The Hyderabad Horti cultural show 2013

Republic Day on a weekend is a time to relax for people of Hyderabad who do not need any excuse to relax. On this day, every year, the A.P. Government starts a decent Horticultural show , to benefit the sellers and to acquaint the buyers on various gardening products. We usually avoid visiting on the first day, a public Holiday, due to our aversion to massive crowds jostling around the stalls. However, this year we started off, a little early , in the late afternoon, and it was worth it.

That was a decent welcome at the entrance. The stalls were arranged neatly to enable the public criss-cross without confusion.

The Govt. departments had their stalls manned by pleasant people, who took interest to tell the visitors about their products. NIRD, Acharya NG Ranga Agri . University, and other departments had their stalls. I liked the NIRD stall for their pricing of neem cakes powder, which was much lower than the market. I am sure their quality too is better. I am going to purchase a bag , on my next visit. I also noticed that AP was being showcased as fruit bowl of the country,.:-)

Don’t miss the mushroom cultivation programme! The Agricultural Journalism Unit of Dept. of Agricultural extension, College of agriculture Hyderabad, have brought out “care your heart with Different Tea’s”, “Tasty Dishes with Millets, ” Delicious recipes with Oats and Barley ” and other booklets, very nominally priced.

Another stall drawing people’s attention was the cocoa display , and oil palm samples. Huge!

There were few stalls advertising the virtue of Organic foods and healing foods with slogans as “Let food be thy Medicine and Medicine be thy food” ” Man is what he eats”. I was also pleasantly surprised by the effort made by young enterprenuers to encourage Millet and other grains into the diet, with catchy posters, hand written. I appreciated their enthusiasm and hard work.

It is heartening to note that , at last, there is an effort to take the organic farming message to the people. This stall was doing it well.

Another stall was marketing various bio-fertilisers like Psuedomanas, Aceto-powder,Phospho powder, VAM powder, Rhizo powder,trichoderma virdi,bacillius sps , meta rhizium.. I have no idea how to use them and whether they are considered organic? Some education required here, about the shelf life and usefulness for Terrace gardens.

A stall that caught my fancy – a simple poly house.

First time I saw the vertical gardens being showcased. It was very pretty, and of course very pricey too.

Aha, found my favorite stall, extolling the virtues of the coconut trees. Most of the Organic Terrace gardeners will agree with me, without Coco-peat, coconut water, we will be devoid of cheap medium and fertilizer. The display of crafts made with coconut was simple and beautiful. I hope these artisans earn enough for their crafts.

Self watering containers being introduced first time in twin cities. Considering the cost of the product, the target seems to be high end consumers, though.

A new entry, ( I think), this year is the stalls introducing various plastic containers in fancy and useful types. This plastic pot was very good, but imported from Korea, and will cost Rs.600/- for one!!!Do I really need that…Heavy carbon footprint..:-(

The usual stalls with fancy potteries, colorful flowers and Bonsai, and various types of indoor and outdoor plants were abundant. A display that was making the public “aha’ was this “Instant Dream gardens a reality”.. Is it science or the bonsai in big format , no idea, but it did surprise the public.

Finally after looking at all these flower plants, I decided that another visit is necessary to pick up lots of stuff.

P.S. Apology for the lengthy post. Please click on the photographs to enlarge.