T’puram: A retired police sub-inspector who took to terrace gardening after retirement has started to cultivate basmati rice in 40 pots on the terrace of his house in Pongumoodu.The stalks, planted by Prasannan G, have reached four feet in height, making it a successful experiment. Farming basmati rice is an exercise that requires exceptional focus and care. “Each pot contains 10-15 saplings, and each pot requires one and a half litres of water. Watering is done manually and needs to be done with care because too much water will spoil the crop,” Prasannan said. He harvested 300g from one pot of another rice variety. “I hope the amount will be more for basmati,” he added. He said the opportunity to cultivate basmati rice came when one of his friends received an invitation to visit a farm and factory in Punjab in Dec. “I told him to bring some seeds and he bought a small spoonful. I tried to raise the crop but failed. Then I kept the pots in a place that was not too cold or hot and it clicked. Once the seeds were rooted, I exposed the pots to direct sunlight,” Prasannan said. He said all the stalks are healthy and will be ready for harvest in 15 days. In 2010, Prasannan retired and turned his attention to farming as a way of going back to his roots. He chanced upon the idea of cultivating on the terrace in 2015. “Lack of space was the main reason to try out the terrace,” he added. He started a small terrace garden to cultivate vegetables at his house. Soon, he diversified into other crops and managed to create a record of sorts by cultivating mukkizhangu and harvested a surprising 125kg of crop. He tried out rice in 2018 after reading an article that a person cultivated a rakthashali variety in Puthoor. The next year, he tried Uma variety. That too became a success. And in 2019, Prasannan received the best terrace farmer award. At a time when people are more inclined to prune and cut trees, the terrace garden Prasannan created atop his house on a 16 cents plot stands as a ray of hope.
