HARVEST DURING PLANTING (DRY) SEASON...

If you know you can grow food, no matter how small the scale, abeg o, do the needful. We believe God for genuinely good leaders in Nigeria - but even with clear conscience  and the best of  intentions,  political leaders may not be able to avert some food crises. Remember that the best of men is still man.

Having said that, let me gist you about happenings in my very mini-garden. It's February ending  going into March- this period s about the peak of dry season in Southwest but I am getting and will get some harvests of crops this dry season- this is the period when farmers generally prepare or start planting.

The corn cobs have emerged in my mini garden this dry season. The pineapple is getting bigger, the chilli peppers and snake (paste) tomatoes  and leafy vegetables have really helped this period of naira scarcity - when even if you have some change in your bank account, it's no guarantee you will be able to buy needed groceries when you want - you grab?. 

So even this mini-garden harvests helped relieved the tension a whole lot - that is not to even mention the herbs in the garden made into teas and soft drinks .

To fertilise the garden crops I use kitchen wastes or even some unused plants in the garden - last week I manure the sack of  soil the  maize  plants are growing in with mango leaves.

Apart from the mango plant I intentionally cultivated, two other mango seedlings are still growing. Since I want my corn to be sweet, I decided to also use mango leaves in addition to other wastes - soya bean though very good source of nitrogen is not really sweet to the taste - I would henceforth try to use more of sweet wastes e.g.tigernuts chaff, coconut chaff, sweet fruit wastes  to manure the corn - if you can control outcomes in a small garden, you also can in a big garden or large farm.

Just remember that in organic growing of crops, you need a whole lot of patience.

#dryseasonplanting
#pineappleplant
#pineapplenowfruiting
#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
#growingcornallyearround
#throughbredseeds
#purebredseeds
#agricresearches

PINEAPPLE PLANT NOW FRUITING IN MY GARDEN

I did complain about a pineapple plant in my garden which had refused to fruit after about two years. So I started cutting off it's parts about two weeks ago - mostly the leaves (hard, fibrous part) to manure some other crops e.g. maize plants.

 
To my surprise, some days ago, after I started decapitating the plant, the pineapple shoot emerged  - the fruit is growing.
What I am wondering now is if the emergence of this fruit after two long years is because I started cutting it's leaves off....Uuummm... since I have only one pineapple plant growing in a sack, I don't have another pineapple plant to test this hypothesis- even if I plant pineapple today I  would have to wait for another two years to experience that - meanwhile I want to go study herbal medicine.

 
Does anyone have pineapple plants of about two years  old and would like to cut some of the leaves to test this hypothesis? 😀 would be glad to know your finding.

OTHER GARDEN GIST
The leaves of the rounded tomatoes I planted are drying up.  Only one of the four plants produced few tomato  fruits  which I have harvested - I used in frying eggs and garnishing sauce.

 
No wonder those who grow tomatoes in dry season do so in a green house or under shades.

Rather than do nothing as the tomato plant wither, I have started  covering the plants with a cloth in the afternoons. I am also intensely applyling organic nitrogen source such as bean peels and soya bean chaff to manure. Let's see if it will work.

 
Applying this organic nitrogen sources intensely has worked well with pepper plant in the garden - that pepper plant has fruited and fruited relatively well. The nitrogen sources also help to make the drying ewedu leaves turn back to lush green.

 
Waiting to see the outcome  of covering the tomato plants - this mini-garden is primarily for experimenting afterall  - mini-garden researcher thinking deep.

#dryseasonplanting
#pineappleplant
#pineapplenowfruiting
#pureagriculture
#agricutureversusgoodhealth
#developingorganichairtreatment
#minigardenresearch
#growingcornindryseason
#growingcornallyearround
#throughbredseeds
#purebredseeds
#agricresearches

PINEAPPLE  PLANT NOW FRUITING IN MY GARDEN

I did complain about a pineapple plant in my garden which had refused to fruit after about two years. So I started cutting off it's parts about two weeks ago - mostly the leaves (hard, fibrous part) to manure some other crops e.g. maize plants.
To my surprise, some days ago, after I started decapitating the plant, the pineapple shoot emerged  - the fruit is growing.
What I am wondering now is if the emergence of this fruit after two long years is because I started cutting it's leaves off....Uuummm... since I have only one pineapple plant growing in a sack, I don't have another pineapple plant to test this hypothesis- even if I plant pineapple today I  would have to wait for another two years to experience that - meanwhile I want to go study herbal medicine.
Does anyone have pineapple plants of about two years  old and would like to cut some of the leaves to test this hypothesis? 😀 would be glad to know your finding.

OTHER GARDEN GIST
The leaves of the rounded tomatoes I planted are drying up.  Only one of the four plants produced three tomato  fruits  which I have harvested - I think I used one to get eggs and another to garnish sauce. The third I deposited into the sack of soil.
No wonder those who grow tomatoes in dry season do so in a green house or under shades-
Rather than do nothing, I have started  covering the plants with a cloth in the afternoons. I am also intensely applyling organic nitrogen source such as beans peels and soya bean chaff to manure. Let's see if it will work. Applying this organic nitrogen sources intensely has worked well with pepper plant in the garden - that plant has fruited and fruited relatively well. The nitrogen sources also helps to make the drying ewedu leaves turn back to lush green.

