BENGALURU: Who knew one could actually cultivate pomegranate on a roof top? A 39-year-old rooftop gardener, who has made it a point to eat “poison-free food”, grows his own fruits and vegetables. Sanjeev Jaganmohan Anand Rao also maintains a seed bank which presently consists of 70 varieties of native seeds.
Working with CISCO Systems, this Bengalurean takes time off on weekends to tend to his plants. “I grow vegetables such as brinjals (aubergine), cucumber, and different varieties of gourds such as bottle gourd and sponge gourd on the roof top. I also grow fruits such as pomegranate and chikoo.” He thanks his father in law for starting him on gardening and says he now gets guidance from his uncle who owns a farm.
Sanjeev chooses to procure grafted varieties of seeds from a certified vendor for his fruit plants. “If you try to grow fruit plants from seeds, it will take a while. The first yield may take at least three years if you don’t use grafted seeds.” He plants them in paint buckets and plastic drums.
Every three months, his plants yield three kgs of pomegranate. He shares his produce with his friends and colleagues after keeping a bit away for his family.
Sanjeev believes in organic gardening, free of insecticides and pesticides. “I don’t use any kind of chemical,” he says. “I prefer pure, homemade pesticides such as sour curd for spraying on the plants. It will deter the insects. If sour curd is kept outside for a couple of days, the sourness in it will get rid of insects. Neem oil is my last resort. It is the strongest in the organic spray.”
He started gardening in his balcony experimenting with spinach leaves. “They did well and I began growing tomatoes in paint buckets... It has been three and half years since and I grow almost everything on the terrace, including strawberries,” says the gardener who hasn’t visited his neighbourhood market for the past one year.
Sanjeev stresses on watering plants right. “I have put a timer on the drip irrigation system and it takes care of watering. I customised the whole system without taking any help from a third party,” he says. “Watering is the most important thing in gardening. We should neither water more nor less. For Bengaluru’s climate, I water only once every two days.”
Sanjeev visits his rooftop garden twice a day and spends his weekends tending to it, removing weeds and planting new plants.