Where to buy small millet seeds for sowing

In this article let us know where to buy small millet seeds for sowing.

Small millets are an often overlooked staple food for milliions living in the harshest, food- insecure regions of the developing world. Small millets, a group of six crops comprising of finger millet, kodo millet, little millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet and proso millet are considered as nutri cereals and are a source of food, feed and fodder. However, there has been a drastic decline in production and consumption of small millets mainly due to limited productivity, high drudgery, work load and incomes. 

Small millets in the Indian context include finger millet, kodo millet, little millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet and browntop millet. 

There are few Organizations, Individuals, Farmers who would like to share their small millet seeds for sowing. Farmers can buy from them.

    Dwiji guru

    Basavanagudi, Bangalore

    9900054878

    https://themillet.org

    

    Dhan foundation

    http://dhanfoundation.org

    Deccan development society

    Zaheerabad, AP.

    https://ddsindia.com

    Sahaja samrudha

    Bangalore, Karnataka

    http://sahajasamrudha.org

    Navdanya

    Delhi

    http://navdanya.org

    Vanastree

    http://vanastree.org

    Aranya Agriculture alternatives

    http://permacultureindia.org

    Srinivas Raju (farmer)

    Anantapur, AP

    9739893832

    Krishna reddy ( farmer)

    Telangana, AP

    9100403473

If any other organizations, NGOs, Individuals,  who would share small millet seeds for the Farmers can add your location and contact details in the comment below.

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Millets are drought resilient crop to grow for food security

Millets are small seeded grasses that are hardy aad grow well in dry zones as rainfed crops under marginal conditions of soil fertility. The Millets requires very less water than rice. 

Do you believe that only 3 to 5 times irrigation is enough for minor Millets to grow in summer season. Hence, growing small Millets like foxtail millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet, porso millet, browntop millet are a good choice for the climate change. They are possibly the first cereal grain to be used for domestic purposes. The other grain crops like wheat and Rice that require more amount of water and fertilizer inputs to grow. Whereas the Millets grow well in drought regionsas rainfed crops. The Millets are highly nutritious, non-glutinousand rich in fibre, they are easy to digest. 

They are grown in many states around India like Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Growing millets is a step towards sustainable agriculture that respects biodiversity. 

There are many factors that makes Millets more sustainable when compared to other grain crops. When compared to the water usage, the Millets use less water. The amount of water needed to grow Rice with that of millets is really less. One Rice plant requires 2.5 times of water required by one millet plant. Millets are less maintenance and low investment crops. The Millets are more nutritious than paddy. Millets can grow in areas with annual rainfall less than 300 mm. Hence, Millets are an alternative for other crops like rice and wheat.

In the present agricultural scenario, millet farmers can be considered as followers of sustainable farming practices holding lessons for building climate resilience or the ability to adapt to change, overcome constraints, reduce disruptions and enhance opportunities. With advantages loaded in its favour such as low-maintenance, disease and pest resistance, nutritional benefits, market demand, fodder value and ecological benefits, millet is being considered as a smart crop. Known as C4 crops, millets have higher efficiency in absorbing and utilizing carbon dioxide. Most varieties of millets are well known for their hardiness and have the capacity to withstand prolonged periods of drought, high temperatures and still produce grains and fodder.

In India, millets are grown on about 15 million hectares, with an annual production of 17 million tonnes and contribute 10% to the country's food grain basket. Karnataka is on a millet-popularising drive focused on the nutritive value of the grain and has initiated far-reaching measures to claim the title of being the millet capital of the country. There are many Non governmental organization coming forward to promote sustainable millet farming.

Where you can purchase small millet seeds for sowing. Coming up... stay tuned🙂

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Review on Hand weeder or manual weeder

Would like share Review on Hand weeder or manual weeder which I purchased from Urvi agrotech. 

Nowadays, there are n number of  agricultural mini tools coming into market. One of those is Hand weeder. The hand weeder is one which is used to eliminate weeds by push pull method in gardens. Hand weeder tool is simple to use and versatile. It is used to remove weeds in and around trees, garden lawn edges, vegetable beds etc.

Approximately I purchased the Hand weeder a year back. On first few days it completely worked well. As the land was filled with few rocks here and there, very often I wanted to sharpen the blades. I made some extra five blades, so that I can connect them when needed.

The strength applied for weeding tool is medium if the soil is Sandy. When it comes to Rocky soils, the blades often to be sharpened and strength applied is also more. 

Bolts connected to the weeder sometimes gets connected. Need to observe them often. So, buy some extra bolts and nets. 

