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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