ATGLife Mates: Featuring Anuradha

What began as a simple attempt to grow easy houseplants soon blossomed into a thriving, soilless balcony garden filled with basil and tomatoes.

How did you start gardening?

I came back to India from Europe two years ago - where I lived there was little to no sun on the balconies, and here I have a large balcony that was waiting to go green - I never had a green thumb (I tried to grow coriander plants in South Korea and successfully killed them all, managed to kill other houseplants in Europe). So I wanted to try growing easy to care for plants - Monstera, Snake plants - I got stuff from my local nursery and found that plants tended to survive the harsh Gujarati summers better when grown from seed. I also did not want to grow anything in organic soil (not fond of earthworms) - so started looking up soilless potting media for planting. When I saw the plants thriving here - I was encouraged to try growing edibles. My first ever edible was grown out of the necessity for good quality pesto - Italian Basil. Now I have a sprawling wild garden with basil and varieties of tomatoes waiting to fruit.

I have stuck to gardening, and over the two years, my garden has expanded, largely because I am curious to try new variants, and also because I find gardening to be meditative.

What are some of your favourite plants to grow in the garden?

Basil - I love planting it all year around - it is the only edible to have survived the harsh summer weather here. I have many pots, and ensure to harvest often for rapid growth. Love the fragrance.

Tomatoes - Easy to grow, and once you get the hang of it, productive and rewarding. Currently experimenting with Green Vernissage, San Marzano, black strawberry, Garden Peach and Atomic Grape.

Silver/Moonlight Snake plants -  Easy to care for, just water, fertilise and forget.

Indian oregano/Karpuravalli - Fragrant, keeps pests away, fast growing and great in rasam.

What are some of the plants that you’ve not had as much success with?

Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, Parsley - no matter where I source the seeds from, they either refuse to grow, or do not thrive past January.

Flowers - for some reason I have not had any success growing them (nasturtium, Cosmos, marigold) so far.

Are there any new plants on your wishlist?

I would love to try growing Zucchini, aubergine and more tomato varieties that can be rotated through the year. I would like to experiment with indoor planting in summer and then take the plants out once monsoon is over.

What would you like to say to our new gardeners?

Don‘t give up - plant new variants, replant the old ones. If I have learnt one thing from plants, it is that they grow, no matter what - it is just a matter of time and the right conditions. Keep changing one variable at a time to see what works. Their resilience is inspiring - talk to them, it makes them prosper. You may kill a few plants along the way, but you will also learn how to keep the next generation of plants alive and get them to flourish.

The journey is beautiful and there is nothing like getting your hands dirty on a beautiful winter morning listening to some music.

Any gardening hack you want to share with us?

I use fermented rice water once in a while to water my tomatoes, they seem to love the attention. I ensure I water only when the soil is almost dry - but for those times that I overwater, I leave sticky pads on vertical surfaces to attract the fungus gnats and other flying insects.

Any particular Instagram accounts you follow for inspiration?

I usually look up content on youtube when I have specific queries or read user blogs. Looking at Instagram accounts of Indian heirloom seed companies is dangerous - I end up buying too many seeds at once!

On a side note: Thank you for letting me air my thoughts about gardening - I never thought I would start gardening, keep my plants alive and even learn from the process.