I had been trying to get a supply of A2 milk since a year but was unsuccessful.Finally got my first bottle of A2 milk delivered by Organo farm store a few days ago.Soon after I got a message that a Santha (farmer’s market) is being organised at organo Naandi and that we can visit their farms too.Organo is starting a concept where a consumer can adopt a farmer and grow veggies which are delivered fresh every week at their doorstep.Wanted to checkout what they were up to and landed at Organo Naandi this morning with Mom.Stepped into a store selling Organic groceries.
I was expecting to see lot of fresh veggies and found that there weren’t any. When I enquired , we were told that we will soon be taken to a farm. Saw a few more families arriving.Thought that the veggies would be available at the farms. We were then led to the farms a few km from the store.Saw a few people marking and placing papers (with names of veggies written) on a freshly tilled farmland. Also saw a few cows and calves nearby.
Very soon a Farmer and his wife arrived. They began doing puja to the cows that were tied nearby.It was then that we realised that the farm was being inaugurated that day. They hadn’t revealed this event to us.Soon a bottle of cow urine and tricodomas were poured in two dishes. Out came a few packets of Vegetable seeds.
The seeds were rinsed in each of the liquids and placed on a jute sack for drying.A few Questionss and Answers were exchanged between the visitors and the Farmer and the caretaker.It was time to sow the seeds and the farmers wife took a few seeds and started sowing. The visitors were told that they can volunteer to sow.Some of us took a few seeds and walked across the field and stuck a few seeds in the soil. Was a different kind of experience. Felt good.Sweets were distributed .We were told that lunch is being served at the Organo farm store. Reached the lunch venue . Had a simple lunch made with millets.
Picked up a few groceries and started back . We were disappointed on not getting veggies but were happy that we had a good time at the farm.The weather was great…cloudy with cool breeze blowing..Overall a wonderful surprise for me and Mom.
Category Archives: Farm
Surya Organic farm , Hyderabad , a partner of Farmizen.
My search for Organic veggies led me to the discovery of Farmizen.
A concept where one can rent a piece of land for growing veggies. All the hard work is done by the Farmer who is a partner of Farmizen. A Plots of 20×30 feet can be rented for Rs2500/-. A variety of veggies are grown and delivered to our home every week.
I rented one such plot and have been receiving veggies every week.
Received these veggies this week.
It’s been more than a month that I have subscribed to Farmizen. The veggies are grown using organic manure and pesticides.
The Farmizen app is very user friendly. Status of the plants in our plot is updated frequently. Updates on watering of the plants, application of pesticides , time for harvesting etc are posted . We can also request for photographs of the plants in our plot via the app.
A notification is sent via the app about the date of delivery of veggies . Facility to pin the location of our home address in a map is provided in the app.
We can also visit the farm 6 times a month. I have been to the farm thrice and it is nice to see the veggies growing . Love driving to the farm which is close to Himayatsagar lake.
Looking forward to visit again once the monsoons are here.
Fun times at Granny’s Village – Mar 2019
Got an opportunity to visit my Granny’s Village , (My Maternal Grandmother). The Village is near Nellore. This time my Sister ,nice , nephew , me and my son were able to make a trip for a few days.
Love the Village atmosphere . I can never get tired of going there any number of times.
Every moment from Sunrise to Sunset is something that we can never ever experience in the Cities that we live in.
Being able to actually watch the Sun Rise , the cool morning Golden Sun rays , the cool morning breeze, the cocks crowing , the pure Oxygen filled air that you can fill your lungs without thinking of the pollution ……Village folks going about their activities , sounds of brooms while women sweep / clean their front porches , followed by Muggu / kolam …. tractors moving through the village on their way to the fields , sounds from the few Autos / Bikes in the village… Street vendors selling their wares , the villages kids playing with crude toys , young village boys playing Volley ball in the evenings , the sounds of bells from the Goats being taken for grazing , Bird calls , Sound of breeze from the waving paddy fields , the paddy dancing in the breeze, buffaloes on their way back home, the cool sea breeze flowing in from the sea from 3 pm onward, lying on a cot in the open air and watching the starlit sky, having dinner under the stars sitting on the cot .
These are life’s simple pleasures that I always look forward to.
Food tastes yummier in the village 🙂 don’t know why 🙂 .
