Organic Pesticide

A guide to making your own all purpose organic pesticide from vegetables, at home.

I have copy/pasted the same from the original post by iPodGuy

Veg/Organic Pesticide

Monday, July 11, 2011

2:16 PM

i
This instructable will show how I made a cheap, all-purpose organic pesticide for my herb & vegetable garden. It can be used on a variety of insects that live in the dirt or on the plants including worms, mites and other parasites. 
This entire pesticide will eventually break down and be reduced to nothing, so it is OK to eat any herbs or vegetables that are growing. This is mainly intended for indoor use, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work outdoors as well.
Step 1Materials

i
The materials used to make the pesticide should be easy to obtain.
You will need:
1. an empty & clean gallon jug (such as a milk jug)
2. a spray bottle with spray nozzle
3. a funnel
4. a piece of cloth such as a shirt or bandanna
5. a pot that can hold 1 gallon
6. 2 small onions
7. a jalape�±o pepper
8. a clove of garlic
9. some dish soap
Take 1 gallon of warm water, dump it in a pot and you're ready to begin making the pesticide.
Pasted from <http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-all-purpose-organic-pesticide-from-vegetab/>
Step 2Killer Salad

i
Take the vegetables and begin cutting them up. It doesn't have to be pretty, since nobody's going to eat it! 
Chop up the 2 onions, the garlic and half or 3/4 of the jalapeÃ�±o pepper. The seeds can be left in, since they're hot too. 
Blend all the veggies together until pasty in a blender. The killer salad is now a killer paste. 
***Take care not to rub your eyes or face after handling the liquid or the vegetables. The pepper especially can really burn if it gets in the eye!*** 
Pasted from <http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-all-purpose-organic-pesticide-from-vegetab/step2/Killer-Salad/>
Step 3Making the killer soup

i
After everything has been blended, dump the paste into the pot of warm water and let it sit for 20 minutes. 
The ground up vegetables and water will make the killer soup or tea. It's going to be mighty fragrant at this point. Just let all those offensive tastes and odors seep out into the water. 
Pasted from <http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-all-purpose-organic-pesticide-from-vegetab/step3/Making-the-killer-soup/>
Step 4Straining out the veggies

i
Once the soup has been allowed to sit and a lot of the flavor and odor has mixed with the water, the liquid needs to be strained. 
I used a funnel and bandanna to catch the vegetable particles as I strained the liquid into the gallon jug.
I tried using a coffee filter at first to strain the liquid, but it clogged easily. Cloth seems to work best. 
The mush that collects in the cloth can be squeezed out into the jug and the leftover can simply be thrown out or put into a compost bin. 
Pasted from <http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-all-purpose-organic-pesticide-from-vegetab/step4/Straining-out-the-veggies/>
Step 5Add some dish soap

i
After all the straining is complete, I added 2 tablespoons of dish soap to the liquid. 
Keeping with the spirit of this being an organic, plant-friendly pesticide, I used a vegetable-based dish soap. It is free of petroleum-based chemicals, dyes and perfumes and biodegrades naturally. 
If you are using a soap that is petroleum-based or has dyes or perfumes, try adding half of what I used. 
The soap makes the already bad-tasting, stinky liquid soapy and even less palatable to the insects that inhabit the plants.
Pasted from <http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-all-purpose-organic-pesticide-from-vegetab/step5/Add-some-dish-soap/>
Step 6Using the pesticide

i
Using the funnel, fill the spray bottle up and set the nozzle to a light mist. 
At this point, the rest of the liquid can be capped and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Simply shake it up before it is used. 
Take the spray bottle and spray the plants first. Try to get all over the plant including the stem and under the leaves. Spray the soil as well so that the top of it is wet. 
What this liquid does is make every part of the plant that it touches unpalatable to the insect. The water evaporates and leaves behind the odor and flavor. It smells and tastes gross and they won't eat it. When they won't eat anymore, they eventually starve. The liquid will not kill the insects on contact, so do not get upset if you see increased activity after the application. They're simply struggling to find something to eat. 
Treat every 4 or 5 days to kill off the pests and prevent newly-hatched babies from feeding. It may take 3 or 4 treatments, but the numbers should gradually decrease. 
Pasted from <http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-all-purpose-organic-pesticide-from-vegetab/step6/Using-the-pesticide/>

First Steps Towards Self Sustainance

The rains are here and it's the best time for doing whatever it was that one wanted to do by way of gardening.
I've been waiting for these days to come ever since September last in order to give a good head start to the vegetable patch that i have been meaning to put in our back garden.
Needless to say, sky rocketing rates of inflation along with the thought of "God only knows what kind of chemicals go into the produce that one consumes from the marketplace", made all the more sense to at least not only take a few simple steps towards self sufficiency but also have some control over what goes into the soil, thereby controlling what goes into the vegetables which in turn controls what goes in our bodies and mind.

