Free from School | Page 9

There were also lime trees, orange trees and chickoo trees all growing in pots.
On the stage in the hall, competition exhibits-vegetable-carving crafts and flower-making crafts of students from different schools-were kept.
Outside the hall there were two corridors. In one corridor the government nursery was stationed, where neem, mango, coconut, chickoo, tamarind, cashew and some other kinds of trees were being sold. Along the other corridor a variety of other items were kept on sale: a small table held copies of the book, Total Gardening as well as the previous two volumes released at the earlier exhibitions by the Green Heritage; another table held beautiful coconut handicrafts for sale. There was an elephant head, a table lamp, a skull, all made out of different parts of a coconut. Next to this, The Other India Bookstore had set up a stall with a large variety of environment titles. Further down was the Garden Glory stall selling various types of garden implements such as lawn movers, cutters, sprayers and other accessories. Apurbhai had a variety of organic manures like leaf mould, Karanji and bone meal besides ornamental plants, palms and creepers. There were pickles, squashes and medicine for papaya plants also on sale.
At the far end of the corridor was the canteen. Here, whenever we were thirsty or hungry, we went and had a cold drink or some snacks. I didn't have to worry about my bill, because it was taken care of by the Green Heritage group.
Next to the canteen, there was a small table, a blackboard, some chalk and some benches. This was where the programme of lectures and talks was held. Altogether there were four talks given during the Green Heritage Programme: on vegetable carving, jams and squashes, wine-making, and cacti.
I decided to attend the talk given on cacti by a person who grew cacti in his flat. His talk was extremely interesting and full of practical information and handy hints on how to grow cacti. Although I have not tried my hand at growing cacti, yet I took down detailed notes which I shared with my mother, who as I correctly thought was very happy to get the information as it helped her in her little cacti rock garden. And it certainly was a very educative talk for me.
All through the three days I was assigned simple jobs like watching over the plants in the main hall, watering the plants, carrying pots and furniture around, handling the sales of the Green Heritage booklets, and so on. And with Alexyz around each task was great fun.
On the last day, there was the prize distribution ceremony. I was proud and happy to receive a special certificate for having assisted in the Green Heritage Festival. As the fair came to an end the organisers all felt that it was yet another successful event. I was happy to have been a part of it. But the fun was not yet over for we all had a barbecue dinner that evening that lasted well into the early hours of the morning. We slept only briefly for there remained the final task of returning the pot exhibits to their respective owners. This we commenced early next morning.
I had enjoyed my work at the Green Heritage and my stay at Alexyz's house. I was indeed sad when it all ended. I rested the next day at Alexyz's house and on the 18th morning, left for home.
Field Work Notes: Growing Cacti At Home
Cacti are plants suited to the desert and we must keep this factor in mind always when growing ornamental cacti in our gardens, for it helps in the survival of the plant. For example, a cactus should never be watered over its body as it will start to rot. This is because it is covered with a waxy coating which prevents water loss through evaporation. When one waters the cactus over its body, the waxy coating is washed away and the plant begins to rot. The amount of water that you must supply to the cactus is very much dependent upon the season and upon the climate of the place. During the summer season one should water cacti every four days whereas in the rainy season once every fifteen days is quite enough.
Cacti need a minimum of two and a half hours of sunlight per day. However they should not be kept all day in the sun because they may wrinkle in too much of bright sunlight. Unlike other plants cacti produce carbon dioxide during the day and oxygen during the night. Hence, they are ideal plants to be kept in bedrooms to freshen up the air at night.
If the cactus plant is to thrive and prosper, the size of the pot in which it is grown has to be carefully monitored. The pot should