The blade is made up of SS metal. Hence, the chances of rusting is low. The extra temporary blades can be made in welding shop. 

I connected weeder equipment to the stick using two nails. There is aluminium handle for the weeder equipment which may cost 750 RS to 1000 RS.

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Growing food in small space - advantages and disadvantages

Growing food in small space is a dream of most of the people. Already many people are growing vegetables in the available small place. Terrace gardening has become trend nowadays. 

Urban people are growing their vegetables in terrace and balconies of their apartments. Most of apartment association provide permission to grow vegetables on balconies. There are pros and cons in this prospect. Would like to share few of them. Sharing this,  it's not mean to discourage terrace gardening but to take precautionary steps.

Advantages of Terrace gardening

* Can grow vegetables needed for kitchen.

* Pests can be handled manually.

* Less amount of water.

* Can get fresh air from planting indoor plants.

* Relaxation space.

Disadvantages of Terrace gardening

* More amount of water leads to drainage problems. Where the Mosquitos arise. So please make sure you use less water. 

* Prepare a plan on how you are going to deal with rain water.

* Contamination of over riped vegetables and spoilage. Take necessary steps to control them.

* Compost - prepare a plan on how you deal with wet compost on rainy season.

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How to get seeds or saplings for creating food forest.

For creating your Food forests good quality seeds and saplings should be choosen.

Few suggestions on choosing Fruit tree seeds and saplings for food forest:

* Find Local fruit trees near by to your locality. You can save the seeds from fruits. (I saved seeds of sapota from nearby farm) 

* If you go for online store, it is recommended to buy seeds and not saplings. As saplings may be damaged on delivery. ( I received few good saplings as well as damaged one)

* Analyse where most of the birds have nests in your locality. Nearby the trees you can find few fruit tree saplings. ( I found few gauva saplings nearby the banyan tree, where most of the birds built their nests in the banyan tree)

* Air layering, a method to grow roots on any tree branch. After growing the roots you can cut them and transplant in your field.  ( I successfully did air layering for henna plant. Failed in first attempt and succeeded in next attempt).

* Choose ripen fruits to save fruit tree seeds.

Vegetable seeds

There are few organisations where you can buy open pollinated seeds.

1. Annadana soil and seed savers network

There are so many exotic variety vegetable seeds they have. The one I like most from them is black carrots, where those carrots are used to make soup to boost up immunity.

2. Samatulya farms or Jag traditional farming

They have many varieties of vegetables seeds. While seeing their Facebook page it tempts me to buy all the seeds.  The one of the most I like is sankarametta tomato where one tomato weighs 250 grams.

3. Rangamalai organic farms

They to have some exotic vegetable seeds. One of the most I found interesting was the variety of okra which grows more than 6 feet in height. 

There are some other seed saving organisations around us. We will update soon.

Edited : for fruit tree seeds online you can purchase from Nurserylive website.

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Difference between open pollinated seeds and Hybrid seeds

There are so many differences between open pollinated seeds and hybrid seeds. Firstly, let us know about a seed and how it is important for nature. A seed is a reproductive structure containing a fertilized embryonic plant in an arrested state of development. It is in dormancy until sown. Seeds vary in color, shape, size and texture.

There are three types of seeds. They are Open pollinated seeds, Hybrid seeds, Genetically modified seeds or GMOs.

Open pollinated seeds

Pollinated by natural means (wind, insects, birds). Either within the same flower or between 2 flowers of the same plant. They are classified into two types. Heritage seeds and Heirloom seeds.


Features:

Can be saved. They create pure seeds that are similar in characteristics to the parent plant.

Able to adapt to a specific local environment.

To maintain varietal purity, they require isolation while growing.

Naturally resistant to pests.

Vigorous and need less water. High-yielding in right conditions. Most cost-effective.

Hybrid seeds

Produced by pollinating 2 or more open-pollinated varieties in the laboratory, for promoting specific characteristics of the parent plant(s).

Features:

Usually high-yielding, compared to the parent; since the plant’s energy unused for reproduction is used for its growth.

Hybrid varieties do not reproduce true-to-type. They cannot be saved.

They are expensive as they need to be purchased for every sowing.

They result in a loss of biodiversity as they do not preserve the properties of the parent open-pollinated plants.

Hybrids typically require corrosive chemical fertilizers and pesticides with intensive irrigation.

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Farm Update April 2020

This month April 2020, we didn't grown much for the farmer markets.

We grown few bottle gourds, okra, cucumber for the Kitchen.

These are bottle gourds round variety which are growing well.

This month we setup a small plot for food security nearly 5 to 6 cents. We planted cow pea, pigeon pea, Ber tree seeds, purple beans, curry leaf, Jasmine flower plants and hibiscus flower plants.

