A visit to Amlan Saha’s house challenges the notion that plants grow in gardens. Yes, he has a manicured lawn with Dahlias, Incas and Petunias, but what’s unique to this CG Block house is that the garage has been turned into a greenhouse of sorts. Inside, Saha grows some plants without soil, and without direct sunlight. An animation artiste by profession – Saha has worked with big names like Disney and the recent Netflix series Kurukshetra – he has now returned to a passion he has nurtured all his life – gardening.
When working in Hyderabad, I got on salads and, having always been a foodie and a gardener, began wondering if I could combine my two passions.
So I moved back to Calcutta and started experimenting with hydroponics. This is a system of growing plants without soil — entirely in water. I began with lettuce. Soil-grown lettuce can thrive in our climate only during winter, but in a hydroponic set-up I can control the environment with special lights, AC, and humidity-regulating equipment.
Now, not only are they thriving – I can grow up to 200 pots at a time - but my lettuce is far larger than varieties available in markets. At home, we use them in salads, burgers, and sandwiches, and gift them to friends and relatives, too.
Next, I ventured into microgreens. These are young seedlings harvested when they are just one or two inches tall, as they are most nutritious then. I’ve tried Radish, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Basil, Dill, and a few weeks ago tried Lemon Balm, a rare plant whose leaves are used to flavour tea.
Microgreens grow very fast — Radish, for instance, must be harvested in seven to 10 days. After harvest, I re-energise the soil before the next batch. And I grow everything organically, even using sticky traps to catch insects instead of chemical pesticide sprays.
I want to grow more exotic plants and even mushrooms, though not as a novice. I took online courses for hydroponics and microgreens, but mushrooms would need even more in-depth knowledge. My dream project is saffron, but that’s such a delicate plant that I’d have to quit all other work to keep an eye on it.
Controlling temperature means running the AC non-stop for some months. This draws so much power that we’re now thinking of going solar.
The challenge now is consumption — we grow so much that it’s difficult to use up fresh. So I’ve started dehydrating the microgreens and grinding them into powder, which can be sprinkled over poached eggs or stirred into soups.
I still grow seasonal plants, but my heart lies in experimenting. And it’s working out so well that I’m now speaking to hotels and exploring the possibility of scaling up commercially.