UP’s Mithilesh Kumar Singh spent most of his childhood in the fields in his village in Ballia.
And while working in Delhi as a content creator, he missed his village, its green fields, and farm-fresh produce.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, he returned to his village with his wife Vindhyavasini. During that time, he learned more about farming.
“This encouraged me to put together an organic vegetable garden back home in Delhi. My idea was to grow enough to meet the needs of my household,” he says.
But instead of using pots or grow bags, the 38-year-old zeroed in on unused PVC pipes in the apartment so he could save a lot of space.
In general, PVC pipes are cheap, easy to find, and can save up on tonnes of space. Moreover, they do not require a complicated setup.
Using this vertical gardening method, he expanded his garden in 2021. Today, he grows coriander, tomato, okra, peas, bitter gourd, and other day-to-day veggies.
“The PVC pipe garden became a success and people started visiting our place to see the setup. They showed interest in learning how to build a similar garden,” he says.
Mithilesh also started a gardening portal called Veg Roof and began shooting videos and posting them on his YouTube channel.
“Living in the city myself, I know that it is a big challenge to get organic vegetables here. My aim is to make the people of the city eat what they like, free of poison,” he says.