 
Waiting to see the outcome  of covering the tomato plants - this mini-garden is primarily for experimenting  - Mini-Garden Researcher thinking deep.

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

GARDENING REDUCES FRUSTRATION OF NAIRA, FOOD SCARCITY

I couldn't help laughing at myself - I heard a hawker chanting 'buy peppers, buy tomatoes' while I was rounding up today's morning work in the garden.

I needed some peppers and tomatoes for stew to go with white rice.

I was already making the move to go call the hawker when I remembered I had no physical cash. This set of hawkers don't accept transfers for payment.

Besides, the quantity I needed was small and wasn't worth making a transfer  with the possibility of not going through due to network issues - even if the hawker  would accept electronic payment.

Feeling somewhat frustrated, I went to get the seeds of snake tomatoes I had and planted some more. I dont have seeds of round tomatoes.

Then I started laughing at myself  - planting snake tomatoes today which would take at  the very least eight weeks or at most 16weeks  to harvest won't solve my need for stew today.

But  then I thought ''do you know what problems may be at that time?' Uuuummm... while we keep hoping  for the best, it is better to live prepared... today, the problem is scarcity of legal tender to buy food, tomorrow  who knows? 

While we do hope there wont be serious scarcity of food in our country, let's learn to read handwriting on the wall.

Not everyone can or should grow food but if many who are able, do so, then there may not really be any serious  scarcity - remember that scarcity occurs when demand is far higher than supply.

Anyway I still had  a sumptuous  meal by combining some green chilli peppers in the garden (no ripe tomatoes in ny garden and unripe tomatoes don't taste nice but unripe chilli peppers grown through organic means taste very great )  with some items at home  - simple, not sophisticated and it was still a very delicious  sumptuous  balanced diet meal - it contains carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals and I drank water😁

Imagine waiting for transfer to go through to buy meat when hungry😃or looking for POS Agent with cash and reasonable charges. No be everyday we go chop meat before food go balance  - hey!Come to think of It, if you can rear livestock as well, that can meet some of your household's meat demand  -mini-gardener thinking deep.

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

GROWING CORN (MAIZE) ALL YEAR ROUND

See those maize plants growing with such elegance in that sack?- they started growing by default not by design...maize plants pictures taken today January 24th.

Out of the corn I harvested last - in November, last year, I soaked a cob of maize in December  to soften it.

I gave to the snails without removing the grains from the cob. The snails ate what they could out of it.

When cleaning the snail pen, I took what was left of the cob and deposited it in one of the sacks of soil as manure - I had not even actually got to do tillage on that sack of soil but been adding wastes  regularly.

The corn germinated, I think up to six or more plants. I thinned to three stands - I usually allow two stands of maize per sack but decided to leave three - I am  constantly exploring  different options, making observations and taking notes.

I marvel at the determination with which the maize plants are growing even in this very dry season. I constantly water and weed of course  but some crops are just so very determined to grow.

Another observation is that in organic gardening or farming,  the seeds of crops you harvest in your garden or farm are like thoroughbred-  pure-bred - they are very ruddy.

I did see a post by a leading Organic Farmer on that  - this maize plants story is attesting to what @Opefarms  said. 

Something similar happened with Okro and I almost overlooked.  It's been very difficult for Okro to grow in in my garden  from seeds purchased or Okro bought.

It took very long time for Okro to germinate from seeds I purchased in spite if constantly manuring with organic wastes.

When I harvested  very small quantity of Okro few weeks ago and planted,  I did not even give it any special attention.   But I've just noticed its growing even though it's in an overcrowded sack with rounded tomatoes.

The observation on vitality of organically produced seeds is still ongoing  - what I think is playing out is this - the  seeds of plants grown through organic means are healthier (have more vibrancy) because they are devoid of chemicals. It means seeds from organically grown plants have more life.
Just that if you are doing very large scale farming you might not be able to get to buy as many organically produced seeds as you need.

But for small producers like we, the  mini-gardeners, seeds got from your garden plants are treasures.

 

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

MY ROUND TOMATOES FRUITING, CAMEROON PEPPER SPROUTS...

My round tomatoes are fruiting! When I saw these on Saturday I twirled round dancing. Why? It's sort of been difficult growing round tomatoes in past seasons since I started gardening - they  don't just fruit unlike the snake tomatoes (tomato pastes).

This time around I've been very  intentional with manuring after tilling the two bags of soil I planted them in.

I made a post last week making enquiries about a certain plant sprouting in my garden. Check 2nd photo 

Finally I have been able to identify partly with plant identifier app and also careful observations and reading.

The unknown plant (now known) is Cocona (Solanum sessiliflorum), often called Cameroon pepper in our clime! I was wondering how the seed got there - I even initially thought it may have been a bird that brought the seed.

It was after all the hassles of identifying I later remembered - I think it was around November last year - I was shopping for soup ingredients  and I got these two orange coloured fruits for N100 to use as spice. I've heard about the pepper but never really used it in my own cooking.

