Vriksha nursery

Vriksha nursery is a second generation nursery based in Mumbai where we strive to change the face of urban gardening in India with over 25,000 gardens executed in Maharashtra/Goa/Gujarat. We have a team of dedicated professionals who will leave no stone unturned to give you gardens of the utmost quality. Vriksha nursery has been synonymous with innovation in our field be it set landscaping(over 15000 teleserials/movies/adfilms), temporary landscapes (over 2500 exhibitions and weddings),ikebana flower arrangements, urban farming, rooftop gardens,living walls etc.
contact us :9820704069 Email: shaan_lalwani@hotmail.com
or better still
Drop by at: 1 ganga apts ,
irla railway soc(2nd last bungalow lane opp papilon hotel )
mumbai 400056.
WHY GO GREEN...WHEN NATURE HAS SO MANY COLOURS TO OFFER!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Kuth: The Magic Wild Flower of the Hills.


Kuth
Botanical Name Saussurea costus
Common Name Kuth
Family Asteraceae
Part-Used Tuberous Root


Kuth is a commonly used medicinal herb and is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs.It is a perennial herb with marginally lobed stalked leaves and fragrant aromatic roots. It is also used in Ayurvedic medicine where it is valued mainly for its tonic, stimulant and antiseptic properties. It is said to be aphrodisiac and to be able to prevent the hair turning grey. The root is anodyne, antibacterial, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, carminative, skin, stimulant, stomachic, tonic and vermifuge. It is used internally in the treatment of abdominal distension and pain, chest pains due to liver problems and jaundice, gall bladder pain, constipation associated with energy stagnation, and asthma.This is very useful in chronic and foul ulcers, leprosy, leucoderma, pruritis, amenorrhoea etc.

What i found most interesting is how all over the internet kuth is said to be a rare herb growing in the big mountains (Himalayas)up north but honestly iv seen this herb all over the western ghats.its abundant in Lonavala ,Matheran,Mahableshwar etc.Working in Amby valley iv spotted these all over the hills.on first look the violet flowers of kuth look like a papery prikley chive flower.next time you spot this prikley purple herb on your trip to a hill station take time to wonder what amazing properties this 4 inch wonder has!!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Solanum lycopersicum(tomatoes): why are they getting more expencive by the day?



Driving by the subway i picked a newspaper from a paper boy the head lines screamed out "Seeing red over tomato prices" ....wad a hoax i thought to myself how the hell can someone ruin a tomato crop...its the easiest vegetable to grow.I had to investigate further.
and this is what i came across....(article courtesy http://agrinewspk.blogspot.com/)

Lured by high profits, Indian traders are flooding the Pakistan market with tomatoes, affecting domestic supplies and pushing up prices back home.Truck loads of tomatoes sourced from Delhi and Nashik are entering Pakistan through Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar daily, traders said.

"As many as 80-90 trucks of tomatoes (each carrying about 16 tonnes) are crossing Attari-Wagah border every day," Rajdeep Singh Uppal, vice-president, Amritsar Export Association said.
This has been happening for over two weeks, he said, adding that the trend is expected to continue for a month.
Rajendra Sharma, a member of Delhi agriculture marketing board, said supply of tomatoes to Pakistan is one of the reasons for continued high retail prices of the vegetable in Delhi at Rs 20-25 a kg.
Rajendra Chug, general secretary of Delhi's Azadpur market (Asia's biggest vegetables & fruits market) said that on average 10-12 trucks laden with tomatoes are heading for Pakistan everyday.Uppal and Chug said rush of tomatoes to Pakistan is triggered by relatively high prices there because of damage to the crop due to floods in the key producing Sindh region.
Uppal said Indian tomato is selling for around USD 350-400 (Rs 17,850-Rs 20,400) per tonne in Pakistan.Ajit Shah, president of Mumbai based agriculture export association said around 100-125 tonnes of tomatoes from Nashik is finding its way to Pakistan by road through Wagah.


Agriculture policies of the Indian government have always baffled me,but this is just plain disgusting.Mr minister prefers to fill our granaries with food while kids starve ,he prefers feeding out noisey neighbor in greed of foreign exchange id love to ask WHY but will anyone reply.