Sown chilly kanthri variety and brinjal green variety  seeds in a small bunds for saplings propagation. After getting saplings will transplant to the raised bed.

First the ber tree seeds, second the brinjal green variety seeds, third the chilli kanthri variety seeds.

Need to mention the chilli kanthri variety seeds. You can harvest chillies for two years. First color of this chilly will be white, when it ripes it turn to red. Moreover it is more spicy than other chillies.

The purple beans which yields beans in high quantity and it is a dwarf and short term crop of about 2 months.



10 rows for food security

Would like to sow seeds of perrineals and trees as much as I can in this plot.

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How to create Indian food forest part IV vegetables

This article is a continued from How to create Indian Food forests. Here is a list of vegetables you can add for your food forest.

Pigeon pea

The pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan, family fabaceae) is thought to have originated in India, where it is still widely grown as a food crop. It is also used extensively as a cover crop, green manure, inter crop etc. in many sustainable farming systems in the tropics and subtropics, and in many home gardens in warm climates.

Brinjal

Eggplant is a high-fiber, low- calorie fruit that's used  as they grow from a flowering plant and contain seeds. Egg plants grows well in warm weather. Usually you will see flowers coming in the plant in about 40 days after the planting. There are many varieties of brinjal where you can choose according to shape at taste.

Okra

Okra, also known as gumbo or ladies fingers, is a warm-season vegetable. It is a good source of minerals, vitamins,. antioxidants. Additionally, okra is low in calories and carbs and contains some protein and fiber. There are many varieties of okra; the most commonly found are green and white. Green okra is shorter and slightly stubby when compared to white okra.

Cherry tomatoes

The cherry tomato is a type of small round tomato believed to be an intermediate genetic admixture between wild currant-type tomatoes and domesticated garden tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes range in size from a thumbtip up to the size of a golf ball, and can range from spherical to slightly oblong in shape. Cherry tomatoes are bite-sized tomatoes that grow quickly, ripen early, and are good for you. The cherry tomato plant is one of the most popular plants to grow because it is easy to grow and produces a harvest quickly.

Bottle gourd

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is an annual, vigorous, climbing vine with large leaves and white flowers. Bottle gourds come in various shapes and sizes. The plant grows quite quickly and vigorously, spreading over large areas. There are so many varieties of bottle gourd where you can choose them accordingly.

Pumpkin

Pumpkin belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae and is grown primarily as a vegetable or ornamental plant. Pumpkin plants are short lived annual or perennial vines with branching tendrils and broad lobed leaves. The plant produces large yellow or orange flowers and a pepo fruit (berry with a thick rind) known as a pumpkin.

Ridge gourd

Ridge gourd is a very important Indian vegetable crop and it can be grown throughout the year. Ridge gourd plants need a lot of water. And because they grow in full sunlight the soil can dry out very fast. Sandy loam rich in organic matter with good drainage and pH range from 6.5-7.5. Season Planting spreads during July and January. You can also grow them in balconies and terrace.

Cow pea

It grows best in hot areas and can produce a yield of one ton seed and five tons hay per hectare with as little as 300 mm of rainfall. Cowpea is a food and animal feed crop grown in the semi-arid tropics covering Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States, etc.. Forage cowpeas are herbaceous annual legumes, with spreading to fairly erect habit, growing 50 to 100 cm high. There are few varieties of cow pea to choose from. Even you choose climber variety of cow pea.

Indian beans

There are so many varieties of Indian beans you can choose from perrineals to annuals. Choose accordingly to your climate conditions.  Happy farming :)

Not only this you can choose other veggies such as chilli, sponge gourd, gherkins, cucumbers, etc ... Which are suitable for your location.

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How to create Indian Food forests Part III Perennials

Perennials plays major role in food forests. Perennials are plants which lives more than two years. In this article we are covering few easy to grow Perennials which don't require much maintenance.

Agathi spinach or August tree

August tree is the English name and agathi keerai is the Tamil name. The August tree Leaves, stem, root and flower of August tree leaves are used for medicinal purposes. The agathi leaves can be consumed in the form of juice, cooked spinach or medicine. The thin stem is used as a ingredient for good health medicines in siddha and ayurveda. You can also grow them in grow bags.

Moringa tree

Moringa is a genus of shrubs and trees with multi-purpose uses. Its leaves roots and immature pods are consumed as a vegetable. All parts of the moringa tree such as bark, pods, leaves, nuts, seeds, tubers, roots, and flowers are edible. The leaves are used fresh or dried and ground into powder.

