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Agriculture experiments in urban farm led the architect to turn into full-time farmer with commercial farming on outskirts of Vadodara, Gujarat. Produce sold on subscription model
Growing food is natural process then why use man-made chemical fertilizer? Nature will have the solution to augment the process to improve the yield and resolve all tribulations that is infections/pest attack/diseases in plants! We have to find these solutions. Ms. Avanee Jain, a qualified architect started on this journey in 2010 to conduct farming experiments to grow food naturally at her farm right in the middle of Vadodara city, Gujarat. “It was a great learning experience while conducting series of experiments to grow food at my Upaj Farm. I was able to grow vegetables with natural farming practices. These were sold to the people in the neighbourhood. The taste of veggies was good and more number of people started asking for it. My urban farm became the source to creating awareness on chemical free food and commercially we expanded with a new farm in 2 hectares on the outskirts of the city,” she shares.
Ms. Avanee Jain
At Upaj Farm multi-crops are grown because the produce is sold directly to the end user on subscription model for 3 kg or 5 kg. “I need to provide all the regular vegetables used in everyday cooking in the vegetable bag therefore my production schedule comprises small batches of different veggies. Besides these days Indian consumer have developed a good taste for exotic veggies hence we incorporate that as well in our farming agenda,” says Ms. Jain. Vegetables are grown as per the season like greens in winter while lady finger in summer. All these are grown through desi seeds sourced from farmers.
3kg and 5kg bags are priced reasonably although it is grown organically. Each bag has minimum 10 varieties of vegetables. The mixed vegetable bags are delivered at the customer doorstep every Thursday or it can be collected from Upaj Farm or Upaj retail outlet.
Fruits are also grown in the farm to complete the nutrition package offered to the end-consumer. Mangoes and guavas trees are grown all over the farm in a planned way. “We have lemon trees as well. We have consciously grown all desi varieties of fruits because it is apt with our farm climate. The lemon grown is quite big in size and citric content is high. Under the mango and guava trees spinach and mint leaves are cultivated respectively. We grow complementary plants to balance the ecosystem in the farm,” she asserts. These are again sold to the direct buyers but mangoes and guava are sold individually for 1 kg plus quantity.
When asked about her experiments she responds, “The commercial farm on the outskirts was developed from scratch. In order to make the soil fertile and porous we took a period of 12 months starting from creating the organic matter by growing local cattle fodder that subsequently escorted to formation of little colonies of micro-organisms. Next we grew legume crops like alfa-alfa to enhance the protein content in the soil. We did not harvest the legumes in the first season infact it was mulched back in the soil. Later we started growing vegetables. It is time-taking process but there are no short-cuts in natural farming methodology!”
Cow dung is intrinsic part of chemical free farming but at the moment there are no cattle at Upaj Farm. Procuring it outside the farm increases the cost therefore, “We make our own compost by mixing dry leaves, green waste and compost culture. The culture consists of beneficial bacteria that break the waste and turns it into manure,” she informs. As of now the bio supplements are added for vegetables only while for the trees only farm compost is used.
Ms. Avanee Jain recommends growing bamboo on the farm periphery to reduce the carbon content in the air, improve the healthy environment for other plants and tree cultivation and good source of biomass.
To keep plants and trees safe from pest attack and disease is a daunting task. “Yes! Cabbage and cauliflower are most prone to pest so we grow these in very small batches, limiting the number to 20. Also as a protection cover we surround it with herbs such as tulsi, lemon grass etc. By growing medicinal plants encircling the cabbage and cauliflower pest are not able to attack the veggies and the crop is secured. But these two vegetables are extremely difficult to grow!” highlights Ms. Jain. Similarly for tomatoes basil or marigold is grown on the borders. “Farmer can find about these combinations only through trial and error because it depends on soil and climatic conditions.”
Speaking about the challenges she says, “We sell mixed vegetable bag on subscription model so it calls for intense price calculations and production plan. Sometimes inspite of a good planning the results are different due to some or the other reason. These fall outs are part of the natural system so we accept it and move on learning from the situation.”
In time to come Ms. Jain wants to create a systematic plan for the farmers that shall give the exact details on area under cultivation, vegetables to be grown in the area, inputs required and the output produced. The same shall be executed at Upaj Farm to provide hand-on information to the farmers.
She concludes, “Farming is not a cake walk! Anyone venturing into this profession must be ready for all odds as it is a difficult industry to survive from all aspects. However at the same time it is extremely satisfying to grow food. The key to success is farming is self learning through experiments!”
