KOCHI: Roof-top farming may not be something new to people, but 56-year-old Keerthi Chandran’s farming methods may amuse even innovative farm enthusiasts. Atop his house and at a building constructed adjacent to it at Karikandan Para, Kozhikode, he grows all kinds of vegetables, along with paddy.
A naturopathy class he attended around 18 years ago transformed Chandran, who was an ordinary farmer, into a successful natural farmer. “I belong to a family of farmers who are broad-minded in their approach to farming and life. Hence I did not think twice before selecting farming,” says Chandran. “In the beginning I used to apply chemical pesticides and fertilisers in my farm. The naturopathy class changed my perspectives,” he says. As a first step to natural farming, he bought Kasargod Dwarf, a native cattle breed of Kerala. Cow dung and urine were used to make the land poison-free.
Since his parents focused on rubber and arecanut trees, it was a difficult task for Chandran to try out vegetable farming there. Hence he tactically shifted to roof-top farming, which he gradually found to be the best as the plants got adequate sunlight. “If you creatively arrange your vegetable garden on the terrace you will not need some other place to relax,” says Chandran, adding that almost all the vegetables that can grow in this climate can be grown on the terrace. He even tried his hand at paddy out of curiosity and proved that grow bags are enough for paddy cultivation. In his words, city dwellers can easily do this method of farming to produce the rice they want. At the same time he admits that the success of paddy on terraces depends on watering and the season.
A good number of people visit his farm and take advice from him on roof-top farming. “News reports on the health hazards posed by imported vegetables from other states have helped promote the concept of kitchen-garden among people,” he smiles. After embarking on natural farming, he has not consulted any doctor. “My family is healthy,” he says.
Till last year he had run a unit for mushroom cultivation out of enthusiasm and after finding that it is not commercially viable, he stopped it halfway. When his younger son asked him to open a biscuit unit, he constructed the building for it in such a way that he can even do vegetable farming there. The inauguration of the biscuit unit is scheduled to be held in January, but he has already commenced farm activities on the terrace. Ladies finger, tomato, spinach, brinjal, long beans, chilli, cabbage and cauliflower are a few vegetables to name in his garden. He solely depends on the well for irrigation and is planning to introduce drip irrigation system to ensure sufficient water for each plant.
Chandran’s success shows that sheer interest in farming is more than enough to set up a garden that can provide you with the best food in the world, say agricultural officers.