“It is all about becoming self-sufficient.” That is N Harikesan Nair’s principle behind his love for farming. The retired bank employee from Thiruvananthapuram is currently basking in the glory of winning the award for the best organic nutrition garden at the State Farm Awards 2024.
One cannot help but listen in awe as he lists the variety of crops and plants he cultivates at his home at Sree Nagar, Kalippankulam, near Manacaud. Besides the area around his home on the 10-cent plot, farming is being done extensively on two terraces, covering an area of 2,500 sq ft.
“I have been doing this for the last 21 years. I expanded the cultivation after retirement in 2019,” says the 66-year-old who worked in Bank of Baroda. Fruit-bearing trees, medicinal plants, tubers, vegetables, flowers, leafy greens etc are grown on the terrace and around the house. “When the award committee came for the review, they said that curry leaf and drumstick are a must in a nutrition garden. I grow both in plenty on the terrace and the ground,” he says with pride.
Among the medicinal herbs and plants grown in his farm are neela amari (indigo plant), turmeric varieties, aloe vera, kacholam (aromatic ginger), chundakka (turkey berry), ramacham (vetiver), pathimukham (sappan wood) etc. Besides commonly-grown vegetables and tubers, the garden also has beetroot, carrot, celery, lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage, different varieties of yam, sweet potato, Chinese potato, arrow root, ground nut, pineapple, plantain varieties etc.
Around 50 fruit-bearing trees are cultivated here, most of which are grown in huge pots on the terrace. These include dragon fruit, passion fruit, miracle fruit, star fruit, cherry, mango, jackfruit, green grapes, guava, sapota, pomegranate and lemon.
Paddy grown on terrace at N Harikesan Nair’s home
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Paddy is also grown on the terrace. His garden is rich in terms of flowers as well, which include marigold, cock’s comb, lotus, water lily, ixora variants and other varieties.
“I have adopted vertical arrangement so that the most number of pots can be arranged in the available space. My policy is, less space but maximum yield,” he adds.
It was only natural for Harikesan to take up farming since his father was a farmer while they lived at Alumkuzhy, a few kilometres from Palode. “We cultivated everything, right from vegetables and plantain to paddy, coconut, areca palm, and reared cattle and poultry. After my father’s demise, my mother took it forward,” he recalls.
Farming is no easy job, he stresses. “It is time consuming and calls for immense patience and hard work. Climate change poses the biggest challenge. Unexpected rainfall and strong winds often damage the crops.”
Harikesan says his wife, S Sreekala, a retired government official and son, Ananthu H, help him in running the farm. “Waste management is done at the source. Slurry from the biogas plant is the fertilizer, and we don’t use any pesticides. The garden also has a few honeybee colonies to facilitate pollination. We use the harvested honey at home.”
He adds, “I depend on vegetable shops only to buy potato, onion and shallots. And whatever yield I get is distributed among neighbours, friends and family. I don’t market any produce. I consider this a service.”
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Published – August 23, 2025 02:20 pm IST
