them early in the spring. No need to start them indoors, just sow them in the ground. It’s best not to plant spring radishes in the mid-summer heat, but you can start a fall crop in late summer.

For a continuous crop sow short rows every 10 to 14 days. Sow the seeds thinly ¼ to ½ inch deep. If they come up too close together you can thin them so they’re a good inch apart. If the plants are too crowded, if the weather is too hot, or if there’s not enough sun radish plants will grow tops but no roots. Harvest radishes when the roots are one inch in diameter. If you wait too long the radishes will be pithy and hot. It’s tempting to let the radishes grow and grow, but oversized radishes are tough and woody.

Radishes are great fill-in crops while you’re waiting for other slower-growing crops to mature. If you plant radish seeds between broccoli plants you can harvest the radishes before the broccoli leaves shade them out. If you mix radish seeds in with your carrots or parsley, which germinate much more slowly, you can pull the radishes before the other crops need the space.

Root maggots are the only radish pests to be concerned about. To help keep the root maggots at bay avoid planting radishes where other root crops grew the previous year.

Radishes are low in calories and full of flavor and crunchiness. A ½-cup serving provides a respectable amount of potassium, vitamin C, folate, and fiber. They are best eaten raw; just clean them off with a stiff brush under cool running water.

If you’re a new gardener, growing radishes will give you confidence to try more crops.

How to grow Tomato in pots at Home

In a container of well moistened, sterile seed-starting mix, make shallow furrows with a pencil or chopstick about 1/4 in. deep. Sow seeds by dropping them along the bottom of the furrows 1/2 in. apart. Gently pinch together soil to cover each furrow, covering seeds 1/4 in. deep. Water gently and label each variety. Put container in a warm place, 75-80˚ F.  As soon as seed begin germinating and stems start to show above the soil, it's critical to provide a strong light source such as florescent bulbs or a very sunny window.

Day 7 - Seedlings have germinated. First to appear are "baby" or "cotyledon" leaves. Careful labeling of each variety is important as they all look alike.

Day 15 - Seedlings are still tiny with just baby cotyledon leaves, but growing well. Note the nice green color of the baby leaves. This indicates that plants are getting enough bright light to thrive.

Day 30 - The first set of "true" tomato leaves begin to appear above the baby cotyledon leaves. 

Now  that true leaves have emerged on all the seedlings, it's time to transplant seedlings to larger individual containers so they have enough room to properly grow and develop. This process is called "pricking out" the seedlings. To "prick out": lift seedlings from below, holding each one gently by their baby cotyledon leaves and scooping up entire soil ball from below. If roots have grown together into a clump, gently tease seedlings apart, holding by baby cotyledon leaves.

Transplant each seedling into its own container (at least 3-4 in. in diameter) filled with good quality, well moistened potting mix. Make a hole to receive each seedling. Insert each seedling into the hole to the base of its cotyledon leaves.

Tomato seedlings will readily grow new roots along their buried stems and the resulting plants will be sturdy and vigorous. Gently water in the seedlings to settle the plants.Remember that seedlings need to be kept at about 65 - 70 degrees after they have true leaves and until they are ready to go into the garden.

When spring weather has warmed up and night temperatures are regularly in the 55 degree range, it's time to plant well rooted, established seedlings outdoors. First plan to acclimate your plants: move them outside into the sun, first for a few hours , then gradually increasing over a weeks' time until they are in full sun all day.  this process is called "hardening off" and it avoids transplant shock.

At transplanting time, if hardened off young plants are more than 6 in. tall, remove the bottom branches before planting.  New roots will form along the buried stem. Prepare the hole to receive the seedling. Tip out plant by overturning pot to squeeze or tap out the entire root ball. Note the snipped off lower branches on this example ready to go into the ground.

Settle the seedling into the hole, so the entire stem will be covered up to where leafy branches begin. Pull soil around the plant and firm. Water gently but thoroughly and erect your tomato supports. Be sure they are well secured, because  your plants will grow large and heavy with fruit, so you will need strong support for the branches.

Enjoy the harvest! 

How to grow Ladies Finger in pots at Home

Nevertheless,  Ladies finger  is a nice vegetable to grow and as well as to eat.  Ladies finger  belongs to the same family as Hibiscus, Roselle(gongura) and cotton.  Ladies finger  plants love good amount of sunlight and they grow up to 7 ft tall. Using a large container/pot is essential for its growth.

