USE OF BLOOD LEAVES AS MANURE

Today I want to share with you another discovery in gardening -
the use of blood leaves (Amaranthaceae) to manure your plants. I have used  it on at least two  crops - maize and pepper to boost growth.

Last week I noticed that the blood leaves  stems or branches  in my mini-garden were spreading.

So  I decided to prune. I was almost going to trash them when it occurred to me that the leaves may be good in manuring plants.

So I decided to use in manuring some of the maize plants in sacks or bags and pepper plant in one bag.

Unlike two or three  other pepper plants that have been fruiting very well, this particular pepper plant  was struggling with fruiting.

Over the weekend,  after manuring with blood leaves, I noticed that more pepper fruits had emerged on the struggling plant - I was able to pluck some for the very first time in months on this plant.

Also the corn or maize plant I manured with blood leaves brought out tassels (not ears) few days later.

The only bag  of soil I didn't put the blood leaves  had  two maize plants and they  didn't bring out tassels (not ears).

So today, this sunny October 3rd morning I applied the blood leaves on the soil in that bag with the two maize plants and some soya chaff as well.  So  the two maize plants can also get some boost.

I keep learning new things o - almost everything is usable. My five-year bachelor  of Agriculture degree course  and career in agricultural journalism did give me much knowledge.

Nothing however compares with putting some things into practice  - I may also write books from my learning on this to increase knowledge for students.

But right now I am just encouraging  gardeners  that almost everything  is useful - II am thinking  some weeds that we remove and discard or trash may be good for manuring - just cut off the roots so they won't sprout but decompose. I am going to be trying out weeds or plants yet unidentified in my garden for manuring. This mini-urban gardener is thinking deep o!

Public holiday is sure a good time to rest but if  you take a bit of the day to do some gardening, you will likely find the day much more refreshing

You can use containers - bags or sacks, buckets, basins, pots, drums if the ground you have is cemented or tiled.

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#minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening
#growingmaizeandokro
#growingmaizewithotherplantsinsacks

TREE SPINACH- EFO IYANA IPAJA OR UGWU JERUSALEM IS SUPERFOOD

 

Scientific name: Jatropha tanjorensis

You see this vegetable in the photos - it's a Super food I.e. it is delicious with lots of nutritional/health benefits. In fact, it is medicinal. 

When I started growing it in my garden, I initially cringed at the idea of eating it. Why? Because it was terrorising my skin once  my body makes contact with the leaves. So why was I growing It? I wanted to provide shade for the snails that I started rearing for practical knowledge. 

I also wanted readily available leaves I could cut for the snails to feed on. This plant is not seasonal like many other crops, it sprouts  easily and grows all year round.  It is an evergreen, drought-resistant shrub growing up to  2metres to 5metres tall. 

It is also ornamental - it adds some beauty to the garden. I plant them in sacks and  water regularly.

Some gardeners kept telling me it was nice to eat. I kept thinking 'No way. How can I possibly eat something that itches my skin so badly when working in the garden?'

 I would have to rush to get my Organic lotion to apply on the part of my skin it touches for relief. If not it could itch so badly and that part of the skin could even swell up. 

But when I started researching information on this vegetable, and found out the nutritional benefits, I decided to try using it to cook vegetable soup. 

I first learnt how to do the cooking of course.

You need to be careful when plucking it so it doesn't touch your skin. 

Soak the leaves in hot water for at least 15 minutes or more or boil for at least 3 minutes and drain off the water.

Cut the leaves and cook like you would cook other vegetables such as the well-known Ugwu leaves. I added some bit of bitterleaf and basil- scent leaves. Bitterleaf  prevents purging. 

When cooked, Efo Iyana Ipaja is  really tasty! 

#efoiyanaipaja #ugwuJerusalem #efoJerusalem #uguoyibo #Catholicvegetable #treespinach  #hospitaltoofar

The vegetable is very rich in Vitamin A and C,

excellent source of protein, other vitamins such as B1, calcium, iron, folate and ascorbic acid, fibre as well as a potent antioxidant.

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TREE PLANTING IN SMALL FLOWER BED

Do you know it's actually possible to plant a tree in a small flower bed even with the base cemented? Watch the video:
The root of a tree will grow in the direction it finds least resistance - the soil of course provides least resistance. If it grows downwards into the soil in an open field, and there is a fence or building over the part of the ground the tree is growing it may affect the fence. But if the base of the soil is cemented, rather than grow down the root will look for the place of least resistance.

So what you can do is to control the growth of the root by removing the resistance in the direction you want the root  to grow. This will provide more opportunities for people living in towns and cities to grow trees if they want to. Already people are growing trees in containers.

But if you already have tree(s) in your compound, try to channel the movement of the roots in the direction(s) you consider appropriate to prevent damages to structures  you need to preserve.
I am going to remove the slab which I call pillar in the video and put soil - sand so the root of the NEEM  tree- Dongoyaro tree can grow in that direction.

See more details on video here:
https://youtu.be/6PxynKAvaYw

#trees #urbantreeplanting  #preservingtrees #GLF
#Landscaping
#GlobalLandScapeForum
#environment
#staygreen #liveingreenery

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HOW THE IDEA RESEARCH ON ORRGANIC BODY LOTION STARTED

WOULD YOU WANT YOUR SKIN HEALTHIER, MORE BEAUTIFUL IN NATURALLY SAFE WAY? ...Edible Items As Body Lotion During the training on Making Research Work by the International Centre for Research-Oriented Development in Agriculture (iCRA) held April to June, this year, I presented one of my researches, an Organic Lotion or Natural Lotion made from edible items most of which are usually discarded. I and some of my family members already use this Organic Lotion. Since the essence of a research is for the people by the people, I am going to be circulating the information so you can understand the essence of using these natural items devoid of chemicals to beautify and also make the human skin healthier and to serve you longer. Your suggestions are welcomed. If you are interested in the commercialisation of this research, that's also welcomed. This Organic Lotion Clears skin of blemishes –eczema, pimples, scars   Heals wounds fast ie. from accidents and other mishaps Heals surgical cuts faster Relieves burns and hot water scalding on skin Relieves aches on parts of the body applied Good as Massage oil   Makes the skin firmer Anti-aging since it is organic because chemical-based lotions/creams make wrinkles appear earlier on the face Let's start discussing here or on phone: +2348092236484 #organicbodylotion #edibleitemsasbodylotion #naturalbodylotion #research #agromaterialsaslotion #organicbodylotion #edibleitemsasbodylotion #naturalbodylotion #research #agromaterialsaslotion