One of the reasons I write this blog is to share the collective knowledge of modern yet healthy sustainable living from friends and family choosing and believing in a green lifestyle.
Today's post is a conversation with my beloved aunt, Kanan Shah who lives in Mumbai, one of the largest, cosmopolitan cities in India. Sincere thank you to my sis, Nemo for her help with the Q &A below.
Q. You are a city girl. How did you get into farming?
Wendell Berry once wrote that there are only two reasons to farm -
“Because you have to, or because you love to.”
Suffice to say, I fall into the latter category.
I have always been interested in learning about farming but got especially inspired by my sister-in-law, Bhavna who started successfully farming in her backyard, and my friend, Avinash Padte & his mother Vasanti.
When we got an opportunity to buy a farming plot in a small village near Mumbai in India called Mahagaon, my husband really encouraged me to start farming and with him by my side, I jumped at this opportunity.
It’s been five years since I started farming and though I love it, my passion just grew exponentially with the arrival of my grand kids. At the beginning, I started with the aim to just do good things socially and be environmentally conscious, but then I suddenly had a mission – to feed my grand kids the best produce possible.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s still a small farm with a big heart – but one that is producing more yield with every passing season that doesn’t include only fruits and vegetables - which brings me to what I want to talk about today – growing black pepper or ‘mari’ as we call it in Gujarati.
Black pepper (peppercorn) is one of the most popular and essential spices used worldwide. It’s personally my most favorite spice and I use it generously while cooking. That’s why I decided it was about time I grew my own pepper!
Q. I am excited to know more. Walk us through the planting process.
Place a few peppercorn seeds in a wet tissue. Once you have coaxed it to sprout, transfer it to a small pot until it grows 4-5 inches and then plant it in the ground. Please note that the soil must be porous because in order to successfully grow peppercorn, the soil should always be damp but water shouldn’t be collected.
Make sure to water the plant whenever the soil seems dry but avoid over-watering the plant to prevent it from wilting. Since peppercorns are vines you either need a stake or another tree for support. Also, there should be partial shade where you plant the peppercorn, as that is essential for its growth.
Q. In what conditions does black pepper grow well?
Humid and warm temperatures work the best and thus Kerala in India is the best
suited to grow black pepper. If you live in cold temperatures, you can grow peppercorn indoors or in a greenhouse. Just remember - as long as a peppercorn plant is grown in a warm temperature, with partial shade and a place for its vines to spread, it can thrive.
Q. Talk to me about harvesting the peppercorn.
A year (or more) after planting you will notice the peppercorn fruit. When your plant is fully-grown, it will grow flowers and form peppercorn berry clusters. When the seeds start turning red (an indication that its ready for harvest), you can start plucking the peppercorn fruits from the plant.
Q. How does one extract the peppercorn?
Place the peppercorns in a muslin cloth. In the mean time, heat water. Once it comes to a boil, place the muslin cloth in the boiling water for exactly 30 seconds.
Remove the seeds from the cloth and place them on a flat surface to dry in shade (no sun). Once the seeds dry, they turn black. Let the seeds dry for at least 2 – 3 days in shade even if they turn black earlier.
As I mentioned, the peppercorn grows in clusters and thus you will first have to pluck each seed individually. Post this, put them out in the sun for an hour or two (this helps in storing long term) and voila - your black pepper is ready!
You can grind it to turn into powder or use as a whole!
Bottom line: Peppercorn grows on big plants in clusters, so the process of plucking each seed individually is labor-intensive. But I betcha, the fruits of labor are sweet :)
