Hmm,I am surprised you called 5 million naira common,I am an igbo man and I know things about money,50-60% of Nigerians will never make 5 million nairs cold cash in their whole lifetime,that's money to build 3 bedroom house and park small Japanese car by the side,every finger is not equal,some will be rich,while some will be poor and many that are determined and lucky will fall in between,

I am fortunate to study in one of the most developed cities in the world, and one of the most expensive cities too. I am talking about cities in the category of Tokyo, Manhattan, Brussel, Zurich, Geneva, etc. But guess what, I was sponsored by a Secretary (my mom and blessed her memory, her picture will always be on my desk in my office, and I always tell everyone I meet that my mother made me) in one of the leading universities in Nigeria. The days when private high schools were uncommon in Nigeria. The days when salaries were not regular. But here is my point, she knew how to save. She did not sponsor only me, but another brother of mine. She worked in naira but was paying in dollars. Those were the days sending money abroad was almost impossible, except CBN permitted it based on education. Guess what? Many of her bosses who earned more than her could not afford to send just one child abroad. Hmmmmm!

I stopped her from sending me money because whenever I coverted my monthly stipend for 1 yr to naira it could buy me a decent car. lol. So, I entered street and hustled. And my monthly salary equate that of bank manager. Today, people hustling abroad earn 5 times more than bank managers just because naira is getting weaker daily. lol. As soon as we buy 20 years old Toyota,......yeah...We start walking in the air in our imaginations. Lol. Nigeria is extremely poor.

ok. Just imagine the way you calculated it that many will not be able to acquire that. Just the 40% who can afford it spend in some terrible expenses. lol. But the truth is that my mother did not know she could do it until when I faced her that I wanted to move abroad. I still remember that afternoon vividly. She did not want to say No, but asked me to give her 1 year, and I went ahead with English tests and other tests.

I disagree with you that enough number of people cannot raise N5million. Brother, where your heart is, there is no limitation. If a struggling man can afford to raise equal amount to wed an ibo or akwna ibom girl, what are we saying? Yeah. Go borrow. Go do whatever young men do to pay Ibos heavy bribe price. That wedding is not investment, but this is an investment.

Since Nigeria is extremely poor, then why do you think Agric is the right business for you? My point is that 99% are spectators in Agric. They are wasting their time.

Let me ask you. Is $50,000 not a small amount to start a very good oil and gas business? Or say it's a reasonable amount? Do people just wake up after losing their jobs or after retirement to go into oil and gas businesses? Can everyone afford it? But I still continue saying it that Agric is in the same league with Oil and Gas. It's just $13,500 we are saying can open a good Agric business.

My point again is that people are disrespecting Agricultural businesses. Remove your mind from commercial farming with the little you have. Go and do gardening. There is huge profit in gardening. Most people on nairaland should aspire to be good gardeners, and not farmers. Farming is too expensive, and 5 million naira is a chicken change to start good Agric.business. Hmmm I am not saying N5million is easy to come by due to the Nigerian economy. It is hard. And we must accept that Nigeria is poor. This section should be called gardening. lol. I am damn serious.

So, people need to start thinking of putting resources together; however, partnership is no go area these days. lol. Why? The kind of nature and desperation in Nigerians will not allow it. Hope you understand my point. When you do, you will understand it is so stupid to think of cultivating 100 ha with the chicken change people attempt to use. Let them be realistic and do things well. But they will never listen. And failure awaits them. They never learn.

The cost of low budget veggie farming is deep research. Anyone attempting to go on low budget must study hard and try hands on different ways of improvising. Then, the person can keep his budget low. But with copying here and there people do, they end up losing everytime. It pains me how people are so daf.t to that stage.

5 million naira looks reasonable, but it is not much This is to tell us that naira is dead. It is just $13,500. The obituary is not just out, but very soon, it will be if things continue like this. But no matter how the economy is terrible, I will live above poverty just like Isaac. I will even prosper more. That is the spirit. If you have the same spirit, you will know N5million cannot buy a decent car. My head rejects only used cars. Sure, I can use it, but let it be nothing less than 5 years. Bro, dem no cur.se me make a no drive new BMW, Benz, or Audi. Nope. I prefer German machines anyday. When you set your mind towards achieving it, you will. Rather than buying 15 years old Toyota, I will use Uber. Of course, Toyota is a wonderful product.

So, instead of buying the so called "Aso Ebi" (I got the meaning recently), I will keep the money aside for something better. Instead of spending N5million because I want to marry Ngozi or Nneka, I will borrow the same amount to install a nice greenhouse.

Have you ever noticed the following trends about the "so called" successful veggie farmers in Nigeria?
1. They always add consultancy to their business.
2. They end up becoming seeds, organic sprays, fertilizers, irrigation, chemicals, etc importers. So they show you their so called profitable farms to sell their products. Hmmmm!
3. They end up asking you to come to their farms for trainings
4. They end up downsizing the real vegetable business. lol

It was a big struggle for me not to go along any of the path above; however, I have trained people free and I have collected huge sum. So, I looked at the reasons why my passion for food production never declines, and I have to say that it is because I understand the concepts, and I have my ways of managing risks.

Now, ask yourselves, poultry farmers do same, but better in their approach. I think more successful poultry farmers are out there than vegetable farmers despite the higher profit in vegetable production. Why? Poultry farmers are beginning to practise odorless farming system which makes them closer to the city instead of rotten away in the bush. Also, they have learned to start doing very small scale production. Just N50,000 can get them started, and they have accepted to build the business gradually instead of hitting it "gbosa" at once like yahoo boys. lol. They have also realised they must produce either chicks to sell, or produce feed to make more income. It's still production. Not like crop farmers with the easy way out of moving into seeds and chemicals importation business. lol. They just have to produce to survive. When I realised I have to produce to survive, I just have to keep producing.

Greenhouses are expensive, how can we move on with open field?
The best way out is to form a very good partnership if you know you cannot establish a garden close to you. Who should? You guys that are struggling. You guys saying "all fingers arent equal". Come together and achieve together. Forget about getting workers. Leave that out. Go and farm yourselves. Of course, you may get casual workers to assist, but be the main farmers on the site.

Do I have any proposal for you all? No, I don't have. I will not make any commitment with people who have not proved themselves. I can count the number of people I have sent free materials to, but wasted them. If you have a farm, you will definitely understand how workers do not take care of equipment. You will be alarmed if it's your first time in the business how they handle that drip you suffered to get. They can even forget your generator in the borehole well if possible. lol. Why? They do not suffer for equipment, and so they do not know the value. Same with people I sent materials to. They just do not understand it at all. Even they are farmers who have run bankrupt, they still will not care it's another golden opportunity. There are more desperate de.mons in frustrated farmers. Never work with such people.

Therefore, I have suggestions for you:
Perhaps, you can come together and start a meaning project. Travel to Lagos/Ogun to meet like minds. Or move to neighboring states or outside Abuja to get the job done. 15 people to 1 ha, and pick 1 plot each. This is the goal. You guys are the engines of the project.

