DHARMAPURI: Sharing one’s knowledge shows they care about society, and have a sense of responsibility towards the people. One retired-couple from the agriculture department in the district have been hosting e-classes to share their passion and educate people on the methods of setting terrace gardening.
Six months back, the couple – Ex-Joint Director of Agriculture RR Suseela and Ex-Assistant Director N Madhubalan – started their journey to create a mini-jungle on their rooftop as a hobby. However, the good taste of the chemical-free vegetable kicked in, following which, they expanded their roof garden to 1,500 sq ft area with dozens of vegetables, flowers and even small trees.
An inspiration for over 25 families in the Vennampatti housing community, the couple have been conducting classes on healthier eating, exercising and meditation. Speaking to TNIE, Madhubalan said, “It started out as a personal project.
My wife, Suseela, initially just wanted to grow plants for our daily needs. We have talked about setting up a terrace garden for many years but never had time for it. We were too busy with work in the agriculture department.” Now that we have enough time, we started working on our terrace garden.
Our passion saw the light after we retired. Apart from tomatoes, brinjals, ladies finger and varieties of gourds, we have been experimenting with trees, including neem and drum stick.They said that they grow tea, herbs and even cosmetic plants like aloe vera. Speaking about the benefits of the roof garden, Suseela said, “Roof garden is not cheap; it is an expensive one-time investment. However, once you have invested in it, you will reap good and fresh products. Growing, planting and reaping fresh vegetables is like a meditation for us now,” she added.