Know more about earthworms present in your garden soil

If you have come across slightly transparent reddish, brown or gray colored and 10-12 cm long worm wriggling in your gardens, then you have a reason to cheer. 
The worm is called earthworm and its presence in your garden soil indicates that the soil is nutrient rich.

Nature’s plow as popularly called, loosen up soil and make it more porous and aerated. They feed on the soil and organic matter like dried leaves present in it and convert them into a nutrient rich dark granular castings called as ‘worm castings’. These worm castings are good fertilizer providing plants nutrients otherwise unavailable to the plant.

Earthworm’s body is made of around 100 small segments which are clearly visible on its body. The first segment at anterior side is its mouth. As it moves, it consume soil thus making a network on interconnected burrows all the way. These burrows help in passing water and air through the soil thus helping roots grow. After feeding soil, it will digest the soil in body. During digestion in earthworm’s body, organic matter present in the soil is broken down into useful nutrients and excreted as worm castings. That’s why these worm castings act as fertilizer.

Life cycle of an earthworm

Earthworm lays eggs in spring in a cocoon buried beneath the soil. Eggs hatch within 3-4 weeks and they mature within 10 weeks after hatching and a dark 3-4 segment long dark cuticle appears on the earthworm body. It is called as clitellum. Presence of clitellum on earthworm’s body is an indicator of sexual maturity. Then it mates and produces eggs. Disappearance of clitellum indicates onset of old age and senescence. Earthworm generally lives to 4-8 years. 

Attracting earthworm in your garden

Adding nutrient rich compost to the soil invites earthworm as they thrive in there. Keep your soil moist and damp. In such conditions, the earthworm’s skin stays wet and moist allowing it to breathe. Due to the same reason you must have noticed these worms crawling on the surface after hard rain. Leaf litter around the surface and a layer of mulch is assumed as an invitation by earthworms. You can bury kitchen waste in the garden soil to attract more earthworms.

Avoid pesticides and other chemical sprays as they will repel earthworms. 

Vermiculture Composting

It is a process of decomposing organic matter (waste food, kitchen scraps etc) into a nutrient rich matter which can be used by plants for their growth using worms like earthworms.

Earthworm are fed food waste like fruit and vegetable trimmings, ground egg shells, lettuce leaves and garden clippings like grass clippings, leaves. You shouldn’t be feeding any dairy products and meat to earthworms.

Red earthworm ( Eisenia fetida) is best for vermiculture composting. They are generally found near on the soil surface. Put these worms with food (mentioned above) in a closed container and let the process going on. Harvest the earthworms once the food is converted to earthly smelling matter and granular dark castings are formed.  

Know more about your garden soil.

A visit to city's one of the most creative and beautiful nursery

DGI at Rajbhavan Apurva Nursery, Pune

He is a mechanical engineer by profession and a gardener by passion; has invested 30 years of life creating and growing world class plant varieties. Along the way he has innovated many gardening techniques and tools to suit every possible climate and location in the country. It was a privilege for ‘Design Green India’ to have somebody like Arun Ashar on the website as a guest gardener.

52 years old Arun Ashar has been fond of gardening since his childhood. His love to gardening became prominent in 1988 when he came to pune and bought a flat to make its terrace a garden. Those days he read and read many books on gardening, experimented, travelled around the country as well as world in search of more houseplants varieties which he could bring back to his place and grow them. 

In 1995, he started a small nursery which now after 17 years has become one of most popular garden mall ( as mentioned by Arun Ashar) in the city housing numerous varieties of roses, climbers, creepers, houseplants, cacti, succulents, bonsai and flowering plants. Gardening lovers who come here become spell bound by the beauty of the plants they see and can’t stop praising Arun’s work. 

“How he managed that number and type of houseplants?” When asked to Arun, his reply was – “passion for the plants kept me going”. Wherever he travels, he makes sure that he is bringing 2-3 indigenous flora of that place back with him. As a result his nursery is having plants varieties from all over the India. He also showed us some varieties of succulents and flowers which he brought from Ooty, Sikkin and Darjiling; then he acclimatized and cultivated those varieties in Pune. According Arun, it takes around 5 years to start full fledge production of such varieties. 

He himself has designed many creative plant pot stands, ceramic containers and moss sticks to suit small flats and houses. 

Arun showcases his work at horticulture fairs all over India where he is very much appreciated and regarded as one of the top gardeners in the country. He has tips and tricks for growing almost every possible plant. To make this point, he explained us few tricks for inducing growth in creeper variety of money plant and multiplying Alocasia amazonica with ease. Also he can tell you the name of rose variety just looking at its leaves. 

Arun now wants to make his nursery the most visited nursery in the city in coming 10 years and share the tips and tricks of growing plants with people which he has learnt all these years so that others could be benefitted.

‘Design Green India’ would recommend a visit to Arun’s nursery to its readers. Below are the contact details of Mr. Arun-

Arun Ashar

Rajbhavan Apurva Nursery,

University Circle, Pune

Maharashtra, India

Mob: +91-9823129705
Website: www.apurvanursery.in

Email: apurvanursery@rediffmail.com

Check out more pictures from the nursery.

Best Tips for growing Impatiens (Balsam) at Home

If you are looking for low maintenance, easy growing and multi colored blooms then you should try Impatiens (Balsam). The best thing about Impatiens is that it can be grown under low light conditions. The name Impatiens comes from its seed bursting nature on a touch. The slightest touch to Impatiens ripe pod (fruit) can induce bursting of seeds out of the pod. Impatiens grows 12- 18 inches tall generally. They come in different shades of red, orange, pink and white.

Propagation

Impatiens can be propagated from seeds and stem cuttings. Sow seeds in a small container having good potting mixture and water it.

Impatiens can be rooted in water also. Take a 3-6 inches stem cutting having at least two leaf nodes (joint on stem where leaf comes) and remove all leaves except 2-3 leaves on top. Pinch the stem tip and remove buds if present on the cutting. Now place the cutting in a vase of water and keep the vase in bright location which receives indirect sunlight. Change the vase water every other day. Once the rooting has occurred, transplant the sapling in container.

To root Impatiens cuttings in soil, take a stem cutting as mentioned above. Make a hole using a pencil or finger in potting soil to insert cutting easily. Before inserting, you can dip cuttings in rooting hormone or honey. Water it and put the planting tray or container in bright location. It will take couple of weeks to a month to get cuttings rooted.

Impatiens cutting can be rooted in water too.

Container

Impatiens makes a good container or hanging basket plant. Select a small to medium sized container as Impatiens doesn’t grow much tall. Make sure that the container is having adequate numbers of drainage holes to let water out of the container as Impatiens doesn’t like to stand in water.

Soil

Impatiens likes well drained, humus rich moist soil. Loamy soil is ideal for planting. You can add perlite and peat moss to loosen up the soil. 

Sun / Temperature

As mentioned , Impatiens is the houseplant which can be grown under low light conditions outdoors and requires moderate light when grown indoors ( inside the home). They can’t stand low temperature (frost), that’s why they are grown as annuals. 

Watering

Water them regularly. Keep the soil moist but don’t make it soggy by over watering it. Water until water runs out the container and water again when soil feels dry on touch. 

Fertilizer

Feed Impatiens with liquid fertilizer used for flowering plants once a month. Some gardeners prefer feeding twice a month with liquid fertilizer diluted to half strength. Never over fertilize as it will result in more foliage and less blooms.

Caring

Keep an eye for spider mites, aphids etc. Pinch the branch’s top to take out stem tip; it would induce formation of side branches and give the plant bushy look which will result in more blooms ultimately.