Start a pilot
Perhaps on just 2 plots of land. All of you can contribute towards that. Get accomodation for yourselves.

Funds will naturally locate you after your pilot if you are successful, and use social media. I am very willing to assist you to tell your story in a way your divine helpers will locate you. It is called Marketing.

I can always train such committed people free of charge as long as I see minimum of 2 years contract of all the members' commitment to the project. Not that they start running away after 3 months of knowing about cucumber production to start theirs. And then fail like the greedy and selfish ones before them.

So, stop telling me that I do not give recommendations for upcoming farmers. The main problem with all of you is that you are all self centered. It should not be only about you. You just want to know what you wish to know to get out prematurely to start making millions because the projected figures are good. You aren't team players. You are all self centred. Therefore, at any slight challenge, the team is dissolved. No unity. No endurance. No perseverance. No common goals. You are all pret.enders. And investors are no more stupid .

There are even more stup.id and selfish investors too. If they release heavy cash and sit at home, it is fine. But they release their "hard earned money" and sit at home expecting 700% ROI in 3 months. Just for them to show sympathy for the boys working in the bush is not their concern. Theirs is profit. You all better be careful with such people. It is not every cash you take these days especially with too much ritual money in circulation. Why will anyone not want to visit the farm he invested in? The key is that they must not visit the place, but should continue mounting pressure on the boys. The harder the boys work, the more they fail, and the more the ritual works for the wicked people. You all better be careful. I am sharing this from experience. Prayer has revealed so much to me.

Gone are the days anyone should think of committing suicide because of debt. Face your debtors and free yourselves from the shackles you got yourself into. Settle your debt peacefully. And be smart in the way you go about your businesses. I have seen situations investors are the ones running away to meet the boys on field, but will be yelling on phone. lol. What have I not seen in this industry?

Pistotita:


There are many knowledgeable people, and most are silent. Just cashing money silently. But you know that veggie is risky. I have been burnt many times. And even recently. Not farm management, but human pests. We will talk about that later. And coupled with health issues, I slowed down my activities drastically. So, take it easy bro. Do not let the fire you are talking about burn you. It is a long way to recovery if you get burnt. Scientists die in their laboratories.

I like talking with facts. And I will prove my case reasonably and logically. Infact, you will see sense in it. Also, I always give pros and cons. I know them cos I have pass through the paths. And I am someone who asks questions.

Most of what you are asking are do-able, but challenging. Sure, we will discuss them.

But first, kindly post the pictures of the bottles, or sachets of the organic boom, harvest pro, and other stuff you mentioned. Post the front label, and the section where ingredients, and doses are explained. I will show you something there. Infact, let me just give it to you now.


Look at this DI Grow which sellers will tell you contains heaven and earth. N= 1.85, P=1.85, K=3.31 + TE. What are TE? Boron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Zinc, and Copper. Lol. And 1 liter sold for around N6,000. Chai! Kai!


Manure or Compost Tea Fortified with Enzymes, Microbes, and Minerals
Instead of this, I will pick rabbit, poultry, cattle, or piggery manure. 15% water poultry manure has NPK value of 6:4:3. Haha haha. Just compare it with this ingredient. I can make 50 liters for free. And get liquid content of NPK of 6:4:3 with better TE . And they sell this DI grow of 1.85 : 1.85 : 3.31 for above N6,000. Which materials they even use for this product? Dem no use curse for me. I told my manager to keep that product off my farm. And I showed him how to make compost tea from manure.

To keep it for long, just ferment it with organic sugar, maybe Sugar cane or brown sugar. At worst mollases. If you are good with microbes (I just do not include microbes anyhow, I investigate microbes beneficial for each crops, and go deeper to find the best strain. I check first with research institutes in Nigeria for such strains, and if I cannot get, I move to Asia and North America to import them. Simple as ABC. Again, there are various fruits and enzymes, vitamins, minerals, amino acids etc one can add organically to make it super nutritious and highly potent. Of course, if I decide to sell 1 liter of my products for N10,000 it is worth it. Who will buy this ordinary water for over N6,000. Certainly not me, maybe you. LOL.

I use various materials to push up NPK. Many know about wood ash for potassium. If course, there are options. And then, many know about shells and egg shells for calcium. Burnt bones ash can be used for phosphoric Calcium too. Ordinary giant grasses are loaded with Nitrogen. Or you can grow nitrogen fixing crops first if your land is bad. The list is endless.

Legumes as mulch for 30 ha farm
A guy consulted me on mulching is farm for maize. Using nylon is too expensive. So, we just planted legumes, and the rest is history.

Fungicides from herbs
Garlic, ginger, pepper are ok but not always the best. There are Chinese herbs I researched that can kill tough diseases. I simple import them, and make tincture out of them. They are potent for many years as long as they are in dark glass bottles. I have about 20 different herbs for this purpose. I am still getting more. I research always.

Pesticides from herbs and Leaves
Of course there are many leaves that can be used. There are even special leaves which kill thrips, aphids, fruit flies, white flies, etc better than Imidacloprid.

Fruits are Enzymes
If you can ferment well, ferment as many as possible. But there are contradictory fruits to plants. You can spoil the taste of your fruit with wrong combinations and doses. It is why these manufacturers out in very little of enzymes (just traces). But if you are good, and you know what you are doing, get the right enzyme for what you need it for, and bombard it. You will produce the sweetest fruit ever.

Collagen from animals and Aquatic
This is a recent technology. I started taking protein powder from these materials. It is just another form of isolated protein like Whey, Soy, and Caisen protein. Body builders know about what I am saying. They are special enzymes for building tissues in the body - make, nail grow longer, make skin glow, flush gut and colon, make way for probiotics and good bacteria to function well in the body. Same principle can be applied to plants. Cancer is not allowed with this product. Mildews, blights, viruses, wilts, etc will try before they can penetrate into your plants.

Vinegar
Rice Vinegar and Apple Vinegar, are very good. They are also good sterilizers, and they kill weed too. If you do not throw away the Mother, you will have good enzymes. Do not buy vinegar anyhow. Get it from someone who knows about it. You will be glad you do so.

Amino Acids from Aquatic creatures
Best form of organic amino acid. Get it from an expert who can formulate well. Very important. And let it be fermented so it can last months or years. But if you are a good farmer, it will finish fast, and you get high profit with it.

Common Microorganism
There is a guy here on nairaland who has made a thread on LAB, enzymes from coconut, from sprouts of legumes, and and nice stuff. Yeah! These are common ones which can be added.

General Effective Microorganism
I think Shonghai has not yet released the formular for their Effective Microorganism. lol. But if I show you that secret, you will just look at those Shonghai people as "Bailers". Anyway, if you can make it, go for it. Just be careful. There is a thin line between catching deadly disease antibiotics cannot cure and being sent six feet below. I always tell people. So do not try it if you know your immume system is not good. And protect yourself. If you catch something terrible while doing this, you will see heaven on earth. So not let me say something else. I do not do this again cos I do not know the strains I am trying to multiply. I go for specific strains. I prefer to import them, read about the strain very well. And in most cases, I ditch out strains that can injure me no matter how good they are. Life has no duplicate. Until I have a standard laboratory which can assure me of 100% protection when using dangerous or unknown strain I will not do dangerous stuff. For now, let me waste money to import safe strains I prefer it, I love it like this. Not your money. lol!

