How to Grow sweet potatoes

Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, is a easy growing root tuber vegetable that loves warm weather of tropical and subtropical countries. It is a native to Central and South America. People consume where both the root tubers and tender shoots. (these can be stir fried and used as greens. Tender leaves can be cooked or mixed with Dosa batter and made into healthy leaf stuffed Dosas).

Sweet potatoes, which are related to the morning glory and belong to the family Convolvulaceae, and may be growing in different forms as trailing vines and ground covers with roots at each nodes. Some short "Bush" varieties are also available. There are different varieties of Sweet potatoes with varying tuber colour, skin colour Leaf colour, shape The orange-fleshed varieties are most common. But white or light yellow are also available. The yellow and orange coloured varieties are rich in carotinoids and antioxidents).

Some are ornamental too with leaves and stems light yellowish green or deep purple and are used in Landscaping. They too produce edible tubers which are rich in Vitamin A. Sweet potatoes grow on all types of well drained soils and likes acidic to neutral pH of 4.5-7.IN Poor soils this can be grown with proper nutrients topped up.

How to grow sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are grown from plant cuttings called ‘slips’ This can be produced either from older plants or by inducing the tubers to sprout by keeping them covered by moist sand or making it stand in water with its 90% above water for a few days.

Once the slips are hardened they can be transferred to a prepared bed or a large pot which is stuffed with well composted farm yard manure and wood ash or leaf mould and vermin compost. While it grows allow it to root in as many nodes as possible as they all will turn into tubers. These rarely flower and may have seeds too but it is of no value in re-growing as the slips are always used in growing this.

If planting on a prepared raised bed plant each slip 12 inches apart and that will soon grow and cover the bed. When the vines mature and older leaves turn yellow, stop watering, preferably 3-4 weeks, before harvesting. This will allow the tubers to form well and grow in size.

Pests: This is a hardy plant which needs no much care but some insect pests like the golden tortoise beetle attack the leaves and eat off the leaves.

Harvesting sweet potatoes
The pots can be emptied and the tubers separated. If in raised beds, the sides can be dug.

View our sitemap

Read More

How to improve fertility of Clay soil

Clay soils are very sticky. The water will not percolate down the soil. The stagnet water will increase the vulnerability to various plant diseases. Hence here let us see few ways to increase the soil fertility of the soil.
The following steps are useful for improving clay soils:

 • Reduce compaction, because once the soil becomes compacted it sticks together. This makes root growth difficult, as well as making it difficult for people to dig.

 • Add sand to improve soil structure.

 • Use green manure crops and crops which can improve soil structure over time. See legumes green manuring for more information on techniques. Green manuring techniques

 • Planting trees will also help to improve the structure of clay soils. Trees provide mulch material and their roots will help to break up the clay soil. Trees can also be combined with other types of plants.

 • Gypsum can help to improve the drainage and structure of soil. This technique will improve clay soil structure quickly, but is expensive. This technique will not work well if the soil’s pH is too alkaline.

View our sitemap

Read More

Clay water filter for safe drinking water

Short description on clay water filters

Water filters are used to clean water of bacteria that can make people ill. This means that all drinking water can be cleaned and that the water does not need to be boiled before drinking. This filter is made using bowls of clay which have been fired in an oven. These bowls have a special base which is different than the rest of the bowl. Water can pass slowly through this base.

Installation of clay water filter

 * Take Two clay pots for water filter
 * Before using pots clean them.
 * Place the empty clay pot with tap on ground.
 * Add water which need to be filtered in another pot and place it on the pot.
 * Place the lid on the upper clay pot.
 * After few hours, you can open the tap for drinking water.

Why clay for Water filters

Clay is made up of millions of very small particles which are joined together. The clay particles when joined together, form even smaller holes between them. Water will pass through these holes very slowly. The size of the holes depends on what type of clay is used, different types of clay have different sized particles and different sized holes between them. Unclean water carries a lot of bacteria, but the size of the bacteria is larger than these holes at the base of the clay bowls. As the water flows through the holes in the clay, the bacteria becomes separated from the water. This makes the water safe enough to drink. Hence, Clay is a good material to be used as a water filter.

These clay water filters must be fired in a proper oven to work well. The temperature of the firing also affects the size of the holes, because clay shrinks as it is fired, so the holes become even smaller. The effect can be as follows:

• If the holes in the clay are too small, the water will take a long time to flow through.
• If the holes in the clay are too large, bacteria will not be stopped and the water will not be clean

  View our sitemap

Read More

Clay Rocket stoves are a simple technology for cooking

Stoves and ovens made from clay are a simple technology, which can be easily made and will provide many benefits, such as:

 • Conserves firewood, which will save money, labour and helps protect the environment for the future.
 • Produces less smoke, which helps reduce pollution and health problems.
 • Can use alternative fuel, such as rice husks, coffee husks, sawdust or charcoal bricks, as a replacement for wood.

Clay stove materials composition:

Clay stoves are commonly used in many regions. They are very simple to use and will conserve firewood because the clay helps to provide heat for cooking. Clay stoves are made from clay (75%), dried cow manure (25%), small amount of cement (5%), and a little water to make the mixture moist but not wet.

To build clayed based smokeless stoves, refer the video https://tinyurl.com/vmtxxzq

Other wise you can dig the earth at 45 degree where you will insert sticks in 45 degree. Here is a sample design using iron pipes. You can do the same by digging the earth.

View our sitemap

Read More