Want to grow pomegranates in your garden?

Lizy John, a 70-year-old homemaker from Bengaluru has been growing organic veggies and fruits in her terrace garden for the past nine years.

She shares some easy tips on how to grow pomegranates in pots:

Buy a healthy pomegranate sapling from a local nursery. 

Then take a big pot, a plastic bucket, or a drum. Make a few holes one inch above the bottom of the container to ensure water drainage.

 Prepare the right potting mixture or soil.

To do this, mix a bucket full of soil with a handful of lime and let it dry. Then mix it with equal quantities of cocopeat, cow dung, and vermicompost.

Layer the bottom of the pot using dried leaves and add a layer of the soil mix.

Fill the pot up to three-quarters with at least three such alternate layers. Then rest the filled pot for a week before planting the sapling in it.

Place the plant where it will get abundant sunlight. 

Water it once every day and to retain moisture in the soil, place a layer of dried leaves or coconut husks on the surface.

To prevent pest attack, take 5 ml of neem oil and mix it in one litre of water. Add some soap or detergent and spray it onto the plant.

Prune the top part of the plant when it grows up to 2–3 ft, which helps in better growth and fruiting.

Apply organic manure like home compost or cow dung once in a while.