This farmer woos you with wonder veggies

Exotic varieties

Could a dwarf ridge gourd or winged beans sound like they can only be characters in a cartoon show? If you thought yes, surprise yourself to many such vegetables which you will not find on your daily platter, at K B Manjunath’s stall at Krishi Mela.  A visit to the organic farmer’s stall will leave anyone surprised. For someone wanting to take up terrace gardening too, he has innovative ideas.

This farmer from Pandavapura town in Mandya district has cultivated a variety of tomatoes, beans, ridge gourds, lady’s finger and other vegetables the organic way on his 2.5 acres of land.

Pointing at the winged beans which was on display in his counter, Manjunath said that it was consumed in good quantity in the European nations. This variety of beans is priced at a whopping Rs 350 per kg.  “I have started cultivating this on an experimental basis. It is a rare variety of beans. In a short span of time, the yield has been so much that I can harvest it twice a week and is enough for my household,”  he said.

He said that he would soon distribute winged beans seeds to other farmers in his village. “I purchased these seeds in Kerala. Our farmers are not aware about these crops which are of high commercial value,” Manjunath said.

Among other varieties on display at his stall is sword beans. The variety, he said, is less known to people of Karnataka, but is consumed in the neighbouring states.

The image of a lengthy vegetable with a rough peal is what comes to mind on thinking of ridge gourd. A visit to Manjunath’s stall changes this image. Small varieties, just about the size of an eggplant and cucumber, could be seen. “I have also planted a new variety of mango which I hope to put on display at Krishi Mela next year,” he said. Apart from this, he also grows organic tomato, beans, ladies finger and other vegetables in his plot.