Contact details:
Upaj Farm
Off Sama Savli Road, Next to Petrol Pump IOCL, Vemali, Vadodara, Gujarat 390024
Phone: 098252 34792, 099784 30191
Email: upajvadodara@gmail.com
Growing food is natural process then why use man-made chemical fertilizer? Nature will have the solution to augment the process to improve the yield and resolve all tribulations that is infections/pest attack/diseases in plants! We have to find these solutions. Ms. Avanee Jain, a qualified architect started on this journey in 2010 to conduct farming experiments to grow food naturally at her farm right in the middle of Vadodara city, Gujarat. “It was a great learning experience while conducting series of experiments to grow food at my Upaj Farm. I was able to grow vegetables with natural farming practices. These were sold to the people in the neighbourhood. The taste of veggies was good and more number of people started asking for it. My urban farm became the source to creating awareness on chemical free food and commercially we expanded with a new farm in 2 hectares on the outskirts of the city,” she shares.
Ms. Avanee Jain
At Upaj Farm multi-crops are grown because the produce is sold directly to the end user on subscription model for 3 kg or 5 kg. “I need to provide all the regular vegetables used in everyday cooking in the vegetable bag therefore my production schedule comprises small batches of different veggies. Besides these days Indian consumer have developed a good taste for exotic veggies hence we incorporate that as well in our farming agenda,” says Ms. Jain. Vegetables are grown as per the season like greens in winter while lady finger in summer. All these are grown through desi seeds sourced from farmers.
3kg and 5kg bags are priced reasonably although it is grown organically. Each bag has minimum 10 varieties of vegetables. The mixed vegetable bags are delivered at the customer doorstep every Thursday or it can be collected from Upaj Farm or Upaj retail outlet.
Fruits are also grown in the farm to complete the nutrition package offered to the end-consumer. Mangoes and guavas trees are grown all over the farm in a planned way. “We have lemon trees as well. We have consciously grown all desi varieties of fruits because it is apt with our farm climate. The lemon grown is quite big in size and citric content is high. Under the mango and guava trees spinach and mint leaves are cultivated respectively. We grow complementary plants to balance the ecosystem in the farm,” she asserts. These are again sold to the direct buyers but mangoes and guava are sold individually for 1 kg plus quantity.
When asked about her experiments she responds, “The commercial farm on the outskirts was developed from scratch. In order to make the soil fertile and porous we took a period of 12 months starting from creating the organic matter by growing local cattle fodder that subsequently escorted to formation of little colonies of micro-organisms. Next we grew legume crops like alfa-alfa to enhance the protein content in the soil. We did not harvest the legumes in the first season infact it was mulched back in the soil. Later we started growing vegetables. It is time-taking process but there are no short-cuts in natural farming methodology!”
Cow dung is intrinsic part of chemical free farming but at the moment there are no cattle at Upaj Farm. Procuring it outside the farm increases the cost therefore, “We make our own compost by mixing dry leaves, green waste and compost culture. The culture consists of beneficial bacteria that break the waste and turns it into manure,” she informs. As of now the bio supplements are added for vegetables only while for the trees only farm compost is used.
Ms. Avanee Jain recommends growing bamboo on the farm periphery to reduce the carbon content in the air, improve the healthy environment for other plants and tree cultivation and good source of biomass.
To keep plants and trees safe from pest attack and disease is a daunting task. “Yes! Cabbage and cauliflower are most prone to pest so we grow these in very small batches, limiting the number to 20. Also as a protection cover we surround it with herbs such as tulsi, lemon grass etc. By growing medicinal plants encircling the cabbage and cauliflower pest are not able to attack the veggies and the crop is secured. But these two vegetables are extremely difficult to grow!” highlights Ms. Jain. Similarly for tomatoes basil or marigold is grown on the borders. “Farmer can find about these combinations only through trial and error because it depends on soil and climatic conditions.”
Speaking about the challenges she says, “We sell mixed vegetable bag on subscription model so it calls for intense price calculations and production plan. Sometimes inspite of a good planning the results are different due to some or the other reason. These fall outs are part of the natural system so we accept it and move on learning from the situation.”
In time to come Ms. Jain wants to create a systematic plan for the farmers that shall give the exact details on area under cultivation, vegetables to be grown in the area, inputs required and the output produced. The same shall be executed at Upaj Farm to provide hand-on information to the farmers.
She concludes, “Farming is not a cake walk! Anyone venturing into this profession must be ready for all odds as it is a difficult industry to survive from all aspects. However at the same time it is extremely satisfying to grow food. The key to success is farming is self learning through experiments!”
Contact details:
Upaj Farm
Off Sama Savli Road, Next to Petrol Pump IOCL, Vemali, Vadodara, Gujarat 390024
Phone: 098252 34792, 099784 30191
Email: upajvadodara@gmail.com