And so on....

I will pick inorganic Foliar instead of DI grow or over most organic Foliar fertilizers . Haifa bonus and Maxiforce have NPK value of 20 20 20. It means that about 11 liters of DI grow will give you exactly what 1 liter Haifa Bonus and Maxiforce give you. But then, do Haifa bonus and Maxiforce are really 20 20 20 as claimed? Hmmmm! Let us just be careful. Neither do I use MaxiForce nor Haifa Bonus/any other inorganic Foliar spray again. Waste of resources to me. I spray mainly micro elements, Magnesium and Sulphur with all other stuff I have listed above. There are more to the list depending on the crop I am growing.

I hope I have been able to answer your question very well.

Let the questions flow. I will give you concepts you can follow and become a pro yourself. You do not need to go my way. What you need are the concepts, and develop on them. Anyone can do it.

People have used DI grow and have seen positive effect. Although I used in conjunction with npk and urea fertilizer because no time to check soil pH whether it is good enough for the plant to absorb enough nutrients so it was used as a supplement and I had a wonderful maize harvest. I want to go into watermelon farming using drip irrigation, what is the best way to fertilize?

Shittynaija:


People have used DI grow and have seen positive effect. Although I used in conjunction with npk and urea fertilizer because no time to check soil pH whether it is good enough for the plant to absorb enough nutrients so it was used as a supplement and I had a wonderful maize harvest. I want to go into watermelon farming using drip irrigation, what is the best way to fertilize?

Use what I recommended first before praising DIgrow..In my opinion, your npk worked more. If you are ok with it, continue using it. But the npk value in it is insignificant, and I don't even know the remaining content in it.

There is no best way to fertilize any crop. The one covenient for me is fertigation. You can try it. If you find side dressing interesting, why not?

I have decided to rest this thread. Anyone who has ears should use them to hear. Use your eyes to read, and let your mind assimilate it all.

My focus are:

1. Small veggie plots, and mixed farming (crops and animal husbandry)
2. Massive commercial farms with huge investment
3. Cash crops

If you have questions, kindly send them to pistotita19@gmail.com

I am no more updating this thread. I have passed the message I want to clearly and perfectly here. I have received some questions, and it is wrong to keep bringing private questions here. Since no question is sent here, that is it.

If you have investment ideas, we can discuss it before uou start. If you are in diaspora and you need advice on the way forward, you can reach me.

No matter what you want to do, your business or farm should run less on power. Avoid using solar energy to power your equipment. From my experience, it is not worth it. Reduce consumption of fuel. And pay less salaries by adopting technology.

God bless you all.

Oga pistotita please help oo.
I planted okro 3 months ago. I thought okro is okro. So, I just planted without knowing that it was a long variety. My local markets and neighborings town buy short variety. Many markets around me reject the okro because it is too long. In order for the okro farm not to waste, I decided to let them dry up. I have started harvesting the dry okro. But I don't know the market region that will accept the dry ones.

.

Idemujoseph:
Oga pistotita please help oo.
I planted okro 3 months ago. I thought okro is okro. So, I just planted without knowing that it was a long variety. My local markets and neighborings town buy short variety. Many markets around me reject the okro because it is too long. In order for the okro farm not to waste, I decided to let them dry up. I have started harvesting the dry okro. But I don't know the market region that will accept the dry ones.

Send me email. This variety is good money, but the market is slim. It's for expats (Indian, Lebanese, Chinese, Malysians, etc). It is always sold fresh and not dried. So, you need to harvest it fresh.

I will love to know the number of plants you have, and look at the cost of logistics to where I will ask you drop it. I have designated farmers presently cultivating 10 acres of this particular variety. So, just pray the contact is still able to absorb you. As soon as I announced it on my thread, all the people who wrote me, I gave them the go ahead to start cultivating, and I give them directions on how to do it, esp those who agreed to do it the way my contacts want. And not this arguing and trying to dictate their own way. Check my email in my post above.

Sir thank you for quick response! The challenge right now is that over 80% of it has dried up.
But I don't mind replanting the dried seed again if the market is there.
I will mail you sir. Thanks once more!

I am just a young corps member(NYSC) trying to hustle.

Idemujoseph:
I am just a young corps member(NYSC) trying to hustle.

It is why I am trying to assist. There are three final year students who wrote me yesterday also hustling. You are not alone. Do not be scared of high set up cost. I am not an expensive person. You may need to downsize to meet up, or get just add few more cash. Guy don fear say him go hustle out N1 million naira. lol. This okra is very ok, but pest management is tough. So, it must just be open field and done with minimum amount. The good news is that sales is terrific. This rainy season is very good for it for upcoming gardeners cos dry season is with drip irrigation which add up to start up cost. Again, sales is "cra.zily excellent" during the period.

Idemujoseph:
Sir thank you for quick response! The challenge right now is that over 80% of it has dried up.
But I don't mind replanting the dried seed again if the market is there.
I will mail you sir. Thanks once more!

Guy, looks like you do not know me well. Save this one if you can. 3 months hard work isn't a joke. If the leaves are still green, they can still come up. Okra is a rough crop. Remove all the dried fruits. Spray NPK and pesticide to see if new fruits will come out. If they start coming out again, quickly apply npk granules to the roots of all plants. You will harvest and get tired. This is rainy season. They are just starting to produce. They will produce till you are tired to harvesting. Get back to work and see how you can eat from the fruit of your labor.

Repeating which seed? First, let me see the variety before I approve it. Also, move away from that land if you are repeating okra else pest will destroy your second batch. This is okra. Or you want to tell me that pests are not so many on your plants? I am sure your leaves will have holes all round as pests might have finished them. If you act fast, you can save them. I don't eat okra cos farmers are notori.ous for bom.barding it with pesticide. Make use of this rain to get more harvests and recover the money spent. The time and energy should not be wasted. And there are better varieties which are faster and with higher yield.

Noted sir

Liftitupo:
Thank you for this information.

Pistotita, I did tomato this rainy season but my yield is low but still OK. I will like to try the varieties you talked about. Tomato is hard so it will be nice if you can give out details. Whatsapp group is not a bad idea. I am sure many people want to learn from you. There are many new things new to me you mentioned.

I know it is technical especially when seeds are sown in dry season, and harvest is in rainy season, but not too hard.

Sure, I wanted to give out details, but I cannot under the circumstances we found ourselves in this Agric section. Actually, I was ready to show pictures and videos when I started this thread, but the friend who convinced me to start a thread was the one who quickly cautioned me to be really careful and exercise patience when he read the first page of this thread. He knew I was going to drop real stuff here, but could have been a great mistake. I always listen to suggestions and, I take advices giving me seriously. I am glad I listened to him to share my experiences, and also I am more grateful I took to his caution. If I had shared recipes.....hmmmm. I would be really unhappy because of the abuse going on here.

