During the lockdown, many people pursued their hobbies, while many made a means of employment for themselves. One of such people is Ramveer Singh of Uttar Pradesh. Ramveer Singh, who lives in Bareilly, has been associated with the media industry for the last several years. Along with this, they are also doing their own farming in the village. During the lockdown in 2020, he started hydroponic gardening in his home. After getting good success in his own home, Ramveer is now setting up hydroponic systems in others’ homes as well.
Talking to The Better India, Ramveer said that he is from a farmer family. After completing his studies, he joined the media sector and after working with many big channels, he is currently associated as a freelance journalist with a channel in Bareilly.
He said, “We have ancestral land for farming, which is about 40 km from Bareilly. On this land, I grow vegetables, grains, pulses for the needs of my family. I have been doing organic farming since 2009. Actually, one of my friend’s uncle was diagnosed with cancer. After getting them examined, it was found that they had cancer due to the chemicals being used in fruits and vegetables. Since then I decided that I should do organic farming myself for my family.
Ramveer says that once he went to Dubai with some of his friends. In Dubai, he saw the hydroponic system and learned that pure and nutritious vegetables can be grown in this system without soil. He started getting interested in hydroponic systems and after returning to India, he took training on this technique from different places. But Ramveer wanted to do something different in hydroponic systems as well. He said that it is not necessary that already available systems should work successfully for all. So he created a unique system for his home using both NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) and DFT (Deep Flow Technique) techniques from hydroponic.
Three-storey house made ‘vegetable’
Ramveer has installed hydroponic system on three floors of his house. If we talk about its total area, then it is about 750 sqm and 10 thousand plants are planted in their system. In this system, holes are made in the PVC pipe at a stipulated distance to make a netcup. Hundreds of plants can be planted in these. All these pipes are interconnected with a slope. The water is then flowed through the motor from one end and back into the tank through all the pipes.
He said that 90% less water is consumed in this technique as compared to normal horticulture. “I setup the system in my house in March, 2020. Although I also do farming, but the reason for doing gardening at home was that vegetables can be available in the house immediately on the basis of need. Now suppose someday spinach is needed, then there is no point in going 40 km away for this. So I thought of arranging vegetables at home and nothing is better than hydroponic for this,” he says.
He is planting seasonal vegetables in his system. Like tomato, chilli, spinach, fenugreek, mint, bottle gourd, luffa, cucumber, amaranth, capsicum, bitter gourd, cabbage, lettuce etc. Along with his household supplies, he has also fed vegetables to the people of his locality. Apart from this, some vegetables like yellow and red capsicum were also sold. He had planted about five hundred saplings of yellow and red capsicum.
System has been installed in more than 10 houses
Ramveer Singh has designed his house like a ‘hydroponic model’. So that people can see their garden from outside. Seeing his garden, hundreds of people contacted him and also visited his garden. He told that till now he has installed hydroponic systems in more than 10 houses. He is running his business under the name of Vimpa Organic and Hydrophonic. He is teaching others how to do gardening using hydroponic techniques and at the same time, himself is also leading the way in this field.
Along with vegetables, he is growing strawberries. He told that he himself makes insect repellent for all plants by organic means. Apart from this, 16 nutrients like Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur, Potassium, Copper, Zinc etc. are mixed with water and transported to the plant. “Hydroponic technology allows you to grow more nutritious and pure vegetables than with normal farming. Because during normal farming, there is a fear that if your neighbor farmer has used pesticides, then it also affects your crop. That’s why you can’t call it 100% pure. But in a hydroponic system you can plant 100% pure vegetables,” he says.
Ramveer says that this is a one-time investment, so that you can feed your family with vegetables for years and years. Especially for green-leafy vegetables, which we use directly, hydroponic is suitable for them. He says that in the last one year, he has bought almost no vegetables from the market. His family is getting a good supply of vegetables from the garden itself.
If you want to know more about this technology or want to setup hydroponic system in your home then you can call on 9456696777.
Editing – G N Jha
Also read: For 30 years, fruits and vegetables are grown on the roof of the society, they bring plants by traveling around the country and abroad
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