How to Spend Less Time and Money on Weeding

By FarmersJoint in Crops

If you have ever tried farming on a plot of land (120x60ft) or more, you’ll agree with me that weeding with hoes is no easy task. It is back- and waist-breaking! If you decide to employ laborers to help you out, they’ll charge you about N7000 per plot (depending on your location). This shows how important it is for you to find ways of cutting weeding cost. And that’s exactly what you’re about to learn.

So how do we go about this? The method we’re going to look at is called the stale seedbed method. Here is how it works. Make your seedbed, ridges or hills (I like working with ridges because it makes operations like fertilizer application or spraying insecticides and fungicides easier). After making your ridges, don’t sow your seeds or transplant yet. Allow about 2 weeks to pass to allow the first flush of weeds to grow.
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How to Grow Hot Pepper and Make Money

By FarmersJoint in Crop and Plantation

Pepper belongs to the Solanacea family. Other members of this family includes tomato, tobacco, eggplant and Irish potato. There are different varieties of pepper available to choose from. You just have to go to the pepper sellers in your area and find out the variety that sales well. Then visit a state ministry of Agric. and find out where you can buy the seeds. Some people who sell agro-chemicals in markets may also sell seeds.

Is there money to be made in pepper farming? Yes. Pepper mature in 3-4 months and with proper maintenance, you can harvest it continually for 6 months or more. You’ll make much more money if you have access to irrigation facilities so you can irrigate your plants during the dry season. This can either be in the form of borehole or stream/river. In most places in Nigeria, you can easily rent farmlands that are close
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Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Crop and Plantation, Crops | 23 comments

How to Control Weeds and Conserve Water at the Same Time

By FarmersJoint in Crops
Setting up plastic mulch with drip irrigation. Drip tapes not shown

Weeding is costly. Irrigation is also costly. If you have a large farm you’ll appreciate what I mean. Because of the labor intensive nature of weeding, laborers charge high prices for weeding. Money spent on fuel for irrigation is also costly. But thank God for mulching. It helps you to control weeds and conserve water at the same time.

Weeds compete with crops for nutrients and thus hampers growth. They also attract pests and diseases to the farm. One secret to having a bumper harvest is proper weed control – especially when the crops are young.

Fig 1: Cucumbers growing in plastic mulch. Image source: phollar Nairaland

A mulch is a layer of material covering the soil surface. It blocks sunlight from reaching weed seeds and thus prevent them from germinating. Because of the covering, most of the soil moisture will remain trapped in the soil.
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Revealed: How to Increase Your Plant Yield By 30%

By FarmersJoint in Crops
My Young Moringa Tree

My Young Moringa Tree

The tip I’m about to share with you will help you increase your plant yield by 25-30%. And it works with almost any crop. Thanks to Moringa tree. The leaves of this tree is rich in vitamins, minerals, ascorbates, phenolics, antioxidants along with macro- micro nutrients and amino acids. They contain all the essential amino acids in a good proportion. All these combine to make this tree wonderful. But all these are not the only things that makes Moringa important as a plant growth promoter. The growth promoting effect also comes from the growth hormone (zeatin) that can be found in the young leaves and shoot.

 

Why Use Moringa Leaf Extract?

Moringa leaf extract accelerate growth of crops, improve resistance to pests, diseases and stress conditions and increase yield by 20 to 35%. Soak your seeds in this extract and their germination
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How to Reduce Pest Attacks on Crops with Aspirin

By FarmersJoint in Crops
Uncoated and coated aspirin

Aspirin is a salicylate and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is taken by humans to prevent heart attacks and stroke. It is also used to reduce fever and relieve mild to moderate pain from conditions such as muscle aches, toothaches, common cold, and headaches. It may also be used to reduce pain and swelling in conditions such as arthritis. But do you know that plants can also benefit from aspirin? Scientists have found out that aspirin can help plants to:

1. fight off diseases (fungal, bacterial and viral)

2. tolerate stress conditions (salty soils, high temperature, drought, cold) [1] and

3. improve plant growth.

Aspirin contains Acetyl Salicylic Acid (ASA), which can change to salicylic acid (SA) when it dissolves in water. Salicylic acid is present in fruits and vegetables, with more in herbs and spices. Interestingly, scientists have also discovered that aspirin and a diet rich in fruits
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