I do not give out chemicals, microbes or enzymes until I know the person very well. There is no forum in advance country where chemical prescription is made openly like this. It is like running online pharmaceutical prescription, and I think moderators should look into it. These nairaland farmers will kill consumers. So, I just stopped pictures, videos, recommendations, etc. But if I know the person very well, I can share everything. And I have shared with few I know via nairaland. I still gave out two options yesterday to someone who asked me about fruitflies on his capsicum. I am sure that's the end of his trouble with what I gave him.

One Chinatown guy (please read my post and you will see a thread of nairaland about 500,000 naira profit on a plot of cucumber, today's date) really went into schooling himself and not me because of this issue. A man who wrote that I should be silent is following me. Lol. He reads A to Z of my posts. If you doubt me, just check it out. You are going to think he is an expert who can stand on his own and does not need anything from me with way he wrote against me, but the guy is following me. I hope he unfollows me because of this post. And if he does not, sha.me on him. I have faced too much from these kind of people. They follow secretly but destroy publicly. They beg secretly but boasts publicly if they do not get what they want.

These are the reasons I cautioned myself from not sharing details on this thread. Let me share another issue with you. I mentioned some cultivars on this thread, and I have direct access to the professor (not Nigerian) who crossed one particular cultivar. I have gained so much from him, but I totally forgot that he had told me one time that fake products (seeds) are all over the place, and that bad people use the seeds to transfer and export diseases to other nations from his so that farmers can complain. Afterwards, they will recommend their chemicals. These people are spreading some strains of organisms so they can start selling the cure. I received a mail some days after my post, and they cautioned me from using it as trial without taking permission from them as they want to be sure the source of the seed I am using. Not bad at all. Who actually informed them if not a Nigerian because they do not want readers to get latest stuff? Or perhaps the person felt I bought fake seeds too. lol. Too many issues behind the scene sir.

I used to run 3 whatsapp groups (one was for tomato training), but "wahala" people were there. I do not want stress in my life cos I am trying to assist people. I always avoid situations people get agg.ressive because they do not get what they want from me.

Bro, these are the reasons I rounded up this thread, and started my new thread which is not chemicals related.

Please sir can you please trow more light on the meaning of DAP and SSP in basal formulation....pls don't be offended for bieng late to ask .. thank you

Konafas:
Please sir can you please trow more light on the meaning of DAP and SSP in basal formulation....pls don't be offended for bieng late to ask .. thank you

I will respond as long as it is not chemical or anything which can cause infection. Or not too exhausting when I know the person can also learn it but not just interested.

Basal is the foundation, formed from the word base. The first nutrient needed by plants is phosphorus. For cash crops, I gat recipes that will still be there for years. The first stage of plants is the root, and phosphorus get it done. Then, Nitrogen build is needed for chlorophyll which builds stem and leaves. In addition, little pottasium is needed. DAP means Di-Ammonium Phosphate. It supplies Ammonia as Nitrogen, and Phosphate as Phosphorus. SSP means Single Superphosphate. I prefer TSP - Triple Superphosphate as it has 3 times P of SSP. I got a brand of TSP from Kenya one time when a Kenya agro specialist partnered with me on a project. If you know how to formulate fertilizer very well, you should dump all required P in the soil before you sow seeds so you do not need to ever add P again cos P is always locked in the soil. This is why experts are so concerned about P more than K in the soil. Also, N must be in your soil. But the issue is that N evaporates, so anyone who fertigates is at advantage. K also evaporates and it's why N and K are applied to soil mainly via drip. And then, good farmers apply calcium to soil esp to correct PH. You should only add more Calcium through fertigation or via foliar only if you can't add enough before you reached the optimum PH level. Or if you notice that salt accumulation may kill microbes or interfere with your plants.

Big Secret
How do you calculate what your plants need? You must know the total kg of N, P, and K and all other nutrients. For example, an expert for a crop sent the following to me: [i]Nutrient requirement is 220kg Nitrogen [/b]. This is all I need to know. He does not need to tell me the quantity of P or K or all micro nutrients..Just from this statement I can formulate basal, vegetative, flowering, fertigation, side dressing, etc using different kinds. ..npk 20 10 10, ssp, dap, npk 15 15 15, MOP, MPK, Epsom Salt, etc. If you do not know how to go about this, you will keep asking how many grams of dap? How many grams of NPK? Two people asked me this same question when I first wrote about DAP, and I pointed them to where to research. I mean how do I start teaching you the maths? But it is very easy. One picked it, and returned. He was so happy cos I released a life time solution for him. And he was able to start proper discussion. And I know it was going to be the first and the last discussion cos he definitely does not need me again to formulate anything. But really it took him like a week to unravel the mystery. And he would return, and I continued helping him. It was easy for me to discuss with him. How do I explain to someone who does not understand the concept?

On the other hand, the second guy kept asking.....how many grams of dap, how many grams of ssp. I gave him that of Tomato from basal to fruiting based on his cultivar. And then, he wanted me to start all over with cucumber and Eggplant. And that was when I told him that oga leave me alone. You cannot kill me. lol. Ha ba! Go learn am yourself. If I see the person is elderly or has challenges, of course I have ways of attending to them. I can just tell the person to give me more time. But this person is smart, sound, and he still wanted me to do the all work for him. It does not work that way. These secrets I dish out to interested people during training are too many. Do not ever rush to the bush. Get the theory first. And almost everyone wants me to be telling them again and again grams, grams, grams. Even to read instruction on the pack of chemical is a big problem for many. How do I keep telling everyone to use this grams and that grams? It is just too exhausting. (I am taking my time to explain here so you people do not get annoyed when I don't respond at times. It is exhausting and tiring answering the same question to multiple people daily in different dimensions)..Some will say...hey..
I have npk 15 15 15 only...help me formulate. Ha ba! lol!

The content of N in Urea, DAP, NPK 20 10 10, NPK 15 15 15, Calcium Nitrate, Potassium Nitrate, etc are all different.. Another issue is that Nitrate is different from Nitrogen. When I say NPK 15 15 15, the figure means 15% of N, 15% of PO2, and 15% of KO3. You still need to break all these down into pieces. Lack of basic skill like this is why 99.9% African farmers cannot do hydroponics. These are tricks I wanted to find ways to download in this thread, but the attack I received from bush practical farmers who are faster than Xerox copiers especually on the 1st page made me to just pull back. Sir, Agric is sweet when you really understand the concepts behind it..

For me, it's passion. And it is why I just can write epistles. Hehehe!

I prefer organic soil preparation. I am improving on it daily as this is my focus.

Pistotita:


I will respond as long as it is not chemical or anything which can cause infection. Or not too exhausting when I know the person can also learn it but not just interested.