Malabar spinach

Malabar spinach is an edible perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is found in tropical Asia and Africa where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and New Guinea. It is a vine, where leaves are used for cooking. The cooking procedure is same as that of regular spinach. Stem cuttings about the length of 20 cm preferred over seeds for natural propagation, and faster growth. Being a vine, it requires trellising for its spread. It bears white or white-pink color tiny flowers depending upon the species and purple to black color berries.

Cluster beans

Cluster beans plant prefers tropical environment. It is a short lived perennial and live up to only 2-3 years. In India and Pakistan it is planted after summer in monsoon, during rain when humidity level increases.

Lablab beans / Indian field beans

Lablab beans are good sources of the amino acid, lysine, and as such complement the generally low lysine content. Lablab is a multipurpose legume. Its immature seeds and pods, and young leaves are edible and cooked as vegetables.

Mint / Pudhina

Mint is also know as mentha or Pudhina. Mint is one of the herbs that has it all. It grows like a weed, is perfectly safe for use, and is an excellent remedy for reducing symptoms related to digestion. And it tastes good going down.

Are some of the few Perennials you can have in your food forest. And the next posts vegetables for your food forest. Be tuned 😊
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How to create Indian food forests fruit trees part II

The Food forests are also called as Regenerative farming or no till farming. Here you no need to till the land for cropping. Nature does it all.

This article is continued from the last post. Where we were discussing on how to create Indian food forests part I fruit trees etc...

There are other fruit trees which are native and grow well in Indian climate conditions. They are given below.

Pomegranate Tree

Pomegranate is a small tree cultivated throughout the Middle East and India. A shrub also grown as ornamental trees in some parks and gardens.

Jamun/Syzygium cumini

This tree is commonly called jamun in India. Syzygium cumini is native to the Indian Subcontinent, known as black plum or jamun. The fruit tends to colour the tongue purple with its sweet, mildly sour flavor.

Gooseberry Tree/Phyllanthus acidus

Phyllanthus acidus or Gooseberry tree with edible small yellow berries fruit tastes sour and tart. The plant is also used medicinally in India and produces fruit throughout the year. The first image is Indian gooseberry tree which has medicinal properties to cure few diseases.

Coconut Tree/Cocos nucifera

Coconut Tree is a Plant growing up to 30 m, originated in the India–Indonesia region. Coconut palms are grown around the world, India is third largest producer of Coconut in the world, cultivation states of India are the of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka to Lakshadweep.

Indian Jujube/Ziziphus mauritiana/ ber tree

Indian jujube or Indian plum is a tropical fruit tree from the Indian Subcontinent. Ziziphus mauritiana are wild growing plants as well as common trees of semi arid regions of India.

Jungli Jalebi/Pithecellobium dulce

Jungli Jalebi is an invasive species and a drought resistant tree. Pithecellobium dulce goes by the name Madras thorn in India and used in medicine too.

Indian Fig Tree/Ficus racemosa

Ficus racemosa or cluster fig tree is native to Indian subcontinent and favourite food of the Indian macaque. Indian fig or gular is also known as audumbar tree,both sacred and fruitful.

Cashew Tree/Anacardium occidentale

Anacardium occidentale is large and evergreen tree and fruit is called cashew apple and cashew nut inside. The cashew tree is native to Brazil and Portuguese took it to Goa in India.

Indian Almond/Terminalia catappa

Terminalia catappa tree is grown as an ornamental tree for shade and wild fruit. The large leaves and distinctively arranged branches of Terminalia catappa are evergreen tree.

Mulberry Plant/Morus

Morus Plant or mulberry tree is a fast growing tree and the fruit is edible too. The fruit and leaves contains significant amounts of resveratrol.

These are the some of the fruit trees for your food forest. The perennial vegetables you can choose according. We would like to post few vegetables which are perrineals that are suited for the food forests. Stay tuned...!

Upcoming article : How to create Indian food forest Part III Perrineals

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How to create Indian food forests (fruit trees) part1

Here is an article on how to create your own food forests in India. The list of fruit trees for food forests listed below are native to India. Food forests are one which provides you food throughout the year. The food forests includes fruit trees, nut trees, fire resistent trees, live fencing, perrineals, vegetables, bushes, shrubs, medicinal plants, green manure crops, etc.. In this article we cover only fruit trees. Here are the selective list of fruit trees native to India to create your food forest.

Drumstick or Morning tree

Moringa tree or drumstick tree is a fast growing tree and a drought resistant tree as well. Young leaves are used for herbal medicine and India is the largest producer of moringa. They are planted with fruit trees for pest management.

