A beginner’s guide to going green

Hear it from the eco-warriors

Sharing of knowledge is the core of Yaadhum Sustainable Lifespace at Porur. Says RM Palaniappan, who runs the place, “We have two workshops every month — one of which is free of cost — for people wanting to make eco-friendly life choices,” he says. These range from handmade soap-making, cooking without fire, making toys and decoratives from everyday waste and coconut shell craft. “People can attend them to make the shift to an alternative lifestyle or make a living out of sustainable products and services,”

Yaadhum also has a café that serves an organic breakfast of fruit juices, green soups, and sprouts. Then there are organic groceries, hand-spun fabric, reusable sanitary napkins, unbleached cotton underwear and baby clothes. For details, call 8072845754 or visit yaadhumveli.in.

A date with prosperity

Surrounded by industries, this farm stands out in Vanjipalayam area, less than 10 km from the knitwear town of Tiruppur. Bunches of golden yellow fruits hang from the trees in the months of June, July and August.

K.G. Murugavel grows the Barhee variety of dates on his 2.5-acre plot. Switching over from turmeric, vegetables and cotton about a decade ago, Mr. Murugavel of K.G. Fresh Dates today exports fresh dates and supplies Barhee tissue culture plants to interested farmers across the country.

“I wanted to go for a change from the normal crops. Based on information that I gathered in the media, I decided to import tissue culture of the Barhee variety in 2009 and planted 180 plants. Each tree now yields 150 kg to 200 kg of dates a year,” he says. Mr. Murugavel, who sells in the wholesale and retail markets in India and also exports, says the trees flower in February-March and the fruits can be harvested in four months from then.

Door-to-door marketing

“In the first few years, my wife and I used to take the fresh dates to Tiruppur and do door-to-door marketing,” he says. These fresh dates have several health benefits and with increasing awareness, the demand has also grown. “We sell 40 tonnes to 50 tonnes a year now.” Awareness among farmers has picked up in the last five years. If climatic conditions are suitable, farmers can raise them on 1.5 to 2 acres.

Investment quite high

The Barhee variety grows only in specific weather conditions and the investments are quite high. The yield goes up gradually and the growers will start seeing profit in five years. The average life of a tree is about 35 years.“About 40 farmers in Tamil Nadu grow the Barhee dates now. We supply the tissue culture plants and guide them on how to grow. We encourage the farmers to market directly,” he says.

Since it is a perishable commodity and can be harvested only during three months a year, its availability in the market is restricted to that period.

Dates consumption is high in the country and a substantial quantity is imported, he adds. we studied the possibility of growing other varieties of dates here before deciding on the Barhee. “We studied it in detail. The other varieties are not commercially viable,” he said.

“The Barhee variety needs good land, plenty of water, and suitable weather conditions,” he adds.

“The night temperature during the winter months (December to February) is crucial for these dates. Even in Tamil Nadu, it cannot be raised in all places. It can grow well in Gujarat and Rajasthan. “I guide interested farmers on these details before they decide to go in the Barhee dates.”

The annual maintenance cost, including inputs and labour, works out to almost ₹1 lakh. This would be viable for farmers as the realisations are much higher, especially from the fifth year. They can also go in inter-cropping. Vegetables, greens, and groundnuts can be grown between the trees and the farmers can get additional income from these.

Ayurjack variety yields fruits at arm’s length

A jackfruit ‘revolution’ to achieve food security

Varghese Tharakan from Velur grama panchayat in the district is creating a jackfruit revolution of sorts with the Ayurjack variety. When he felled the 6- and 12-yearold rubber trees on his five acres at Kurumal Kunnu in the panchayat for planting jackfruit saplings, nobody took him seriously.

But two years down the line, people from far and near, including experts from reputed foreign universities such as Colorado and Adelaide and a BBC team, have visited his Ayurjack plantation to see a farming miracle on a sloppy hill area, 16 km from Thrissur.

The fruit-bearing jackfruit trees, hardly seven to eight ft high, are a treat for the eyes. They can be grown in small housing plots of two to three cents or even on the terrace in a big drum.

Ayurjack is a jackfruit variety developed by Mr. Tharakan. It bears the sweet ‘varikka’ variety of jackfruit in one-and-a-half years under proper care.

“Ayurjack is my experiment towards achieving food security. Jackfruit is a staple food, which also fights many diseases, including diabetes.

“It is a gluten-free fruit, which can prevent even cancer. Unlike normal varieties of jackfruit trees, Ayurjack gives fruits throughout the year, if properly maintained,” Mr. Tharakan said.

23 Dec 2018 Thrissur.

Roof Gardening

Love to grow your own vegetables on a terrace garden? NM Mythreyan and V Balasubramaniam offer city dwellers advice on the nuts and bolts of setting up one

The first thing I notice when I reach the terrace is how organised everything is. The plants are arranged in neat rows, in green HDPE grow bags. There is a green shade net at one end which covers one third of the terrace, the walls are lime-washed. The area has been well utilised and there’s even a small fruit section atop the water tank.

NM Mythreyan, who set up the garden with his brother-in-law V Balasubramaniam says, “We decided to start a roof garden about seven years ago. But at the time, we mostly had flowering plants. They flourished and in a short while we had a beautiful garden of ornamental plants. We then tried planting vegetables. These turned out very well and after a few months we noticed that our vegetable bill came down significantly. So we replaced most of the flowering plants with vegetables. To facilitate cross pollination, we also planted herbs.” He adds, “Today about 70% of our weekly vegetables comes from our terrace garden — and its all organic.”

