THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Yet another mango season is here, and K T Thomas of Valiathura is gearing up for harvest as usual on his 1,200 sq ft roof-top. Nine mango trees stand tall on the roof of his house - in rubber bags!
Thomas’s rooftop boasts different mango varieties like Mallika, Malgova, Alphonsa, Paurnami, Black and Rose, Himampasanth, Benganapally, some already bearing fruits, others still in the flowering stage. This, he said, is his third harvest since his tryst with rooftop cultivation of fruit trees six years ago.
Although he comes from an agricultural family, the craze for farming hit him only later, in his seventies to be precise. Having spent 27 years in the army, it was in his retirement years that he took to rooftop farming. It started off as vegetable farming. But soon varieties of mangoes started crowding out the vegetables.
It started off as a whim. “It struck me that if we can grow vegetables, then why not fruit trees,” he asks. Although he had gone to several seminars to learn about rooftop farming, he never really got any tips on rooftop farming of fruit trees. “The main constraint was that grow bags would be useless within six months and no one had ever grown fruit trees on the rooftop. I thought a lot and then decided to use rubber baskets to grow them,” he adds. And six years down the line his novel idea continues to bear fruit.
Nine mango trees, sapotta, curry tree, lemon, pomegranate among other vegetables stands tall in the rubber basket bearing fruits. “Often when people come here they ask me how long these rubber baskets can hold the trees. I tell them it will stay like this forever,” he adds.
One wouldn’t feel that Thomas is in his seventies. The 73-year-old attributes his youthfulness to his rendezvous with his trees. The place is Thomas’s personal hideaway. He spends most of his time among the trees, cajoling them, talking to them. “They can sense me from far way. I have a strong bond with each of these trees and they keep me young and healthy,” he adds. He, however, adds that it is no easy feat. “It is not easy, I agree. But if you have the will power, with a bit of perseverance this can be achieved.”
There was a time when people used to flock to his home from far and wide to witness the magic he created on the rooftop. He has a visitor’s book which brims with comments. When he started off, his intention was to inspire and give an alternative to people struggling with scarcity of land. “I am happy that many people have taken inspiration from me and started out,” he adds joyfully.