Micro-organisms from Yogurt and Idly Batter

 

The word Bacteria is not always bad. There are so many useful Bacteria around us which help us in our daily lives in many ways. There are over 1000 types of bacteria, which supports our digestion system.

The good bacteria in natural yogurt are often called probiotics with other micro-organisms which helps the immune system. These are created during their fermentation process.

Similarly, studies have shown that the dominant microbes involved in this are lactic acid bacteria like Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus in idly/dosa batter.

Mostly, NRIs use these two items regularly in our house and possibility of disposing in the bin.

In this article, I am trying to highlight on the importance of yogurt and idly/dosa batter turning these into a more reusable state in our lovable garden/ allotment. Mainly to bring micro-organisms to the plants and soil. So do not throw away whether it is in a good or staled state.

Excess or Staled Natural or Bio-Yogurt

Take the concentrated yogurt, dilute it with water and use it as follows.  Better results can be obtained either by using either rain water or stored water.

1. Mix the yogurt with water and spray it on the plants. This buttermilk can save your plants from fungal infections.

2. Spray the buttermilk solution on the foliage to save the young seedlings from diseases like damping off and powdery mildew.

3. Alternatively add Jaggery, preferably dark brown ones to the butter milk, mix it well in a container and leave it for 24 hours or more. Close the container with a cloth.

4. Pour it on the plants roots directly, preferably in the evening for better results. This will create more micro-organisms to the soil.

5. If you are keeping it for more than a day, then stir it every day to maintain the micro-organisms in the liquid.

Excess or Staled Idly/dosa batter

1. Take the excess batter or staled ones, dilute it with water and pour it on the plants roots.

2. Alternatively, dilute the batter as mentioned above, add Jaggery (preferably dark brown ones).

   3. Mix it well in a container and leave it for no more than 24 hours. Better results can be obtained either by using either rain water or stored water. Close the container with a cloth.

    4.  Pour it on the plants roots directly, preferably in the evening for better results. This will create more micro-organisms to the soil to enrich the soil.

Please try these tips on creating millions of micro-organisms in your garden and write your observations and outcomes in the comment section.

Panchagavya - Campaign

Summer weather has been kind to gardens throughout UK. With longer growing seasons, gardens are brimming with flowers and bumble bees. Gardens are our own piece of green space that connect us to nature. As a first choice avoid the use of chemicals in garden to save bees. We have been exploring and planning the possibilities for preparing Panchagavya to enrich the garden and promote growth plus yield.

As promised in my previous blog, the world is limitless. This article is all about sharing the entire journey, experience including fun, travel, preparation, project planning, tactics, resource allocation and interesting facts for the project. 

Initially, we have planned to roll out in a wider circle within our community by encouraging people to be part of the entire journey. All plans were postponed due to the current Coronavirus pandemic situation and safety precautions. It is always safety first over anything. 

But I am curious in understanding the people's interest about trying new things. We circulated a group message regarding trying Panchagavya in the community. This was our first steppingstone. We got a good response from the group, which encouraged us to go for a trial. 

As part of the project, we started with the following four volunteers.

1. Satya

2. Suresh

3. Gopi 

4. Senthil

Next Step

We discussed about creating the Panchagavya during middle of the week with the volunteers. Every project needs a spreadsheet 😋 for planning, organize the tasks, resource allocation, roadmap, and procurement of the materials. Gopi gave a farm reference to get the Cow dung and urine. This initially made it easier to proceed with the planning and boosted our energy. The farm person was very supportive and interested to help us.

As per plan, we started the prototype on 20-Jun-2020. I have shared some of the artifacts which we used for planning and task delegation of this community project. 

With the plan, crew was ready with all necessary things to collect fresh cow dung and urine waiting for the Saturday. As we had never visited any farms in United Kingdom before, we were geared for all weather conditions.

I would recommend taking some polythene bin liners and long polythene sheets to cover the car boot.  

But our intention was not only preparing Panchagavya but also to involve kids in the process as described in the previous blog. Two master's Aadhiran and Amit joined the team. 

