From Sugarcane to Roses, This Award-Winning Gardener Grows Over 500 Plants on Her Terrace – Krishi Jagran
“When I was a little girl, biology captivated me. But I didn’t realize how joyful harvesting your own food is until We started observing how my aunts and grandmothers carefully selected fresh vegetables from their home gardens and fields and prepared it for meals on the same day, ” says Madhavi Guttikonda (43), a gardener who manages up in order to 500 plants out of the girl two-storeyed terrace garden in Visakhapatnam.
More than the past ten years, Madhavi has successfully grown a variety of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. In addition , she has established organic farming as the household name in Andhra Pradesh by uploading over 300 instructional videos to her YouTube channel, “Mad Garden, inch which currently has 5, 59, 000 subscribers.
“About 25 years ago, not long after I got married, I started gardening. I actually grew mostly floral species and ornamental plants when we previously resided in a rented apartment. My focus didn’t change to raising my own food seven years ago. Now, my kitchen gets enough to produce from my garden to last at least four weekdays, ” Madhavi told media.
“I didn’t have much confidence in my abilities when I began ‘Mad Gardener’ in 2018, and the only goal was to share the experiences. However, as the first Telugu channel to feature horticulture, we were able to attract a huge audience in just one month. People sent comments pushing me personally to publish as frequently because possible on all of our social media accounts. I’m now capable to claim with pride that I’ve motivated thousands of people to start gardening. Although some of them may be limited by time and space, they nonetheless say that they love watching my videos. They share how their dream house would have a terrace garden like mine, ” she adds.
Grows seasonal crops
Madhavi says her specialty is growing seasonal crops with a short harvest cycle, such as capsicum, tomato, cauliflower, chilly, potatoes, cabbage, plus heirloom types of gourds in addition to beans. She does have a particular area in the girl garden for flowering trees like roses, hibiscus, and even chrysanthemums. Her 1, 800-square-foot green haven also includes bananas, sugarcane, mulberries, sweet limes, cherries, dragon fruit, papaya, together with papaya.
The girl adds that she frequently distributes half of the woman harvest to her domestic workers, friends, and additionally neighbors. “I also cultivate my turmeric, as well as veggies like carrots, radish, beetroots, and mushrooms that are rarely available in the neighborhood, ” she says.
“I’ve never considered selling my food to store owners, and I doubt We ever will. Sharing your crop with people you know and hearing them praise its flavor and texture is the different kind of delight. We regularly replace material affections for this kind of sentiment, but would you give people the product a person paid with regard to? She asks.
According to Madhavi, her son and daughter created a YouTube channel regarding her. “They used in order to help me shoot and edit my videos in the beginning, yet I eventually learned to be able to do it all by myself, ” she explains.
“My terrace garden draws new viewers for you to my channel, yet they are unable to help leave after viewing just one video. They can always go watch those because I actually frequently share stories not to mention ideas that will I’ve previously covered. I’ve been warned I explain the techniques a little too excitedly, ” the girl chuckles. “However, I want to spread the idea that gardening is actually very simple and also that everyone can do it. ”
“I won’t carry out research before filming the video as well as claim our expertise if I’m cultivating a new vegetable. I publish my observations and encourage readers to leave comments with their own insights, which they always do. ” She continues, “thus there is always that personal connection. ”
Videos on organic farming
While the particular majority of Madhavi’s videos are usually “how-tos” on organic farming techniques for growing various crops, Madhavi also provides advice on how to use natural fertilizers and manage pests.
“I have been planting around half of my personal vegetables over compost bins for the past two years. To do this, I fill the bin to typically the brim along with soil, dried leaves, and twigs, then put leftover vegetable plus fruit scraps on top. If done correctly, this not only nourishes the plant but also helps in this combat against fruit flies, maggots, and other dangerous insects, the expert claims. Although I occasionally use store-bought manure in addition to Epsom salt, compost contains the majority associated with the micronutrients that plants require. ”
She proceeds, “I used to buy the seeds locally, but I’ve been storing and using the seeds from my own plants for a while now and have completely stopped buying them. I sometimes receive seed products from followers of rare and exotic plants, giving me the ability to study their development and even inform all of them of my own experiences. ”
Only the rooted varieties of onion, garlic, together with ginger are usually purchased by Madhavi because these people need more room to be grown underground intended for at least nine months.
She laughs when you point out that it’s unusual to produce fruits such as sugarcane and additionally dragon fresh fruit at home. “All an individual actually need is a stem from an established grow, making them some of often the simplest things to grow in a container. However, My partner and i don’t herb them often because they will only bloom once a year not to mention produce about 20 fruits per cycle, ” the lady says.
“But even when I’m not really taking care of this garden, My spouse and i prefer to spend as much time there as I may. Plants don’t expect anything from you and also can’t communicate their concerns, but I just think they can sense us, and this [extra care] could help these people grow more, ” your woman adds.
Madhavi used in order to post at least four videos a week, but right after receiving an autoimmune disease diagnosis last year, the woman had to be able to put growing plants on hold.
“Then, in November 2020, my father passed away, and I went two weeks without publishing a video. I was suddenly swamped together with comments upon YouTube as well as Instagram. People used for you to call me by my very own name, express concern to get me, and repeatedly check in to see if I had been having any issues. When i eventually revealed my struggles, and everyone was really supportive. Then I understood how welcoming and helpful my community is, ” she says.
While the money from a new YouTube route varies according to your number of uploads and the number of views they receive, income from all the exact videos about “Mad Gardener” allows Madhavi to make in least one lakh rupees per month, in accordance to your ex. As per the parents who wrote to Madhavi, some kids, as young as 10, have already been motivated by her video clips to start garden.
She also received recognition last month from an esteemed publication that educates farmers in cutting-edge natural farming methods, in the field regarding terrace gardening.
“Getting an award through the Vice President of India was such an honor. But for me, the particular highlight of the evening was getting to help stand next to other state farmers. What we produce inside terrace gardens or little settings is insignificant to what that they consistently achieve, ” states Madhavi.
First published with: 17 Nov 2022, 05: 11 IST