On a windy day in South Auckland, New Zealand, Lijomol, a Kainakari native, sits on the branch of an Orange tree and talks about fruits. “It’s like picking up mangoes in our village,” she says, her curly hair pulled back into a ponytail. Ripe oranges, fallen from the tree in strong winds, are gathered in a basket. On some other days, she would be plucking cabbage, cutting spinach, snipping ash gourds, preparing seedlings for winter farming or even killing snails with pellets. All this happens on the 13 cents of land in the backyard of her house in Auckland. Pictures and videos from her home garden in New Zealand are watched and liked by thousands on the internet.
In her home garden, Lijomol, employed as a nurse, grows many plants, including fruits, vegetables and even flowers like tulips. But this doesn’t end there. She also creates reels on it and shares gardening tips and tricks on Instagram, where she has nearly 26,000 followers.
“Coming from a farming family, I have always seen my parents doing home gardening and stuff. We used to have a vegetable garden, but now that my parents are old, we don’t have one back home. I have a clear memory of my mother taking Malabar cucumber (Kanivellari) and bottle gourd from the garden and giving them to us. But then we didn’t know the value of these. Now, especially when I’m staying away from my home, I see its worth,” Lijo told Onmanorama.
Lijomol with produce from her home garden in New Zealand. Photo: Special arrangement
Lijo, with her husband Shivadas, an IT professional, reached New Zealand in 2014. Due to space constraints in their rented home and without the owner’s prior permission, Lijo had only plants that can be grown in pots, such as chillies and small plants. She wanted to have a small farm just like in her home. After buying a home in 2018, Lijo and family created a full-fledged home garden. It started with a few vegetables, and now she has orange and lemon trees in it.
When asked about her social media journey, she said, “At first, my friends here used to ask for gardening tips. Then, slowly, I started posting these tips on social media. Now, many people here recognise me when I go out. They come and talk to me. Many people share their gardening doubts and queries with me on social media. I try to respond as much as possible,” Lijo said.
Lijo procures seeds from both the local farming community and online sites. Taking seeds from India to New Zealand is banned, hence she can’t take anything from home. Yet, Lijo plants spinach, cabbage, coriander leaves, potato and a lot more in her garden. Currently, it has become a winter garden planting cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, palak spinach, kale, silver leaf and more.
However, maintaining the garden is not a one-person job, says Lijo.“The support of my husband and kids is equally important. My husband is the one who makes the garden bed, tills the soil, takes videos, and edits them. He always encourages me and gives all kinds of support. Even my kids are involved in this and know everything. Even their school encourages farming, and it already has a specialised time for school farming,” Lijo added.
The couple has three kids, Dhanvin (10), Dhyan (6), and Diva (4). She has a way to juggle her busy work schedule and her time in the home garden. “When it is our hobby or something that we love, we will always find time for it,” she says.
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