ABCD farming Farm update June 2020 and July 2020

Sorry guys, I would able to post the last Month farm update i.e June 2020. 

Please refer the YouTube video. For farm update June 2020.

https://youtu.be/7IYb95R-gp8

In June 2020, we harvested we harvested cow pea four times. In each harvest it yielded approximately 10 to 12 kgs of cow pea pods. The cow pea seeds were planted in four rows. The length of each row is 70 to 65 feet approximately. We have harvested the okra often, which was sown in between cow pea plants

A part of cow pea harvest are used for consumption. Few of them are dried to save seeds for adding to sambars in future, few of them are shared to nearby neighbours. 

Turkey berry, Brinjal, curry leaves plants, bottle gourd, okra, pigeon pea, Tomato seedlings (sankarametta variety), Jasmine, Hibiscus, Gauva plants are all grown well.

The moringa stem cuttings are yet to sprout. The cucumber giant native variety, flowers bloomed and having small fruits. But they are getting spoiled due to the stagnant of water. Ridge gourd didn't grown well. I saved the seeds of ridge gourd from hybrid variety. Maybe that would be the reason regarding. 

The chilly saplings which were transplanted near the cow pea plants have thrived well. Until now I didn't observed any diseases in these chilly plants.

The perrineal chilly is growing slowly, waiting patiently. I would not able to understand them.

When I observed pests in cow pea plants, I sprayed only fermented buttermilk solution mixed with water in the ratio 1:10 . After speaking, I observed little reduction in pests but not completely. Didn't applied any other manures. 

You can view the video here

https://youtu.be/7IYb95R-gp8

Farm update July 2020

In July 2020, I have cut down the cow pea plants and okra plants as the harvesting has completed. After cutting down the cow pea plants, I observed the chilly transplants which are planted near the cow pea have really thrived well under them. 

The Bottle gourd plant which was planted at the last row has been spoiled. Don't know the reason. The chilly transplants are doing good.

Turkey berry (sundakkai) plant, pigeon pea, Tomato seedlings (sankametta variety), Jasmine, Hibiscus, Gauva are all growing well. 

The cucumber giant native variety grown well but the fruit buds are falling down. I enquired with few people, they suggested to sow in summer season. In the moringa stem cuttings, still I didn't observed leaves... Yet to wait...!

In another plot, this time sown okra seeds (hybrid seeds). I Didn't have more native okra seeds for sowing. Okra grown upto one feet tall.

Sown few native varieties Beans Black seed, srilankan beans, snake gourd, Sittu parangikkai (பரங்கிக்காய்), cucumber Dharwad green variety, etc... Beans Black seed sprouts destroyed due to some leaf miners. Three sprouts survived. Only one sittu parangikai பரங்கிக்காய் out of five seeds has survived. 

Tomato sankarametta variety seed which I sown, started to flower. I flower is different from other varities. The flower is large and oval spherical in shape.

You can see the flowering of tomato sankarametta variety in the video.

https://youtu.be/Xf-iXEyWr-Q

In perrineal Brinjal plants, I saw few pests. One of the pest which is in brown colour is making heavy damage to the stem of brinjal plants. These pests sit on the node of flowering bud of brinjal plant and they just eat them. I sprayed buttermilk solution mixed with water. The pests have reduced but not completely. The green and black color worms have considerably reduced. But these brown bugs are not reduced completely. You can see this brown bug in the video..you can give suggestions regarding..!

https://youtu.be/uJvpw0yZ1D8

Finally, the video of ABCD farming farm update JULY 2020 will be updated soon. You can subscribe our YouTube channel for updates. #abcdfarming #farmupdate

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Preparation of Panchagavya and how to use it as plant growth promotor

The most prominent plant growth promoter and support  is Panchagavya or panchakavyam which literally means a 'concoction made of five products obtained from a cow'. The ingredients are Cow dung, Cow urine, Cow's milk, Curd and Ghee. These were mixed in correct combination and procedure and the mixture was fermented to get the wonder Elixir. This was a single solution for controlling the pests and boosting the plant growth and enhancing the yield, enriching the soil with useful minerals and useful microbes.

Preparation of Panchagavya:

We can now see how this is made:

The following items are required:

1. Fresh Cow dung  - 1kg

2). Cow urine- 1.5 liter  

3). Cow milk-1.5 liter  

4). Cow curd- 250 Ml 

5). Ghee – 250 gm 

6). Ripe yellow bananas (Poovan)  – 2 nos

7) Water -    1.5 liters

Procedure:

* Mix Cow dung and Ghee well and keep it covered in a wide mouthed plastic, cement or earthen container.( Avoid metal containers as this may react with metals.) Stir the contents thoroughly both in morning and evening and keep it covered with a fine mesh or cloth for 3 days. If not covered, the flies will lay eggs and we will have maggots in the preparation.

