Nature's Sweet Offerings - Cultivating Fruits 

and Permaculture Gardening

Dear Envirocare Coordinators, Go Green Champions, and Eco Explorers,

A warm welcome to all.

This month, we reconnect with Nature to unveil its sweet secrets. Most seeds appear the same in colour and texture but germinate and mature into distinct plants. The Earth nourishes the seedling into a sapling, and to eventual maturity whereby bountiful varieties of fruits and vegetables can be harvested and enjoyed.

The soil, sunlight, water and pollinators are the most observable and precious gifts of Nature. Held in sacred regard, they are indispensable for the life cycle of a plant. Most fruits are the by-product of insect pollination. The beauty of fruit trees is their prolific bloom of luscious fruit in a myriad of colours, taste, and fragrance.

The Sri Sathya Sai International Organization (SSSIO) of Estonia, in Zone 7, has been realising the ecological potential of their landscapes, while increasing the abundance and diversity of their plant cultivations. The Estonian tree-planting mission, ‘Paradise Garden Creation’, started with great enthusiasm; they have been planting a variety of trees with the sheer determination to transform the land of Estonia to benefit local ecosystems. 

In 2022, more saplings and trees have been planted with a motive: that someday these trees will be transferred to their natural habitats. The domestic nursery in Estonia breeds Sycamore maples, some ordinary pines, and Chestnut trees (scientific name: Castanea sativa).

The tree planting initiative has been extended to the next level by growing 17 saplings of the most massive trees on Earth, the ‘Giant Sequoias’ (scientific name: Sequoiadendron giganteum).

Also, walnuts and acorns were collected from the island of Saaremaa in Estonia and planted. Today, 5 walnut saplings and 11 new oak trees are being treasured.

Trees like the sugar maple have a sentience to cooperate with winter. 17 saplings of sugar maple are now in deep sleep and will be in their outdoor habitats during the coming spring. As these saplings grow, a lustrous foliage is expected in the years to come.

17 saplings of coffee are also growing and people are waiting for the blossoming of white, fragrant flowers of coffee plants, which is the first step of a year-long journey before potential productivity. Coffee plants need a warm spot with indirect light and are best grown indoors or in a greenhouse.

Viticulture is a sacrosanct tradition in Estonia. The small vineyard in the Haapsalu town of Estonia is being rendered more distinct with 5 grape varieties, as long-awaited precious fruits are being harvested. 

Exploring further the green spaces, the small orchards have several interspersed fruit trees, such as apples, peaches, pears, apricots and sweet cherries.

A group of farmers from the town are now involved in the organic municipal garden project. A piece of land has been granted to them to cultivate Yin-Yang beans and organic potatoes of different varieties. 

The allotted land plot already had several fruit plants, such as raspberries, watermelons, cape gooseberries (scientific name: Physalis peruviana), apricots and many more, which are being nurtured with love.

Permaculture gardening has been adopted to produce an abundance of food in a sustainable system. The permaculture bed has a small area of 20 m² but can yet produce hundreds of kilograms of herbs, berries, fruits, vegetables and mushrooms. When elevated garden beds are set up, it helps to raise the surface temperature of the soil.

This method avoids the need for hard labour, and gardeners can work for long hours compared to manual soil tilling practices. All resources are valuable and useful; nothing goes to waste.

This arrangement helps to build up a semi-layered system of growing plants, where strawberries, flowers, and tree saplings are planted on the ground level; potatoes, tomatoes, chillies and peppers are planted on the middle level; and grapes and sunflowers are planted on the upper level. Each plant gets adequate sunlight for growth.

• Local gardens practise a rainwater harvesting system using three plastic barrels of 200 litres each and 1 ton reservoir that has capacity to collect large volumes of water. Harvesting rainwater helps to conserve water and mitigate the effects of water scarcity. They also have one pit to collect water from the melting spring snow and raining season.
  
• Pruned and cut-off branches, shoots, and leaves are collected. When the neighbours’ lawns are mowed, the lawn clippings are not disposed of. These organic wastes are stacked at the elevated permaculture beds to improve soil health and save water.
• Weeds are reused as manure and no plants are wasted. This helps to regenerate soil and Nature gives back much more harvest, compared to conventional ground level gardening with much digging, clearing, weeding and throwing away.

‘We have the vision of converting gardens into self-sustained units, where an environmentally-friendly harvest can be shared with many people around. In permaculture gardening, we do not dig the land or turn it over like in mainstream gardening practice. Everything happens on their own. As Zarathustra once said: “Gardening will save the world.”’ – Envirocare Coordinator of Estonia

Read more about the Unity, Purity and Divinity in the Trees Around Us HERE

VISIT the Environmental Sustainability Hub for more insights, go green tips and resources

With Sai Love and Care,

Environmental Sustainability Committee 

Sri Sathya Sai International Organization