Microenvironment - The Unsung Hero of Terrace/Balcony Gardening

Here is an invitation to people who have been wanting to start growing but did not know how to.

Let us start with what we need to keep in mind for people who are starting to grow, in spaces where plants have never been grown before.

When we think of starting growing in spaces other than on ground, there are a few things we have to keep in mind. 

So when we grow in balconies, terraces or in any space where nothing has been grown before, we need to do something called 'conditioning', to make the place fit enough for plants to be able to grow. 

It is not enough to just keep a pot and start growing, we need to first create a microenvironment.  

Flower of a coccinea plant grown on terrace in a container

A 'microenvironment' means to create an environment that can support growth of a plant which will be rich in moisture, supporting microorganisms, not very fluctuating temperatures.

Many passionate youngsters/beginners tell me that they keep a pot in their balconies or terrace, give it all nutrition and water, yet the plant dies. One major reason for that is lack of a proper microenvironment that can support the new plant or sapling.

So how can we create a microenvironment for growing, especially in places where plants have never been grown, like in a new Apartment, a balcony where plants were never kept.

To start with, identify a place where you want to grow. 

Make sure there is at least 3-4 hours sunlight if you are growing vegetables or herbs, 5-6 hours if you are planning trees like mango, curry leaves, or pomegranate. 

1 hour or so if succulents. 

Or shade if you are planning indoor plants.

Next, keep a tub with water at the specified place before keeping any plants. Leave it for a week or two. 

Any kind of container that does not have holes can be used, terracota containers, large takeaway containers... Anything at all that can hold water

You can add some soil into it if you plan to make it a water lily tub; it is a very good idea to have when growing plants. 

A cement container with a water lily, Azolla and Water Cabbage in our Terrace Garden

You can add water lillies, neer bramhi cutting, water cabbage, reeds, or any other water plant into the tub after a week of keeping the tub. 

After two weeks you can introduce guppies or mollies or some such small fish into the water pond. 

Guppies and plants in the pond will support each other, fish poop will support plant growth, and tiny organisms growing on the plants and around it will act as food for the fishes. 

Aim for a self sustained system.

Tub can be of any kind, a clean 20 liter paint can, plastic bath tub, a ceramic container or pot with no holes, a plastic pot with no holes, or even a large bhandli or vessel from your kitchen that you do not want to use but do not want to throw. 

The more creative you are, the more unique your garden will be...

I have eleven water bodies on my 1200 sq feet garden on terrace. 

Another container with Dauben and Bramhi on our Terrace Garden
We have eleven such big and small water bodies on our 1200 sq ft Terrace Garden

The water body helps in ensuring that 

a) There is moisture all the time in the surroundings, to support plant growth. Plants do not do too well in bone dry environments like deserts, which the terrace would tend to get during day times, especially during summers

b) The moisture will hold small micro organisms in the environment, so that when the plant is kept, it'll exchange each others' strengths in withstanding the harsh environment of the terrace or sunny balconies

 

c) Plant will not be quickly infected by the pathogens that can grow in poor growth conditions also and affect weak plants quickly. 

Something like the commensals we have in our gut and skin that protects us from harmful pathogens present in air or sometimes in food or water. We do not drink sterile water, eat sterile food or breathe sterile air, right?

d) Water will attract birds, bees and other small insects that are an important part of the plant ecosystem to ensure pollination, and support other important life supporting activities

e) Water body adds aesthetics to the garden 

f) Fishes in the water body will not allow any mosquitoes to breed

g)  And most importantly, water body can pull away any negative energy that is generated at home and in your environment.

After a month when this water body is stabilized, you can keep your first pot with a healthy plant near it.

There you go! Take care of these and you are ready to grow!!!

In the next issue, I will tell you what to take care of before planting in a new pot that has not been used before to make sure that your plant remains healthy.

All the best.