Rooftop farming has grown in Kalapara, the coastal upazila near Kuakata in Patuakhali in Bangladesh’s south, and watermelon cultivation has newly taken hold there as well. The weather and environment are well-suited to growing watermelons, and farmer Md Selim Gazi, a resident of Notunpara village in Dhulasar union, has found success growing black “baby” watermelons out of season.
Clusters of black watermelons hang from trellises out of season, each one supported in netting to keep it balanced. Selim took up summer watermelon farming as a hobby and found success at it. Curious onlookers gather daily to see the watermelons, and his success has drawn interest from others as well.
Speaking about his watermelon cultivation, farmer Selim Gazi said: “I made compost on the rooftop using soil and cow dung in sacks, and first raised watermelon seedlings in polythene. I planted 50 sacks of seedlings like this on the roof. Some seedlings were damaged by rain early on. Twenty-five sacks of seedlings did well, and that produced 40 watermelons.”
Saying the proceeds from selling the watermelons brought his family some relief, he added: “Setting up this method costs a bit more at the start, but the cost is very low after that. There’s no hassle of weeding either, since there aren’t any weeds, and no hassle of repeated fertilizing.”
According to Selim Gazi, he bought the seeds online and planted the seedlings in early Jaishtha (mid-to-late May). He got detailed advice on watermelon cultivation and on applying fertilizer and treatments through YouTube. He then invested about 7,000 taka to grow watermelon, cucumber, bitter gourd and bottle gourd on the roof. Once the seedlings sprouted, he built trellises with bamboo and string, and used bamboo posts to train the seedlings up onto the trellises. That is how he prepared his plot.
He said that once the current watermelon crop is finished, he plans to grow watermelons on a larger scale using 50 geobags.
At his home in Notunpara village, Dhulasar union, black watermelons can be seen hanging beneath green leaves on a square trellis on the rooftop, grown using an eco-friendly mulching method. Each watermelon hanging from the trellis is supported in netting to keep it balanced. Among the green young vines, black watermelons hang from around 25 sacks of plants.
Local resident Idris Gazi said: “Selim Gazi is a model farmer. He’s an extremely hard-working man. He has grown poison-free vegetables and various crops in the area, meeting his family’s own needs.”
Kalapara upazila agriculture officer Md Arafat Hossain said: “Mulch-based watermelon cultivation is good during the monsoon season. And watermelon is a profitable crop.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report