Mythreyan continues, “On weeks we had excess, we offered some of our vegetables to our neighbours and soon, a lot of them started coming to us for advice on setting up their own terrace gardens.”

Balasubramaniam explains: “That’s when we decided to offer advice and supplies to help people set up terrace gardens. From the outset we decided that our priority was not to make money but to help people. We charge a nominal fee for advice and add a small margin to the supplies to help us sustain the business. We’ve helped build over 1,500 terrace gardens across Chennai.” They have set-up a company called Indra Terrace Gardens that Yogalakshmi, Mythreyan’s wife runs.

Balasubramaniam says that they grow brinjal, chillies, curry leaves, tomatoes and leafy greens like spinach. In the summer, they plant cluster beans, cucumber, watermelon, okra, and bitter gourd and in winter, long beans, radish, carrot, beetroot, capsicum, among others.

When asked if water seeps into the floor below, Balasubramaniam says, “We use HDPE grow bags instead of clay pots that can crack easily and are quite heavy. The bags are light and waterproof. We also use coir mixed soil which absorbs and holds water.” The duo collects dry leaves and food waste is a compost bin. This is converted into bio manure for the plants.

Water from their kitchen is routed to the garden. For pest control, they use neem oil, castor oil, a mix of chilli, ginger and garlic extracts. They’ve also planted flowering plants that act as a natural pest control agent.

Mythreyan and Balasubramaniam hope to raise awareness on terrace gardens. “A lot of people are not aware that an area of 500 to 600 sqft is all that’s needed to meet 60 to 70% of the vegetable requirements of a family of four. The vegetables are organic, and having plants also brings down the temperature of the floors below. Also, the initial cost of setting this up is low and so is the maintenance.”

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Green house

  Fabricating and putting up a 500 sq ft green shade net comes up to Rs. 35,000.

  Plants, bags, manure, coir-peat soil, seeds and saplings required for a 1,000 sq ft terrace garden cost approximately Rs. 10,000.

  One needs to spend about 30 minutes a day to maintain a 1000 sq ft terrace garden.

  For details, call 9884046327 email indragardens@gmail.com.

What lies beneath

If the top soil is important for your kitchen garden, the ground beneath is a valuable space as well to grow root vegetables

A majority of plants in your kitchen garden grow above the soil, but the ground beneath is a valuable space that can be utilised for root vegetables. All root vegetables are easy to grow and require minimum maintenance, with slight variations in planting methods. They can be grown with equal success in a large vegetable garden or a smaller terrace garden. Alliums, like all vegetable groups, should not be grown consecutively in the same space, as it may lead to a build-up of soil-borne pests and diseases. However, they can be planted at the same time in the garden with companion plants. Onions, shallots and garlic do not have to be grown in rows in a bed; you can plant them in between your other crops, away from incompatible crops.

Regular entries in your kitchen garden diary with corresponding dates will help you keep a track of your crops as you rotate them around your garden.

Plan well

As with any gardening venture, preparation of your growing space is vital. While your soil is being prepared for planting, make a list of the vegetables you need, and the quantity. Once the soil is ready and the searing heat of summer is past, you can start sowing.

Prep your soil

Root vegetables thrive in cool weather and require loose, moist soil rich in organic matter. Mix in neem and cowdung, or an organic compost, and let it rest for a week; turn the soil once again before planting. The same soil preparation method can be applied for terrace gardens, using large grow bags or containers. If the soil has previously been used for vegetables in the allium group, it should be prepared afresh.

Onions: They come in different sizes, colours and in varying degrees of pungency. Onions are shallow-rooted, and are ideal for urban gardens. To sow, loosen the pre-prepared soil and plant the onion seeds four inches apart for large bulbs; if you want to harvest spring onions, you can plant extra seeds within the space. Cover with more soil and water lightly. When the onions are ready to harvest, about three months later, the leaves generally fall to the side.

Pull out the bulbs gently, and place horizontally on the bed to cure for a few days, keeping it covered if it rains. After the onions are dry, clip the dried greens — saving it for your compost heap — and place them on racks with ventilation underneath. Onions can be stored for up to six months, if kept well aerated. Large bags made of newspaper, with holes punched in for ventilation, make good storage bags.

Spring onions: As the name implies, these are the tender onion greens harvested a month after sowing, when the shoots are about three inches high.

Shallots: The milder perennial small onion is a favourite in South Indian as well as French cuisine. They can be grown from seed in a nursery bed or directly in the vegetable bed. They could also be propagated by planting sprouted shallot pods. Space the onions, seed or pod at a distance of one inch apart in rows for single bulbs, or six inches apart for clusters. Harvest using the same methods as the larger onions, saving some bulbs — called sets — for your next crop.

Chives are herbs from the allium or onion family too, with similar planting methods. The greens can be snipped as the plant grows and used in salads. Leek, another allium, is grown for the stalks, and the entire plant with bulb is edible after the roots are cut.

Garlic: There are many varieties of garlic that you can choose from. It is an easy crop which can be propagated by planting single cloves from a garlic bulb. Separate the garlic and plant each clove in well-drained soil about two inches apart. Harvest and store in three months, using the same methods as onions.

Good companions

Beetroot, tomato, lettuce, strawberries, cabbage, carrot, and roses are compatible when grown together. They are mutually beneficial as they repel pests with their strong odour.