The farm was on the outskirts of an idyllic village in Warwickshire. The farmer who helped us in the process was a very friendly and supportive person. Luckily, the farm was full of many varieties of cattle breeds. It is observed that most of the farms in United Kingdom are free range. Hence all cattle can roam in vast acres of land during summer. All my assumptions went wrong, and it was really a challenging situation to collect cow dung and urine. Meanwhile, look at the masters who were really enjoyed each moment in the farm. Sheep’s were literally approaching us looking for treats. They were so curious in getting something from us, but they were unlucky 😔.  Anybody trying in future, plan it accordingly.

Satya went with the farm co-Ordinator to collect cow urine, meanwhile with masters, I was searching for fresh cow dungs. Eventually, we managed to get it. As the farm was free range, after a very long waiting time, we were unsuccessful in getting the urine as the cows ran away when Satya and the co-ordinator tried to approach the cows. One finding was that we went with a bright, yellow colour bucket that made the cows run away. That was the statement from the farm person. So, this could be one lesson to consider. During the visit, our meat loving friends were able to purchase some fresh quality meat in a moderate rate from the farm. We reached home after a long struggle to complete the first day procedures. 

 

 

We followed the Panchagavya preparation blog, Satya was instrumental and curious in action to complete day one task. Mixed fresh cow dung and ghee and let is sit for three days until all the ghee is processed by the good microbes in cow dung. 

The next biggest challenge in our roadmap was to source 'komiyam’ or cow urine. We contacted many farms and explained our intentions to get the cow urine. We had made at least 50 calls to multiple farms and dairies. We did not get any help for that. Most of the farm people thought us a weird people dealing with Cow dung and urine. 😂

It was a painful decision in getting 30 ml of Urine in a commercial Indian shop for £1.15 after a strong negotiation. This time Suresh and I went to Coventry and managed to get 3 litres of cow urine for an expensive cost of 115.00£. This increases the cost per liter to a high cost. 

Suresh, Sathya and I organised all other items for the Panchagavya. I was joined by Suresh on the fourth day. We spent at least 2 hours mixing all the ingredients sourced for this project. It was really a good experience all together.  

Finally, my role was to mix the solution thoroughly well, 2 times a day, morning and evening & close it tightly for the next 15 days. 

I was amazed by the transformation of the ingredients into different flavours during the 18 days of process. Day one it was smell of a fresh cow dung, which transformed into a ghee smell on the fourth day. Later the combination of banana, yogurt, milk, tender coconut water transformed into a traditional pleasant Panchamrutham smell.     

Twice a day, after stirring the Panchagavya solution, I clean the stick under a pumpkin plant. I have noticed a significant growth in the plant with lush green big leaves. This gives me a confident that we are in a right path to go for big trial.   

We made finally our first Panchagavya solution on 09-Jul-2020.

After finalise the accounts, with all these, the whole cost are distributed across 20 litres and arrived to per litre price. It was realised that cost is 8£/ litre. We do not add any cost of individual man efforts. One liter solution can be used with 30 litres of water for the whole year based on the size of your garden. Literally the price comes to 65p/ month when distribute to 12 months. But here everything is organic. 

I personally thank all the volunteers and supporters who made this possible. Like everyone, I too eagerly waiting for the feedback from the fellow gardeners. I am looking forward to knowing the efficiency of Panchagavya under United Kingdom growing conditions. 

I strongly recommend everyone to explore the possibility of getting the Cow dung and urine before you start creating the Panchagavya. Otherwise it will be very expensive, and we might not know the purity of the Cow urine when you buy it from the shop.

I am happy to share my exprience and guide anyone who wants create Panchagavya for a community or individually. Please connect me by commenting to this blog or email me at sveeindia@gmail.com

Panchagavya - Organic Fertilizer

This article is mainly for millions of people like us, who want to grow chemical and pest free, organic crops in their garden. World is becoming conscious of food miles. In the United Kingdom food travels 2400km before reaching plate. We can play our part in saving the planet by growing food in our garden. Imagine a world where only organic crops are grown, imagine yourself gorging on a freshly grown vegetable. When this dream comes true, there we have a healthy planet, healthy people.