I didn't get around to using them and in the usual nothing wastes concept, when they appeared to be getting spoilt, I packed them with other kitchen wastes and went to deposit them in the soil in some sacks as irganic manure.

I forgot completely about them until  after identifying  the plant. So looking forward also to Cameroon pepper harvest as I tend the plant. Hopefully more will germinate.

Between last Monday and today I have been able to re-bag/re-mix soil in five sacks, two buckets and two basins.

Call it tillage or re-bagging of soil, that's what I've been busy doing in the garden in addition to the regular watering, weeding etc.

Apart from the wear and  tear of the old sacks,  the soils in them need rejuvenation by re-mixing with manure.

Packing out soil from torn sacks and gradually putting in new sacks with addition of manure at different layers is certainly a whole lot of work.  I had to use the dreaded shovel because it's faster. Seems the shovel is no longer as heavy as it used to feel 😀.

I will massage my body with the Organic Body Lotion I made from agricultural materials  for soothing relief.

Thankfully, I wouldn't need to till the soil in the  new sacks, buckets or basins until at least one year -  I plan to finish all the tilling, remixing with manure of soils in old sacks into new sacks before the onset of rains.

Why do these things excite me? -  quite a number of reasons e.g. it's indication of my good health, I am doing some findings correlating pure  agriculture  to good health which I believe would prevent any form of ill-health in humans  - this Mini-Garden researcher is thinking deep!

#pureagriculture
#agricutureversusgoodhealth
#unknowngardenplant
#identifyingunknownplant
#agriculturalmedicine
#Harmattan
#GardeningduringHarmattan
#growingcropsinsacks
#growingmaizeinsacks
#growingokroinsacks
#growingtomatoesinsacks
# growingsnaketomatoesinsacks
#spaceconstrainedgarden
#gardeningincementedpremises
#gardeninginsacks
#growingplantsinsacks
#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening
#minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening
#intercroppinginsoilsack.
#growingeweduinsack

HELP IDENTIFY THIS PLANT WITH BIG LEAVES

This Morning In the Garden...

This plant (the 1st & 2nd photo) has been growing in the same sack I planted Ewedu. 

The plant identifier apps are great but sometines they don't actually identify some plants. 

The apps come up with something similar based on what is seen in the photo. So it is good if one already has a very good idea what the plant is from experience or experienced people.  Would be really glad if you can help identify

OTHER GISTS

As the Harmattan haze gradually bids goodbye, it's time to start planning earnestly if you want to grow garden plants.

If you use containers like sacks, you may think you have escaped the task of land clearing or preparation.

 Well, not actually o - the sacks do get worn out  and tear due to weather elements after some months - I am still hoping to get sacks that can last up to five years before tearing🤔

Meanwhile  when a sack gets torn to the point it needs replacement, don't wait till the rains start before replacing. This Dry season is the best time.

So I have to pack the soil in the torn sacks into other sacks -  newer ones, hopefully these ones are more durable.

 I started this morning - I used the dreaded shovel again😀. I was able to do just one sack soil  transfer since I also seized the opportunity to enrich the soil in the new sack very well from the base.  

At different levels, I added wastes - plantain peels, dry leaves, the remains of maize plants  in the garden.

 I will also be adding nitrogen source like soya bean chaff. I would be adding the peels of beans as well  when I remove peels to make moin-moin or  beans cake -akara. 

I have read recently that apart from soya chaff, any legume or pulse plants  are superb for enriching soil. I was not interested in growing beans in my mini garden because I felt the harvest would be too small to be of any consideration due to space constraint. But having read  that  beans are about the best enrichment for the soil because of nitrogen content, I will plant beans soon. 

 If I don't get considerable harvest, I will at least  enrich my garden soil - aaawwwwn!

Already when I want the ewedu I planted to become greenish when the leaves are turning  yellow I add soya bean chaff.

Ewedu is now very expensive o. But thankfully I have been able to pluck twice and cook. 

My first harvest was on 24th December - about one month after planting. 

See that picture with Pounded  yam and Ewedu soup with with stew and turkey and beef seasoned with garden secrets? That was Christmas Eve supper!  - only the ewedu was from the garden. Wish I could start rearing turkeys and chickens soon - it would have to be on smallest scale possible and they will have to be caged.

 What I   prefer though is free range - let them waka about on vegetation. Sighs - space constraint ! But no problem- in life, we just have to make the best we can out of what we have before we get what would be more ideal  - at the very least we are learning even on a small scale so we can handle well the bigger when it comes. Meanwhile there are other benefits as well from the very small scale!

#unknowngardenplant

#identifyingunknownplant

#agriculturalmedicine

#Harmattan 

#GardeningduringHarmattan 

#growingcropsinsacks

#growingmaizeinsacks

#growingokroinsacks

#growingtomatoesinsacks

# growingsnaketomatoesinsacks

#spaceconstrainedgarden

#gardeningincementedpremises

#gardeninginsacks

#growingplantsinsacks

#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening 

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

#intercroppinginsoilsack. 

#growingeweduinsack

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