An Andhra Pradesh man spends just Rs. 500 a month to grow over 100 plants at home. Anna Mani Ratnam shares how to do this and other gardening tips on Facebook.
Anna Mani Ratnam, a resident of Andhra Pradesh’s Machilipatnam, grows 100 plants at home, including fruits such as red guava and custard apple. The 27-year-old discusses gardening methods ranging from recycling plastic containers as planters to composting and seed preparation. Mani moved into a newly built home with his family in 2017.
He didn’t have much space in his previous house to grow veggies or fruit-bearing plants, but Mani had a 675 square foot patio where he decided to create a tiny food forest.
Mani’s terrace is home to over 100 plants, three years later. These plants include vegetables such as tomato and brinjal, fruits such as red guava and custard apple, and herbs such as amaranthus. Mani spends only Rs 500 a month on garden maintenance and shares his tips and methods with 1,000 others in a Facebook group.
Mani began by growing tulsi plants on his terrace to start things off on a positive note. Because he intended to eat the vegetables from the terrace garden regularly, Man grew it organically. He attended a two-week training in Guntur to learn more about how to create these organic fertilisers.
Soon after, he began expanding his garden by planting fruit trees in cement pits dug on the terrace, medicinal plants such as bhringraj and soursop, blooming plants such as adeniums, bonsais, and others. These were planted in recyclable containers acquired from a local kabadiwala.
Mani realised early in 2019 that as his plants matured, he no longer needed to buy anything from stores. This guaranteed that expenses stayed between Rs 500 or Rs 600 each month.
Aside from that, he noted that his house was producing less waste.
“All of the wet trash was converted into compost, and some of the dry waste, including bottles and boxes, was repurposed for the garden,” Mani explains, adding that he wants to share this information with others in his neighbourhood and encourage them to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
He launched a Facebook group called Bandar Brundavanam with Gowri Kavya, a friend he met during the course, to give advice on composting, creating organic fertiliser and pesticides, and seed harvesting. In addition to seeds and fertiliser, Mani shared gardening hack videos and postings with people within a 3 – 5 kilometre radius.
The majority of the exchanges were free of charge, according to Mani, which inspired over 1,000 people to join the group and establish a family. Mani believes the group’s camaraderie became stronger during the second wave of the pandemic, while providing some positive stories regarding the group’s activities.
Mani believes that the club will inspire more individuals to start organic farming at home in the future. Soon after, he began expanding his garden by planting fruit trees in cement pits dug on the terrace, medicinal plants such as bhringraj and soursop, blooming plants such as adeniums, bonsais, and others. These were planted in recyclable containers acquired from a local kabadiwala.
Mani realised early in 2019 that as his plants matured, he no longer needed to buy anything from stores. This guaranteed that expenses stayed between Rs 500 or R600 each month. Aside from that, he noted that his house was producing less waste.
“All of the wet trash was converted into compost, and some of the dry waste, including bottles and boxes, was repurposed for the garden,” Mani explains, adding that he wants to share this information with others in his neighbourhood and encourage them to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
He launched a Facebook group called Bandar Brundavanam with Gowri Kavya, a friend he met during the course, to give advice on composting, creating organic fertiliser and pesticides, and seed harvesting. Mani shared gardening hack videos and postings, as well as seeds and fertiliser, with people living in the area. The majority of the exchanges were free of charge, according to Mani, which inspired over 1,000 people to join the group and establish a family.
Mani believes the group’s camaraderie became stronger during the second wave of the pandemic, while providing some positive stories regarding the group’s activities. Mani believes that the group will inspire more individuals to start organic farming at home in the future.
