Lets start by telling you guys this is a slightly off topic post. A post about guys and girls from age 18-40 who all of a sudden have taken a very keen interest in horticulture. These people stop by #Vriksha in hilariously colourful outfits dreadlocks wearing funky glares and using terms like "Bro" "Groovy" they say goodby too in a funny way..."peace out" " Booom" "Jai Bholenath" .
A few weeks ago i had a similar client i asked him why ....why do you guys only want to grow this 1 plant....why not tomatoes , why not chillis i showed him some of the magical plants we had at vriksha i showed him cactis ,succulents ... glow in the dark plants carnivores etc i showed him how good fresh herbs smell.....i served him a home grown salad....i spent an entire hour trying to get him all excited about the magical world of plants...he took him a herb basket , a tomato plant , a venus fly trap and soil for his seeds.
"Jack" sold his cow to get his magic seeds. these guys buy them online....they get them from all sorts of places. These guys adore these seeds they keep them in boxes fancier than those the jewellers use for diamonds. They come asking for advice they speak about artificial lighting to grow plants when i tell them the lights are expensive they dont mind they say.... they want to sit and discuss soil Ph for hours . The right growing medium the right N.P,K required to grow their "Precious" seeds.
An Average plant shopper that visits us has a few simple questions ... Name of the plant ,will it flower ,will it fruit , how much will it flower how much will it fruit, how much sunlight , how much water....when do we add manure etc etc.But these guys are different they aren't interested in the fruit the aren't interested in flowers all they want is the budd.
Its the case of Dr Jekkle and Mr Hyde here the Dr is an expert gardener who checks soil moisture levels to keep the plant in good health...he fertilizes his plants expertly using only organic manure that he has got of flipkart. The other guy forgets to water his tomatoes for a week .
Let me make one thing clear here ....I do not sell seeds nor do i sell plants of this special plant banned under " the NDPS act of 1985 . So dont call asking for it .
Spotted him at a local starbucks a few months later... he was extremely excited to see me...telling me his plant is doing well ...very well and offer me some of hi homegrown budd...i politely declined...i told him i was happy for him and asked how the others were doing...the spearmint the rosemary...has he cooked with them ? i was curious...i wanted to know did he harvest the tomatoes...did he show his friends the venus fly trap...he looked at me and said..." No brooo. They all dies in a week of taking them....i forgot to water them for a week cause i had my exams even my cactus died cause i dropped hot coffee in it one day and forgot and then ants came n ...BLAH BLAH BLAH. I dared to enquire further...how did your seeds survive...how did that plant do so well...a big bush of 5 ft (he showed me images on his cellphone) . oh those i wake up and water...then i water them in the evening again depending on the soil moisture and humidity levels that day.
In this article i merely want to state a simple point....There are thousands of plants in nature each one more beautiful than the other...i know you love your high...but have you ever eaten a freshly plucked tomato...have made tea out of fresh cut leaves of a spearmint...have you ever seen a venus fly trap in action...its simply spellbinding. The world dosnt need more pot heads ....it dosnt need more engineers or more industrialists it desperately needs more horticulturist , it needs more naturalist . And i know this generation of people have it in them to be probably the best only if only they apply the same love to growing other plants as much as they do when they grow weed.
