An amateur gardener has devised a novel hanging planter which allows plants to grow both upwards and downwards.
The innovation by city-based businessman Chimpoo Singh Oberoi has earned him an entry into this year's edition of the Limca Book of Records.
The 37-year-old says that it took him three years of endless experiments, trial and error in various types of pots and containers after which he tasted success using a large hanging bottle having both ends open.
He hung the bottle at an incline and placed seeds on both ends of the container, ensuring that the soil doesn't fall down.
Singh says he kept one portion in the sun for one day and then reversed the bottle for the next day to allow seeds on the other side to germinate.
Gradually, seedlings began to emerge from both sides and later matured into a full-fledged plant.
Singh has so far used the two-way technique to grow tuberoses (Rajnigandha), Black-eyed peas (lobia) and ladies finger.
The backyard gardener says he has 5-6 such pots in his home at Howrah where one can see plants growing both upwards and downwards.
"The idea came to my mind when I was thinking of how to grow more plants to combat global warming. Space is a big restriction in cities and so when you grow a plant from two sides you optimise the use of resources," he says.
With no background in botany or gardening, Singh says he now needs scientific back-up to improvise further on his innovation and ensure that his technique is promoted on a large-scale level.
