GROWING UP IN ANAGIRI PART 3: OLERICULTURE

The art of cultivating plants to use their edible parts is known as Olericulture. In other words, Olericulture is the art of growing Fruits and Vegetables.

Coffee is the main crop in The Anagiri Estate, and Coffee needs shade to thrive and grow. This is where many of our fruit trees come into play. We have huge Jackfruits, tiny Mulberries, Avocados, Hill Bananas, Oranges, Tree Tomatoes, Loquats, Guavas, Pomegranates, Plums, Peaches, Pears, Wild Jamuns and Passion Fruits to name a few fruits that grow in our Estate.

Each fruit having its own flowering and fruiting seasons, they keep Anagiri buzzing with bees and butterflies that drink their nectar and pollinate them. Once the fruits ripen, the calls and screeches of the Malabar Giant Squirrels, troops of Macaques and a plethora of birds echo across the valley as they squabble for the best fruits high in Anagiri’s treetops.

Each species having a favourite, jumping from tree to tree trying to choose the juiciest fruit up for grabs.

As Grandpa and I walk deep into our Estate, we pick different fruits and nibble on them. We usually brought back as many as my tiny little hands could carry. My favourite fruits were the Passion Fruits and Tree Tomatoes. After we ate our fill, Grandma would save the seeds to be planted in our nursery later.

As the little saplings grew, Grandpa and I would visit the vegetable patches in Anagiri. We grew a large variety of produce: ranging from bright orange

carrots to fat and green cabbages. Each vegetable has a dedicated space in the estate. Some of them growing on vines and

climbers like Chow-Chow and Butter Beans, and some growing beneath the soil like Carrots, Potatoes and Beetroot. We also grow some of the spiciest chilies: a variety of Bhut Jolokia locally called Nei Milagai.

These chilies are sometimes called Ghost Peppers and pack a fiery punch. Usually grown in the North-Eastern states of India, this variety is so spicy because it contains capsaicin not only in its seeds but also all over its skin. Besides these, we have Bell Peppers or Capsicum and Banana Peppers, locally called Bajji Milagai. Each year, harvest-time was my favourite and hardly anyone could keep me away from the produce piled high in our backyard.