Ever since i read the book 'The One - Straw Revolution by Sensei Masanobu Fukuoka, the father of "do nothing farming", i was hooked on to doing a little bit of cultivation myself.
In his preface to the Indian edition, Mr. Partap C Aggarwal writes:
"In order to emphasize the long history and world spread of natural farming, I began to call it rishi kheti. I also hoped that this would prevent it from being called Japanese kheti. Later, when i told Fukuoka this, he heartily endorsed rishi kheti. He said if Gandhiji were alive he would also have blessed rishi kheti.
As readers will soon discover, this book is not only about agriculture. It is concerned with the total lifestyle. Hence it devotes considerable attention to nutrition, health, science and technology and to simple living. More than all this Fukuoka emphasizes the spiritual underpinnings of his idea."

I would certainly encourage one and all who are interested in living the above mentioned lifestyle, to go out and buy this simple yet wonderful book. In fact to that end, i keep a few extra copies to gift to good friends who may be interested in reading the same.

I would also like to share here, some basic principles of Permaculure as practiced and taught by someone i met recently.
I simply loved her opening remark "Feed the Soil, it's alive". It's simple and it makes sense as also it bolsters my views of monitoring what i put in the soil for my vegetable patch. Would i want to continuing to poison my family and myself through the chemicals in the vegetables? If no, then should I be feeding chemicals to the soil that will yield my produce? You certainly don't need me to answer that.

I quote below some basic principles of soil management as shared by Clea Chandmal

"1. *Feed the soil, it’s alive!* The soil is a living ecosystem, feed it

as if you were feeding a living thing, and it will build up, it will “grow”.

far more effective than feeding the plants themselves, feed the soil and

your plants will thank you much more for it.

2. * Plants prefer to grow like they do in nature…*

Try to emulate the patterns of nature wherever possible, they’re far

superior to anything humans can come up with. Plant trees, with shrubs and

ground covers* under them* . Add a few climbers on taller tress as in a

forest! They all look after each other and create a microclimate which helps

them grow better. And please, no wide spaces with bare dirt, you don’t have

a tractor to drive between your plants, so cover it up, otherwise nature

will cover it up for you, with her emergency repair crews, the pioneer

plants (who are often referred to by the derogatory term ‘weeds,

opportunists, invasives’).

3. MULCH, MULCH MULCH......cover the ground with live mulch (a usefull

groundcover) or a mix of dry leaves. make clear walking paths free of the

mulch if you are afraid of snakes. Mulch prevents water evaporation, is food

for soil organisms, provides a cool environment for beneficial soil

organisms to do their work, suppresses weeds in a vegetable plot, prevents

rain washing away newly planted seeds, prevents soil compactation and when

decomposed increases the water holding capacity of the soil.

4. * Plants need companions too, and they need variety…*

Create diversity – successful gardening is like a social party. If

everyone was like you, it would be terribly monotonous! It’s the same with

plants, they all have different qualities, and lend their unique

contribution when growing together. Use companion plants; some repel pests,

some strengthen their neighbours against disease, some mask the scent of

their friends from pests to stop them getting eaten. They all get by with a

little help from their friends, so don’t be afraid to mix it up a bit!

5. * Plants have a different sense of ‘order’ to you!*

Don’t impose human ideals of order on plants when it works against

them!!! Don’t line up identical plants like soldiers in a military parade.

Unlike the military, plants are peaceful, and are actually weakened in these

arrangements! Other than not having a diversity of helpful companions, they

are left open, vulnerable and exposed. Nothing would make a lettuce-eating

pest happier than rows and rows of lettuce in a nice line. When they’re done

with one, they hop to the next, with minimal effort! Even better, no other

plants that could serve as homes for pest-eating insects and their young, so

it’s a pest heaven and totally safe! Plants prefer to be safely scattered in

the crowd of other plants, if one goes down, the rest are safe! Use

“planting guilds” to make it harder for pests and better for plants!

6. *Don’t be afraid to experiment!*

It’s only by trying that you actually truly learn something first hand.

