PREVENT RODENTS FROM EATING YOUR EDIBLE SEEDS AND GROWING CROPS

I planted maize - corn around May in about three sacks. To my surprise they didn't germinate. I thought it was because I planted late -  the rains had already started then in earnest.

I had been doing some activities to meet deadlines online with some research-based write-ups for courses  around March to May.
Though I was  still doing some garden work daily throughout the period, I couldn't get the soil ready for the  sacks to plant the maize.

Unlike vegetables, the soil for planting maize needs good tillage and and manuring different levels of the soil from the base  to the top before planting.

So it was after submitting all the materials to meet the deadlines I was able to tackle that very tasking aspect of the gardening to plant maize. 

When the maize didnt germinate, I later planted cocoyams in those sacks from the remnants left  from the ones for cooking - cocoyam gerninates so easily.

But during last week after meeting another course submission deadline, I used the shovel in scooping soil from two worn-out sacks and poured into a bigger fresh sack.

I manured different levels of the soil with yam peels and plantain peels.(its good to manure with remnants from carb foods if planting a carbodaydrate crop - I planted maize in that sack.

I put the sack in a section of the garden I can easily check on. Thank God I did o because  this Sunday evening as I was passing by, I saw a big rat jumping out of the sack.

It then dawned on me - the crazy rat(s) must have been the one eating the maize seeds I have been planting.

But I go to very great lengths to keep my garden and environs clean! Apart from being somewhat freaky about cleanliness, it is also to prevent invasion of such things as rodents that get attracted to food  lying around in any ptemises.

But no matter how clean your immediate  environment is, since you can't always ensure people in the neighbourhood will keep their environs clean as well, you may still have rodents visiting.

Anyway, I was already prepared. I had bought some rat poisons. So I set poisoned delicacy for the rat(s) in the premises to feast on and thereafter  demise. I will ensure they regret coming into my premises - imagine the hard work I put into that garden!

So this morning (Monday Sept. 11)  I replanted maize in that sack. I will also plant more maize seeds in other sacks I will be  preparing -  I handle what  work I can do per time - it took two days to prepare this latest sack of soil.

I wanted to prepare another  sack with soil this morning but there was extra work - no electricity for days  to pump water. I'd resolved not to buy fuel for the generator.

So I had to fetch water from the well this morning to wet the  garden plants  -  before fetching water I was hoping it would rain - the weather looked cloudy this morning but even as at this afternoon, it is yet to rain, in fact it's sunny. Thankfully when deliberating on fetching water this morning,  I remembered that scripture from the bible that says he that regarded the wind will not sow.

.Since I didn't water the crops yesterday Sunday, ( though I sometimes wet on Sunday evenings), I decided to fetch the water from the well this Monday morning to do my part in keeping the plants in good condition.

No worries -  I only fetched just eight 20-litre paint buckets  - two for use inside and six to wet the garden.

After fetching ONLY  eight big paint buckets  I  became so very tired   though. I initially thought I would collapse and not be able to do anything today.

Since I  am female, I dont have the liberty like some boys of today that can marry a wife to cook free of charge for them🤣 and there are other more pressing needs than paying a cook, before collapsing sha, I gathered the strength to  boil an egg  and ate - egg repairs worn out tissues . So I regained  some strength - seems a solution to tiredness from working real hardwork is food😂

Having regained some strength I then fried another egg. I  still have left  some of this African cake that I baked from powdered corn, millet, guinea corn and soya beans - all flour with vegetable oil, dates and honey. - very nutritious and so filling as a meal.

After eating the African cake  and fried egg for breakfast, my body is  vibrant again from fetching 160 lites of water and doing gardening work/cleaning the environs early in the morning- I can read, write and research - which I already started this morning after bathing  - I fetched the water and didn't collapse o and my brain is still working to discover some natural solutions to most of human health challenges .

In fact I already have energy again to cook  later today with the snake(paste) tomatoes I have been harvesting from the garden - there are vegetables available in the garden.  My people, am I suffering or enjoying life?

MY GARDEN PLANTS HELP KEEP MY EYES INTACT

I have never used eye-glasses in my 50 years  despite  spending hours reading- mostly on computer/phone screen.

Some years ago, I observed as a lady was teaching at a bible study . She had prepared well - I saw her notes.  But she forgot or misplaced her eye-glasses and so was experiencing difficulty reading the bible and  the notes she had made.

It affected her teaching performance  - she seemed clumsy such that one of the supervisors expressed displeasure.

