START GETTING READY FOR PLANTING

....also dry some foodstuffs  for scarce period...

Rains in West African region normally start around  March ending to April. By May to June/July it intensifies.

Around that period, certain food  such as yam, plantations, tomatoes, even some veggies  become scarce  and very expensive until harvests start gradually

Did you take advantage  of the period after the rains last year and dried some foodstuffs you bought or harvested?

If yes, good. If not January and February also good time to dry stuffs. - I sometimes make meals from dried stuffs like plantain  flour, sweet potato flour and Cocoyam flour  - I prefer to use them in making African cakes - very filling and  nutritious and can be  substantive  meals and not just snacks- with this cake you don't have to worry about 'jedi-jedi '😂 or any health problems from eating it especially if you use natural sweeteners like honey, dates or fruits.

If possible, use healthy milk like coconut milk or soya milk, eggs and healthy oils - I do a lot of rigorous activities in my gardening, domestic chores, processing for food and body cosmetics (I have to avoid lotions and soaps  that could make my body itch or have breakouts so I make my cosmetics - I will commercialise them when possible).

In addition I do mentally-demanding tasks like reading, studying, critical thinking and  writing so its vital to keep  exploring ways of making healthy foods and drinks. You may also buy from guaranteed food processors who use organic-grown foodstuffs  and healthy processes.

Thankfully I get some of the healthy stuffs from  my mini-garden. I hope to grow all these healthy foods in bulk for people when I establish a proper farm.

On the issue of growing food, even if you can only grow on small-scale, January is not too early to start preparations. Due to climate change the rainy period can start and  stop unexpectedly- it may not follow the normal pattern I highlighted above - so let's be prepared.

We can and should of course water regularly if no rains but you may already be aware that fresh-falling rain water provides much more remarkable benefit to plants than any  other water or watering people do.

So whether you are going to do land preparation or turn over soil in containers like drums, buckets or sacks to make it less compacted and loose enough for plant root penetration,  just try and get ready early.

If you are able to to grow food or some useful non-edible plants, no matter how small, don't belittle it .

It could make the difference between staying healthy or not. It could be the basis on which all your body faculties would be functioning well- like my eyes - do you know how much worth of investment in eye-glasses has been saved over the years?

Growing or having access to fresh ingredients to make teas  can also help reduce unnecessary spending on other health care treatment.

I write these things because it would be great to see and hear that people are healthy because they are doing the appropriate things concerning their health.

I became even more determined when I went for a function last year where I met some childhood friends and heard how many of our friends and acquaintances  had died in their 30s, 40s and 50s due to health problems. These are not poor  or uneducated people - they are mostly professionals.

So if you are able to grow or process healthy foods the right way, but you think some of the things I advocate are too tasking and you don't have enough funds to pay other person(s) to do the work, think about your life, is it with the efforts?

#pureagriculture
#agricutureversusgoodhealth
#minigardenresearch
#growingcornindryseason
#growingcornallyearround
#throughbredseeds
#purebredseeds
#agriculturalmedicine
#gardeningindryseason
#growingcropsindryseason
#growingcropsinsacks
#growingmaizeinsacks
#spaceconstrainedgarden
#gardeningincementedpremises
#gardeninginsacks
#growingplantsinsacks
#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening
#minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening
#intercroppinginsoilsack.
#growingcornindryseason

GROW OR BUY HERBS TO TAKE- GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

One of the best decisions you can make is to grow herbs. If you don't have much space, and have to decide which crops to grow, herbal plants should be among your first three options, if not the first.

Some herbs are food and some are.medicinal (have healing properties). Even herbs that are mainly food are medicinal but not all medicinal herbs can be taken as food e.g. Neem (Dongoyaro).

You.may think  all very bitter herbs can't be food but we all know bitter leaves for instance is very well-used  herb  for cooking soups in most parts of Nigeria.

Herbs can be purchased in the market but if you can, grow some. If you are able to grow much, you can sell fresh or process them by drying  and perhaps blending into powder and then package - this can then be the beginning of a small home business which can further expand and launch out. In that case you will need to buy herbs  in bulk from other growers.

You may of course buy packaged herbs to use from those who already process and sell or buy fresh from growers while you focus  on growing other crops. The main point is that ensure you take herbs regularly in fresh form or as ingredient in cooked food, if not as medicine.

Some herbs grow on small plants, some on shrubs (small trees) and some on big trees. For many plants, it is the leaves that are most useful. For some it is the fruits and some the seeds and there are those that it is the bark, stem or root.

