Growing Broccoli: Expectations vs. Reality

Hey, Hi guys Good evening. I would like to share you my Experience on growing Broccoli. Avoid these mistakes i made, when growing broccoli.

Growing Broccoli from seeds

Purchased broccoli seeds from Bighaat website. The seeds are from Bejo company and variety name of the Broccoli is Lucky. Sown seeds at the beginning of October near by the raised bed of pigeon pea. At the beginning it was all growing well. I directly sown the seeds. The water irrigation is through drip. At the beginning everything was fine as you can see in the image.

Broccoli growing stages and growing seasons

 There are four stages of growing Broccoli. The Broccoli takes 50-70 days to complete from seed sowing to harvest Broccoli. Broccoli growing season is like starting transplanting seedlings from February and July. Mostly the Broccoli are grown in the months of Feb - Apr and Jul - oct. This vegetable usually planted in spring,  where the temperature is approximately about 60-65 F. It also grows well in cool-weather summer. In each stage of broccoli it requires different temperature to thrive well. The growing stages of the Broccoli are 1. Germination stage 2. Seedling stage 3. Vegetative stage 4. Flowering stage.

Broccoli after few days of sowing seeds

 I applied poultry manure when preparing raised beds. And after that I have sown the seeds. After 15 days I observed it is having stunted growth, I applied cow dung nearby saplings. It went well up to 1 month. Lately I observed yellow spots on the leaves. I just left as it is... Didn't sprayed anything. That leaf has fell down. Thought it was recovering.  

Mistakes to avoid when growing broccoli

In the plot I planted only drought resistant plants. Such as Brinjal, bottle gourd, pigeon pea, cluster beans, Malabar spinach, flat beans, etc... Hence, I didn't watered these plants very often. 

After 76 days I observed curd is forming on the broccoli. Suddenly within three days it bulged to a certain size as you can see in the image.

I thought the size will increase, but the size didn't increased. Rather the curd was turning to form seeds as shown in the image.

As you can see in the image, the seeds are forming.  The dried dots are the seeds which are forming. 

Points to remember for Broccoli growing

1. Don't plant them in shade.

2. Broccoli needs more water.

3. If you are going large scale cropping, consult broccoli farmer who already doing broccoli farming.

4. Before large scale farming, search for buy back dealers. There a firm in Bangalore who exports exotic vegetables. Farm Exim, chamrajpet, Bangalore. Mobile no: +918884111995

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Malabar spinach seeds will be available for swap soon

Today in this Blog post, you will be knowing how to grow Malabar spinach from seeds and also you will know few health benefits of Malabar spinach.

 

Very glad to say that the Malabar spinach seeds will be available for swap soon. The seeds are swapped from one of the member. The seeds had good germination. Totally I had four seeds. In that, I successfully grown two of them. Few failed due to rats and slugs. 

Would like share my experience on growing Malabar spinach. Approximately, I sown Malabar spinach seeds on October 12th in raised beds. I would able to see the sprouts after 12 days of sowing the seeds. 

You can see the sprout of Malabar spinach above. They have grown up well. After three months it has grown so tall. As it is climber it has reached to a height of 6 feet. Now I can able to see some red colour seeds like structure forming. And the seeds will be available for swap very soon after they are turning to black colour. So wait and watch. Presently the below video shows you the Malabar spinach. In the video you can see some reddish pink bubbles which are turned to black. These are used as seeds for propagating.

Fertilizers used

To be frank, I didn't used any fertilizer for growing Malabar spinach. I just made raised bed and sown the seeds of Malabar  spinach and watered them. That's it. 

Climate Conditions

I sown seeds of Malabar spinach in october, where we received few rains. The farm is situated near Hosur, Tamilnadu. We had moderate climate.

How to use Malabar spinach

Mostly Malabar spinach leaves are used in raw salads, fruit mix, soups, etc.... It can also be eaten raw. I used to daily chew the leaves.

Pests observed in Malabar spinach

I didn't observed any pests in the Malabar spinach. 

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What is the percentage of nitrogen present in green manure?

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Malabar spinach growing guide | Ceylon spinach | ABCD farming |

Guide to grow Malabar Spinach 

Here, Let us discuss on procedure to grow Malabar spinach. Malabar spinach is also known as Indian or ceylon spinach. They are fast growing creepers, which are perennials in nature and they are native to Asia. Most of the people chew the raw leaves of these spinach variety. They are mainly used in salads. The stems of this vine is reddish purple in color. They can grow upto 10 feet height.