…. Try different things and see what works best for the plants on your area.

There are so many possibilities that you can never work out in your head, so

let nature do the work for you. Put the seed or plant in the ground and see

what happens. Try different species, locations, gardening styles, you name

it. It keeps it all very interesting. If you have the patience to see nature

through its cycle of the seasons, you’ll be greatly rewarded by what you

learn. If you never try, you’ll never know!"

 Pasted from <https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=ohhl4rw8mbn4>

And so, i set forth along with Krishna, the gardener, to take my very first steps towards a sustainable life style.

Needless to say, Krishna has more of the necessary experience and energy required for gardening. For the moment i can at best, only provide assistance by holding on to other ends of the poles, cut the wire, fetch water,tea and biscuits and in general keep him company.  I have noticed, Krishna is a "people person"... he needs someone to converse with and be humoured as he works. Otherwise, he tends to sulk.

The vegetables that we have sowed so far, appear below and just in order to make this all that more interesting i am providing respective links to recipes from the konkan region. Except for the string beans, where i could not find a recipe in the site/blog named "aayi's recipes", on which i have relied for all the other recipes.

I chose the coastal/konkan region since i happen to live in Goa, which all the same, seems to be the flavour since many a season.   

• Amaranth or tambdi bhaaji
• String beans or vaal
• Okra, Ladyfingers or bhindi
• Bottle gourd or lauki
• Snake gourd or padwale
• Ridge gourd or ghosaale
• Bitter gourd or karela
• Cucumber or toushey
• Brinjal or vaangi

 Perhaps a few pictures of the veg patch would be nice to complete this blog?

  

Preparing the ground near a balcony

Clearing and prepping in the backyard

Clearing and prepping in the backyard

Clearing and prepping in the backyard

Clearing and prepping in the backyard

Trellis

Fencing to keep the pets at bay

Support for the climbers

Sprouts in just 3 days.

Wire grid for climbers to climb on to.

Fencing at the back yard for the pets.

Kokum

Kokum, or Sol in Konkani, is largely found in the west coast regions of India and i wonder if one may call it as being a variant of Imli or Tamarind.

It's summer time once again and every morning the backyard is strewn with a bunch of these kokum berries fallen on the ground.
Picture 1 shows a fresh lot whereas Pic 2 shows a previous lot being sun dried for storage.

This kokum is used to make the very delicious, nourishing and refreshing Sol Kadhi or Kokum Curry, to be eaten with a nice par boiled rice or simply chilled and sipped along with a meal, for simple heavenly pleasures.

Here's a very nice recipe with pictures for making Sol kadhi.

Do enjoy.
Cheers. 

Getting down to composting

Kitchen waste strewn over an earlier layer of waste, leaves, saw dust. At the very bottom of the pit there is a layer of laterite stone rubble, pieces found all over the property. This layer is similar in effect of drainage to what one normally puts in a pot while placing plants.

The waste is covered with dry leaves that are strewn around our backyard - one may also collect and store these in a separate large barrel.

I have added a layer of grass and other weed cuttings that i retained from the front garden.

Saw dust - bought at rs.20/- a bag from the timber yard in my village.

A layer of saw dust broadcast on the grass/weed cuttings.

 The run off of the excess water from the bottom of the pit - remember the initial layer of laterite rubble? This out let is important as you want the pit to be moist but not water logged or the pit will start rotting and stinking. Also if you have earthworms then it helps keep them moist.

Lastly, the heap is watered down with a garden hose to add moisture to the composting process.

The water trough all around my compost pit. Earlier I used to have earth worms in the pit so this trough would help keep the ants away. If you are going to have worms in the pit, then a similar water barrier is advisable.

Adjacent twin of earlier depicted pit, being prepped for when the first pit is full. As you can see, any and all bio degradable material may be used. You may use scraps of news paper, cotton cloth, cardboard, wood shavings, bamboo cane, etc.  just make sure you keep out the plastics, glass, metal, rubber etc. and hard wood or twigs and branches as well. I really don't think anything will "go wrong" with the composting but it's just that these will not break down and will eventually need to be sieved out.

The 2 large sacks of saw dust that i bought from the timber yard at rs.20/- a pop. The yard owner said the size of the sack was immaterial, only criteria being, it was a D-I-Y job. So i went prepared with a spade/shovel, sacks and rope.