Everyone with a windowsill can contribute to this dream. Just by keeping a humble mint plant in your windowsill, you could enjoy organic mint on your curries and save at least £15 per year. I am going to share my experience and explore ways to achieve this dream with everyone's collective ideas.

Being a first generation farmer, I am finding my feet on organically producing fertilisers and pesticides for my own farm mainly to enrich the soil conditions, promote plant growth, increase the amount of earthworms, bees and provide a b etter immunity to the plant.

This blog is mainly to guide and share my experience for those living outside India, who want to try our way of growing traditional organic vegetables, fruits and flowers in their garden, allotment and farms. This will not only bring back our farming traditions, but it helps the ecosystem from being polluted.

Honestly, I am writing a blog for the first time. I have tried to cover the whole aspects of Panchagavya practices and alternatives that are suitable for outside Indian conditions, methods, composition, benefits and additional health aspects.

Before going deep into the details, I would recommend involving your kids into Panchagavya making and gardening. This will open them to a new world of microorganisms that is invisible but coexist with us. I know it is a difficult process, during this course, I am sure they will learn how much a cow can contribute to a plant's life cycle. Also they will learn the value of organic food, hygiene and health. They will also learn to use the cow waste that can be converted into most natural, eco-friendly fertiliser, pesticide with medicinal benefits that could solve many problems for both humans and animals.

Let’s get into the Panchagavya!

Pancha means 5 and gavya means substance obtained mainly from Indian bred Cows. It is a combination of 5 products from mainly Indian bred cows such as milk, natural bio yogurt, cow dung, cow’s urine and ghee in a proper ratio that allows it to ferment, and the end product is known as Panchagavya. An organic product has the potential to play an eminent role in promoting growth and providing immunity in the plant system and these have incredible effects.

Recently in conference with Dr. Natarajan (who demostrated the Panchagavya), suggested to use any cow for those who do not have access to the Indian breeds. However it is 30% less effective compared to the Indian cows. 

On this positive note, let's explore creating the Panchagavya with alternative options suitable for outside Indian conditions with reference to Dr. Natarajan's method. Create a garden community in your area through various social media such as whatsapp, Facebook, etc. This will help you in creating a healthy garden group and friends to share the efforts to prepare Panchagavya. You can also share your queries, advice and experiences this way. A group of people from our garden community, including me, have initiated the process of the Panchagavya trail. I will try to create the journey experience, challanges, people support, project plan and cost during this process.  

In Simple words, Panchagavya is mainly for promoting growth hormones, boosting immunity, a higher yield and creating disease-free crops. 

A glance on the history

Dr. Natarajan has studied the effects of Panchagavya for decades and has used it across India to treat plants, animals and human beings. He says that the basic preparation should be fine tuned for maximum efficiency. He has already won the  prestigious Srishti award for his bio pesticide (ease of preparation and lack of side effects)  and has made excellent immunity boosters for cattle. He has two herbal medicines for diabetes and arthritis. 

 

Panchgavya has come a long way from 1998. Later Dr. G. Nammalvar was an Indian green crusader, agricultural scientist, environmental activist and an organic farming expert best known for his work on spreading ecological farming and organic farming, taken to the farmers and increased the scale of the usage.

Panchagavya Materials

The raw materials list and the quantity needed to produce 20 litres of concentrated Panchagavya  are listed below.

I have given some alternative options for the people who do not have access Indian breed cows and Toody.  Mainly for Non Resident Indians to encourage exploring our traditional natural gardening.

