DEVELOP YOUR MUSCLES FOR FARMING

...some are fighting, some are farming 

Lots of city or urban dwellers claim they do not have the strength to do very hard work like farming. But have you noticed that more urban dwellers engage in physical fights  than  rural dwellers? 

Apart from fighting, many urban dwellers use their energies for lots of pleasurable activities but shy away from activities that are seen as hard work.

Understandably, some people really don't have the time for physically-engaging work. But the work they do  or investments they have deliver to them so  very much financial and material returns. If they engage in activities like gardening, it would just be as hobby and perhaps for therapeutic health-boosting to revitalise their physical energy. 

The question then is to those who claim they are hungry and even go about begging for food, if they have the opportunity to farm, would they? If they claim not to have the energy for farming, please ask how they get the energy for fighting or some of the pleasurable things they do that are also energy'demanding. 

It would also be interesting to find out why some people make decisions or do things in ways that make them vulnerable, so they can be pitied. They would then expect  to be excused from the tough processes of life so they can make demands like they are entitled to the results of other people's hard work or resources.

Why do some people think it's okay for others to work hard and serve them even when they don't want to consistently  make sacrifices of real hard work to make better their lot in life?

There are lots of people who are professionals today or very successful in some legit endeahours who have gone through processes of very hard work such as farming in their past. They are now really very  sophisticated or touche that just by looking at them you wouldn't know  they have engaged in such hard work in their lifetime . 

Such hard work in their past has been the foundation of  their  present or future success. 

While growing up, many of us were taught that hard work does not kill, it is laziness that kills. 

So as adults even when we have the opportunity to be lazy and cut corners in iife, we continue to be hardworking.

But some people have the strength to work hard but despise  hard work because they believe  that they need to prove how big they are by shunning certain hard work. 

For truly hardworking persons, there is of course the need to schedule  rest  as it is necessary to rejuvenate the body.

Another question that bugs my mind is why young people who barely earn enough for their upkeep and depend on resources provided by someone else  expect other person(s) to serve them personally .

Uuuummmm......

Back to gardeing matters jo, the Cocoyam I harvested from one sack some days ago was worth over N2,000.

 I have made two meals of pounded Cocoyam from ithe harvest. I have fed the few chickens I rear out of the harvested Cocoyam..

 I am going to make yam pottage or is it porridge from the remaining -  result of using energy for farming.

 So if there is need, why not develop your energy for farming?

#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.

RAISING LOCAL CHICKENS WORTHWHILE DOMESTIC HEALTH, FOOD SECURITY

Do you know that livestock raised without drugs or any inorganic growth boosters are healthier for the human consumers?

Yes, it's safer for your health to eat locally-raised chickens and eggs. Also if you raise livestock such as poultry domestically along with your plant gardening, you can achieve better results.

Apart from the fact that the poop of poultry fed only organic materials are rich and safe  manure for your plants especially vegetables, lots of plants considered weeds are healthy for the poultry birds to eat.

Some of those weeds you would have had to cut off and dispose. Just note that the chickens also eat the leaves of many other plants valued by humans, so if raising chickens in an urban garden, better to keep the chickens caged-  ensure they can still take some steps in the coops. If you have the space, rather than keep the chickens caged, you may just allow them free-range in a secluded section of  the garden where there are plants you don't need.

The eggs of local chickens especially fertilised ones are nutrient-packed. Though smaller in size, they are more expensive than the regular commercial chicken eggs -almost twice the amount - currently between N300 to N400 for each.

Some people with health challenges are advised to eat the fertilised local chicken eggs if they  like eating eggs. Why?They are safer for human health.

So if you intend to go into local chicken commercial egg production, target marketing to health practitioners for their patients or to health-conscious persons.

Apart from leaves especially leafy greens that are delight to these local chickens you can also feed them the intestines of fish as protein source- just boil a little, add salt and pepper.

If there are snails that invade your garden and eat your plants, get them picked, remove their shells, add some salt, boil or or roast and give your chickens to eat. You thereby save your plants and feed protein to the chickens to gain weight.​

Unlike snails local chickens can eat even leftovers that have salt so rather than wash off the last helpings of stew or soup from the soup pots, you may mix with leftover fufu, amala or eba and feed them - such food will help them gain weight.

Give them the chaff from soya bean and the chaff of coconuts for fat or healthy oil as well as protein.

So you can cut costs just ensure what you feed them is healthy.

#localchickens
#raisinglocalchickens
#producinglocakchickeneggs
#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

NO JOBLESSNESS IN NIGERIA WITH FARMING

SONG

E ni ko sise

(whoever does not work)

A ma jale 

(will likely steal)

Iwe kiko, laisi oko ati ada

(Book education without hoe and cutlass i.e.agriculture) 

Ko i pe o

(is not complete)

Ko i pe o

(is not complete)

Ise agbe ni ise ile wa

(Farming is the main work of our land - country)

E ni ko sise

(whoever does not work)

A ma jale 

(will likely steal)

Ise agbe ni ise ile wa

(Farming is the main work of our land - country)

 

Before anyone comes for my head with the above statement in capital and the song, let me explain o.

In the early days of my primary schooling, that is about 40 years ago, this song was commonly sung in schools in the Southwest. I believe other regions had equivalent of the song or phrases - encouraging youngsters to learn to work hard with their hands while acquiring the formal western education.

But about two or three decades ago I think, schools started doing away with such songs and the main focus and even total focus was put on book education. Our good values as a country and in various societies started being eroded gradually.

Book education i.e western education VERY SUPERB.