Drumsticks

Drumstick - MORINGA OLEIFERA
I guess just a couple of more days and these should be ready to go in to make some of the following dishes: South Indian Sambar, Drumstick Soup,  Drumstick Sabzi with Gram Flour.


Hmmmm... enjoy.

Honoring Dave Brubeck with his sons Jaz quintet

Trigger Finger - pretty disturbing.

It's very frustrating and at times a real downer when one experiences a situation that threatens the progress of a new found activity which promises a sense of satisfaction and joy.
In this particular case i refer to what may turn out to be a major setback to my hands on involvement in gardening.
It's been more than a month now that i noticed an affliction to the "pinky" fingers on both my hands. Having shown the condition to my doctor i was informed that the same is known as "Trigger finger".
This evening i decided to look it up on the web and as usual came across an avalanche of information.
The bottom line being "they" don't really know what causes it for sure.
Suggestions range from: Diabetes, Gout, Rheumatoid Arthritis to occupational hazards involving excessive and extensive gripping (of tools) actions such as, farming, driving, power tools and the like.
Ok.. so that's a real bummer since my so very deeply entrenched love for driving cars and riding bikes involves a good bit of "keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel".
And now gardening, holding on to the hose for the complete watering process takes a good 2 to 3 hours and add to that the weeding that i have now started attending to since there is no sign of Krishna and the weeds have really gone to town.
One of the sites suggests discontinuing all "gripping" activities for 3 to 4 weeks!
Oh Shoot.... just don't know anything anymore.

Tulasi a.k.a. Holy Basil

Each morning as i reach the Tulasi plant in order to water it as well as pluck a bunch of it's tender leaves to eat the same, i am reminded to take a picture of the plant so that i may post it out here. Unfortunately by the time i complete my rounds of tending to the garden the thought has slipped my mind until the next morning when i once again reach the Tulasi for my morning fix.
However there is a nice picture and more on the Tulasi Plant in the following link 

http://www.organicindia.com/tulsi-facts.php

as also more information in

http://www.ecoindia.com/flora/trees/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocimum_tenuiflorum

http://hinduism.about.com/od/ayurveda/p/tulsi_holybasil.htm

I have been chewing about 8 to 10 tender Tulasi leaves every morning since about two months now, in fact ever since my good doctor Adam suggested it would help control a very nasty cough as well as bolster my immune system in general.
I must add that in addition to this i am also taking a highly recommended Ayurvedic medication from the city of Kanpur, India - also to bolster an ageing immune system.
So, in all fairness, i really am not in a position to claim which of the two is being beneficial to my health, if at all.
Since the friend who recommends the Ayurvedic capsule swears by it's efficacy i shall carry on with my faith in the same.
In support of the Tulasi leaves all i can say is that i had once forgotten to eat them for two or three days and when i restarted eating them, i noticed this very distinct sense of warmth surge through my veins within a few minutes of ingesting the same. I guess something is going on out there after all!
The fact remains that apart from being considered very holy and much adored by Lord krishna, the medicinal properties of the Tulasi have been documented in some of the oldest revered scriptures of India.
References may be found at the following links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhanvantari

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charaka

http://indianherbalguru.com/2010/04/15/tulasi/

Time now for my siesta...

Oneness.

A Real Start!

This guy gave me a real start yesterday morning.
I must have been some 10 inches away from him and looking down at the base of the mangosteen plant as i stood watering the same. when i happened to just look up and to the right, there he was, doing this bizaare "cobra" stance. and what with the wing like pair of leaves, he really did startle me for a second!
but isn't it amazing how nature has equipped it with an in built sense creating a pretty effective stance to ward of predators/
basically it's just a soft slug, and a very attractive one i must say.
i wanted to brush him off from the precious mangosteen plant and then i saw that some of the branches higher up were giving off fresh shoots of leaves so i said to myself why harm the slug if it really wasn't harming the tree.
but only did morning when i saw the slug on another branch did i realise that the fresh shoots actually were on the "twin" jamun tree (ref my "2 in 1" blog) and that the mangosteen actually had no new shoots left on it whatsoever.
The attractive little slug was merrily chomping away and sucking out all the life sap from the branches!
now that indeed got my sap - or is that goat?
whoooaa, i just couldn't let that happen.
directed one good spray and he was off the plant and down on the ground. did not feel like killing him so just picked up a dead branch , let him climb on it and hurled the two far away from the tree.
must check tomorrow morning to see if he hasn't returned by any chance.
but he is quite beautifull isn't he?
i have another close up shot but i found the above picture with the spread of the leaves to be more dramatic.