I grew mine in 10L containers. I had around 10 of them prepared for sowing. The seeds were sown in those containers; 2 in each of them.  It took around 5 days for them to germinate. I got almost 100% germination. This time I used treated seeds. Treated seeds are those that are pre-coated with fungicide(Thiram) to avoid  problems like damping off. Treated seeds usually have a distinct color coated on them to differentiate them from other seeds and also to indicate they are coated and hence poisonous.

After they start showing the true leaves, thin them to just one per plant. I know its difficult to remove the plant that you so passionately sowed. Trust me if you let them grow in bunch, none of them will yield properly. So go ahead and thin them.

I grew them using hydroponic nutrients I made for tomatoes. I also have one container having soil and has  Ladies finger  growing in it. You can grow them in soil as well and not much difference in yield. For soil, I use red soil+cocopeat+compost and for hydroponics, plain cocopeat was used.

After a month and 4 days since germination, they have grown about 2 feet tall and are flowering every other day. You can see lot of pods growing. It is better to grow about 5-10 plants of  Ladies finger  since the plants yield a pod almost every other day and if you have 10 plants growing, you get 30-40 pods every week.  Not bad right?.

Ladies finger is very easy to grow.  Watch out for aphids and mealy bugs during the growing season. Check under the leaves for signs of infestations. Aphids are usually spread by ants. Control ants by sprinkling turmeric powder or boric acid or pesticide chalk such as Laxman Rekha.  Mix a teaspoon of neem oil and dish soap together well so that they form a light brown colored cream. Mix it with a liter of water and spray. It worked for me. You have to spray it continuously for a week.

Mealy bugs can be controlled by mixing spirit(rubbing alcohol) and water in 1:1 ratio and spraying. It controls aphids as well.

How to grow Brinjal in pots at home

Brinjal, which are known to the British as aubergines, typically have deep purple skins.However there are also some very beautiful white, pink, and striped varieties of  Brinjal to add extra color to your garden!

Brinjal is a warm-weather crop and should not be set out in the vegetable garden until the evening temperatures can be expected to stay above 55 degrees. Start the seeds indoors in the spring to gain a good six weeks on the growing season. Sow 2 seeds to a pot, ½ inch deep. The seedlings will be up in about a week and a half. When it is apparent which seedling is the stronger, clip off the weaker of the two so that there will be only one Brinjal growing in each pot.

Brinjal like to be bedded in rich, warm, and moist soil. Depending on your climate, most gardeners wait until early June to set out seedlings sown in April. A good rule of thumb is to set out eggplant seedlings when there is no danger the night temperatures will drop below 55 degrees. Even though your vegetable gardening site's soil has already been fertilized for other crops, it never hurts to add a bit more. Dig 5-10-5 fertilizer into the plot at a rate of 4 pounds to 100 square feet before setting the plants in at 2 foot spacing. Water the plants after transplanting.

Brinjals are good candidates for container grown vegetables because of their shallow root systems. Plant one Brinjal per medium-sized container, or several plants in a large container. Fertilize every week or two with liquid garden fertilizer according to the directions on the container. Be sure to place the containers in a sunny location.

Always be on the alert for signs of distress from the growing Brinjal. If the plants develop pale foliage after a few weeks in the ground, it can be a sign they need a boost with 5-10-5 fertilizer. Scatter a small handful on the earth around each plant, covering an area of about 2 feet in diameter. When you scratch in the fertilizer, do not dig any deeper than a half-inch to avoid damaging the Brinjal's shallow roots.

Growing Brinjal is a favorite of the cutworm. Use a cutworm collar over each plant. With a gardener's ever watchful eye, you can solve a simple problem before it turns into a catastrophe for the vegetable garden. If you notice that the Brinjal foliage is turning yellow and brown, this is a symptom of verticillium wilt. This plant disease is often fatal to tomatoes and peppers and cuts down severely on the production of Brinjals.

The wilt stays active in the soil at least fifteen years. The most that the home vegetable gardener can generally do is to rotate the susceptible crops to keep them out of harm's way. If you have a small garden plot that you use year after year, the easiest way of growing Brinjal is to sow the seeds in a sterile potting soil and transfer the seedlings into large containers.

Brinjal transplanted in June will be ready to pick by the end of July. Harvest when their outer skin is still shiny but before they grow any larger than an orange. This is only half the size of the Brinjals sold in grocery stores and at this tender age they are far superior tasting than any store bought produce.