The lady apologised profusely explaining that it was because her eye-glasses were not available.

The Supervisor didn't say anything but  still seemed crossed  as if the lady had taken the opportunity given her to teach with levity.

I started thinking - I don't like this idea of being so dependent on eye-glasses.

But I didn't know then that the solution to having good eyesight even in much latter years could be so simple.

I did try to observe some general rules on eye-health  that are common, one of which was not to over-stretch the eyes, reading  too long on screen or reading  very small prints.

But I have always been the type that read a lot- not just because it's addictive but the career I have gravitated towards has been mainly writing - journalism despite studying agriculture.

Even as an agriculturist/researcher I tend towards agricultural communications hence reason my  Farm Cafe's main activities  can be summarised into communications- information services which will soon  entail training - knowledge sharing.

Long and short of all these is that I spend hours upon hours behind the  computer/phone screen often over-stretching my eyes. For example this weekend I was glued to the computer working to meet the deadline for an application for a course with so much details to compile along. It's a wonder how I dragged my tired body up this morning.

Usually, after gardening , doing mini-researches and other activities, it's back to reading, studying one way  or another with heavy demands on the eyes. I used to experience some discomforts.

But over the years through the mini-researches I discovered that no matter how much screen time I have, as long as I include certain leafy vegetables or plant leaves in my diet , my eyes stay intact - no discomfort or weakening.

In addition to some natural oils and spices good for the eyes, my eyes have been functioning relatively well - I read well no matter how stretched except when I break the nutrition codes.

I am not going to mention those leaves for obvious reasons - this field of medicine is highly specialised and delicate.  These findings have taken years and years of studies and researching.

So do be careful about being told that some specific  leaves are good for the eyes or an ailment and just going ahead to using them arbitrarily - there  are intricacies and deep knowledge surrounding their usage.

I will just say if you grow edible leaves i.e. leafy vegetables  in safe,  organic ways they are good for the well-being of the body.

Please...In the pictures, you may see me pointing, I am pointing at the garden and no particular leaves, so don't think it's any leaf I seem to be pointing at😁

#eyehealth
#goodeyesight
#gardeningforhealth

LEAVES OF TREE CROPS ARE ASSETS...though managing them can be such hard work

In one of the online international conferences I participated in, one of the key points I got was that 'households that have trees of economic value tend to be resilient  during economic hardships.'

This is one of the findings of researchers on the global lockdown due to Covid19 in different developing countries including Nigeria.

But due to my current space constraints and cemented premises, I have been growing trees in sacks ...mango, almond, pawpaw etc

Sighsss... as the trees grow from seedling into trees, they are outgrowing the sacks.  They may not grow to fruiting stage but do you know virtually all fruit trees have beneficial leaves?  So you can't completely lose out if you grow trees even in small containers like sacks.

I saw a fellow herbalist on Instagram who has produced tea bags from leaves of Bush mango (Ogbono) and African Cherry (Agbalumo) .

So I am encouraged to plant more trees in sacks - I have recently also planted Soursop and African Cherry  (Agbalumo) and  even Pomegranate but not sure that could germinate because the pomegranate was bought in a supermarket and I don't think it's organic.

But there is only one tree planted directly in the ground soil in my premises - Neem tree (Dongoyaro). Not wanting it to  threaten built structures, I have tried so hard to get it killed - I have called an artisan about three or four times to cut and wipe it out competely and rubbed engine oil to the part we were unable to uproot. 

But it takes only some weeks and a little rain, this tree would sprout again from that point and grow back to tree size in few months.

So I watch it regularly and  when it's blooming, I would weaken it's growth so it wont become massive, by cutting off it's parts.

I have to do this regularly -  calling an Artisan to come on time isn't always possible. So I now cut off the tree parts by myself regularly using cutlass.  Do not worry o, I do this  sort of work not because I am forced to but because I can and I don't mind doing such. Even when the chips are down, I have a caring, supportive family but I choose to be up and doing.

I  found out that to truly enjoy life, you have to be hard working as well but when there are truly smarter options, you can of course  explore it to achieve your aims. But having a lazy attitude to life would eventually entrap the person - so try to do as much as you can.

After cutting the Neem leaves, I dry these leaves which have several uses  such as:-

 

1 - the leaves can be burnt in a metallic bowl to drive away mosquitoes and other insects - unlike manufactured insecticides  that pollute the air due to chemical elements, Dongoyaro leaves purify the air -e.g. get rid of bacteria.

