Author: Aditi Deodhar

Brown Leaf is the forum for eco-friendly management of dry leaves. Mulching, composting and gardening are our focus areas. Why, then are we discusisng about butterflies? Yes, that is a valid question. Here is why.. On our forum, we constantly get questions and concerns from members regarding butterfly caterpillars. Gardeners take care of plants just […]

Covid 19 disrupted our life as never before. Everything happened quickly, with no time to analyse, plan. All one had to do was, take the change in one’s stride. For some people, it turned out a time to introspect, visit the bucket-list of things one wanted to do, but could not, bring back the things […]

All one needs is first successful compost. Once that is achieved, journey is easy. Many people give up before that. It is not the complexity of the process that discourages them. It is the fear of failure. Composting is not a rocket science. But it does need basic knowledge, ability to learn from mistakes, observation […]

‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ Apurva’s blog emphasizes how valid this quote by Margaret Mead is.  We are sure this blog by Apurva will […]

Does waste exist? Mostly in our mind. Yes, think about it. Waste is waste only if we think it is. In this blog, Sonali tells us about her terrace garden, and how she “upcycled” the waste. Her blog makes us re-think the very concept of waste. As we said above, waste is waste only if […]

Brown Leaf Video 2: Why exactly trees shed leaves? Trees lose water through the pores on the leaves called Stomata. Image courtesy: dreamstime.com In summer, when trees need to conserve the water, what is the best strategy? Lose the leaves, right. Fallen leaves form a protective layer over the soil. Sun light does not reach […]

There are so many ways of making compost. In this wonderful Guest Blog, Gaurav Shukla shares his successful experience of composting. Guess what he used as a composter? An earthen pot. Yes, that is the point. You don’t need to buy expensive composters. Simply start with what you already have. नमस्कार।। मैंने ये खाद अपने […]

Leaf fall starts around mid-October and continues till June. In no time, dry leaves are everywhere. Every horizontal surface in sight is covered with a layer of dry leaves. Burning seems the easiest way to get rid of dry leaves. In this video series, we will learn, why leaf fall occurs, why it is a […]

There is no waste in nature. Neither there are infinite resources in nature. Then, how the natural processes have continued for so many years, without waste and without running out of resources. Secret lies in the circular nature of the processes. Output of one system serves as input to some other system. If we replicate […]

Municipal waste is the challenge across all cities in India, if not the world. Why there is no concept of waste in nature? Because in nature, processes are cyclic. Output of one system serves as input to some other.  Problem occurred when we adopted the linear system, create – use – throw away. To solve the […]