Back in 2018, we were skeptical when we wanted to convert 40% of erstwhile rice fields to a bio-diverse forest garden comprising of fruit trees, timber trees, herbs, spices and more. Typically, rice fields are plots which get flooded because of proximity to a river, irrigation canal, pond or any major water body. Also, to encourage water stagnation, bunds are built, silt from ponds are applied to lands increasing clay % of top soil. Flooded plains are not the best places for forest gardens because water stagnation hinders tree growth. Tree growth needs abundant oxygen for its roots, which is only possible when we don’t create anaerobic conditions. Flooded plains in nature are mostly grasslands where grains evolved. Many species can grow in waterlogged soils because the oxygen is exchanged between leaves and roots through aerenchyma, a feature unique to rice and wetland plants. The farm land we purchased was designed over the years to be primarily rice fields because of proximity to a natural pond.

There are mainly two ways that agricultural land is classified in Tamil Nadu : Nanjai and Punjai. Nanjai lands are those which have irrigation via a river or a rainfed pond. They areare flooded completely through the winter monsoons and even beyond, if the monsoon is good. So, the most suitable crops for Nanjai lands in this region are rice, banana, sugarcane, coconuts. Another notable feature of Nanjai lands is that no construction is allowed on these lands. Perennial diverse farm set-ups are less likely, not impossible, in Nanjai lands. Punjai lands are those that do not have irrigation from a water body. Therefore, fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, fodder crops and other dry land crops are more common in these lands . Water is occasionally diverted from Nanjai lands towards Punjai to carry out cultivation. The land that we now live in is split between nanjai and punjai almost exactly 50-50%. If the pond is overflowing beyond its capacity, there is a small outlet which ensures water for the punjai land as well. So, flooding was common in this part of the land as well. We dug water path ways to ensure water gets drained to the pond overflow canal nearby directly. This is so that we could plan to plant trees in then punjai part of hte land.

We are of the opinion that our diets have become too heavy in carbohydrate rich grains. If we want to reduce dependence on grains as a society, our farms also need to transform. We chose a higher (not spiritually, only altitude wise :p) part of the land for the forest garden that was not as susceptible to flooding as the lower parts (exclusively nanjai lands).

What a transformation our land has seen over these years! (We were giving ourselves pats on our backs as we were taking photos and writing this ;)) The view in the photos is evidence enough. When we started working on the land, we could see through and through upto a fair distance, almost a kilometre away, with a few neem and Palmyra trees scattered here and there. Trees such as Teak, Malabar Neem, Mahogany, Indian rosewood, Jamun, Gooseberry, Mango, Guava, Custard apple, Pomegranate, Banana, Papaya, Henna, Lemon, Citron and many more species now dot the entire landscape. Also, because we practice zero-till agroforestry in this forest garden, the soil is undisturbed. The ground is covered with native weeds : edible, medicinal, leguminous and others – touch-me-not, wild indigo, spearmint, nannari, calatropis, pei-veretti, to name a few.

We grow a few veggies and spices for our home consumption – peacocks are preventing us from scaling up efforts to take to market. We grow a lot of biomass generating non-invasive species such as vettiver, mexican sunflower, mexican tree spinach, glyricidia. One of the invasive species that we regret introducing is Subabul – we now have to manage its invasiveness by chopping it as soon as it flowers, before it goes to seed. We use it as mulch or fodder for our cows, chicken and ducks.

If you are crossing this part of the state (Papanasam, Tirunelveli district) and want to listen to our story first hand, we are open for a farm tour, every saturday, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. DM us. 🙂

Regards

Sudhakar

P.S. We will be ready to host guests at the land for overnight stay in another 6 months from now.