It is a fast Growing plant which has twining vine and grows up to 15 feet long. Malabar spinach is a Perennial and grows well in hotter climates. In cold climates, the malabar spinach creepers remains smaller in most of the gardens. The leaves texture is heart shaped.

The edible leaves (and shoots) of Basella alba resemble spinach with a mild, slightly peppery flavor with a hint of citrus and are used in the same way. The young leaves can be eaten raw mixed in a green salad, and steamed or boiled to be used like cooked spinach. Because of the mucilagenous nature, it can also be used to thicken soups and stews. Some people do not like the somewhat slimy texture of the cooked leaves (reminiscent of cooked okra) and others recommend adding a small amount of vinegar to the cooked leaves to make it more palatable. The leaves can be eaten throughout the season, but once plants start flowering, the leaves become bitter.

This warm season vegetable is very frost sensitive and should not be planted outdoors until a few weeks after all danger of frost has passed. Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last frost. Seeds should germinate in 10 days to 3 weeks. Mechanical scarifi cation to open the tough seed coat (such as with a fi le, sharp knife or sandpaper) will hasten germination, as will soaking them in water overnight before planting. Transplant in the garden once the soil has warmed, placing plants at least a foot apart. Plants will not grow much until the heat of summer, and will not do much when night temperatures are consistently below 60F. This plant roots readily where the stems touch moist soil and is easily propagated from tip cuttings which root readily in water.

 

Malabar seeds 

Seeds of Malabar spinach are small and dark purple in colour.

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Sun flower cultivation in drylands | Dry Land Farming |

Sun flower crop is known to be the good  consumable oil seed crop after seasame. It's parent country is Mexico. However, it is widely grown in India. Growing acreages of sunflower will not only provide oil but also helps in saving foreign exchange in big extent. 

There are many health benefits of sun flower oil. Studies says that it has 80% of vitamin E, thus it helps in various heart related diseases. Sunflower seeds are high in antioxidants so that they prevent Cancer and they boost thyroid function. It improves skin health, lowers blood pressure, etc...

sun flower seeds for sale

Cultivation practices of sun flower

Sun flower crop is quick in maturing depending on the cultivars and growing season. Sun flower crop is resistant to high temperature, dry lands, low water irrigation etc....  It requires very less water and they are grown throughout the year. 

Normally, sun flower crop matures between 78 to 90 days depending upon the varities. So choose early cultivars for farming. They are also grown as rainfed region.

Climate and soil

It is grown in almost all type of soils and throughout the year. Extremely lower temperature are not suitable in growing season. For seed formation it requires moderate climate.

How to sow sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds are sown by dibbling and furrow method. It is said that by dibbling method it requires 2 to 3 kg of sunflower seeds per acre. After two weeks seedlings comes up. We need to thin them. The plant population of sun flower per acre should be between 20,000 to 25,000 plants.

seedling of sunflower seed

after 20 days of sunflower plantation

Fertilizer

Farmyard manure two weeks before plantation is needed. After that good ploughing should be undertaken to mix the farm yard manure.

Pests

Sunflower beetle, Seed weevil (red), Banded Sunflower Moth, Cutworms, Seed weevil (gray), Sunflower moth (head moth), Sunflower stem weevil, Wireworms etc...

Diseases

Alternaria, Phoma black stem, Downy mildew, Sclerotinia, Sunflower rust etc...

Harvesting

The sun flower crop takes 90 days for harvesting. It may differ depending on cultivars. 

Yeild

For one acre the expected yield is 7 to 9 quintals per acre.

Price

At an average the price per quintals of sunflower seeds is between 3500 to 4000 rupees. If the seeds are processed to oil, there is a chance for higher profits.

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How to make Grape Wine at home | Red wine recipe | ABCD farming |

Red wine is one of the alcoholic beverage which is made by fermenting dark red coloured grapes. It is said to have high antioxidants.

Today, Let us see on how to make Red Grape wine at home. 

