Must know Airlayering, a way for Afforestation

Airlayering is a procedure to grow the roots on a stem or branch of a particular plant or tree.

Tried Airlayering on henna plant.
The pictures are listed below.

•  Firstly, removed the outer bark of the henna plant using knife.
•  Before removing, make sure the knife is clean.
•  After that scratch untill you find the dark and centre of the branch.
•  Then clean it with water.
•  Make a dough ball, using cowdung and topsoil.
•  stick the dough ball to the branch.
•  And cover the dough with the plastic cover.
•  Make sure to tightly tie the plastic cover to avoid inlet of insects.
•  wait for 30 days to 45 days. until you see roots growing in it.
•  Here in henna plant, I watched roots growing on 26th day. However I separated the branch on 30th day.
•  on evening I separated it. Kept the branch in water.
•  The next day morning I planted it in the soil. But it has dried.
•  Asked suggestions with other Airlayering experts. They advised to not wait for planting after separating the #airlayered branch from plant.

Failed in first attempt.

On December 31st airlayered gauva tree branch.

On January 1st airlayered Neem tree Branch.

Still not able to see roots on both the tree branches. Will wait and update to you soon.

#airlayering #abcdfarming

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Solutions for slugs to avoid consuming sprouts

Solution for slugs

Sown different types of native variety seeds in a single row. Sprouted well. But the slugs consumed the sprouts. 

Searched solutions to eliminate the slugs from farm.  Tried sprinkling salt around the plants but in vain. Nearby neighbour was using snail kill, a chemical product to get rid of slugs. 

Using a chemical product was not my aim. I tried every possible organic solution to get rid of slugs but in vain. I purchased the product and crushed them into small pieces. Sprinkled them and the next day the slugs were dead. 

There were more than hundred slugs dead. 

Note: If anyone would like to contribute an organic solution to get rid of these slugs. You are welcome...!

Like previous year, this time planting sown pumpkin 
and bottle gourd in the same row. This time too no till
farm. just cleared the weeds. when clearing the weeds and dried pumpkin shoots and bottle gourds, saw the weeds were decomposed without receiveing the sunlight as pumpkin and  bottle gourd took over them. Pumpkin seems to be one
of

the crop in suppressing the weeds. 

Previos year i would not able to post all the details from
sowing, manuring, pests, pruning, marketing from 25 bottle
gourd and 15 pumpkin plants. But, this time would like to
share each and every thing from sowing to harvest.

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About Beema Bamboo

About Beema Bamboo

• Beema Bamboo is a throneless variety.

• The Bio mass and Rigidity is more compared to other Bamboo varieties.

• The hallow in the middle of the Bamboo is less.

• Yeild of the Beema Bamboo is nearly 50 tons from 4th year consecutively.

• After 4th year you can harvest Beema bamboo every year. The yeild increases in consecutive days.

• As it is a thornless variety, harvest made easy.

Below is a image of Beema bamboo cut into peices.

Cultivation of Beema Bamboo:

• The land should be cleared and dig 3ft height and 3 feet width rows.

• Farm yard manure and Top soil mixed well.

• Plant the Beema Bamboo saplings at distance 10 feet x 10 feet. Can purchase Beema Bamboo saplings at the Rs.30 per sapling.

• The company recommends to plant 1000 saplings per acre.

• The NPK 19:19:19 fertigation is used from bamboo growth.

• Weeding should be undertaken.

• Every 3 to 4 days water should be irrigated.

Yeild and Income:

• After three years of planting, we can harvest Beema bamboo.

• Expected yeild per acre after 3 years is 40 tons.

• Market price per ton ranges from 4k to 5.5k

• Expected Income excluding the maintenance expenses will be around 1Lakh to 1.5 Lakh.

• Second harvest starts in 4th year, the expected yeild is 50 tons.

• After 3 years, every year we can harvest bamboo and yeild will increase consecutively as new clums come up.

Courtesy:

Info provided by 
Growmore BioTech,
Hosur

Note: Please contact Farmers who are already into this cultivation before planting. 

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Round Bottle Gourds and White birdeye chilli native varieties

I had cucumber native variety seeds. I have posted in seed swap facebook groups that cucumber seeds available for swap. A grower from Telangana by name H S Dikshit has responded for the post. He had Desi white chilli seeds and bottle gourd seeds. We summoned for seed swap. Sent 100 + extra as per germination rate to his address by registered post. He too, sent sent me seeds of white bird eye chilli and round bottle gourd seeds by post. we have exchanged the seeds.

About the seeds from Grower

Desi White chilli seeds:
                The fruits will be White when fruiting stage. After ripening it will turn to red as per the Grower. The Grower said that these desi chilli plants will lasts three years. Hence, eager to watch them grow. Grower has sent the pic of this chilli plant.

Native Round bottle gourd seeds
                     I received the Round bottle gourd seeds from the same Grower. I havent seen the round bottle gourds before. Eager to see the fruits from them.

Sown both of them in the edges.

