PhD’s Avocados and 600 Native Seeds

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Dear Reader, For most of my journalistic career, I wrote my stories and sent them for editing or production, without giving much thought to what happened next. That changed when we launched 30Stades. I began to understand the many behind-the-scenes processes that make a story presentable and engaging for readers. Over the years, I have learned a great deal, and I continue to learn every day. That's one of life's greatest lessons: no matter our age or experience, we should never stop learning. Two of our stories this week remind us that learning continues, regardless of our age, education, or professional experience. The first is about Dr N S Biradar from Kalaburagi, Karnataka. After spending over three decades in engineering education, including earning a PhD from IIT Bombay and serving as a professor and administrator across India and abroad, Dr Biradar chose organic farming as his second career at the age of 60. He told my colleague Riya that he cultivates avocados, jackfruit, arecanut, bananas and black jamun on his farm. Not only does he earn in lakhs, but he also trains and mentors farmers who want to transition to exotic fruit farming. It’s interesting to read how an engineer with a PhD found success in farming. Do look it up. To read our earlier newsletters, click here Like Dr Biradar, Dilip Pandey also decided to learn something new. While running his real estate business in Kolkata, he decided to experiment with indoor farming at Varanasi, his native place. He learned about mushroom cultivation, underwent training, and began production with just 50 bags in a small room of 10 ft x 10 ft. Today, that 100 sq ft experiment has metamorphosed into a button mushroom enterprise clocking Rs 2 crore in annual turnover. Dilip told me in detail about his journey, which involves failures, trials, errors and success. If mushrooms interest you, don’t miss this one. My colleague Anu spoke to 27-year-old Gokulraj last week. With an MSc in Chemistry, he never applied for a job. Instead, he chose to conserve India's disappearing native vegetable diversity. From 25-kg pumpkins and ribbed purple tomatoes to six-foot sponge gourds, his farm in Tamil Nadu is a living museum of vegetables. Gokulraj has collected over 600 native seed varieties from farmers and tribal growers. He propagates them on his 1.5-acre farm, extracts seeds and sells the surplus in the local market. He supplies native seeds to growers across India, playing a crucial role in biodiversity conservation. Riya also wrote our weekend piece on five foolproof vegetables for first-time terrace gardeners. Many people avoid terrace gardening because they're afraid their plants will die. The vegetables in Riya’s write-up are resilient, productive and ideal for beginners wanting quick gardening success. If that’s you, do read it. Happy Reading! Warmly, Rashmi PhD from IIT starts organic avocado farming, sells at Rs 200 per kg From 100-sq ft to Rs 2 crore turnover, how a realtor built a mushroom business Chemistry postgraduate saves 600 native vegetable seeds, sells across India 5 foolproof vegetables for first-time terrace gardeners