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A climber with cuisine and culture effect
One of the plants whose leaves have become an important ingredient of not just our cuisine, but also our culture is the Betel or the Vetrilai plant. Imagine growing this plant at home, so that you may harvest its heart-shaped leaves whenever you want, instead of running down to the corner shop for fresh supply! This is how you do it.
A perennial climber, the betel plant can be grown from stem cuttings, and you would also see new saplings sprouting up near in a few months time.
The betel plant can be grown in the garden or out of pots. In case you grow the plant from pots, it is to be remembered that the larger the pot is, the bigger the leaves tend to be. The plant grows well in a soil mixture containing one part sand, one part red earth and one part manure. The plant requires daily watering of about a litre or two. Basically a tropical plant, betel plants require adequate sunlight, but can be grown in semi-outdoor spaces if the area gets some quantity of sunshine everyday.
You might use a bamboo or wooden staff to provide support for this climbing plant. You might use a string to guide your betel plant to climb around pillars in the car park, around your garden tree or even get it to trail over vertical grills.
Besides its obvious utilitarian value, which includes its role as a digestive stimulant, this climber with its thick heart shaped leaves adds a definite green charm to the space. Finally, a word of caution. Excessive chewing of betel leaves can cause oral and oesophageal cancer.
HEMA VIJAY
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