Basal is the foundation, formed from the word base. The first nutrient needed by plants is phosphorus. For cash crops, I gat recipes that will still be there for years. The first stage of plants is the root, and phosphorus get it done. Then, Nitrogen build is needed for chlorophyll which builds stem and leaves. In addition, little pottasium is needed. DAP means Di-Ammonium Phosphate. It supplies Ammonia as Nitrogen, and Phosphate as Phosphorus. SSP means Single Superphosphate. I prefer TSP - Triple Superphosphate as it has 3 times P of SSP. I got a brand of TSP from Kenya one time when a Kenya agro specialist partnered with me on a project. If you know how to formulate fertilizer very well, you should dump all required P in the soil before you sow seeds so you do not need to ever add P again cos P is always locked in the soil. This is why experts are so concerned about P more than K in the soil. Also, N must be in your soil. But the issue is that N evaporates, so anyone who fertigates is at advantage. K also evaporates and it's why N and K are applied to soil mainly via drip. And then, good farmers apply calcium to soil esp to correct PH. You should only add more Calcium through fertigation or via foliar only if you can't add enough before you reached the optimum PH level. Or if you notice that salt accumulation may kill microbes or interfere with your plants.

Big Secret
How do you calculate what your plants need? You must know the total kg of N, P, and K and all other nutrients. For example, an expert for a crop sent the following to me: [i]Nutrient requirement is 220kg Nitrogen [/b]. This is all I need to know. He does not need to tell me the quantity of P or K or all micro nutrients..Just from this statement I can formulate basal, vegetative, flowering, fertigation, side dressing, etc using different kinds. ..npk 20 10 10, ssp, dap, npk 15 15 15, MOP, MPK, Epsom Salt, etc. If you do not know how to go about this, you will keep asking how many grams of dap? How many grams of NPK? Two people asked me this same question when I first wrote about DAP, and I pointed them to where to research. I mean how do I start teaching you the maths? But it is very easy. One picked it, and returned. He was so happy cos I released a life time solution for him. And he was able to start proper discussion. And I know it was going to be the first and the last discussion cos he definitely does not need me again to formulate anything. But really it took him like a week to unravel the mystery. And he would return, and I continued helping him. It was easy for me to discuss with him. How do I explain to someone who does not understand the concept?

On the other hand, the second guy kept asking.....how many grams of dap, how many grams of ssp. I gave him that of Tomato from basal to fruiting based on his cultivar. And then, he wanted me to start all over with cucumber and Eggplant. And that was when I told him that oga leave me alone. You cannot kill me. lol. Ha ba! Go learn am yourself. If I see the person is elderly or has challenges, of course I have ways of attending to them. I can just tell the person to give me more time. But this person is smart, sound, and he still wanted me to do the all work for him. It does not work that way. These secrets I dish out to interested people during training are too many. Do not ever rush to the bush. Get the theory first. And almost everyone wants me to be telling them again and again grams, grams, grams. Even to read instruction on the pack of chemical is a big problem for many. How do I keep telling everyone to use this grams and that grams? It is just too exhausting. (I am taking my time to explain here so you people do not get annoyed when I don't respond at times. It is exhausting and tiring answering the same question to multiple people daily in different dimensions)..Some will say...hey..
I have npk 15 15 15 only...help me formulate. Ha ba! lol!

The content of N in Urea, DAP, NPK 20 10 10, NPK 15 15 15, Calcium Nitrate, Potassium Nitrate, etc are all different.. Another issue is that Nitrate is different from Nitrogen. When I say NPK 15 15 15, the figure means 15% of N, 15% of PO2, and 15% of KO3. You still need to break all these down into pieces. Lack of basic skill like this is why 99.9% African farmers cannot do hydroponics. These are tricks I wanted to find ways to download in this thread, but the attack I received from bush practical farmers who are faster than Xerox copiers especually on the 1st page made me to just pull back. Sir, Agric is sweet when you really understand the concepts behind it..

For me, it's passion. And it is why I just can write epistles. Hehehe!

I prefer organic soil preparation. I am improving on it daily as this is my focus.

Thank you sir
I think I am getting it ..I will try my best

Some issues from another cucumber thread I want to discuss here and let it sleep this time, so I do not revisit them again

lahify:
me I believe the whole problem started from okoroemeka saying do not be decieved by e-farmers which I believe wasnt directed to pistotita cos I know several times okoroemeka has lauded pistotita for his intelligence and I like how okoroemeka hasn't responded, I believe what happened here is just misconception, please let this Issue die down

Bro, I do not get angry when people call me e-famer. I am one, and not ashamed to tell you. The man who calls me e-famer is promoting me. What I do not pray to be is a cutlass/hoe farmer. I reject it with everything inside me. I want everyone to be an efarmer first, then backyard farmer, before deciding if to go on an effective subsistence farmer, or commercial farmer. There are many subsistence farmers who are richer than commercial farmers. And their assets on their mini plots are even times 30 of those who call themselves commercial farmers.I will post the difference between these two classes of people very soon.

So, I do not react to a phrase or sentence, but to a well viewed scenario. I appreciate you for the smart way you want to address the issue, but that is not good for me. If you read my posts there, I wrote that I make comments on good threads. If I do not see the thread as a good one, I definitely would not be there. And I have tried many times to not make myself the boss of another man's thread. Likewise that the OP wrote what you said does not mean your conclusion was right. Please read the man who followed up with tomato example and agreed with my statement that "cucumber is not just my thing". In fact, you should read that OP posts you were trying to justify very well, and then you will see everything clearly. I am a straight forward person who will tell you what you need to hear, and leave afterwards.

I am not also here to attack anyone, but will express myself when I do not agree with anyone . However, it does not mean I am always right.

Having said those above, I think it was wrong for you to make such conclusion. Just go and check the lines very well.

If I am not wrong, you are the poultry guy who we both talked some few days ago. If yes, you may kindly share the other side about me you know which is showing sympathy for the so called common man. I believe you and agree that you should not go into cucumber as it may be hard now since you landed in the hospital the last time you tried it. It's not that you cannot do it, but we arrived at the conclusion that it is too much work for you with what you have in your hands. I could advise you better because I was in your position one time, and I wrote about it on this thread.

You may want to share how you agreed on my recommendation and how you said about building a greenhouse locally. And then I showed you the way of converting your old pen to greenhouse while you were thinking of building a new one. If I am not for the so called common man, I do not think I will ever chat with you to that stage.

And did you not lecture me about poultry? Did I not learn from you? Was our chat only about forcing what you do not like on you? Or boasting about myself? If you notice, my chat with you were purely discussion which is far enjoyable to me. U want yo have more of such. lol

Lest I forget, you are one of the guys I respect. Why? The way you dived into researching things we discussed, and the speed at which you got some answers for yourself was inspiring. Your kind of person are the ones I am trying to reach out to here. If you care to know, there are people who have talked with me too, but they do not want to just learn when I know they can. I can tell if one has challenges with researching, and I always do not trouble such people with it. You do not want to read about an 82 year old woman who was asking me about gardening..What? I opened the door for direct phone call instantly that same evening. "And na me carry my legs go meet her for house the following week". So, many of you are not in my shoes. You do not know what I have been through in the name of assisting the so called common man who is but only a cha.meleon. Is it some old retired railway workers in their 70s to 80s in Ebute-Metta using the compound for subsistence farming that I always assist. Those Chinese guys who used to cheat them have stopped the nonsense. Or do you want me to start talking about fights, attacks, and insults from some bad people there? Does that stop my kind? You people do not know me.

