Nursery owner in Karnataka village teaches children gardening for free

Many people are becoming more connected to nature and undertaking nature-related projects. In the same situation, a nursery owner made a habit of teaching transplantation to his students for free. Ruwari Venkataramana Joshi, owner of Mallikarjuna Nursery in Kanchaguli, Siddapur taluk, has taught transplant surgery to about 50 children, including Including children from surrounding villages.

Since then, more than 20 children in the 5- to 7-year-old class studying at Ganchaguli School have now become grafting experts. At the nursery, famous for its peppers, fruits and apples, he grows and sells high-quality saplings in two 5-acre greenhouses (greenhouses). Currently, the nursery has a variety of plants including nutmeg, coconut, pepper, cardamom, clove, buckwheat, mango, macadamia, custard apple, mangosteen, Ramphal, Arcade, coffee and sandalwood, among others.

Agricultural scientists from Kerala also visited his nursery to inspect the growing seedlings and were awarded a Quality Assurance Star certificate. The saplings here are in high demand not only in Karnataka but also in other states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh.

He started Mallikarjuna Nursery with one acre of nut plantation and three-quarters of an acre of coconut plantation he inherited, earning a handsome income by producing and selling over 100,000 saplings every year for four years. Four years later, he has been teaching children from the beginning. So, in this nursery, he teaches agriculture as a hobby every Saturday and Sunday to children from neighboring schools including Karjagi, Kanchuguli, Balesara and Kansur.

He also taught the children the processes of budding, transplanting, raising seedlings, and spraying pesticides. They are very knowledgeable and know everything about plants. They were very excited and said they would like to engage in gardening in the future.