Ingredients needed to make Red wine:

1. Red grapes 4 kg

2. Sugar 1.5 kg

3. Spices (cinnamon, cardomom, clove) 

4. 10 gram yeast

5. Air tight glass jar

Steps to make Red Wine: 

1. Pluck 4 kg of Red Grapes. Wash them with water. 

2. Separate the grapes from cob.

3. Then squeeze all the grapes to a fluid form.

4. Then add that liquid juice to a glass jar.

5. Add 1.5 kg of sugar and then mix well.

6. After mixing well add spices (cardomom, cinnamon, clove etc..)

7. Add 200 gram of wheat. 

8. Mix 10 gram of yeast to pure water. And add that mixture to glass jar. Mix well.

9. Take the lid to close the jar. The glass jar should be air tight. Kepp it separately for 21 days. Daily mix well.

10. After 21 days the Red wine will be ready.  

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Traditional coffee beans roaster | low cost coffee beans roaster | ABCD farming |

In the market there are many coffee beans roasters. Most of them are costly. The price starts from Rs.1,20,000 to Rs.8,00,000. But today I would like to share a video of a traditional drum roaster which can be made by yourself or with the help of nearby welder.

This video which found interesting and would like to share with you all.

You can watch the video here

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J1yupCgHjvc

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how to make your own soap at home | Handmade soap | ABCD farming |

Basically soap Isa salt of the fatty acids. Domestically soaps are used in washing clothes, bathing, cleaning etc... Industrially soaps are used as thickeners, lubricants and catalysts etc.. 

At present, let us see how to make your soap at home for bathing.

Ingredients needed to make soap

1 cup of caustic soda

6.5 cup of coconut oil

2.5 cup of water

Caustic soda will be available in chemical industries or you can search in online store like Amazon.

Cococunt oil should be pure. Don't use coconut oil brands available in store. They add minerals to it. So buy from nearby mill.

Water can be used which is available at home. 

Procedure

Firstly, Take a clean empty Plastic bucket. Add 1 cup of caustic soda. To that, add 2.5 cups of water and mix well. 

Mix well upto 20 minutes after adding 6.5 cups of coconut oil. Mix well until the solution becomes fluid(like a pudding). And pour the solution in the moulds. If you don't have moulds you can use paper cups as moulds. You need to apply coconut oil inside the cup, so that the solution don't stick. After pouring the solution, keep them away from children. Let it dry on shade. After 24 hours remove the moulds and keep it shade. Don't use these soaps upto 30 days. Let the caustic soda properties drain.

After 30 days, you can use these soaps for bathing.

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How to plant fruit trees

Trees play a major role in nature in various ways. Particularly fruit trees serves us nutrient fruits to consume... Here is a short brief description on how to plant fruit trres.

If you have enough water, fruit trees can be planted at any time of the year. If water is limited, it is best to plant when the soil is wet or at the start of the wet season.

Techniques for planting fruit trees:

1. Dig a hole knee deep, or more if possible. Fill the hole with water. Also water the tree when still in its container.

2. Put a pipe (which can be made from bamboo) inside the hole. Place some gravel below the pipe to help with water flow later on.

3. Fill a plastic bag with manure and place it at the bottom of the hole. If available, use a bag made of natural materials which will still hold the manure for a long time in the soil. Cover with soil and make a small mound in the hole for the tree to sit on.

4. Carefully, remove the tree from its container without breaking its roots. If there are many roots, gently loosen the bottom tree roots. Then, place the tree in the hole which has been prepared.

5. Fill the hole with soil. Make a shallow trench around the surface for water collection and to help with water supply. Make sure that the top of the tree roots are covered with at least 2 cm of soil to prevent the roots from drying out.

6. Add lots of mulch around the tree.

7. Water enough.

8. Make tree guards if needed.

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Seed balls for Afforestation an alternative way of sowing

Seed Balls

A seed ball is a small ball of clay, about 4 cm in diameter, containing plant seeds and dried manure. Seed balls are a good, simple technique to start reforestation in dry areas, steeply sloped areas, or areas with few or no plants or trees. Place the seed balls in any area you want before the wet season starts. The clay will protect the seeds inside from animals until the rains come. When the wet season starts the seeds will begin to grow and the dry manure will provide some nutrients to help them grow. It is best to use seeds of fast growing legumes, like acacia, leuceana and moringa. The trees that grow from the seed balls will improve the soil and provide protection and mulch for new trees planted afterwards. 

Making Seed Balls

Choose clay that sticks together (doesn’t break) when rolled into a snake shape. Add some water to the clay so that it becomes easy to shape into a ball. Mix in a small amount of manure, but make sure that the clay will still stick together. First, make the balls, then add about 5-10 seeds in each ball. The seeds must be inside the ball so that animals won’t be able to eat them once they are in nature. Straight away, dry the balls in the sun for 1-2 hours. Leave until dry, but not cracked. Put them in a dry and shady place to continue drying. The balls must be completely dried because if they are still wet, the seeds will grow. When dry, store the balls in a dry place until you are ready to use them.

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