Lol. And I must say that you actually intelligently brought out DAP issue on my thread and it is so nice to always discuss with you. The issue is that you had questions and you asked me, and I answered. You read that I will not answer chemicals and microbes, and you reached me privately. When you touched the subject privately, did I not affirm the things you sent to me about them? Did I not show you where to look into more?

Respect is reciprocal. Some read I will not discuss chemicals, yet they get angry because I don't discuss it. They rely on reading the answers I give to other people. "Dem cut dem hands not to ask questions regarding their challenges ni"?. Lol. This is what I think. They are posing as consultants, so it is bad business for them to ask me publicly. And they know my style, I can use anything as example in my posts. Hehehe

Well, I must say that I am not obliged to teach anyone. And people cannot force me by bul.lying me to teach them. lol. The worst is that I will pack my load and leave nairaland, and carry what I know along with me. It is not necessarily I share my efarming ways. Likewise not compulsory they take my efarming style. LoL. I appreciate you sir, and may God grant you the wisdom to really make your dreams come true.

Finally brother, I want to say again that I respect and appreciate you. I will contact you soon about poultry when I am ready to get some stuff running. Thank you. But I cannot please everyone with my posts, so I am not bothered. It will be nice if you can confirm the issues I wrote here sir. Thanks again and bless

2nd post I will address from the same thread I mistakenly went into

Functionoftime:

I agree with you. Okoroemeka even said that he should be more knowledgeable than his professors on crop science when he was in school , in one of his posts. Okoroemeka has never hidden how he admires him and his knowledge. So, for pistotita to think that the e-farmer was directed to him is beyond what I can comprehend. I might be wrong though.
Okoroemeka, sorry for your loss. I know you are a fighter and you will recover in no time. Keep sharing your "little knowledge and experiences" to benefit everyone, not only those with 5million naira only
Last last, maturity is maturity. Person get knowledge no mean say person mature. Of what essence is the knowledge self that common man cannot benefit from?

I will be polite with you concerning this your attack instead of bullying you back. But what I cannot comprehend is that you follow me on nairaland despite you find no maturity in me. Even that fake Chi.natown guy. Hehehehe Does it make sense to follow who is not matured? But I give it to you for following an intelligent man. At least, you are not stu.pid not to follow him. That I respect you for. So, bro keep following me. I appreciate it and I will share if you really ask me questions instead of nagging behind scene. There are things I do not share publicly, and there are things I will still not share privately. It is not all you ask I must answer. And I do not know everything too. At times people even get angry when I reply I don't know. Lol. Must I know all? "See me, see dem bring wahala oooo. Walahi, dem wahala always make good people even think I am rude".


I spoke about the old retired railway workers doing subsistence farming in the compound. I give it to the heads in railway compound. In the late 90s to early 2000s, railway was messed up. The compound was huge with expanse of land everwhere. I cannot tell how huge it is in Lagos State. And the tracks from Lagos to Kano and it's surrounding belong to the Federal Government, so you should have an idea that the corporation has got large expanse of land used for stations, substations, branches, etc all across Nigeria. But this property was abandoned in those days. So, the head allowed retired workers to farm on the land. Only an efarmer knows this. Hehehe. I swear, wisdom is scarce. Anyone who still call me what he/she wants to use to mock me is funny. Lol.

Do I expect these old people to start with 5million naira? No. They don't need to. They gat land, they can rotate easily, the land is in abundance for them, and no one is disturbing them. They are very close to the land, just at their backyads. But it's changing. So, do not go there as you will not be allowed. And the old men are also finding their ways out since government is getting serious about railway transportation in Nigeria. I give it to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. He did well for Agric and Railway. If you see all the equipment Goodluck has arranged for....hmmmm...Sai Baba just came on board as a lucky man. I am telling you the truth.

Bro, keep throwing stones at the person you really do not know well because you misunderstood him. My God will definitely have mercy on you. At last, you will definitely be very alright by God's grace.

My knowledgeable "e-farmer" , please I would like to plant some other crop on the land I presently have cucumber. Tomato is a no no for me with the resources i have. Am considering green bean/peas(heard the immatures beans is peas). Any advice on it will be greatly appreciated

The last post I will address on the thread

excanny:

Bro chill. No one was referring to you.

Tho I disagree with some things you say.

But you can't possibly be an e-farmer. Lol. Maybe now but obviously you have got your hands dirty sometimes in the past.

My brother/sister, we all are aware of diplomacy, and I thank you for your wisdom. Thumb up. I know within yourself that you understood all that went on there.


Every successful farmer is efarming compliant
I was an efarmer, I am, and will be unless a new trend comes. And everyone here is an efarmer too. That's the irony part of it. Everyone reading this post is an efarmer. These are the people I hunt for. And I just assist them to interprete what they got online. And I do not mind partnering with such people. Gone are the days of sending materials (seeds, drips, nutrients, etc) to people who begged for assistance, and eventually wasted them because they did not buy them.

I started with researching online and did not understand all. So, I moved inside bush and what these farmers are still doing in the bush are things I read were practised during Chief Awolowo era. If I was successful with their style, I would not bother myself digging deeper. Let me ask you all: How many of you are successful with what you are presently doing? Change is definite, but very hard. And these people come on nairaland to ask questions. Is nairaland a bush? The people guiding them on nairaland, did they know it by themselves? You all better be efarmers. Even farmers who don't have access to internet to ask questions on nairaland laugh at you coming here. Hehehe. Your workers laugh at you for asking questions on nairaland. Hehehehe. To those workers, you are an efarmer who you really are. The people who popularized the words "online farmers" and "efarmers" should do better. I understand their plight, but people are deceived because they are stupid (not directing this to anyone in particular here sir, but saying a general truth). I do not have to show anyone my farm before he realises what I am saying is from experience. Ignorancy let a guy use information he got online without putting it to practice to deceive many. How can you mislead me when I have my brain intact? Do I need to visit the farmer in Hawaii who is showing me new stuff? Do I need to really get pictures before I believe him? I need pictures and videos to learn. If they are not necessarily, I don't ask because I want to confirm if the farmer truly has a farm. I can tell from what he says. When I discuss with some advance people, they always tell me it is not possible that I am just an ordinary farmer, that even just researching online cannot push out some things except one who is really deep into them. And that's the truth. Anyway, I am an ordinary farmer, but especially an efarmer. lol

The price for knowledge is just too expensive. At this stage, only someone who understands me, and who can comprehend my zeal and passion can have access to my domain. And it takes time for me to trust anyone to have such privilege. I don't think I visited any farm to learn, I visited most farms because I want to use the places. Nigerians make us who we are now. Everyone is extra careful. What makes you so sure I cannot share a farm which does not belong to me. Lol. Honestly, the easiest people to outsmart are people who must see before they believe. I will rather use psychology. For those who travel, let me ask you this question. Why do you think most visa officers rely on your responses than the documents you bring? Why do you think big firms have phychologists who work on their workers?

