What if somebody took to a interest so passionately that they swapped their IT workplace for a greenhouse, and the mouse and keyboard for hydroponic tubes and nutrient options? Whereas it started as a curious curiosity on his terrace, rising just a few chillies right here and there, this man’s enterprise has became a thriving, tech-driven farming enterprise.
In Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Santhosh Kumar S carved out a singular area of interest for himself by doing precisely that! With over 20 years within the IT trade as a person expertise designer, his ardour for farming was not born from a household legacy however an opportunity private expertise.
“Eleven years in the past, I used to be impressed to start out farming after taking just a few natural farming courses,” Santhosh, proprietor of FreshLeaves — a enterprise targeted on rising microgreens and unique vegetation by hydroponics, tells The Higher India.
From terrace backyard to cutting-edge hydroponic farm
Santhosh rapidly realised that farming was greater than a interest to him. “Like lots of people, I additionally began with natural farming on my terrace. The very first thing I grew have been chillies, and so they turned out rather well,” he says.
About six months later, he got here throughout hydroponics, a technique of rising vegetation in nutrient-rich water as a substitute of soil and determined to start out incorporating it into his little terrace farm. Nonetheless, he confronted a steep studying curve as hydroponic know-how was nonetheless nascent in India. “At first, there have been barely any assets obtainable. Most data on the web was tailor-made to different nations, their local weather, their soil,” he displays.
Together with that, the humid local weather of Kerala offered one other impediment. “Temperature management was a major concern. It could typically attain 38 levels Celsius on my roof, so I needed to shield my nutrient answer from heating up,” he shares.
Santhosh rapidly turned to the web, the place he discovered a provider in Bengaluru providing hydroponic vitamins. Utilizing previous plastic tubes and repurposed tools, he arrange his first hydroponic system. “It labored fantastically,” he says.
As his curiosity grew, he reworked his whole terrace backyard right into a full hydroponic setup. Three years in the past, he took a significant step ahead by buying a 3,000 sq ft plot simply 10 minutes from his house and workplace. Right here, he put in a rain shelter and expanded his hydroponic operations on a bigger scale.
Nonetheless, throughout his first planting, he misplaced round 400 vegetation when the nutrient answer overheated. This expertise highlighted the vital want for real-time monitoring in farming. “I realised I wanted to know what was occurring always,” Santhosh says.
To deal with this concern, he put his tech experience to make use of, implementing open-source software program to automate his farm’s operations. Now, outfitted with superior automation, the farm focuses on vine-type tomatoes, mint, spinach, microgreens, and extra. This shift not solely saved him time by automating irrigation and weeding but additionally allowed him to spend extra high quality moments together with his household. “I work full time, so to have the ability to handle every thing is an enormous deal for me,” he shares.
Santhosh built-in know-how by putting in sensors and probes to watch key parameters like temperature, humidity, gentle depth, and water temperature. The collected information feeds right into a microcomputer, offering him with a real-time dashboard accessible from his cellphone or laptop computer.
“As soon as I acquired the info, I may analyse it and make vital changes remotely,” he explains, including that he was capable of management programs like nutrient answer circulate and sprinklers based mostly on any temperature adjustments.
Making hydroponics accessible to all
The hydroponic know-how Santhosh employs permits for environment friendly water utilization, saving as much as 80 p.c in comparison with conventional farming. The system circulates nutrient-rich water, giving vegetation direct entry to minerals of their purest type. Even the roots of the vegetation don’t develop too far as a result of they get all the required vitamins, water and oxygen proper within the water channels.
“We offer explicit nutrient options to explicit vegetation in line with their wants. This additionally makes them develop quicker and stronger,” he explains, highlighting the advantages of his methodology.
Santhosh does acknowledge that not everybody adopts hydroponics because of the preliminary setup prices and the necessity for technical information. “Many individuals have an interest, however they lack the understanding required to run the programs successfully,” he admits.
To bridge this hole, he began a YouTube channel geared toward educating city individuals who want to develop their very own meals however don’t have the time and house. “I need to make this data accessible, so individuals can find out about nutrient and crop administration in an easy-to-understand format,” he says.
Santhosh additionally designs compact hydroponic programs that may be assembled on-site, making it simpler for freshmen and youngsters to study concerning the course of. “A few of these programs are already out there, and so they permit for easy, efficient gardening — particularly for city settings,” he explains.
All his farming actions, analysis, and merchandise are branded underneath ‘FreshLeaves’. By making hydroponics accessible, FreshLeaves additionally goals to encourage a neighborhood that values recent produce and sustainable practices.
Santhosh’s work in direction of farming automation didn’t go unnoticed. He gained the 2023 State Farm Award for innovation in agriculture — a recognition that validated his efforts in making a scalable answer appropriate for varied farming strategies.
Santhosh’s journey from an IT skilled to a profitable farmer showcases the potential when know-how is mixed with conventional practices. For these seeking to innovate in agriculture, his journey proves that with ardour, information, and the appropriate instruments, anybody can domesticate their desires — one plant at a time!
To examine Santhosh’s YouTube Channel, click on right here.
Edited by Pranita Bhat; All Picture courtesy Santhosh Kumar S.
