DREAMING OF HAVING BOTANICAL GARDEN OF AT LEAST ONE ACRE

Doing gardening on such small scale has been so much fun - it's healing/health  - any symptoms in my body, I go to the mini- garden and there's something to pluck and take for rejuvenation. 

Well, it's been a whole lot of mini-researches - so many, if not all plants in nature are so very useful - not surprising as the Almighty God doesn't create junks. 

Everything health-boosting from from head to toe including eye- health, oral health, anti-poisoning remedy, antu-cancer etc can be grown in a garden. 

I dont intend to use eye-glasses  even in very ripe old age so I am exploring the natural ways of keeping the eyes healthy and sharp. 

I will be sharing these findings in books very soon by the grace of God. 

How I wish there could be a field of medicine called Agricultural Medicine. Why not? There is already Naturopathic medicine I know but I think there should be a field of human medicine based specifically/directly on  agriculture. 

Africa should have comparative advantage in that but grateful for the scientific advancement by the Western.

I thank God and my family for the opportunity of having that basic university education to study agriculture - I almost didn't go through university due to stupidity but for the grace of God and support provided by my family.

Even while dreaming of a much bigger garden, I am still excited at this very little one.  

I said sometime ago that I didnt actually plant potatoes but often use the peels and remnants of potatoes in manuring the soil but the potatoes would still sprout.

 

I just usually cut the leaves and feed the snails I keep for observation on snail-rearing. So I didn't expect potatoes to grow.

 But recently, I sighted potato in the soil. I gave that potato raw to the snails - they chopped it ehhn!!

I will be checking in the New for more potatoes and cocoyam in the sacks.of soil . 

The ewedu in another sack is now calling for plucking  - the snake tomatoes (natural tomato paste) are blossoming even at this period.

 If you have those in your garden, you can use in enriching your Christmas Jollof rice😘. 

As for the  snake tomato seeds, I have used for medicinal purpose but I will not give details until there are more  structured researches.

 There's so so much in this body of knowledge which I have chosen to call Agricultural Medicine!  So even with a mini-garden, I have become absorbed in Agricultural Medical Researches...

#agriculturalmedicine

#Harmattan 

#GardeningduringHarmattan 

#growingcropsinsacks

#growingmaizeinsacks

#growingokroinsacks

#growingtomatoesinsacks

# growingsnaketomatoesinsacks

#spaceconstrainedgarden

#gardeningincementedpremises

#gardeninginsacks

#growingplantsinsacks

#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening 

 #minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening

#intercropoinginsoilsack

WISHING YOU A VERY HEALTHY, MERRY CHRISTMAS

From Farm Cafe: Agribusiness Information Services to you...

GETTING PEPPERS, ROUNDED TOMATOES TO FRUIT DURING DRY SEASON WITHOUT GREENHOUSEi

Last year November  I planted peppers in two sacks. I just poured the peppers not used into the sacks. They started growing.

 I think by February/March this year the plants started fruiting - very few numbers and tiny sizes initially but towards the end of July/August the sizes were a bit bigger and there were more pepper fruits on each plant. - hardly enough to blend for stew but these my garden  peppers  are so very spicy- in fact using them is one of the SECRETS   of delicious cooking- I would cut or dice them and use in boiling meat, seasoning fish, egg or any food. The peppers bought in the market don't have same effect for obvious reasons - they are not as well-tended as garden peppers. Secondly if the peppers you buy are from highly commercialised farms where they are grown with chemical fertilizers and sprayed with inorganic pesticides, they certainly wouldnt be as tasty as these garden peppers and there's also some human health hazards in consuming such chemically-grown peppers, tomatoes and other crops.

By November ending/December this year,  my pepper plants from last year started drying off.  I thought it was goodbye - at least I had planted new peppers and rounded tomatoes in other sacks. 

But I just decided to keep manuring  the soil in the old sacks  with kitchen wastes and watering - guess what? some of the plants made a come-back and are fruiting again!

 I am going to apply same principle of manuring most with nitrogenous kitchen wastes to the rounded tomatoes to get them to fruit in dry season- snake tomatoes fruit and ripen anytime of the year with minimal support. But those rounded tomatoes we commonly buy have been tough fruiting in this garden. Let's see how it goes with the ones I just planted less than one month ago.

Meanwhile I reserved some snails during this dry season in December to see how they'll fare. I have been feeding them  some corn harvested in the mini-garden - seems they like it just that the corn are dried and hard. But even at that see the pictures snail is clinging to the hard grain of corn😄

 I have soaked the one I will give next in water to make it easier for the snails to eat. 

