Using coco peat to grow food

 

Since the past few years, farmers and agriculturalists have started recognizing the benefits of coco peat as a growing medium. Recently, in the Udumalpet district of Tamil Nadu, many crops were grown using coco peat. Typically, Udumalpet is rain starved. A person visiting the place for the first time wouldn’t imagine rows of vegetables growing. However, Mr. R.K Raghunandan of Green Terra has made the impossible possible.

 

Mr. Raghunandan promotes coco peat as an alternative growing medium to soil. It is he who pioneered the use of coco peat in the country and in 1991; he exported it to UK and Australia as well. Coco peat is made using coco peat machines. There are a number of coco peat machine manufacturers in India. Raghunandan grows tomatoes, green chilies, bell peppers and eggplant on a 10-cent land. The vegetables are cultivated in grow bags. 

 

In 1992, Mr. Raghunandan won the Commerce Ministry Award for pioneering work. He supplied coco peat to Sicilian farmers too to grow the famed Mediterranean veggies. 

He said that coco peat grow bags are usually used in greenhouses. This was the first time he was trying them in open air. He also mentioned that so far his experiment has been successful. He has 480 bags of vegetables on his land which he waters once a week for 10 minutes. Now that Mr. Raghunandan is fully convinced that coco peat method of growing vegetables outdoors works, he plans to persuade other farmers around him to use it. Using coco peat grow bags manufactured from coco peat machines supplied by coco peat machine manufacturers, makes it easy to maintain and ensures crop success. 

Mr. Raghunandan feels that the coco peat method of agriculture is ideal for small farmers who work with just an acre or so. In conventional agriculture, wedding takes up a big chunk of expenses. Coco peat is weed free and is low maintenance. And the yield is enormous.   

One can have 4,000 grow bags in each bag. And each bag can have three plants, which means 12,000 saplings. The minimum yield is 24 tonnes of produce per crop cycle. The same thing when grown on soil will be approximately eight tonnes per crop cycle.

As Udumalpet is a drought prone region, Raghu dreams of promoting a mini-green revolution and organic vegetable cultivation in every home so that there is easy availability of fresh and toxin-free vegetables. 

For those who want to grow organic vegetables in a sustainable and Eco-friendly manner, coco peat is the answer. It is the best growing medium. 

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