The previous week

The previous week was a bit of a letdown as far as my new found hobby of toodling around with gardening is concerned.

First, over the last week end and then some, the phone lines in our village went dead due to someone from the local Public Works Dept, merrily went and penetrated a major telephone cable while drilling into a nearby road.

That took care of telecommunications for almost 5 days.

Well then, in the absence of time spent over the internet, what better occupation could there be than to take my gardening experience up to the next level - Weeding!

Hmmm.

I had watched Krishna, weed away on his haunches and knowing that there was no way I would be able to mimic the same dexterity, found myself a nice small wooden stool and began applying gloved hands to mother nature.

Unfortunately I do not have the spikey weeding  gizmo like the one Krishna has so I had to rummage through my tool box until I came across a rusty old screw driver that I thought would do the needful.

Fifteen minutes down into tugging, scraping, even scrapping, with some real stubborn well entrenched weeds I quickly realized the difference between a seasoned young man who does gardening as an occupation / vocation and a much seasoned older person who is giving a shot at a new found hobby.

Quite soon, my index fingers and thumbs were getting sore with all the plucking, tugging and digging in spite of the gloves – in fact I should think the gloves actually made the going that much more difficult and clumsy. Well in a way I was glad that Krishna from the hardy gene pool was not around to witness the bumbling of the delicate saab ji. But what could I do? It was either the sloppy groping with gloved fingers or the efficiency of using bare hands. Due to my preference of eating food with my fingers, I was wary that no matter how well I may scrub my hands, the thought of getting some dirt and what have you from under the finger nails, find a way in to my digestive system  deterred me from adopting the latter method over a clumsy yet prophylactic toil.

About an hour or so later, it occurred to me that there was a very real possibility that my chest had happily fused with my thighs. I began entertaining images of, my neatly folded into a frog like postured body, being gently carried to be tucked away into bed to thaw out with a nice hot water bottle. But such indulging grace was not to come my way. Very slowly I creaked myself back to erect homo sapiens form so that I may review the results of my high noon toil. I saw, I had managed to clear out a patch of about 3 square feet in size. Not much, yes, but enough to make me do the “YESS!” thing with a smile.

Meanwhile, yesterday after watering the peripheral plants and the fruit trees at the back, I took time off to visit a couple of nurseries and the internet, to check out the hand tools on offer. Oh there were all sorts of stuff that one could buy, strap around the waist and strut around the garden like a male version of Lara Croft. But I decided to stay calm and only buy according to the need of the hour. After a brief formality of exchanging paper for metal, I walked out of the nursery equipped with a proper weeding tool, a small pick axe to get in amongst the flower beds and a netted ring to attach to a long bamboo stick in order to scoop some of the perus that have begun showing up on some of the higher up branches of the guava tree.

I look forward to a brand new day tomorrow with some brand new tools.

Cheers.

Knee high into Weeds!!

Okay, I don't think i should wait any longer for Krishna's stand - in to come and address the weed situation. It's been a month now and there's been no sign / news from the man.
As you can see if i wait any longer the weeds will start flowering and that will cause another lot of seeds to be sprayed all over the lawn. As it is the weeds are like mid way to me knees. Any longer and i may just have to start walking in the lawn with a hunting gun in my hands instead of a watering hose.
I guess Ramana wants me to start getting a real hands on experience with gardening now.
So... come tomorrow I shall quickly water the plants on the periphery, grab that low stool and get down to some serious weeding. Which will also take me a few steps closer to starting the compost pit as i can make use of the weeds for the same.
As they say, there is a lesson hidden in everything in life.. one need only be prepared to heed and learn.
I hope i have the old song 'Turn Turn Turn' by The Mamas And The Papas on the i-pod to listen to in the morning.
The lyrics are interesting so i shall post the same here just to clear away some of ye ole cobwebs:
Turn Turn Turn
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it´s not too late!

Send "Turn Turn Turn" Ringtone to your Cell  

 

Oneness

 

The Broken Papaya & The Barren Patch of Lawn

The papaya (from Carib via Spanish), papaw or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, and was first cultivated in Mexico several centuries before the emergence of the Mesoamerican classic cultures.