One of the advantages of a mini-garden - you can do Agric practicals and  gradually learn the ropes of farming  - that is another cap to your feather🤣 sorry another feather to your cap I mean. 

#Harmattan 

#GardeningduringHarmattan 

#growingcropsinsacks

#growingmaizeinsacks

#growingokroinsacks

#growingtomatoesinsacks

# growingsnaketomatoesinsacks

#spaceconstrainedgarden

#gardeningincementedpremises

#gardeninginsacks

#growingplantsinsacks

#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening 

 #minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening

#intercropoinginsoilsack. 

///////////5

DESPITE HARMATTAN DRYNESS, SOME PLANTS DO WELL

A gardener in Western clime shared how her gardening and all farming activities is completely suspended every year for about two months  due to winter.

Some gardeners  in this clime are somewhat  apprehensive that the Harmattan especially if intense would adversely affect their plants.

But do take comfort in this - some plants actually thrive during Harmattran especially if getting needed care, regular wetting with water and removal of weeds.

Important note- those edible plants that still grow well during Harmattan contain essential nutrients needed for good health during the period. 

I will be observing plants that do well and those that don't during Harmattan  - hope other gardeners would do same so we can compare notes.

Last year, my Stevia (plant sugar) crop dried during the Harmattan, made a  struggle to revive after the Harmattan  - I think in February/ March but died completely before onset of rainy season despite regular wetting. 

But take note that certain crops such as lemon grass, mint leaves, waterleaf, ewedu, snake tomatoes still survive and could thrive in Harmattan.  I am watching to see if this maize plant in the picture will do well during Harmattan- I have been giving it Tender loving  Care😆

It's just about two weeks and the ewedu I planted have started emerging for plucking- meanwhile ewedu which is one of the cheapest  veggies is now so expensive! Reason - farmers here generally depend on rain-fed farming so any additional effort put in to grow crops means they will be so at higher prices.

So gardeners, over to you....understandably, space is a constraint but do try to grow something - it would not meet your food needs but just small quantities of such garden crops can meet your health needs. 

I had to go sort out my internet issues today so shortly after wetting the plants and manuring, I had to leave the garden- so couldn't do the usual garden reels - but its so exciting to know that not even the dryness of Harmattan can completely stop farming/gardening in my clime.

So we can still get some fresh crops even if not much- as mentioned earlier - seasonal edible crops contain  health boosting nutrients particularly essential for good health during that season. Our garden can be our closest pharmacy. 

#Harmattan 

#GardeningduringHarmattan 

#growingcropsinsacks

#growingmaizeinsacks

#growingokroinsacks

#growingtomatoesinsacks

# growingsnaketomatoesinsacks

#spaceconstrainedgarden

#gardeningincementedpremises

#gardeninginsacks

#growingplantsinsacks

#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening 

 #minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening

#intercropoinginsoilsack. 

Some 

DRY SEASON PLANTING ONGOING AFTER TILLAGE

I do the tilling of the soil in one sack   at time - to show respect for my back😂. I honour this body my Creator gave me while I make it do what is needful.

So I'm able to till one or two soil sack in a week.  After tilling each sack, I plant immediately. 

Apart from transplanting of mango seedling and Aloe Vera each in a sack, I have so far planted ewedu, peppers, rounded tomatoes, okro in four sacks altogether - I intercropped them in each sack. 

I don't know yet if the mango seedlings can grow to a fruit-bearing tree in the sack. Even if not, mango leaves are so very useful - it can be boiled as tea. I have also started using mango leaves in washing my hair.

 I am researching on how to include it in one of my home-made cosmetics. I use the Aloe Vera in my bathing soap. It's also good for hair. Planting them is to be sure the plants I use are not grown with chemicals. 

Garden fruits and vegs are the real deal - it's just the space constraint that's limiting but better grow something than nothing. 

The garden tomato I included in the cocoyam porridge I cooked some days ago gave the meal an exotic taste! That is one of the ways to enrich simple meals - meals can become rich even if not costly  if you know how to apply garden secret!

#growingcropsinsacks

#growingmaizeinsacks

#growingokroinsacks

#growingtomatoesinsacks

# growingsnaketomatoesinsacks

#spaceconstrainedgarden

#gardeningincementedpremises

#gardeninginsacks

#growingplantsinsacks

#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening 

 #minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening

#intercropoinginsoilsack.