It takes a whole lot of learning identifying all these and recognising their usefulness - for me studying intensely on these, it seems the more I learn, the more I realise there is still a whole lot yet to be learnt - it's almost unending.

Some herbs in our clime are already well known. Apart from bitter leaves and Neem mentioned above, there is basil- scent leaves, rosemary, oregano, lemon grass, Moringa, bitter kola, parsley, mint, blood leaves, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, chives,  fennel, lavender, lemon balm,  zobo, savory, bay leaf etc.

These herbs can be used in a variety of dishes and in making healthy drinks.

WHY GROW HERBS?
Even if you buy, try to grow at least one or two herbal plants. I have discovered that a whole lot of sicknesses including terminal diseases are preventable.  Even in latter years or old age, the human body shouldn't become sickly.

Perhaps it may not be as strong or agile as in youthful days. But get rid of the mindset  that old age is synonymous with sickness or even weakness. I feel more agile now after clocking 50 - I choose to do some farming  activities now which I cringed at doing but had to do while I was studying agriculture in the university in my 20s.

The human body is a Masterpece that only a very highly  intelligent Creator could have designed and formed it and knows what's good for the body.

I read and believe in the bible so  I believe the bible passage below cinfirms this:

.
Genesis 1:29
[29]And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

So herbs should be taken to protect and regenerate the cells in our bodies, prevent  damage to organs like the kidney and liver, help remove toxins  in the body due to the unhealthy foods we are often or sometimes compelled to eat such as over-processed foods and even fresh foods  grown with chemicals.
#herbs
#growherbs
#takeherbs
#useherbs
#herbsforcooking
#herbsfordrinking
#pureagriculture
#agricutureversusgoodhealth
#minigardenresearch
#growingcornindryseason
#growingcornallyearround
#throughbredseeds
#purebredseeds
#agriculturalmedicine
#gardeningindryseason
#growingcropsindryseason
#growingcropsinsacks
#growingmaizeinsacks
#spaceconstrainedgarden
#gardeningincementedpremises
#gardeninginsacks
#growingplantsinsacks
#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening
#minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening

YOU CAN MAKE GOOD MONEY GROWING LATEX-RICH PLANT(S)

Latex - the watery, sticky or rubbery fluid in many plants has a whole lot of industrial and medicinal uses - some plants have so little latex, almost insignificant but some have a whole lot.

I think latex in plants is equivalent to blood in animals and humans😂 that is my own theory o -
O.Alawode 2024 - Latex in plants equivalent to blood in humans.

Latex from plants can be used  to make chewing gums, balloons, rubber bands, rubber gloves etc

The latex in plants also makes it possible for those plants to be used in direct treatment or making of pharmaceutical products for the cure of diabetes, arthritis, tumours, asthma, wounds etc.

If you have the opportunity to grow large quantities of a plant with abundant latex- you could make good money selling them. But if you don't have much land, you can still grow a latex-rich plant.

With access to small land, you may be wondering what plants are rich in latex apart from the rubber plant which are grown mostly on very large expanse of land.

Well, you can grow Jackfruit not only on large expanse of land but also on a small farm, even in a  garden.

Thanks to the Fruithunter whose Orchard I visited  - I was given a Jackfruit.

Apart from the edible part of Jackfruit being so very deliciously yummy,  it contains so very much latex constituting about half of the inside - no wonder the fruit is so big.

But interestingly, the Jackfruit starts fruiting even before it becomes a big tree - if all factors are in place, it  can start fruiting in the third year when the tree is still the size of a shrub.

At the Fruithunter Orchard, I saw  Jackfruit trees that were not so big  but with very large fruits each bigger than the head of a big cow or the heads of two grown-up human beings with big heads😂

Apart from the latex, the edible part of Jackfruit which can be eaten by boiling or roasting or baking, can also be used in making confectioneries and Smoothies.

If you use the juice to sweeten your tea, pap or other cereals, you won't need sugar or honey at all. 

It will also make confectioneries very sweet - it will have to be someone with extra-sweet tooth that will add sugar. 

Jackfruit is rich in anti-oxidants and vitamins.  So it can help prevent lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and heart problems caused by processed sugars.

Even the seeds which are very nutritious, are edible after boiling or roasting.

The challenge before me now is how will I grow Jackfruit in my cemented garden premises?

Pending the time I  fully get a secured and economically viable location for farming, I won't resist the urge to start cultivating Jackfruit o!.