One had this accidental growth all by itself near the well and right through the iron bars of the gate as seen in the adjacent second picture.
Obviously a discarded seed ingested by some bird, but boy, did this tree give some of the sweetest papayas we have eaten.
Unfortunately there was nothing we could do to try and save this specimen by transplanting it to another location as you can see it would not have been easy to extricate it from the gate. i admit that one could have taken the trouble of sawing off some of the bars and given the tree some more space to grow, but this was all in the days prior to my taking the kind of interest in gardening as i do so now.
Sadly one fine morning the tree trunk could not bear the weight of the fruits any more on it's sloping trunk and it simply gave way and broke off from the spot as seen in the first picture.
However, during my daily routine of watering the plants i could not simply give a "pass" to the tree that gave us such sweetness without stopping and letting it have it's share of water till as such time that it would clearly indicate that it's spirit had left the body.
As miracles will continue to happen, a couple of days ago i was very pleased to see some fresh green growth occurring once again!
I shall now ensure that i provide the tree with a good support so that the same misfortune does not repeat itself.
needless to say one eagerly awaits it's sweet gifts to appear once again.




Pictures three and four are of the front lawn.
Picture four is taken from the east and shows the weeds are in full growth all over again.
New found help Krishna, had promised a substitute would come and attend to the weeding in his absence but sadly no one has turned up since the past three weeks.
Now why am i not surprised..... hmm.
However, it gives me cheer to note that underneath and amongst all the weed there has begun a healthy growth to the dormant Mexican grass that was initially laid sometime in 2002. At the time i had paid Rs.140/- a sq meter, these days i have received quotes of around Rs.400/- a sq mtr.
A young attendant girl at the nursery from where i had bought this grass had put some of my anxieties to rest by assuring me that i needn't worry too much about its maintainance adding that it bounces right back even from an almost dry dormant state. i must admit that my present experience with the same tells me that the girl knew what she was talking about.
That is why my hopes have redoubled in my determined fight against the barren patch in the north east corner of the lawn.
Thanks to our pets Lucky and Sasha, this is their favourite corner to charge to in their show of bravado against any deemed threats to the house from that direction.
Meanwhile, i googled a search for "mexican grass" and its interesting to see what i came up with. The grass that is most commonly referd to as "mexican", seems to be the following:

St. Augustine Grass

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Augustine Grass or Buffalo Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) (also known as Charleston Grass in South Carolina) is a warm season lawn grass that is popular for use in tropical and subtropical regions. It is a low to medium maintenance grass that forms a thick, carpetlike lawn, crowding out most weeds and other grasses.

Characteristics

St. Augustine is a dark green grass with broad, flat blades. It spreads by above ground stolons, commonly known as "runners" and forms a dense layer of grass.
The grass originated in South Africa,^[1] and it occurs on both sides of the Atlantic ocean,^[2] including much of the southeastern United States,^[3][4] Mexico,^[2] and Central and South America.^[2] It has escaped cultivation in California,^[5] many Pacific islands,^[2] and New Zealand.^[2]
St. Augustine grass is one type of grass that commonly exists in most Caribbean and Mediterranean areas. It breeds best in tropical climates. It is often seen in lagoons, marshes, shorelines and wherever there is a good amount of moisture.

If you go to the page in wickipedia, you will find a photograph of  the same.

A 2 in 1 ?

I have these 2 plants growing together.
I know that the one on the right is a Mangosteen

(Garcinia mangostana) - same genus such as the button mangosteen (G. prainiana) or the charichuelo (G. madruno).

whereas from the aroma i get after crushing one of it's leaves, the one on the left appears to be a Jambul 

(Syzygium cumini) - flowering plant family Myrtaceae.

At the time of procuring the mangosteen sapling some years ago, i do not recall whether the same was grafted onto this Jambul.

I am aware that in the case of grafts one is supposed to sever the "mother" plant off from the piggy back riding plant so that the former may not "overcome" the latter.

I realise i should have taken the picture from another angle clearly showing both the plants at the base. However, when viewed from another angle both the trunks of the plant appear to separately go into the earth but i suppose i should dig into the earth somewhat deeper to see if in fact this is a graft or simply 2 plants growing very close to each other.

Both the plants are almost 6 feet tall now and regularly giving out fresh leaves, individually

My concern is the Mangosteen.

I would very much like to nurture the Mangosteen into a full grown tree but everyone at home also loves the Jambul berry.

I suppose the best course for me to follow would be to excavate around the base and see whats going on down there and proceed on to take further remedial steps accordingly.

Whatever the findings, my fervent hope is that i shall be able to save/have both these beautiful trees.

Cheers.

.