There are hardly any thoughts … just being in the present moment.
A drive to the Beach via roads with paddy fields on either side, animals grazing lazily … An evening at the Beach which is a few kilometers from our Village,walking on the beach barefoot without a care… picking sea shells .. watching how the ocean never tires of sending waves since eternity.. watching fishermen with their boats on the horizon and wondering if I can go on one of the boats someday 🙂
Already looking forward to my next visit.
Nature Therapy : Random road trip around Himayatsagar lake , Hyderabad
I love looking at various places all over the world on Google Maps. I enjoy going through the photographs that people post there. Gives a vicarious pleasure 🙂
Each time I look at Hyderabad , my home town , on Google Maps , the two prominent lakes namely Osmansagar and Himayatsagar always attract me.
Very often I zoom into the areas around these lakes and imagine driving around these places. Thankfully , construction activities are not permitted in the catchment areas of these two lakes . I see lots of Farms/Resorts around the lakes and the place looks beautiful from up above :)) . I always wanted to go there some day. That someday finally arrived . Went on Sunday .Mom too wanted to go for a long drive with the kids just before she gets her eye operated for cataract . Mom and I have this craze for exploring/visiting open farms and fields . Went there yesterday along with my Mom, niece and nephew . The area adjacent to the lake obviously has sufficient ground water and the whole area is cool , nice and green even during peak Summer which we are now experiencing.
Here are a few pics from the drive.
Spotted an Ibis, a black bird with a long curved beak.
These women were cutting Spinach and tying them into bunches which will be sold in the markets.
Got freshly picked Bhendi’s and Bottle Gourds from one of the owners.
Car Dikki 🙂
The kids had fun playing with the cool water flowing from a Borewell pipe.
Another farm had Chukka koora, also called Khatta Palak in Hindi.
The owner gave us some Chukka koora.
My Nephew was excited to see Chicken and Eggs in this Poultry farm. He came back screaming “I saw eggs !! ” 🙂
We should have picked up a few dozens of Eggs too 😉
We saw a few buffaloes which were being milked . Wanted to ask if they would sell some milk but we didn’t have any container either. Our Driver suggested we use the water bottles. We were on the fag end of our trip so we quickly gulped the leftover water and filled two bottles with fresh milk 🙂 .
We took the road less traveled. Lots of Narrow paths leading to these fields. Would have been risky if it was the rainy season. We did see a lot of fruit bearing trees Came across lots of farms with Mango, Lemon , Jack-fruit and Sapota/Cheeku trees.
Thanks to Google Maps and GPS , I was able to easily guide our driver around these narrow paths . Came back home with some fresh goodies and a great experience.
Lot more areas to be explored around these lakes. Will go back for more :).
Picture story from a recent visit to our Village – Apr 2018
Here are a few Pics from my recent visit to our Village near Nellore.
Free Range hens with their little ones . This is one of the most common sights as soon as you leave a city or town. The moment you see them near you , you would be tempted to rush and catch hold of one of those little ones but would fail miserably 🙂
Another common sight is the Dry Hay Stack. Once the harvest season is completed , all the Hay is collected and shaped into this form . It is then tied with a rope, made out the hay, to protect the hay stack from the wind. Cows and Buffaloes munch on this Hay when there is no grass during Summers.
Time to go home after grazing and playing in the fields , the whole day.
This woman has brought her wares , fresh green leafy veggies and Raw Mangoes . She has come all the way from the neighboring village where these are grown. She carries her stuff in a cloth and an Aluminium vessel. People in the villages get to eat fresh veggies which are harvested in the morning or on the previous day. The veggies that we get in the cities , that are on the shelves of the supermarkets and sold by other friendly neighborhood vegetable vendors are from the cold storage’s and would have been lying there for days / weeks / months.
Mango Chutney is being made in the traditional way, using a Stone Mortar and Wooden Pestle . The taste of chutneys is doubled when prepared in this way rather than in a Mixer Grinder. Good exercise for the body too as one has to sit on the floor .
Rice balls (Rice powder + Jaggery water + Ghee ) steamed in a clay pot.
Time for the ducks to go home after eating/playing in the adjacent fields.
Looking forward to my next visit 🙂
Road trip from Hyderabad to Kavali
Time for my yearly sojourn to Granny’s village near Kavali. From 23 Dec 2017 to 27 Dec 2017.
