Tag: gardening

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blog Sustainable Gardening Basics

Microblog Series: 3 things that make your plant happy

Plants may not be demanding your attention most times. However, like us, they also need suitable environment to flourish and grow in life. A little insight in their likes and dislikes can help you cultivate a happy and healthy garden.

Here’s a list of three basic and simple routines that are beloved to your indoor and outdoor plants:

Planters that are made out of natural clay are both plant and environment-friendly. Such material is breathable as it allows oxygen’s inflow and outflow.

Additionally, terracotta let’s the water dry out as compared to other materials hence minimising the chances of root rot in plants. In short, plants love and thrive in terracotta v/s other materials.

Watering is the most important aspect for potted plants. How we water them makes a huge difference in their growth stimulation.

Showers make them nostalgic of rains – something that they eagerly await for every year. Watering cans with shower-heads work best for plants as they spread the water evenly in the soil.

Nutrition in plants mainly comes from soil. While good organic soil is good enough to provide essential nutrients to plants, they do need top-up dozes too.

Fertilizers derived from desi-cow breeds such as cow dung cakes, jeevamrut are beloved to plants, more than even vermi-compost and other forms of bio fertilisers.

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blog Sustainable Gardening Basics

How sustainable gardening can help reduce negative impact on our environment

Nature has not only decided the birthplace of every plant but also its family and friends who can depend on it. Even the external surroundings and habitat which will provide ensure its growth and development has been well planned for them.

Native plants require lesser time and resources as they have spent centuries learning and adapting to the local environment and growing conditions. They also tend to be healthier and stronger thus, reducing the risk of withering or premature dying, falling, pest attacks, frequent maintenance among other aspects. More importantly, most native plants in India have immense medicinal and healing qualities that benefit the gardeners, in turn.

However, sustainable gardening isn’t about native plants alone.

However, sustainable gardening isn’t about native plants alone.It combines knowledge of resource optimization and conservation with natural gardening practices. Native plants are just a part of it. Sustainable gardening encompasses these five elements:
1. Soil
Healthy soils produce healthy plants. Healthy soil is full of organisms that turn organic matter and minerals into vital plant nutrients. When the soil is healthy, the need to apply fertilizers to boost plant growth is minimized.
2. Water

Drinking water is a precious resource that, in many parts of the country, is in short supply.

Optimizing the water application techniques such as designing water-thrifty gardens can help reduce burden on our water resources.

3. Material
To be truly earth-friendly, it makes sense to think sustainably beyond plant selections — about the other parts of a garden, such as planters, raised beds, pathways, fences, and outdoor furniture.
4. Biodiversity
Wilderness is disappearing at an alarming rate. Supporting a natural ecosystem is something that home gardeners can do to combat loss of plant and animal species.
5. Plants

Native plants are adapted to the local climate and soil conditions where they naturally occur.

In addition to supporting pollinators and other wildlife, native plants are inherently sustainable as they require less watering and fertilization than most non-natives.

They also have significant medicinal importance & are being used in traditional therapeutic systems like Ayurveda for thousands of years in India.
Besides the above, a sustainable garden maintains the natural look of landscape with the systematic growth of plants. It also spreads the message of nature conservation by protecting local flora of the region.
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blog Sustainable Gardening Basics

Introduction to sustainable gardening

The definition of being eco-friendly in some way starts with plants.

Technically speaking, planting a tree contributes to greenery around us. One would imagine that the greener spaces we create, the better our world feels. More oxygen, improved air quality, cooler atmosphere, mental well-being among several other positives. When we grow a plant, we feel that we have taken the first step towards building a sustainable world.

But what if, someone told you that planting any tree isn’t enough? What if, gardening in the modern world is doing more damage than good to your green vision?

As it turns out, sowing a seed or growing a sapling isn’t enough to create a truly green, sustainable world. The complete knowledge of gardening and study of our natural world determines how well we are inching towards our green goals.

To create such a garden, one must remember these 3 principles where it should:

1. Support local biodiversity and the natural ecosystem

2. Self-sustains itself without constant human intervention

3. Creates minimal negative impact on the local habitat

In short, you must know what you are growing, where are you growing it, how are you growing it and what impact it is generating in this process.

Simply put, a sustainable garden works with nature, not against it. Such a space encourages co-existence among other habitants of our planet in form of other species of plants, birds, butterflies, bees, etc.

While creating or sustaining an indoor or outdoor garden, one must consider the above principles. From the choice of plants or seeds to the kind of materials, one uses in the garden, determines the sustainability factor in it.

In our Introduction to Sustainable Gardening series, we will talk about the three principles in detail. Watch out this space.
Next in this series: How home gardening can support local biodiversity and ecosystems
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blog Peepal uncategorized

Why I chose Peepal as the brand name?

One of the most difficult tasks in creating a brand is choosing the right brand name. In addition to being different, it also needs to reflect a brand’s philosophy in a simple and relatable way. A real tough challenge to crack.

Like many others, there were in-numerous brainstorming sessions to arrive at a logical conclusion. And one fine morning, I woke up to the name literally.

But before that, what is the brand and the business, one would ask.

As it turns out, sowing a seed or growing a sapling isn’t enough to create a truly green, sustainable world. The complete knowledge of gardening and study of our natural world determines how well we are inching towards our green goals.

In simple terms, my brand aims to make a difference in the lives of people, plants and the planet we live. Not that simple, right? Let me break it down for you.

Good health is often described as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not just merely the absence of a disease.

One of the most underrated enablers in achieving this state are — plants. Several global studies show that gardening promotes physical health through activity, mental health through self-care, and spiritual health through discovery. To that effect and coupled with the Covid-19 lockdown, gardening took the centre-stage in our lives, globally.

While this may seem all known and good, there is bad news too.

Thanks to the internet, we can now buy these living things online — just like any other (non-living) thing. Thanks to technology, we can mass produce them in almost any climatic condition — making them exotic and aspirational. And thanks to cheap transportation, we can introduce them in any part of the world — making them invasive in the local ecosystem.

Plants, the genesis of a sustainable world, are creating a negative impact on our environment, if planted without knowledge and wisdom.

Consumerism and commercialization in the gardening, horticulture industry has given rise to the most unsustainable practices today, be it opting for exotic (non-native) plants or non-eco-friendly gardening materials (plastic, concrete, fiber).

Peepal was born out of this observation.

Since the roots of these challenges lie in our past, we turned to the ancient wisdom and combined it with the present knowledge.

Peepal is not a tree — ficus religiosa but a combination of many things that universe has packed into one. And our brand aims to embody the many qualities that it has to offer:
  • The spiritual connection: a sacred, native, indigenous plant of India representing enlightenment
  • The health connection: a healer with medicinal properties that cures several diseases
  • The social connection: a common place for ‘people’ to celebrate and convene
  • The emotional and mental connection: a symbol of perseverance and adaptability
  • The sustainability connection: a key player in maintaining the ecological balance
Above all, it is humble unlike its sibling — ficus benghalensis also known as a strangler tree which is famous for building its foundation on someone else’s.