Green chillies were in the news recently, although it was not good news for housewives in Sri Lanka. This humble ingredient which can make all the difference to the taste of many a curry or sambol went up in price to dizzying heights. So much so that a popular women’s weekly had published a dialogue between 2 lovers in verse based on the ‘hot’ topic. In the poem, the lady reminds her beloved that her birthday is drawing near. She asks him what he intends to gift her, to which he replies that since green chillies are very expensive he will gift her a kilo of green chillies! Jokes aside, the sudden escalation of prices of essential ingredients is a cause for concern but once the prices come down, many forget about it. I think this is where we housewives need to change our attitudes and become more pro-active. After all, it is better to light one candle than curse the darkness. Likewise, it is better to grow some of the essential ingredients for our cooking by ourselves. Now, before you give up the idea due to lack of space or not having any plant containers at hand, please consider my tried and tested home gardening advice. Here is what you will need to grow your own green chillies in a limited space:
Once you have the required items at hand, the rest is really very simple. First of all, pierce the 3 spots on the bottom of the outer side of the coconut shell to enable water to drain as on the bottom of a flower pot. Next, fill your eco-friendly plant container with soil, so that it fills the coconut shell up to about 3/4 its depth. Then, place the chilli seeds within the soil, place some soil on top and sprinkle some water. Thereafter, place the coconut shell container somewhere where you can water it regularly and watch it grow. Once the plant becomes tall, you can place it whilst still in the coconut shell inside a plant container, cover with soil and let it grow. Even a balcony or a window sill will do if lack of garden space is a problem. So now that you have an easy way to grow some green chilli plants at home, there is no need to panic when market prices increase. What’s more, there are other advantages as well. First and foremost, you can rest assured the chillies are pesticides-free. By using discarded coconut shells as plant containers you can also help to eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites. That in turn will help to protect your household from dengue. You can find more home gardening tips in my latest book, Katata Rasata Hanikata Uyamu. If you found this post useful, do let me know via the contact page, together with any other topics about which you would like to know in depth. |
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