Drove from Hyderabad to Kavali via Nalgonda-Narsaraopet-Chilakaluripet-Ongole.
Started at 7am and planned to have breakfast at Village Aharam , an organic restaurant which is around 20km after exiting the ORR. We saw huge crowds and so decided to go to NGrill resto which is 50km from the ORR. This was equally crowded and had to wait for a table.
This stretch is a busy one , with lots of people driving between Hyderabad and Vijayawada and prefer to have breakfast in one of these places.
Stopped for lunch after crossing Narasaraopet . Found a kachcha road on the left and parked under a tree.
A pleasant drive with all the greenery and great weather. This time of the year is beautiful for travelling by road. Excellent roads especially the stretch from Chilakaluripet to Kavali which is part of the National Quadrilateral. It is an 8 lane express highway , maintained beautifully and is as good as any interstate highway in the USA and other developed countries. Thanks to our erstwhile Prime Minister Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee , we are able to drive on such roads in India.
We drove through a variety of fields . It is the season for various crops like Chilli , Cotton , Tobacco and Paddy during this time of the year.
Reached Kavali by 4pm. A non-stop drive would take 7 hours.
Life in a village is like life on another planet . They have their own set of joys and challenges.
Here are a few sights along the drive :
A Marigold field.
The Krishna river near Miryalaguda. The left bank of the river is in Telangana and the right bank is in Andhra Pradesh.
There is a Restaurant above this Toll gate.
Following pics are from our village :
Paddy fields.
Spent a few days in our village which is 5km from the Bay of Bengal. The population in the village is around 500 . Each time I visit , I see a few developments in the village . One of the road leading to the village is being widened as a small harbour is being developed around this part of the ocean . Lots of Autos in the village now . The erstwhile Bus has been stopped due to increase in the number of Autos. A water tanker supplies water to every house in the village for washing/cleaning purposes. There are no water supply yet, though pipelines have been laid. Filtered drinking water is also supplied in 20 liter plastic drums from a water treatment plant for a decent price. The underground water in this area is salty and not fit for drinking. There is just one well on the outskirts of the village which has sweet water. One of them in the village has bought a Car and an Air Conditioner. The first signs of urbanisation in the village 🙂 Sign of prosperity .
Recently TTD has started construction of a Rama temple in the village.
Smartphones are being used to check weather conditions , levels of water in the surrounding lakes as the irrigiation is through canals . They also check information about government schemes.
Enjoyed fresh unpolluted air and fresh food. Started back on the 5th day at 9am and reached Hyderabad at 5pm. Had our packed lunch under a huge tamarind tree . Had Tea at Vivera restaurant near Narketpally. One can buy some fresh veggies too at this place.
Back to the hustle bustle of the city…as we enter the Financial district in Hyderabad …
Till my next visit…..
Drive to Shadnagar and a Tomato farm
This time we drove South towards Shadnagar .The town is on the right side of NH7 while going towards Bangalore from Hyderabad. We took a left turn as soon as we reached the town. After driving straight for a couple of kilometers we took a detour just after a village named Buchigudem.
Very soon we came across a tomato farm. Several men and women were busy harvesting ripe tomatoes in the farm.
As usual I was excited and hoped to get hold of some tomatoes.
Despite the hot summer there were a few fields here and there.
We moved closer to the labourers and asked if they would sell the produce to us. They told us to ask the owner who was sitting close by.
The owner agreed and we managed to dump 10kilos in the rear of our car.
He agreed to give 10kilos for just Rs 100. Whereas these were being sold for three times the price in the city.
I spotted goru chikkudu kaayalu or Cluster beans stored in plastic bags near the heap of tomatoes and we picked a few kilos .
Felt good that we got some farm fresh veggies :))
The fresh air and gentle breeze was invigorating.
Love spending time away from the city once in a while. I have this wish and always dream of having a small house at the edge of a village adjacent to a farm 🙂
It was teatime . On our way back we stopped at a roadside restaurant named ‘Aashiana’ , adjacent to the highway , in Shadnagar. We ordered Mirchi bajjis. They were some of the best Mirchi bajjis I ever had . A waiter served the items while we waited in the car.
NH7 is a busy highway which connects Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Wish to go there again just to eat those Mirchi bajjis 🙂 and also pick up fresh veggies.