Farm update 10-Feb-2017 in Visuals

It has been a very long gap since I updated the status of farm.

There are 4 subjects that I need to cover that are pending

1. Demonitization and its effect on Farming
2. Pro Jallikattu protest and how it will help farming
3. Complete Drought like situation with no water and climate change
4. Catchup time spent on developing verticle windpump lost due to above reasons.

I shall write the above topics one by one in coming days and insert it in timelines. But before that a quick visual update on the farm. Yes I visited the farm last week only and took these snaps.  Though I could spend only few hours there, (I went to meet my mother and had other domestic works) I did accomplish quite a lot of work.

Major notable ones are
a) Initiating building of a toilet in the farm.
b) Purchasing new trees and plants from Ramji Nursary, Nagarcoil and transporting them.
c) Explaining and initiating building of a verticle windpump at the farm based on POC done back in Pune.
d) Team building. Had lunch in the farm prepared by the staff.

This mountain on the way to the farm is being eaten away by vested interests

Cooking at the farm.  Simple food for workers

First time I am seeing flowers of Lemon

The trees are gaining height. One day this tree will form canopy over
the seats

This one has recovered from bug attack. With no chemicals used.

Seeing the success of Coconut tree growth, I have brought few more (25) of desi variety. Now we have
all kinds of varieties,  hybrid,  red, tall, short as specimens.

Look at how some unidentied bug has cut the leaves uniformly. pehaps it would have eaten when it was tender

Lemon is fruting

The good old windpump working. Subbu in foreground

Few redbanana trees near the wind pump tower has survived. They are very tall and looks wild.
Has strong survival tendancy. I asked subbu to multiply this as we got these with great difficulty
from Tirumurthy farm.

This is the reality. With no water.  Just managing only the border trees.

The base of windpump.  This is bore hole from where water is sucked. There are water leaks due to pipes becoming old

The vettiver to the side has well grown and flowered. It is becoming dry. Donot know what next or what to do with the vettiver which has not established. Ideally I wanted this to be transplanted to the pond. But there is no water nor
interest now.

Beautiful combination of bogan villa in the fence

Fence on left and few red banana trees that has escaped drought on right.

Some bird has laid eggs on pine tree. Subbu said this is wild dove. Small eggs at chest level. Daring !

Hope to gree these after we get power supply.

Jasmine plants. This is the only productive commercial crop that I have.  It grow well with less water

Jasmine closeup

One corner of the pond. Rarely I have taken photo from this angle. To the right is eastern fence side. Not fertile soil. Here is where we need to plant Neem and eucalyptus.

On the infertile soil there are two Banyan trees that are planted. Heartening to see
they are growing.

One corner of plot.  Waiting for rain.  Ploughed and soil loosened.

Having lunch with friends in farm, cooked there 

Some Update 16-12-2016

There had been a spate of things past 2 months that kept me away from the blog.

Demonitisation was one very major event that happened affecting all the 130 crore population of India starting 8th November.  I was in no mood to write anything since then as I was busy tracking news items literally every hour that is still changing.  More about that later.....

The farm is in good shape. Subbu is at his best.  After a long spell of dry weather, the farm had received little showers 10 days back. Using that  the farm had been ploughed. Without telling me, Subbu had gone ahead and purchased 400 nursary plants of Jasmine teaming with other farmers in neighbourhood from the city of Nagapatinam.  I guess he had planted them.

There is no rain now.  The rain season that was supposed to be ON is no where to be seen. There had been two cyclones hitting southern peninsula, but they crossed shore around Chennai, north of the farm at 600 kilometers.

Farmers are at cross roads and are anticipating drought this year.  This is 3rd consequtive year without rains.  It is a challenge.

I want to take this challenge.  I told Subbu to work out a scheme as follows;
a) Go to nearby market and observe.
b) Due to demonitisation (removal of 86% of currency from the market by the Government), there is scarcity of cash.  Agriculture / farmers are dumping at the yards at throw away prices as they cannot afford.  But this is temperory. very soon, with this bitter feedback they will restrict cultivation. which means the price will sky rocket.
c) look for opportunity what vegetables that can be grown at this season which others are not growing.
d) Let us employ few who are out of work due to demonitisation.  Let us create some jobs.
e) Let us grow something. If it fails also ok.

I have not spoken to him for few days now.

Farm Visual Update 21-Oct-2016

The Farm has not got its shower since 11 months now.   Whatever be the climate in India, the local climate is dry and drought as it had been in the past.   Rain was there even some 6 kilometers from my farm, but not a drop here.  Here are the visuals that I persuaded Subbu to send (Otherwise he was reluctant to send me the sight of dry farm).

Fact is fact.  Sinc the pictures are self explanatory, I am not writing any commentary for anything except few slides that cannot be understood without my comment. However I must congratulate and be grateful to Subbu to have kept all the trees with borrowed water, stolen water, purchased water and stored water. The life is struggle and it keeps going........ You must contrast these trees with the die-hard juliflora weed which itself has dried outside the farm. The juliflora is supposed to live in near zero water conditions.

The beautiful seating arrangment is now having a setting

Tree is in shape of a tree finally

Not even a blade of grass.  Except trees which are tended carefully

On the way to mud pond

These coconut trees have not come up well. They are 2nd batch purchased from valliyoor.  The earlier batch
purchased form Ramji Nursary, Nagarcoil is excellent. Now we know where to purchase from

Jasmine 1st batch. Glad the bushes have become big.

Jasmine 2nd batch in famine

Just outside the farm, the shrubs are so dry

The new borewell is covered with an old hand pump. This will be where verticle windpump will
be built. Currently our folks are pumping water in hot sun. I asked subbu to construct shade
He had purchased the knotted coconut leaves, but lack of support kept is pending

Dry and no growth except casurina.  These trees are drinking purchased water  and is a mistake

Windpump at backdrop. Which is sustaining all living things for the past 11 months silently working to maximum capacity.

2nd seating arrangement. Otherwise for water this should be greenest of places.

Near the tower.  All banana trees have gone.

The Red banana. Atlast one or two have escaped hard summar. This was procured from Thirumurthy farm near Coimbatore

Banana used to be here

Around the farm. This is the reality. My farm is an oasis.