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stages of native cucumber and how to make a cucumber juice

Here is the stages of native cucumber. A Video at the end of the post to learn how to make the Cucumber Juice. You should not add the sugar for this juice. If we had, we will lose the medicinal properties of the Cucumber. Hence, here they add native Jaggery  for the juice.

                                             FIRST STAGE

                                           SECOND STAGE

 

THIRD STAGE

                                                   CROSS SECTIONAL VIEW OF THIRD STAGE

                                                         FOURTH STAGE

                                                      FIFTH STAGE

                                             TURNS WHITE BEFORE YELLOW

                                              LAST STAGE - READY FOR JUICE

     
HERE IS VIDEO ON HOW TO MAKE A CUCUMBER JUICE
VIDEO COURTESY
#KATRATHUKAIALAVU

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Saving Bottle Gourd Seeds

How to save Bottle Gourd Seeds ?

     * Select one healthy Bottle gourd in the Garden.
     * Don't pluck that Gourd until it dries.

                                 Bottle Gourd Dried
         * We need to cut the Gourd when it attains the stage as shown in the above image.
         * It may take a Month or  45 days to attain this stage.
         * It is recommended to cover paper or cloth to avoid moisture from humidity.
         * As I am also new as you all, I didn't covered anything. Thus, this gourd has so many white ashes around.
         * After Breaking this gourd I found so many Seeds as you can see in the below image.

                    Seeds from Bottle Gourd

Note: Excuse for Blur Images. Need some time to change Camera.

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Experience on Growing Pumpkin and Bottle gourd in farm

Growing Pumpkins and Bottle gourd :
                 Growing Pumpkins is not easy nor difficult. Mainly patience is needed. It took me Three and half to get my first Pumpkin.

                * There were Ridges with small canals at the ends of the farm.
                * Noticed it to grow some veggies which i would market in the Local Farmer Markets nearby.
                * Searched online to know what type of veggies to grow on the ridges mainly concentrated on easy to grow and easy maintenance type.
                * Grandmother suggested Pumpkin and she gave seeds also.
                * I thought to grow Bottle gourd (Long edible) with Pumpkin as Bottle Gourd had a good demand in the Local Farmer Markets.
                * Hence, I sown Bottle gourd seeds and Pumpkin seeds in the same Row. I didn't tilled up the land. I lined up the drip line for irrigation and sown both seeds.

                                                        Bottle gourd and Pumpkin
                   * After 9 days both sprouted as shown in the figure above.
                   * I applied little cow dung near by the plants.
                   * The Plant Growth was good.
                   * But after 45 days I noticed grey ash spots which was powdery on the leaves of the Bottle gourd.
                   * I grinded Vitex leaves to make a paste. After that I diluted it with water and left for 2 days in a shady place.
                   * I filtered the solution and sprayed with electric sprayer.
                   * After one week it grey spots on the bottle gourd completely went.

                                                            Bottle Gourd and pumpkin

                                                          Bottle Gourd and Pumpkin
                  * In the above figure you can see both Bottle gourd and Pumpkin growing well.
                  * As I didn't tilled by land weeds came up.
                  * Day by day, the vines of both Bottle gourd and Pumpkin suppressed the weeds. As the sunlight doesn't go to the land the weeds have been suppressed.
                  * Finally, Bottle gourd plants first started to yield. My first Harvest was after 52 days from Planting.
                  * Nearly 300 kgs from 25 Bottle gourd Plants I sold to Local farmer Markets. when the Bottle gourd Plants crossed 150 days I stopped selling to Local farmer Markets. As the Fruits were not uniform. Offered those  Bottle gourds to neighbors and farmers nearby.
                  

                                                      First Harvest of Bottle Gourd
                    
                      * The First Harvest of Bottle gourd, I sold for Rs . 60. Four Bottle gourds were rejected. Reasons : Long in size, Crossed Maturity, white in color, scratches while transporting.
                     
                      * I waited Three and Half months to get my first Pumpkin.

                                                                      Pumpkin

                                                        Pumpkin Female Flower
              
                    * Bees will pollinate pollen from male flower to female flower. In some cases we, manually need to pollinate the pollen.

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How to prepare compost tea and use compost tea as Growth Promoter or Fertilizer

Compost Tea :
               It is simple and effective solution to promote Plant Health. The effectiveness of compost tea  depends on the quality of the compost prepared. Many farmers  have observed that the Compost Tea is very effective against many pests and diseases.

Preparation of Compost Tea:
                
Materials Required:
                * Well matured Compost
                * Water

Method:
                 * Good quality compost has to be prepared by adopting heap, aerobic or Vermi composting Methods.
                 * One part of Compost is immersed in 10 parts of water in a bucket or barrel depending on the quantity required.
                 * The contents are stirred 5 minutes everyday for 5 to 7 days.
                 * The Compost Tea is ready to be used as a foliar spray after 5 to 7 days.
                 *  Before the application of the solution, it is filtered and then used for spraying using the knapsack sprayer.

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About the Farm and works.