2 - I use small quantities in compounding  two of the body cosmetics I make for furure commercialisation and  which I currently use for a smooth, clear skin - hence  I don't need heavy makeup to hide anything.

3 - I make the leaves into herbal concoction for health-related purposes  which I won't detail yet until I get certified as a herbal medicine practitioner.

4. Neem leaves are also well used on farms and gardens to prevent or curtail insect attacks.

A pity that the space issue is preventing me from allowing the tree grow massive to fruiting stage - the green fruits of Neem tree contain Neem oil which is like agricultural liquid  gold because it is very pricey.

Recently I noticed that whenever I have been doing lots of physical exertion in the garden, my body starts craving for good food -  for someone who used to have loss of appetite on some days, that is really good.

After working real hard in the garden, these last days, it was as though my body was warning me that if you dare not eat and eat well, I will protest o! - .so I knew bread and butter or any mede-mede (junkie) food will not revitalise my body - it must be nutritiously healthy food if I still want to use this body to do other things later in the day such as reading/researching, writing and processing ingredients I use for tests of the home-made beauty products.

So this Monday morning like last week, I peeled beans and soaked,  went to continue  the gardening work and cleaning the environment.

I plucked pepper leaves from the garden, squeezed it , also squeezed scent leaves - basil.

After blending the beans, I added the juice of these healthy leaves, added other ingredients and made moin-moin this time around.

After early morning farm or garden work, a breakfast of herbs-garnished moiin-moim and corn pap  sweetened with honey is the real deal - it kept my brain tuned to reading frequency.

Garden herbs can help not just to prepare/ eat simple meals  but to medicate for healthy body.

 

Being so intentionally active is one of the ways I keep this  50 year old  body strongly intact.

#treeleaves
#fruittreeleaves
#planttrees
#planttreesforresilience
#gardeningincementedpremises
#spaceconstrainedgardening
#pureagriculture
#gardenherbsforhealthybody
#treesofeconomicvalue
#cookwithgardenherbs
#simplehealthycooking
#nutritionwithgardenherbs

DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR DYING PLANTS, SWEET NOURISHMENT AHEAD

Today, one of my pepper plants that I almost gave up on has almost 20 pepper fruits.  It gave me the inspiration to make akara (bean balls or is it bean cakes?😂 whichever it's so delicious!). 

Why? I noticed sometimes ago that my garden peppers especially  goes very well with beans. You see I am suspicious of beans sold  in the market - it usually gives me heartburn after eating maybe due to the chemicals used in growing and/or preserving the beans. But I cannot grow considerable amount of beans now in my little garden.

 But I noticed that  if I prepare the meal with my garden peppers, the heartburn is not much or non-existent.

 But that is not the even the icing on the cake - the real deal is the remarkable taste-   spiciness  combined with healthy goodness of my garden peppers which makes any bean meal I cook more palatable and of course healthier for me. 

So if you notice any plant dying in your garden, don't just give it up, do some investigation to find out what may have happened to it - like this pepper plant withered because I was manuring it with fresh onion peels and fresh ginger peels. 

When I realised and stopped and use dried food wastes and soya bean chaff, the almost-dead pepper plant bounced back to life and not long after started fruiting. 

Then you know what? The peppers are so very nicely spicy  because it no doubt has a whole lot of onion goodness In it. 

For someone as busy as I am, making akara on  a Monday morning is a real deal - but I was motivated by the spiciness of the returned-to-life pepper plant fruits - see me enjoying my akara- seems it even stimulated my brain when I put on the computer to read and write my findings for onward practical to be conducted. 

Actually I have been feeling very tired  because during the weekend I needed to work with the shovel again to do some gardening work.

 So I was so tired this Monday morning  but after akara(bean balls) breakfast  my brain  seemed to become revitalised.

I really need my  brain cells very active -  I am still researching on the use of agricultural raw materials to beautify the body -  lotion, soap, powder - commercialisation of these products still coming. 

If not that I have clocked 50 years,, I would have started applying for modelling jobs as my body is feeling so revitalised  by using this agricultural raw materials  for  beauty therapy.  

Sometimes simple solutions bring about remarkable results....

PLANT SOME OF THAT EXPENSIVE FOODSTUFF YOU BUY TO GET MORE VALUE

In my mini-garden I have Cocoyam and water yam growing- planted from remnants of the ones bought for eating.

But I don't have the normal sweet white yam   (Dioscorea rotundata)   that  is commonly known and eaten. Why? Because I have not bought it in a long time because it's outrageously expensive - you all know the price of this sweet  yam has been skyrocketing.