Gauva

Gauva tree is a drought resistant tree. It takes minimum three to five years to yield good amount of fruits. It's fruits are oval in shape with light green and yellow in colour. The seeds of the fruit are edible, which are good anti oxidents. The leaves are sometimes used as a herbal tea.

Papaya

Papaya is a small branched plant, cultivated in most tropical countries. Papaya fruit and pulp contains water, vitamin C and carbohydrates and the leaves are used for treatment for dengu and malaria.

Banana

Banana also used for the plants that produce the Banana fruit. The banana plant inner stem is also edible. The outer stem are used to make temporary plates for food serving in olden days. The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant.

Chiku/Manilkara zapota/ sapota

Manilkara zapota is known as sapota and Chiku in India and the fruit has an exceptionally sweet flavor. Sapota fruits contains high amounts of saponin, cultivated in many some parts of India.
This sapota tree is must in every food forest as it is drought resistant.

Custard Apple/Annona squamosa

The custard apple is one of the most cultivated fruit varieties in India. This Custard apple tree it the most widely cultivated species of family Annonaceae. In traditional Indian medicine leaves of Custard apple tree are used to heal wounds and to treat dysentery. Few people grow them in containers too as shown in the figure below.

Jackfruit Tree/Artocarpus heterophyllus

Jackfruit Tree is native to southwest India and the fruit is largest tree borne fruit. The jackfruit is the state fruit of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Kerala is the largest producer of jackfruit in the world.

Mango Tree/Mangifera indica

Mango is the national fruit of India and have been cultivated in South Asia too. Mangoes are very popular in India and in Tamil Nadu mango is one of the three royal fruits with banana and jackfruit. Mango tree is a drought resistant and you can dig trenches to harvest rainwater for mango trees as given below.

These are some of the Indian origin fruit trees for creating your food forest. Can't able to cover all the fruit trees in one post. So, be tuned - How to create Indian food forests part II ... For updates visit our sitemap in the below link.

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Best air purifying Indoor plants to have in your living room

In this article, let us know about best Air purifying Indoor plants to have in your living room. If anyone wants to breathe fresh air, cleaner air in home, then these are the five best air purifying Indoor plants need to have in your living room.


1. Areca palm

Areca palm is one of the best air purifying plant suitable for your living room. Areca is a genus of about 50 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name Areca is derived from a name used locally on the Malabar Coast of India.

2. Mother-in-laws plant or Snake plant

The snake plant or Sansevieria pronounced (san-se-vi-ee’-ri-ah) a member of the Lily Family, popularly goes by other common names. The very “politically correct” Mother-in-Law’s tongue and Bowstring-hemp.Snake Plant a.k.a. Mother-In-Law’s Tongue (MILTs): Of all the different oxygen producing plants, this one is unique since it converts a lot of CO2 (carbon dioxide) to O2 (oxygen) at night, making it ideal to have several in your bedroom. 6-8 plants are needed per person to survive if there is no air flow (meaning you could live in a completely air sealed room if you had these plants). The snake plant also removes formaldehyde from the air. Most plants largely uptake Carbon dioxide (CO2)and release oxygen during the day (photosynthesis) and uptake oxygen and release CO2 during the night (respiration). Above plants can uptake CO{-2} during the night as well because of their ability to perform a type of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM).

3. Money plant

Native to Asia and Australia, Money Plant is a powerful air purifying plant that cleans the indoor air. The plant is particularly effective for dealing with indoor air pollution caused by VOCs. Money plant is ideal for removing airborne pollutants from the indoor air such as Benzene, formaldehyde, Carbon Monoxide, and xylene. Being one the easiest air purifying plants to grow and maintain, money plant is a perfect natural air purifier for your homes, especially when the pollution levels are at peak.

4. Peace Lily

A deep forest green plant, Peace Lily is a great air purifier. The air purifying plant effectively removes common indoor air pollutants that emitted by the furniture, electronics and cleaning products. The high transpiration rate purifies and also humidifies the indoor air.

5. Aloe vera

This easy-to-grow, sun-loving succulent helps clear formaldehyde and benzene, which can be a byproduct of chemical-based cleaners, paints and more. Aloe is a smart choice for a sunny kitchen window.

Beyond its air-clearing abilities, the gel inside an aloe plant can help heal cuts and burns. People have been using aloe vera for more than 6,000 years when it was known as "the plant of immortality" in early Egypt, according to the National Institutes of Health. It was used for skin conditions and to heal wounds, as well as used as a laxative. Today, although the science is lacking, aloe vera is typically used topically for sunburns, burns, abrasions and other skin conditions.

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