backyard

Onions need cool and pleasant weather without humidity and rain. Thus, the best time to grow onions is between November and February. Any open space or even a container can be used for growing the bulb. But ensure that the soil is fertile and porous.

“It can be used to cut branches, douse fires in very high places by the fire department and even save someone who is drowning – there are multiple uses for it,” says the former professor at Kerala Agricultural University.

From a unique variety of potatoes that grow on the soil instead of under it, to green beans that grow 1.5 feet long, the last six years have seen the family experiment with new types of crops and plants in their backyard.

The 55-year-old started with an observation that many of us might have seen in our own neighbourhood—the sidewalks were barren and could do with a little oomph factor.

The name Midori was selected to honour the Japanese, who with their sheer grit and power of determination rebuilt their nation after the Second World War attacks.