During this pandemic situation, it is always safe to stay at home. But people still, need to go outside for work or buying vegetables, medicines & other essential items. Most of the time people go outside to buy fresh vegetables. Normally any local vegetable market is crowded across the country. But still, people had to go to the market at least twice a week. But there are a few plants that help us to avoid visiting the local vegetable market as much as possible. All those plants actually help us to stay home during this pandemic situation once again in 2021.
Now you are probably thinking that what plants actually helps us to stay at home? Is this true?
Yes, there are many plants in my rooftop garden. Those plants are playing an important role during the pandemic situation. Last summer, when there was a lockdown across the country, all those plants became helpful. Again it is summer and I am growing again almost the same plants and the second wave of Covid19 knocked across the country.
Okay, all those plants are basically vegetable plants. I am growing brinjal, bitter gourd, yardlong beans, okra & chilli.
Brinjal
Brinjal/eggplant/baingan/begun is an important vegetable. It is often used to make various delicious dishes. For the last few years, I have been growing these plants and those plants never disappointed me. But brinjal plants are heavy feeding plants. The more you apply fertilizer, the more you will get vegetables. This plant can produce fruits for 2-3 years.
Bitter gourd
Bitter gourd/karela is another popular vegetable. Most people prefer this vegetable during summer. One or two plants can be enough for a small family. It can produce fruits for 4 months. That is why every year, I grow this bitter gourd vine and harvest a good amount of vegetables throughout the season.
Yardlong beans
It is also a popular bean across the country. It is known as borboti in Bengali. It is used to make various traditional dishes. Many people use to make mixed veg or stir fry long beans. It lives for a short duration. Within 3 months, it grows, produce fruits & die. That is why I grow yardlong bean plants multiple times throughout the season.
Okra
It is also known as bhindi in Hindi. Some people know this vegetable as lady’s finger. It is also a popular summer vegetable. It is very easy to grow and This plant can produce fruits for a longer duration. Like last year, this year also I am growing more than 15 okra plants. It needs very minimal care. You just need to apply fertilizer regularly to get vegetables regularly for 3-4 months or even more.
Chilli
If you do not want to grow any other thing, then at least grow these plants because everybody needs those chillies almost every day. Without chilli, we can not imagine our meal. That is why everybody starts kitchen gardening with one or two chilli plants. Those chilli plants need a lot of care. These plants are very prone to be attacked by insects.
This season, I have one more additional vegetable plant which is bottle gourd. I sowed seeds last winter. Initially, the plant was growing and it was almost stagnant. But it started growing rapidly in the month of February. In the last 4-5 weeks my 2 bottle gourd plants produced more than 15 fruits.
I think if you are a kitchen gardener and you are growing various vegetable plants then you can actually realize happiness of growing those vegetables during this critical period we all passing through.
So what all vegetables are you growing in this season? What do you feel when you harvest vegetables from your own garden and make delicious dishes?
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