As mentioned in the heading, this is a post that gives an updated version on my earlier 4 year old blog about Akshayakalpa’s Organic vegetable garden and what better ‘Before and After picture’ to start with, than that of Rathnamma, the lady who takes care of the garden and has stayed as evergreen as the plants even after 4 years.

There have been a few enhancements since my last visit and this post will showcase them mostly through pictures and a video that captures the harvesting of vegetables by guests during their Farm Visit Program which I have recently written about.

For the most part though, the information remains the same and I will give you a quick recap of the Vegetable RnD which they now call it.

Organic vegetable cultivation – 

At Akshayakalpa, a one acre patch in the premises is used for growing their own organic vegetables which are used in the canteen for the staff meals, used for generating seeds and compost and are also sold in the market.

The original soil has been excavated and then refilled with soil from an organic source.

Raised bed cultivation has been implemented, which is a form of gardening where the compost enriched soil is filled into rectangles framed by concrete borders and raised to a minimum of 6 inches above the level of the land.

Currently they are also experimenting with a small area of Sunken bed farming, which as the name suggests, consists of vegetable beds that are created below ground level by digging out the top soil.

Farm Produce – 

There is bountiful yield of nearly 30 varieties of vegetables which include Peppermint, several greens, fennel, Mangalore cucumber, beans, gourds, carrots, radish, cabbage, curry leaves, drumstick and so on.

The in-house kitchen uses all the possible vegetables from this garden. The rest are sold to consumers during the Farm tour.

Seed Room –

Being an RnD center, they also produce seeds and saplings from their vegetables. These are stored in the Seed room.

Harvest –

Harvesting is done everyday by the garden staff.

This activity is also the highlight of the Farm Visit Tour where guests including adults and children participate in plucking the vegetables of their choice and buying them to take home.

Little children popping in fresh peas straight from the pod, is a testimony to the organic way of production.

One can also witness a tiny bit of action, if one looks carefully enough 😀

The sorting and packaging room is adjacent to the seed room and this is where the staff pack the vegetable orders for the consumers.

Watch the video to get a better idea of the interesting experience. I am sure it will inspire you to book a farm tour.

https://youtu.be/xR7aFuRd5C8

More details about Akshayakalpa are available on the –

Website of Akshayakalpa

Facebook page of Akshayakalpa

Instagram of Akshayakalpa 

For more pictures see My Facebook – Akshayakalpa Vegetable RnD (coming soon)

Also catch me on My Facebook, My Facebook page, My Twitter and My Instagram

Please Note – This is a collaboration with Akshayakalpa. The narrative is based on the inputs that I received from various sources as well as my own experiences.

March 5th – 6th, 2022