They hoard food sit on heaps piles and miles of grains while the common man shells spends through his nose just to have 1 square meal.His fat pot bellies and gangs of goons dressed in khadi waving some stupid flag screaming slogans making a fuss...just cause Mr minister is in the city for a rally....some filmy dialogues,slapstick humor,trucks and vad pao for people in attendance ...is this fat moron our union minister..he claims he feels the pain of the farmer ,the common mans grief is his but empty promises are all he has to offer.His polices are f*****d ,his actions are worse...all iv got to say is MR MINISTER YOU SUCK!!!

Monday, November 14, 2011

what is organic farming...


There are nearly 7 billion people in the world, and all of us need to eat. Can this number of people be fed by organic agriculture? Without fossil-fuel mined phosphates, without fossil-fuel fixed nitrogen? Without fossil-fuel driven tractors to till, and trucks to take the food to people?

Maybe. We don't know. It would take a massive, worldwide reorganization of human society to achieve this.

what is organic farming?....Organic farming works in harmony with nature rather than against it. This involves using techniques to achieve good crop yields without harming the natural environment or the people who live and work in it. Organic farming does not mean going ‘back’ to traditional methods. Many of the farming methods used in the past are still useful today. Organic farming takes the best of these and combines them with modern scientific knowledge.Organic farmers do not leave their farms to be taken over by nature; they use all the knowledge, techniques and materials available to work with nature. In this way the farmer creates a healthy balance between nature and farming, where crops and animals can grow and thrive.To be a successful organic farmer, the farmer must not see every insect as a pest, every plant out of place as a weed and the solution to every problem in an artificial chemical spray. The aim is not to eradicate all pests and weeds, but to keep them down to an acceptable level and make the most of the benefits that they may provide..

Why farm organically?
Organic farming provides long-term benefits to people and the environment.
Organic farming aims to:
• increase long-term soil fertility.
• control pests and diseases without harming the environment.
• ensure that water stays clean and safe.
• use resources which the farmer already has, so the farmer needs less
money to buy farm inputs.
• produce nutritious food, feed for animals and high quality crops to sell at a
good price.
Modern, intensive agriculture causes many problems, including the following:
• Artificial fertilisers and herbicides are easily washed from the soil and
pollute rivers, lakes and water courses.
• The prolonged use of artificial fertilisers results in soils with a low organic
matter content which is easily eroded by wind and rain.
• Dependency on fertilisers. Greater amounts are needed every year to
produce the same yields of crops.
• Artificial pesticides can stay in the soil for a long time and enter the food
chain where they build up in the bodies of animals and humans, causing
health problems.
• Artificial chemicals destroy soil micro-organisms resulting in poor soil
structure and aeration and decreasing nutrient availability.

Remember that when God created the universe, the earth and nature, it was complete and balanced. Man interfered with thisbalance in the environment and ecosystem for the desire to producemore of their selected and preferred crops, in the process destroying the equilibrium and disrupting natural laws and life...No doubt by using agricultural chemicals such as fertilizer, pesticides and so on, we solved our short term goal, but left a dangerous legacy for future generations. The soil became poisoned and the plants that grew in it were weak, low yielding and prone to disease. Marginal farmers despairing at successive crop failure, committed suicide by consuming the once "magical" pesticides.


Organic fertilizers:
Organic manure covers manure made from cattle dung, excreta of other animals, rural and urban composts, other animal wastes, crop residues and green manures. This is how these wastes are useful in improving the fertility and productivity of soils:

1)Cattle dung leads to soil porosity, excreta from other animals betters the water stable aggregates.
2)Rural and urban compost improves the water holding capacity of the soil.
3)Other animal wastes betters the infiltration rate.
4)Crop residues and green manures improve hydraulic conductivity.

Organic seeds:The key to the quality of seed lies in the DNA - the genetic content of the seed, and only secondarily from the conditions of production, harvest, drying, and storage. Without good DNA, no matter what the conditions of production, the seed will not be worthwhile to plant. wild-collected seed is not considered to be "organic". If a grower wants to produce an organic crop of a medicinal plant, and that seed is available as certified organic, under current rules she must use the organic seed, and cannot use the wild-collected seed. Wild populations of medicinal plants may vary considerably in the specific medicinal properties, or in adaptation to specific local conditions, and several organic growers have expressed concern that some medicinal crops in cultivation are in serious need of the greater genetic diversity that would come from an infusion of wild genes from wild plants. Under current rules, plants grown from wild seed could never enter the organic market.


the reason i wrote this article is to adress this question i face at almost every farmers marker...what is organic farming....i hope iv answered most of your quries if not do drop me a line ...and if i like your comment/question....iv got organic vegetable seedlings up for grabs...