In 2016, Anamika Bisht from Bengaluru wanted to leave her busy corporate life and do something relaxing, and that was farming. She wanted people to experience the soil again. It is in this spirit that ‘Village Story’ was born, which is today the most famous community farming experiment of Indian Silicon City. What started with a few workshops soon expanded to farmers markets, composting sessions and community farming. Community garden is a rapidly growing concept in the world today. Many people have started renting out their vacant plots for community farming. I have written about this concept in this column during my visit to Boston, America in 2024. This idea has spread like wildfire in Bengaluru. Some farmers on the outskirts of the city divide their large plots or fields into small plots of 20X20 square feet and rent them out to people to grow crops of their choice. You can go and plant saplings during weekends. The farmers protect and irrigate them regularly and you can come to harvest your crops on the following weekends or when the farmers say the plants are ready. Nowadays gardening has become a new pass-time. If you travel to Pune, this feeling will increase further. Pune, once considered a city of leisure-loving people, has now become a concrete jungle due to large-scale construction activities. But if you look deeper amidst this concrete, you will find that home gardeners are rapidly increasing in the city who are converting their rooftops, balconies and backyards into small farms. They’re growing everything from dragon fruit, passion fruit and avocado to exotic fruits and herbs like rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano. In the last decade, gardening enthusiasts, who have been making their rooftops green and even using small spaces like window sills, are now experimenting with crops related to international cuisine. If you think that since you live in a flat, this information is of no use to you, then take a lesson from Pratham Garden in Koramangala, Bengaluru, which did not let even the cloudy weather spoil the enthusiasm. On an empty plot in his colony, he has created a wonderful organic garden by growing banana, moringa and hibiscus. Community gardens are now becoming the new obsession of resident welfare associations, NGOs and schools with open spaces. If you live in a single building, where there is not a large space for such activities, then welcome to the concept of ‘Microgardening’. This word might remind you of tiny gardens, gnomes and fairies, but the reality is quite the opposite. You can get better yields even from small spaces like a window sill or balcony. The only rule is to plant the plants in the right way. And what better time than this month when the rains are slowly moving towards our states and the prices of vegetables are skyrocketing. One way to get maximum yield is to plant early maturing crops. Microgreens are best suited for this. These germinate very quickly at home. Like the people of Pune and Bangalore, you too scatter the seeds in a shallow container, then keep it in the sun for a few days and keep the soil moist. When the seedlings develop a second pair of leaves, called true leaves (the first leaves are called ‘cotyledons’), cut them off near the soil surface with scissors. Then use them in smoothies, salads, sandwiches or stir-fries. Gardening enthusiasts say to sow new seeds every few days for a constant supply. Mint, coriander, basil and lettuce are such crops which can be grown well even in less space. The bottom line is that showing passion for farming is a healthy risk. Nature may give you less yield, but it will never cheat you. At least it will give you pesticide-free green vegetables, which will keep you and your family healthy.
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N. Raghuraman’s column: Microgardening has big benefits