Of course you do not know me well. And you used the phrase "may be now" just because you read about me in my posts. Otherwise, you would not have guessed. But you were wrong. I was an efarmer, I am now, and will forever be where information flows freely. I will share more perhaps on this thread, or elsewhere.

The only reason why many of these people return to old ways is because they cannot interprete what they read online. If you cannot, how will you be able to use the infornation? This is what I train people to do. I train you to be independent in many areas. Bro, you should be an efarmer. You should, I am damn serious. And I do not spoon feed. If you want to roll with me, you better be ready to dig deep. I will not waste my precious time today to teach you formulation on cucumber, and you return tomorrow to ask me about zuchini. Rather, I will teach you the concept, and you go dig deep. Return and ask me reasonable questions, and I am ready to "fire" you to the expected end. But buzzing everytime and asking me the same question in different dimensions is really exhausting. Most people want me to give them fishes, but I want to teach how to fish.

You can go online and research the best varieties. These are made in developed countries. But you cannot go and start asking how many grams of NPK bla bla bla for the crop. Lol. Most times, you get only the total required nutrients needed. At times, they tell you to push up some elements based on weather, choice of land preparation, etc. So, can you see how limited a non efarming compliant person is? No expert will start telling details based on your agro practice or based on what are available in your country. The NPK fertilizers we have here are not that good. They do not use them again in abroad the way we use them. The world is changing. Some open field farmers use slow release fertilizers in abroad. They apply once for basal and no more again even for fertigation. Those fertilizers can last even 250 days in the soil. What they just do is spray micronutrients via foliar. Shikena. Or may not if the brand has got micronutrients in it. These are styles I adopted and they are working for me, but limited with what we have here because our economy is importation based and not production. So, I gat to import these things. Rules are changing. FertilizersFertilizers are banned and I cannot bring them in again. Except the rule has changed or I smuggle in which is against my personal principle.

In regards to your conclusion that I got my hands dirty in the past. Hehehe. Obviously you do not know me. I am not in bush right now based on doctors advice, but I am still working in a farm which is a room in my apartment. So, if you think suffe.ring in the bush is only getting hands dirty, then, I respect your opinion. Bro, I want good life. I have labored too. Right now, I reject using cutlasses and hoes far away in the bush. But if I see any serious person who wants to still hustle out with cutlass and hoes, I can guide such person as long as he/she does not expect me to ever be on the farm as a manager.

Concerning the things you disagree with me, kindly share them here. We all learn. I want to learn from you too. We can make it an educative debate. I prefer discussion than dishing out short robotic instructions like someone asking me to be concised. Being concised is not dishing out robotic instructions. The guy doesn't even understand that my chats are debates. Oh. I wish a madam can come here and tell you about us. We disagreed to the point we would say goodbye, or talk to you later. But wisdom is magnetic. Trust me, when you meet a wise person, it is magnetic. "So, let's leave story ooooo."

Thanks for your comment. May God bless the work of your hands in Jesus' name. Amen.


Modified:
From this spot down to page 13, there are attacks from chemicals farmers and consultants who even engaged hackers to attack me. So, I wish to leave this thread as it is for now. They teach very annoying agro-practice which can spread cholera, and many infectious diseasses. I had to slam many of them to back off. Many of them are even c.urs.ed for killing innocent consumers of their chemical products. They are already cu.rs.ed without adding more to it.

Liftitupo:


Please, is it possible to set up whatsapp training for next year tomato. Mr. Pistotita there are many like me who are interested. It will be nice to have everything simplified since everyone will do only tomato, it should not be too hard. I do not mind paying.

I do not know how to still respond because this tomato training request which is getting high, and I do not want to disappoint many common men on nairaland. My plan was to come here and discuss, not to push training on nairaland artisans and bush farming professionals. Infact, people made me to start whatsapp training which really was not my inner motive.

Having said that, my trainings are always almost free, if you want me to be honest with you. And it is why I easily can tell people that I do not want to do it. The only challenge is that people want me dish out info they cannot afford to use due to financial constraint, and that is where the problem is. I want you to purchase the items and use them with the laid down instructions. You cannot dictate items you will use for the training. Are you the trainer? Lol. Some will even start demanding to use their own seeds. Not saying they cannot, but why can't they just follow instructions and compare with their seeds. Then later, let them discuss with me or with the group. But nope, "w.ahala" don start be that, and they blow grammar just because they feel my grammar is from Paradise. Have I ever corrected anyone's grammar? I don't think so. When I know I am a fast typist who doesn't crosscheck or like editing posts? In these days of wrong spellchecks on mobile devices?

This is how to learn. I don't want you to just be in a group with me and be redundant, you must actively participate and ask me questions. Ask me reasonable questions based on the plants you are working with, and you will be shocked how many videos and pictures you may receive from me when you start digging deep. This is me. So, I do not attend to every Jack and Jerry.

The cost usually is the cost of the materials plus little change for those who prepare some items which I know many people cannot prepare themselves. If I mention just 3 enzymes, and it's only minimum of 25kg can be bought at $11 to $40 per kg, many will pick race. Or do you expect me to invite these people attacking me that the common man should be considered? Am I the one who pushed dollars to over N360? If I give you an enzyme to use, and then, I will give you the same company selling it similar product in Nigeria for you to buy, and use both. Return and tell me the difference. There are issues like purity, % of active ingredients, the kind of catalyst mixed inside, the quality of fillers used, etc which make huge difference. And I can tell you that there are too many fake products in Nigeria. So, how do I address the issue? I do not want over zealous people who are eager to know everything immediately, and over "sabi" people who want to start formulating themselves to put me in trouble. And I am cautious of releasing vital info like my sources so they do not go and destroy my opportunities there. I have learned enough lessons. When people see good farming inputs in action, they just want to know the details immediately, but let them just relax and let the trust be really established, no no no..... they flare up like NLNG. And return here to school me humility. But they have not released to anyone ooo. If they were in my position, whey would not release a slight info. LOL

Marketing is my first Lesson
But I have seen struggling people (young and old) who did everything to just get involved. I share marketing tips. Infact, you will discuss your market with me privately before you enter my group. So, I always have one on one interaction with my trainees. I want to be sure you are not wasting money. So, you just have to go out there first. If I tell you to use 5 million naira to set up a greenhouse, you will first discuss market with me. Without it, I will not move forward. How much you dey release to start lording over me? Infact, I make findings when I feel the person is not straight forward. I have refunded people and deleted them off my group cos they lied about marketing.

And I am still saying it. If you see $13,500 as an amount that is too much for you to get, you will never grow. For Christ's sake, I do not expect everyone to be able to release it at once, but you can save towards it, even with your backyard gardening. I repeat, if you see it unattainable, you will never get it because you are your own enemy, and not Buhari. You have limited yourself, and nature has stamped it to be so.