Item Description	Quantity	Additional Information
Fresh Cow dung	5 Kgs	Make sure it is fresh and light green in colour. In case use any cow dung if you do not have access to the native Indian breed cows. Avoid using buffalo's dung.
Cow Urine	3 litres	Any old is very good. Any cow urine should be fine.
Organic Milk	2 litres	Use the boiled milk and wait until cold. You can get this from any super market store.
Yogurt Bio-natural	2 litres	Better if you can make it at home. By using the Indian bacterial culture.Do not use the creamy or greek style yogurts. Otherwise buy bio-natural yogurts from super market
Tender coconut water	3 litres	If native tender coconut is unavailable then use the canned products from the shop. (e.g. Vita Coco Natural Coconut Water).
Ghee	½ Kg	Melt the ghee in the Sun or low heat.
Banana	12 Nos	More effective if it’s well ripped.
Jaggery or Sugarcane juice	1 Kg	Use dark Jaggery. Avoid light or white coloured jaggery.
Fermented rice water	3 litres	Prepare the Fermented rice by mixing the cooked rice with water and leave it for 3 days. (a.k.a Pazhaya Soru water in Tamil). After 3 days filter the water without rice and add it to the solution. This will increase the fermentation process.
Plastic container with lid	40 litres	Container should be clean and chemical free. Do not use any metal container due to its acidity in nature.
Cloth	2 x 1 meter	Cloth to cover the drum
Bamboo or Hard Wooden Stick	6 to 8 feet	A 6 to 8 feet strong stick to mix the solution.
Disposable gloves	2 Nos	As per your need. This is not mandatory.
Measuring Cup	1	Mostly helps to measure the items. This is not mandatory.

For an individual 20 litres is enough for the whole year to manage a smaller to larger garden. Approximately, for a 20-member size of community, this can be used for 2 to 3 months issue 1 litre of concentrated solution. This can be later mixed with 35 litres of water and use it.

Mostly in the western countries, water from tap will have more chlorine content. Probably collect the necessary water by 2 days before in a vessel. So that you can take the water from the top of the vessel to avoid more chlorine content.

Panchagavya - Preparation

Panchagavya requires 18 days of simple efforts to get the full matured state.  Below are the simple schedule and tasks to make your own Panchagavya.

Day(s)	Task(s)
Day before the Preparation	Make sure the plastic container, lid and stick are cleaned throughly.
1	Mix fresh cow dung and ghee thoroughly in the drum and covered with cloth and drum cover and leave it for 3 days. ** Please keep the container always under a shady area and do not expose to Sun for the entire of the Panchagavya.
4	Add the following into the container Mix jaggery with 3 litres of water and dilute it. Cow Urine Milk Yogurt Tender Coconut water Remove the banana peel and squeeze it through with hand Mix all togather throughly and close it first with the cloth and container lid.
5 - 18	Mix it well 2 times a day. morning and evening & close it tightly. Roughly with the stick 50 rotations clock/anti-clock sides
19	Panchagavya is ready.

Panchagavya - Nutrition Composition

Look at the mineral contents produced below from the Panchagavya by the natural process. This is purely made from cow waste without any harmful chemical contents. This was endorsed by Dr.Natarajan, Tamilnadu Agriculture department and other laboratories in Chennai, India. 

Nutrients Presence	Measurement of content
pH (Presence of Hydrogen)	5.45
EC (Electrical conductivity)	10.22
Total Nitrogen (ppm)	229 ppm
Total Phosphorous (ppm)	209 ppm
Total Potassium (ppm)	232 ppm
Sodium	90 ppm
Calcium	25 ppm
IAA (Indoleacetic acid)	8.5
GA (Gibberellins)	3.5
Fungi	38800/ml
Bacteria	1880000/ml
Lactobacillus	2260000/ml
Total anaerobes	10000/ml
Acid formers	360/ml
Methanogen	250/ml
Magnesium	840 ppm
Chloride	248.5 ppm
Boron	0.442 ppm
Manganese	14.8 ppm
Iron	142.5 ppm
Zinc	82 ppm
Copper	58 ppm
Sulphur	0.56 ppm

Mostly all the required supplements for the plants are chemical free and pest free.

Panchagavya - Applications

Panchagavya can be used for the plants by following the method as given below. 

👉Mostly water may have high chlorine contents outside of India. For better results, try to store the required water in a container before 2 days to reduce the chlorine impact in the Panchagavya diluted solution. 

Spray System

3% Panchagavya solution for most of the crops

• Use 300 ml of Panchagavya with 10 litres of water and spray in the plants leaf and steam. 2 % Panchagavya solution for crops like cucumber, mint, bottle gourd, snake gourd with soft leaves.