About the farm and works Hi, Good evening to all, Would not able to update daily about the work going on the farm. Busy with the work. A window below will say it all..! Sorry for inconvenience... 🙂 Furthers complaints or suggestions you can use send messages dialogue box on top right side... ! Thank you ☺️

ABCD farming

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Growing Rice - Food from Fields

Rice, before it is milled, is called "paddy" by English-speaking people in Asia. There are for practical purposes two sorts: rice that grows in water or "wet" rice, and "upland" rice. The latter grows on open hillsides, but only in places with a very high rainfall such as the Chin Hills of Burma. Ordinary, or wet rice is grown on a large scale in the United States and in southern Europe, and there is no doubt that its cultivation could be extended to more northern latitudes. It will grow and ripen in summer temperatures of over (min 20°C), but these must cover much of the four to five months that the crop takes to grow and ripen. The wheat-eating peoples of India have a strong sense of superiority over the rice-eaters and look upon rice as food fit only for invalids!

Sowing the paddy
The best way to grow rice on a small scale is to sow the seed broadcast on a dry seed bed when the ground has warmed up in the spring, rake it well in, and then flood the seed bed but only just. As the shoots grow, always try to keep the water level below the tops of the plants. Rice survives in water by virtue of its hollow stem, which takes oxygen down to the rest of the plant. When the plants are about eight inches (20 cm) tall pull them out in bunches and transplant them in to shallow standing water in an irrigated field. Simply dab each plant into the soft mud four inches (10 cm) away from its neighbours. Billions of paddy plants are planted like this every year
in India and China. Keep the paddy field flooded (never let it get dry) until about a fortnight before you judge the grain ripe enough to harvest. Then drain the field and let the grain ripen in the dry field.

Harvesting

Harvest with the sickle, thresh as you would, by passing through a plate mill or stone mill with the plates or stones open enough to hull the grain without cracking it, and you are left with "brown rice," that magical perfect food of the yin-yan adherents. It is in fact a good grain, very rich in starch but lower in protein and also in several other qualities than wheat. If you mill the brown rice more closely you get pearled rice, which is generally and wrongly called polished rice. This is
almost pure starch and a very incomplete foodstuff, even less nutritious than white wheat flour which is saying a lot. A further process, called polishing, produces true polished rice which is what most of us buy in the shops. If you live on practically nothing else but pearled or polished rice you get beri-beri. So the sensible thing to do, if you live on rice, is to eat brown rice and not go to the trouble of removing the Food from the Fields
Rice bran, which is the most nutritious part of it, and feeding it to the pigs.

Cooking rice

Unlike most other grains rice does not need grinding before it is cooked. The Western way to cook your own home-milled rice is to wash the grain well in cold water and strain, then bring 1 pint (0.6 litres) of water to the boil, add a teaspoonful of salt, and throw in 6 oz (170 g) of rice. Bring this to the boil
again and then allow it to simmer by reducing the heat. Cover the pan and simmer for fifteen minutes. When the
rice is tender, eat it. It will have absorbed all the water. Best to use the Indian method which is to bring much more water than you really need to the boil, throw the rice in, bring to the boil again, allow to simmer until the grain is tender (but not reduced to that horrible stuff: rice pudding!) which will be in about a quarter of an hour, strain the water out, toss the rice up a few times in the strainer, and eat it. Each grain will be separate if you do this properly and the rice will be perfect.
You can colour and flavour rice very nicely by tossing a pinch of saffron into the rice while it is cooking. For brown
rice, you need to allow forty to fifty minutes cooking time.

INDIAN RICE

Indian rice, can be harvested when it is ripe, and dried in hot sun or else "parched" by heating over a fire or kilning. This can be boiled or steamed and eaten, preferably with meat. It is very nutritious, but very laborious to harvest.

Coutesy : The complete book of Self sufficiency.

Images on farm will be updated soon.

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Step by step guide for self sufficient sustainable living

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Subash palekar and Spiritual Farming

Most of the people might be knowing Subash Palekar who is popular in organic farming.

The reason why the ZBNF is also known as Spiritual Farming.

Subash Palekar Words:

Nowadays chemical farming became popular. To become self reliant we allowed countries who manufactures agro chemicals  to sell in our country in the name of Green revolution.  The people  who use chemical farming thinks that the soil is not fertile and to make it fertile we need to dump some fertilizers from outside. But this is not true - says Subash Palekar

See Forests, here plants or trees grows. No need of tilling, no addition of fertilizers, insectides or irrigation. This means there is need of things from outside and nature gives all ingredients needed for the plants or trees to grow. And thus he calls ZBNF as Spiritual farming which is mainly concentrated on sustainable farming. Scientists say that Everytime the soil will not be fertile, so that there is a need to add fertilizers to the land to make it fertile. But this is also not true. Now coming to the production yield using chemical fertilizers. The yield using chemicals have decreased which was also agreed by the agronomists. says Subash Palekar.

The main five inputs like to suggest in organic farming are composting, vermi composting, biodynamics, m - solution and garbage solution. As time takes longer for the production the price is as high as five time greater than the price of chemical farming.  He also says that his five layer model is one which is inspired by Forests.

Coutesy : Times of India

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