It is useful, in fact, highly beneficial.  As Africans though, let me say Nigerians specifically, book education is not complete without underlining handywork (ise owo in Yoruba) of which Farming is the lead.

One thing learning and practising  handywork skills especially farming along with book education can do is make individuals grounded in good values. Though it takes the fear of God for  people to desire to and endeavour to live by good values, have you ever wondered reason(s) indiscipline, immorality is becoming rampant among faith-based people? 

A major reason is that when the culture of hard work in the basics of life is not entrenched along with spiritual activities like prayer and study of God's word, people will attempt to escape process.

Hence, you will find believers who are believing God to bless them with huge money or resources without being ready to patiently work hard.

They may then start cutting corners, doing away with the good values  of their faith  to get the luxuries or soft life they want.

This is similar to what has happened in the secular. In the generations of our parents or grandparents and great grandparents some of them grew up farning alongside book education. 

After acquiring formal education, they got jobs enabling them to work in offices, usually with luxurious furnishing and airconditiomers. They were also able to earn very much higher incomes than their counterparts who had little or no book education. 

The educated ones mostly had cars, lived in nicer houses and had fringe benefits like all-expense paid trips and courses within and outside the country. They didn't have to lift their fingers to do any work, they just needed to read while other people serve them. 

So even without actually discouraging their growing children from farming, the children themselves detested the idea of farming and most other handywork.

But in subsequent years, the acquisition of book education without being trained alongside to become skilful in handy work  began to create problems - there were very many more people with formal education than the office or book jobs available.

When people don't have government or company or any other organisational employment, they are often at a loss  on what to do to get by in life pending the time a better option comes. 

 Apart from highly-skilled professionals who are able to earn so much and very successful businesspeople, let's not mention politicians and government officials embezzling money, most people in this country are under-employed - not earning enough for basic necessities.

 Even those who have some financial or material support from others  soon discover that with rising costs they cannot meet all essential needs.

But farming is work that is always available, at least to reduce desperation. Perhaps due to the fact that farming over the years has been associated with poverty or poor people or it's high demand of physical energy in the outdoors, many people don't want to engage in it.

 I have written severally that beyond food, farming provides lots of other benefits such as healthwise and so much cost-cutting in different areas- I will be more specific in some future writeups.

So, those youths complaining of hunger but still doing  'shakara' (exhibiting pride or is it laziness) that they cannot engage in farming, they need to be asked some questions. If they have the opportunity to do urban farming because they are afraid of going to forests to farm, would they?

Some of these youths have parents with space in their compounds or nearby that can be used for farming, would they engage in it? Can't they direct the energy they spend constituting menace in society to farm?

Engaging in farming does not mean you are poor, it means you are responsible. These days even if you are earning or getting  so very much money, farming can help you cut down on a whole lot of costs and free money that can be used to start a small business, make some more investments or do some self-development training.

 This can enable you earn better in future or live a better quality of life doing some things by yourself.

As a society we cannot continue having people misbehave claiming it's because they are hungry, do or attempt to do harmful things even to fellow citizens  when there is option of some hard work they can do - remember farming is not for the poor, it is part and parcel of who we are as a people. 

Even countries like USA emerged as super-power nations not because of their scientific and technological wizardry but because agriculture was used in laying the foundation of national greatness 

#farming

#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

GARDEN PLANTS GOOD FOR HORMONAL BALANCE, SUSTAINING HEALTH

Have you ever wondered why the Lord God chose to accommodate the first man and later the first woman He created in a garden? 

 Why didn't He just build a house  to accommodate them? Why was the first habitation of  humans a place with all kinds of plants and animals?

Going through the bible on the early life of humans on earth, I discovered that the garden was not only to meet the food needs of humans but  also to maintain good health.

AEven in my little mini-garden, almost every plant has some spectacular health benefits. 

I have been observing the effects of the Indian almond. Though quite different from other almonds  that are sweet to the taste, this almond I noticed is good for hormonal balance. It steps down inflammatory effects the body sometimes experience after taking certain foods or drinks. 

I have also noticed that it seems to stimulate fertility in chicken- because it is after I started feeding it to the first two chickens in my mini-garden that the hen started laying eggs. 

So I would be testing this on the two new hens I just bought to increase the flock.  If a fruit or any part of a plant part is good for livestock health, it would likely  have similar effects on humans.

I also  noticed that by feeding pawpaw leaves  and some other leaves to  the chickens, there has been no need to use drugs to keep them healthy. 

Do you know the reason local chickens are stronger than the chickens we call 'Agric' is mostly because of feeding on plants an other natural stuffs? But they dont gain as much weight as the 'Agric' - commercialised chickens.

Hence the reason commercial   livestock producers do not massively feed leaves to their chickens. But if you are doing home farming or subsistence agriculture, your goal should be the health of the human consumers rather than fattening the livestock. Fedfing leaves to hour chibkens is good fof the health of human consumers of chicken products as well. 

The human body was created from the dust (soil) so what we feed on and use on the body should be as closest to the soil as possible- the more processed, the more it loses some health benefits. 

Sometimes health hazards are even introduced during the processes especially for highly over-processed food and other agricultural products.  

I do believe that if at least one-third of the world population is engaged in some form of growing healthy food in sustainable ways, many of the current crises in the globe would  be averted

OTHER GIST

In hope of making profit, I have introduced polygamy into Farm Cafe Animal Kingdom🤣 by purchasing two  more hens.

 This is so the there can  be more eggs and hopefully more  chicks and also carry out experiments. 

Things on earth - plants and animals have been given to humans to take  advantage of but humans are not expected to take advantage of each other.

#plantsforgoodhealth

#plantsforhormonalbalance