Blog, Experiences, Food for Thought, Natural Farming

Vaanavil Diaries : February 2026

Posted by Sudhakar on

Happenings and thoughts from Vaanavil Farm & Food Forest, Vikramasingapuram, Tirunelveli District

  1. We celebrated Vanya’s birthday on 31st January at Mekkarai in Tenkasi district. Our travels and breaks are often as local as our business’s footprint is. Mohan’s resort at Mekkarai is a resort ideal for people choosing a quiet time. Vanya spent it in the presence of both pairs of grandparents.
  2. There has been a steady stream of guests at the farm stay, which has been keeping Noushy busy in the kitchen. And it has keeping me busy showing people around the farm and making arrangements for local sightseeing.
  3. We have started to sun dry oyster mushrooms as the sun has started to peek out of the clouds.
  4. The winter seems to have extended itself this year. There is still a nip in the air early mornings and late evenings. This is not very common for this time of the year.
  5. This was the first year we had a healthy harvest of gooseberries and lemons. We had sporadic fruiting for the last couple of years.
  6. Several cows gave birth last month and the population of livestock has gone up significant. As the bulls grow older, we are contemplating what to do as the herd grows aggressive.
  7. The organic groceries store has picked up quiet a bit of pace thanks to loyal customers. We are wondering what we should do as we fall short of space in the farm. Constructing a godown in the farm even on credit will be expensive. Renting a space in Vikramasingapuram or Ambasamudram is cheaper. But Noushadya and I will have to split our time between the farm as well as the shop / godown.
  8. Work on rebranding from Vivasayee’s Life to VaanaVizha has started.

I will let the photos do rest of the talking for our February story.