I will start with small and then bigger containers . I will pack sand and fill the containers like I have been  doing for the mango and almond trees each growing inside drums. .

Eehhen!- by packing sand little by little by myself, each of the drums  are more than half-filled. 

 Such aspects of gardening are so tasking but one can still do them doing the bit you can each day

When one also has additional tasks of fetching water from the well when there is no electricity to pump water or some other reason, it gets even more tasking- but when necessary I do such. May we just not be unfortunate to share resources like water and electricity with those who are wasteful or careless as it will increase the number of times one has to do these more tasking work.

I had such an experience last week doing additional heavy tasks of fetching water from well due to wasteful exhaustion of water in the premises. By weekend even to this morning, my entire body ached terribly. Thanks to God for wisdom, with use of my natural remedies, I was able prevent falling sick outright.

So while I long for the time I would be able to plant many Jackfruits on large expanse of land for the latex and the edible fruit, I will plant some of the seeds in conrainers and enjoy eating the rest - uuummm...the roasted Jackfruit seeds may even taste better than cashew nuts and less cumbersome to prepare. 

In that case Jackfruit seeds as snacks could be potentially more economically viable than cashew nuts 

#latex #latexrichplants #jackfruit #latexrichfruit #latexrichjackfruit
#pureagriculture
#agricutureversusgoodhealth
#minigardenresearch
#purebredseeds
#agriculturalmedicine
#gardeningindryseason
#growingcropsindryseason
#spaceconstrainedgarden
#gardeningincementedpremises
#gardeninginsacks
#growingplantsinsacks
#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening
#minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening
#intercroppinginsoilsack.
#growingcornindryseason

USING FRUITS AS SUGAR, SWEETENERS OR FLAVOURS HAS HUGE POTENTIALS

Due to health concerns, even people with sweet tooth are giving up or would love to do away with consumption of refined sugar.

Healthy alternatives are available with the use of sweet fruits but these are yet to be well-explored commercially.

Fruits also have very wide arrays of flavours that can be explored to cater to everyone's palate. For instance, do you know there exists about 400 varieties of mangoes each with their own distinct taste and therefore flavours?

I learnt that when I visited a fruithunter and then her Orchard last year😂 i.e. last week. The Orchard owner is a lady seriously into cultivation of different arrays of fruits - Guess What? We got to know each other through Instagram- so for those who tend to view or use social media in bad light - explore the positive aspects.

Now back to the main focus- there are all sorts of tastes from bitter to sour to mostly very sweet yummy delicious-tasting fruits.

There are sweet/sour fruits - I tasted this at the Orchard - ' the taste is so unique - a feeling of sweetness with sourness on the palate -  there are people who would love such.

There are honey-tasting fruits - if you like honey- know that it's not only from bees you can get the honey taste but there is at least a fruit tree that produces fruits with the inside looking and tasting like honey. 

There is also chocolate tasting fruits (not from cocoa tree).

There are hundreds upon hundreds  of apple varieties  with different tastes or flavours. There is mangosteen(it's  different from mango and there also different varieties of mangosteen).  

There is Jack fruit. You see that Jack fruit ehhn! the fruit can become as big as a 10litre to 20 litre bucket. 

I hear it's so sweet - I have not yet cut and tasted the one I was given at the Orchard- waiting for it to ripen.

I also saw different varieties of pawpaw - there's this pawpaw variety that had ripen and was looking so yellowish - I thought it was over-ripe and would be too soft and marshy but I was still able to cut through with knife without it disintegrating - it was extra sweet - sweetest pawpaw I ever tasted- I think.

Another beautiful point about fruit is such that when they become so very ripe or over-ripe they can still be useful - so unfortunate that people usually just allow them waste - apart from blending over-ripe fruits into Smoothies and using to sweeten fermented stuffs like your home-made yoghurt, pap and some cereals, do you know you can also pour the blended over-ripe fruits in an oven-tray and oven-dry or bake them?  - they form fruit leather- a sort of snack or confectionery. It can be chewed or put in drinks to sweeten the drink. You can combine them with bitter drugs or herbs to make it easier to take the medicine
There's a whole lot more on fruits but let me pause here. I have pictures of some of the fruits with the write-up for you to view.

#fruit
#fruits
#fruitsasweeteners
#fruitsasflavours

IN THIS NEW YEAR...

From Farm Cafe to you this New Year...

#FarmCafe #FarmCafeNewYeargreetings

#FarmCafegreetings

#Year2024

#Year2024greetings