I was waiting for 'New Yam' to start arriving in the markets before buying in hope that the price of the yam would be considerably much lower. 

So imagine my shock when I asked for the price of this yam in the picture and was told - N2,000. Two thouuuuuusand for this  size of new yam grown here on Nigeria soil - Aaahhh!!!

So when I heard the price, I decided I was not  going to buy - some prices of what is grown here are just so annoying! There are other pressing needs other than food that also  need to be met.

But then I remembered I had been wanting to grow this type of yam in the mini-garden. It is based on that I bought this yam.  Well, I did get change of N200 after haggling further so I actually got it for N1,800

If you are able to grow some parts of that expensive foodstuff, you might not feel so crossed at the high price  as you would be able to get more value from it.

Even using the wastes of some foodstuffs to do something beneficial delivers more value to you than just eating - those are some of the ways we decrease pressures of current skyrocketing prices of items including food in the country.

You see these plantaiin peels, though I can use it to manure most plants in the garden, I prefer to use in manuring the Cocoyam, water yam plants and would also use to manure the sweet yam plants when they start growing.

Like they say in my home state - Ogun state to ginger people to work hard -''Omo Ogun Ise ya'.

#growingsweetyams
#growingwhiteyam
##manuringwithlantainpeels
#purwagriculture

PEPPER LEAVES - RICH IN NUTRIENTS, EASY TO GROW

There are lots of plants that are growing or can be grown all around us.

Most of them are yet to  be identified  so we don't know they are so very useful.

One of it is pepper leaves which can be used in cooking e.g  meat and gives it a spicy taste. I  would soon be exploring the possibility of drying it  and blending into powder to use as a barbecue or 'suya' spice  in grilling chicken, fish, beef, goat meat and so on.

How did it get to my garden? - I sprayed some seeds which I couldn't identify some months ago to see what plants would emerge.

When I saw these plants in the picture, I did some research and found out they are pepper leaves - commonly used in other continents to season food.

I then cut the stems and planted in sacks and they are growing- so easy to grow through seeds or stems.

I read that the pepper leaves are rich in vitamins  like A and C.  Eating them i.e. including in food can help improve health of consumers i.e. boost immunity

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

ONION PEELS GOOD AS MANURE BUT HOLD ON!

If you have a garden, there's hardly any kitchen wastes. Even your onion peels/remnants are very good in manuring some crops such as the different pepper plants - chilli,  habanero, yellow pepper, cayenne,scent leaves - basil, curry leaves, tomatoes etc. Any crop you want to put some spiciness.

But hold on, if you have already planted the crops, you can't just pour the peels and remnants you cut out and pour straight.

If you use in manuring while fresh, it can sorely affect the growth of the plant - the leaves turn yellowish, even brownish and  plant would appear dying.

If you don't stop manuring with fresh onion remnants and other spices like fresh ginger peels, those plants may actually die. I have had such issues of pepper plants almost dying and after giving up on them, surprise! They came back to life very vigorous. Further investigation then revealed what happened.

But those pepper plants are so spicy and taste  great especially when used to spice any food.

So you may consider drying the remnants of onions you have - a few days of sun-drying is okay depending on intensity of the sun. Once dry, pour into the soil and await the fruiting of your spicy peppers.

If you've not planted the crops, you may dump while fresh in the soil surface or use in making compost with other wastes. Aĺow some time before planting.

Onion wastes are good source of minerals for the crops grown on such soil enriching your garden plants with good nutrients for human consumption. .

See that pepper plant in the picture just starting to fruit - I had given up on it as dead. After I discovered the fresh onion peels or remnants were what affected it's growth and I stopped, it bounced back. It's fruiting for the first time in many months - tasted a few of its peppers in spicing food and it's really nice.

So, zero onion  wastes -  more spice to your garden peppers and scent leaves - remember to first dry the onion remnants if adding to soil with crops already planted.

#onionlwastes
#pureagriculture
#agricutureversusgoodhealth
#minigardenresearch
#purebredseeds
#agriculturalmedicine
#gardeningindryseason
#growingcropsindryseason
#spaceconstrainedgarden
#gardeningincementedpremises
#gardeninginsacks
#growingplantsinsacks
#minigarden #urbangarden #urbangardening
#minigardening  #integratedgardening #gardening #gardeninginsmallspaces #integratedgardeninginsmallspaces  #spaceconstrainedurbangardening