* After 3 days, mix cow urine and water and keep it covered for 15 days with regular mixing both in morning and evening.

* After 15 days add Cow's milk, Cow's curd and Bananas, mix well and keep it covered for another 15 days. 

* Do regular stirring daily, both in morning and evening and keep covered.

Panchagavya will be ready to use by then. 

Dosage and frequency of usage

10 Ml concentrate can be mixed in 1 liter water and filtered and used for foliar spray for plants from 4 leaf stage up to mature plants, once a week 20 –30 ml  Ml in 1 ltr water (3% solution) can be used for soil drench. This concentrate can be stored upto 6 months.

Improvement  on the formula: 

This concoction had been modified and bettered by many experts and now they have incorporated a few more ingredients. So while adding Banana, the following two can also be added

Tender coconut water – 500 Ml 

Jaggery - 3 kg ----- 500 gm

Balance is all the same. Some farmers add more items like sugar cane juice, fruit juices and toddy to introduce yeast for better fermentation. These inclusions will add to additional nutritional values for the preparation  

Chemical composition

pH                : 5.45 

EC dSm2 : 10.22

Total N (ppm) : 229

Total P (ppm) : 209

Total K (ppm) : 232

Sodium               : 90

Calcium               : 25

IAA (ppm) : 8.5

GA (ppm        : 3.5

Microbial Load

Fungi               : 38800/ml

Bacteria : 1880000/ml

Lactobacillus : 2260000/ml

Total anaerobes: 10000/ml

Acid formers : 360/ml

Methanogen    : 250/ml

Fatty acids Alkanes Alconol and Alcohols

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How to build geodesic domes using bamboo

The Geodesic domes are spherical in shape were lightweight triangular or polygonal facets consisting of either skeletal struts or flat planes, largely in tension, replace the arch principle and distribute stresses within the structure itself. 

There are probably as many different dome designs as there are dome builders. This is partly because size, geometry, designs and coverings can be modified according to the raw materials available. The design shown here, though not as grand as the ones developed by experts, still uses the same basic geometric form. It is simple to build and easy to dismantle. 

Depending on the type of covering you use, this design is suitable as a temporary or semi-permanent dwelling. 

The essentials:

To build your own dome home you will need the following:

• Time : about a day (although it will only take about an hour to put up and less to take down).

• Equipment : drill and drill bits, tape measure, protractor, hand saw and a vice (not essential but will make construction more accurate, particularly when drilling the holes).

• Materials : hazel poles or broomsticks, about 20mm (¾") in diameter, 1.5m (5') of 130mm (5") alcathene gas pipe and  260 split pins. These make it easy to erect and take down your dome.

Preparation

Step 1. Cut 35 poles to exactly the same length: 1050mm-1200mm (3'6"-4') would give even tall people adequate headroom. Do not cut them shorter than 900mm (3') unless building for children; and 1200mm (4') is probably the optimum length for the strength of materials and joints used in this design.

Step 2. Saw 30 more poles, which must be 11% shorter than the long poles. For example, if you cut the long poles to 1200mm (4') then your shorter poles will be 1070mm (3'6").

Step 3. Cut the alcathene gas pipe into sections 50mm (2") long to make the joints. You will need 26 joints in all.

Now you need to drill holes in the joints to hold the ends of the poles. The holes will need to be fractionally larger than the poles you use. For example, if you use standard household broomsticks which are roughly 20mm (¾") thick, holes will be cut to just less than 25mm (1") in diameter. This will ensure enough 'give' in the joints to create the angles necessary in dome building. You must make precise measurements. Be consistent, regardless of the dimensions you decide upon.

Assembly

Step 1. Assembling a prototype:Take one 5-hole joint and slot in five of the smaller poles.

Put two 4-hole joints at the base of the pentagon and slot three 6-hole joints onto the upright poles.

Step 2. At this point, measure where the holes need to be drilled in the poles either side of the pipe. Depending on the thickness of the pipe, this will be about 25mm (1") from the end of each pole and again about 25mm (1") further along the pole.

Once you have marked the poles, dismantle the pentagon. Sort the poles into two piles – long and short. Drill two holes in each end of every pole. It is vital that each hole is drilled in exactly the same position on every pole.

Step 3. Reassemble the pentagon and fasten the joints by inserting the split pins. Build from the middle outwards following the pattern as shown in video.

You can view the video in this post. Geodesic dome home was built in Aranya eco village, Berikai, Tamilnadu. 

Mango people an organization who helped in building Geodesic dome.

https://www.facebook.com/tuar6/videos/2211138169112779/?app=fbl

Video courtesy : #mangopeople #aranyaecovillage 

You can learn how to build geodesic domes practically through Auroville Bamboo centre.. The courses are going on.. :)

You can also contact #mangopeople an NGO in faridabad.

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#geodesicdomes #portableshelters, #bambooshelter 

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