Regards

Sudhakar

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A panoramic view of green fields and distant mountains under a clear sky, with a hint of sunset light.
View from Arulmigu Thirumalai Kumaraswamy Temple near Mekkarai
A person holding a stainless steel plate containing a serving of rice with yellow squash, a side of cooked vegetables, and a portion of lentils, set against a backdrop of greenery.
Banana flowers are a common addition given their abundance in the farm
Lush green rice field with tall rice plants under a cloudy sky, surrounded by palm trees and other vegetation.
Perches for predatory birds that control rodents population
A close-up of a muddy hole in the ground surrounded by green plants, likely a burrow or nest.
Rice field crabs dig a lot of holes around the rice fields
A hand holding a jar of colorful pickled vegetables, featuring yellow and orange pieces, in front of a green rice field.
Fermented brine pickles trial with lemon, turmeric, mango ginger and chillies
A stainless steel plate with a serving of pinkish porridge, surrounded by portions of green mung beans, a dollop of a spread, and mixed vegetable chutney, accompanied by small pieces of yellow and green pickles.
Navara is one of our favourite semi-polished red rice varieties
A stainless steel plate containing a serving of spiced millet dish, a cucumber and onion yogurt salad, and a chickpea salad with tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.
Our millet consumption has gone up after we listed them on the store
A close-up of a banana flower hanging from a banana tree, showcasing its distinctive purple bracts and clusters of small yellow flowers.
What a beauty!
A person playing badminton on an outdoor court surrounded by greenery and flowers.
We have added badminton rackets to the sources of physical activity and entertainment
A rustic wooden bench supported by two tree stump legs, surrounded by lush greenery.
The fallen coconut trees from December’s elephant activity have now become furniture for the farm stay guests
A collage of several moments featuring a young girl smiling and interacting with various adults who are feeding her cake. The scene is set indoors with decorative metal windows in the background, and the girl is wearing a patterned outfit with a bow in her hair.
A kutti celebration by the folks of Vaanavil farm for Vanya’s birthday
View of greenery through a circular window screen, with a prominent green plant leaf visible in the foreground.
This view is from 20 ft above the land. From one of the bathrooms of Vaanavil Farm Stay
A two-story building surrounded by lush green rice fields and tropical vegetation, with a rocky hill in the background under a cloudy sky.
We are cultivating Vaasanai Seeraga Samba in our farm for the first time
Close-up of rice plant with a cluster of rice grains surrounded by green leaves in a paddy field.
Stem borer was a pest that we faced this year in Seeraga Samba
A young girl in a floral shirt and blue shorts is feeding a calf with a bottle in a rural setting.
One of our cows that gave birth in February rejected her calf for an unknown reason. We are bottle feeding the calf.
A branch bearing clusters of green fruit surrounded by lush green leaves.
We are pickling Star Gooseberry for our customers for the first time ever!
A collection of dried white mushroom pieces spread out on a white cloth with a decorative border, set in a green outdoor environment.
Oyster Mushroom production has slowly started recovering after the contamination episodes of January. Let us see what the summer has in store for us.
Close-up of a hand reaching into a bowl of cooked yellow pasta shells.
Nellikai Thokku made by Noushadya flew off the shelves of the organic groceries store
A colorful plate of cooked grains topped with a chickpea and tofu curry, accompanied by sautéed vegetables including green peas, carrots, and sliced onions.
Protein proportion in our meal plates has been increasing with more tofu from our visits to Tirunelveli
A stainless steel plate containing a variety of dishes including boiled eggs topped with onions and tomatoes, slices of cucumber, a serving of beetroot salad, and pink rice mixed with a creamy sauce and spices.
Eggs are also featuring in our plates more often
A hand holding green plant stems with white flower buds, featuring a red and black ladybug resting on the leaves.
Did you know that most Ladybugs control aphid population? And they are therefore a beneficial insect in farming
A close-up image of a small orange and black-spotted beetle resting on a green leaf with visible holes.
28-spotted potato ladybird is not beneficial apparently. It attacks the leaves of the solanacea family
A person holding a bunch of green herbs with lush leaves, standing in a garden with soil and greenery in the background.
We sold a few bunches of siru keerai from the new quarter acre vegetable garden project
A person's hand holding several vibrant purple sweet potatoes.
Purple sweet potato harvest is expected next month. This was a trial harvest to check how healthy the crop is
A person in a camouflage shirt is holding a coffee cup while looking thoughtfully at another person holding a blue mug of coffee. The setting is outdoors with greenery in the background.
Coconut harvest means abundance of coconut milk. Cold Coffee with Coco Milk tastes amazing! Have you tried it?
A dark-colored moth with yellow patterns resting on a smooth black surface.
Death’s Head Hawk Moth hanging out on our Shoe Stand
A bird perched on a branch amidst lush green foliage.
Oriental Magpie Robin perched on a muringa maram. We have spotted Shikra and Paradise Fly Catcher more than usual near the house and veggie garden this year
A lush garden with tall plants and green leaves, including okra, surrounded by bare soil and wooden stakes, under a bright sky.
Papayas intercropped with sunhemp in the Veggie Garden
A vibrant agricultural field with rows of young green plants growing in rich soil, bordered by wooden stakes and surrounded by trees.
Siru Keerai is from the Amaranth family
A hand holding several small, dark purple fruits in front of green grass and a water source.
Curry leaves fruits was Vanya’s favourite snack from the farm in Feb
For Vanya’s birthday celebrations, Noushy cooked up a filling breakfast for the farmers who work at the farm. Usually, it is lunch that we have during our monthly community lunch
Coconuts have been mostly sold locally this time because the days have been mostly cloudy.
Palmyra Sprouts Flour has been milled and listed on the store
The SS mesh trays that we have been using in the passive solar dehydrator as well as in the direct sun have stood the test of time
Naarthangai trees have also fruited beautifully
All citrus trees including lemons have been doing well. With zero pesticides and fossil fuel based fertilizers
Pesarattu with Green Gram from our organic groceries store is absolutely lip smacking!
We got an abundance of veggies as gift from Farm Stay guests all the way from Chengalpattu distrcit

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