• 20 ml of Panchagavya with 1 litre of water and spray in the plants leaf and steam.

👉Once the solution is diluted, please filter the diluted solution with a cloth so that you have a free flow using the sprayer. Otherwise, the sprayer nozzle will get blocked. You do not need to filter, if you are planning to pour it in the roots directly. 

Flow Systems

3% Panchagavya solution for most of the crops

• Use 300 ml of Panchagavya with 10 litres of water and spray in the plants leaf and steam.

Seed - Seedling treatment

3% Panchagavya solution for seed and seedling treatment

Seed storage

3% Panchagavya solution to dip the seeds, dry and store it.

Maintainence

If you are keeping the Panchagavya for more period, please follow the below instruments to make Panchagavya active.

• Mostly we store the Panchagavya in plastic container.
• Keep this in a shaded area in the utility room, conservative, garden or outside.
• Keep the container slightly open (DO NOT CLOSE TIGHTLY) so that generated gas can go away and no insects gets inside the solution. The container may brust if you close it tight.
• Every two days once, Close the lid completely.
• Shake the container slightly for 1 or 2 minutes, so that it will create the circular motions to helps the organism active.
• Repeat the process until the solution is empty.

🕒 I keep a reminder every 2 days once in my mobile phone on my convenient time to perform this maintainance activity.   

Periodicity of application

Benefits and Beauty

Let us explore the major benefits and outcome of the Panchagavya in a higher level.

Plants Leaves

• Leaves become bigger

• Higher number of leaves

• Total leaf surface area increases

• More photosynthesis

• More Yield

Stems

• More side shoots

• Trunk becomes sturdy

• Bears more weight

• Branching is high

Roots

• Rooting is profuse and dense

• Remains fresh for longer time

• Grows into deeper layers of the soil

• Helps maximum intake of nutrients and water

• Hence more yield

Flowering Plants

• Exceptional aroma and fragrance.

• No incidents of budworm.

• Continuous flowering throughout the year.

Vegetables

• Yield enhancement by 18% and in few cases like cucumber, the yield is doubled.

• Wholesome vegetables with shiny and appealing skin.

• Extended shelf life.

• Very tasty with stronger flavours.

Harvesting and Yield

• Panchagavya restores yield levels of all crops in the first crop itself.
• Harvest is advanced by 15 days.
• Increases the weight of the produce.
• Enhances the shelf life of vegetables and fruits.
• Improves the taste, flavour and aroma.
• Increases sugar content in fruits by 25%.
• Increase the oil content in oil seeds by 25%.
• Gets more price in the market.

A higher form of Panchagavya for human beings

• Increases appetite and eliminates constipation.
• Purifies the blood and brings down cholesterol.
• Opens clogged arteries and improves circulation.
• Enhances immunity and prevents diseases.
• Highly effective for all diseases. (Diabetes, Cancers, heart diseases, arthritis, sinusitis, asthma, pepticulcer, irritable bowel syndrome, epilepsy, and sterility, obesity etc.
• Elevates the mood and leads to a sound sleep.
• Elder people can become brisker and more active.
• Retards the aging process and enhances longevity.

It is strongly recommended to discuss with the relevant health care practitioner before you consider to take-in.

I have referred many sources and added details in this blog for people to refer to, all in one single blog.  

I will try to create similar posts related to Gardening such as other ways of creating fertilisers, pest management, crops- 365 days in the extreme weather, tips, etc. If anyone is looking for specific aspects of the gardening, please subscribe and provide your comments below. I will try to create posts for you and to your liking. 

Hope you have enjoyed and understood the end to   end aspects of Panchagavya. As recommended, try to work with a smaller group and start to discover about our traditional way of gardening by yourself, or with family and friends.

I am happy to share my expirence and guide anyone who wants create Panchagavya for a community or individually. Please connect me by commenting to this blog or email me at sveeindia@gmail.com  

 

🙏🙏🙏 I wish you all good luck! 🙏🙏🙏