Harvesting of ‘Kani Vellari’ (Golden Cucumber) Begins in Kerala

With the Vishu festival approaching, farm owners who grew 'Kani Vellari' (golden cucumber) in Kanjikuzhy and far-off neighborhoods had already begun reaping the crop.

One of the goods used during the arrangement of 'Vishu Kani' is 'Kani Vellari.' The vegetable had been grown by a large number of farmers in the area. Geetha Karthikeyan, president of Kanjikuzhy Grama Panchayat, recently inaugurated the harvest.

The High Demand for Kani Villari

According to an organic farmer from Kanjikuzhy, he had cultivated 4,000 kg of 'Kani Vellari' from a half-acre plot last week. The item is in such high demand that he has already received orders for 2,000 kgs from various locations even before the seeds were planted. 

Farmers are generating around Rs 50 per kilogram, and the cost is expected to increase even more in the upcoming period.

The 'Kani Vellari' grown in the Alappuzha municipality's vegetable garden is ready to be harvested. Other vegetables were also grown by the municipal corporation with an eye toward the Vishu market.

In the meantime, growers associated with the Thiruvizha Farm Tourism project have announced approximately 50% price reduction on vegetables during the course of the festivities.

On Monday, during a special festival sale, farmers managed to sell 6,000 kgs of vegetables. The sale was inaugurated by the MLA, P.P. Chittaranjan. 

Aside from Kani Vellari, farmers in the area have cultivated Ambili Mathan which is a small pumpkin and is used in the preparations of 'Vishu Kani.' 'Ambili Mathan' was previously imported from neighboring states.

Vishu Festival

On 15 acres adjacent to Cherthala, the farm owners are growing 15 different kinds of vegetables as well as flowers such as Sunflowers and Marigolds, all for the preparation and celebration of the Vishu festival. Vishu festival is celebrated mainly in the Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka, the Mahé district of the Union Territory of Pondicherry, and some neighboring regions of Tamil Nadu.