Another issue is that I find it hard that people want to sell tomato for N 500 to N 1100 per kg, but they do not want to produce extraordinary tomatoes. And it beats my imagination why you will set up greenhouses and head towards mile 12, bodija, eleyele, shasha, sango ota, etc market to sell with hausa baskets. But even in these open markets, there are places you can still sell at reasonable prices that will justify your huge investment.

I think these people need to ask forgiveness from God. But they will not stop me from doing what I have vowed with my God to do. The more the attacks come, the stronger I will be. Let them keep them coming. No problem. (I will open a thread about everything at the right time, but let them have it in mind that they cannot stop me). Consultants like wolves they are.

I have to give it a real sounding thought before I do it this time. Someone was ready to offer me money too yesterday, but I pushed him to the self study option. I am not after anyone's money.

Bro, I will let you know my decision later.

funsoul:
My knowledgeable "e-farmer" , please I would like to plant some other crop on the land I presently have cucumber. Tomato is a no no for me with the resources i have. Am considering green bean/peas(heard the immatures beans is peas). Any advice on it will be greatly appreciated

Beans and peas are different. There are more tropical beans cultivars than peas. Someone was discussing peas with me yesterday and made me realised that Star Ayres which is one of my favorite brands has peas seeds in some its branches. Both are from South Africa, so it makes sense Shoprite is carrying the brand. Yeah..peas are more valuable, but more difficult to produce. It's more like beetroot and berries which thrive in temperate condition. The very funny issue is that wilts disturb them too. In fact, these issues are what the nairaland friend discussed with me yesterday. I was reading, and he was the one lecturing me. I was silent all through, and I told him that I agreed with almost everything he said because I have tried both crops.

The most popular beans cultivar is Contender for tropics. Its well known all over the world. And Technisem's Cora which I have used is just like Contender. It is a bushy cultivar. But the ones I prefer are polar beans which you need to stake. These ones are like indeterminate tomatoes which you should stake. Technisem has got cultivars too. Also, they produce more pods because they are indeterminates. And there are those that the pods are very long that are always folded in circular shape Please, check market very well. It's purely based on the farmer's preference. I have not done both for profit yet, but I am looking into peas too. I know they are both very good sources of income. In fact, I am presently looking for a very fast pea cultivar of around 30 to 40 days to compete with cucumber since the star Ayres cultivar is around 55 days or so, and the yield is low.

In my opinion, peas and beans need shading; therefore, I am not sure what you mean by running away from tomato to peas that you need extra cost to shade.

I believe you must have made research on them too.
1. Could you share your own findings?
2. What is the market like? How much can it be sold per kg in your area?

Pistotita:


Beans and peas are different. There are more tropical beans cultivars than peas. Someone was discussing peas with me yesterday and made me realised that Star Ayres which is one of my favorite brands has peas seeds in some its branches. Both are from South Africa, so it makes sense Shoprite is carrying the brand. Yeah..peas are more valuable, but more difficult to produce. It's more like beetroot and berries which thrive in temperate condition. The very funny issue is that wilts disturb them too. In fact, these issues are what the nairaland friend discussed with me yesterday. I was reading, and he was the one lecturing me. I was silent all through, and I told him that I agreed with almost everything he said because I have tried both crops.

The most popular beans cultivar is Contender for tropics. Its well known all over the world. And Technisem's Cora which I have used is just like Contender. It is a bushy cultivar. But the ones I prefer are polar beans which you need to stake. These ones are like indeterminate tomatoes which you should stake. Technisem has got cultivars too. Also, they produce more pods because they are indeterminates. And there are those that the pods are very long that are always folded in circular shape Please, check market very well. It's purely based on the farmer's preference. I have not done both for profit yet, but I am looking into peas too. I know they are both very good sources of income. In fact, I am presently looking for a very fast pea cultivar of around 30 to 40 days to compete with cucumber since the star Ayres cultivar is around 55 days or so, and the yield is low.

In my opinion, peas and beans need shading; therefore, I am not sure what you mean by running away from tomato to peas that you need extra cost to shade.

I believe you must have made research on them too.
1. Could you share your own findings?
2. What is the market like? How much can it be sold per kg in your area?

Just started making enquiries about it. Someone said they sold 200 per kg in Ibadan last year. It was the long variety and open field

funsoul:

Just started making enquiries about it. Someone said they sold 200 per kg in Ibadan last year. It was the long variety and open field

Presently the normal cucumber bag fluctuates around 5K and 7K for beans in open markets. While my nairaland friend told me that a teaspoon of pea retailing price is around N50. Hehehehe. You can imagine how many teaspoon of peas will make a kg. And then one can cut off around 50% max to guess wholesale price.

You can put any crop outside as long as cross pollination and weather won't affect it.

Pistotita:
2nd post I will address from the same thread I mistakenly went into




I will be polite with you concerning this your attack instead of bullying you back. But what I cannot comprehend is that you follow me on nairaland despite you find no maturity in me. Even that fake Chi.natown guy. Hehehehe Does it make sense to follow who is not matured? But I give it to you for following an intelligent man. At least, you are not stu.pid not to follow him. That I respect you for. So, bro keep following me. I appreciate it and I will share if you really ask me questions instead of nagging behind scene. There are things I do not share publicly, and there are things I will still not share privately. It is not all you ask I must answer. And I do not know everything too. At times people even get angry when I reply I don't know. Lol. Must I know all? "See me, see dem bring wahala oooo. Walahi, dem wahala always make good people even think I am rude".


I spoke about the old retired railway workers doing subsistence farming in the compound. I give it to the heads in railway compound. In the late 90s to early 2000s, railway was messed up. The compound was huge with expanse of land everwhere. I cannot tell how huge it is in Lagos State. And the tracks from Lagos to Kano and it's surrounding belong to the Federal Government, so you should have an idea that the corporation has got large expanse of land used for stations, substations, branches, etc all across Nigeria. But this property was abandoned in those days. So, the head allowed retired workers to farm on the land. Only an efarmer knows this. Hehehe. I swear, wisdom is scarce. Anyone who still call me what he/she wants to use to mock me is funny. Lol.

Do I expect these old people to start with 5million naira? No. They don't need to. They gat land, they can rotate easily, the land is in abundance for them, and no one is disturbing them. They are very close to the land, just at their backyads. But it's changing. So, do not go there as you will not be allowed. And the old men are also finding their ways out since government is getting serious about railway transportation in Nigeria. I give it to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. He did well for Agric and Railway. If you see all the equipment Goodluck has arranged for....hmmmm...Sai Baba just came on board as a lucky man. I am telling you the truth.

Bro, keep throwing stones at the person you really do not know well because you misunderstood him. My God will definitely have mercy on you. At last, you will definitely be very alright by God's grace.

I'm sorry. Really? Yes, I'm truly sorry, because
1. People of knowledge are really dear to me. That was the reason for my comment. The attack on that gentle man (person of knowledge, at least to me) really got to me
2. I'm an omoluabli. I was brought up that way. So, throwing insults and tantrums around is not my nature.
On the issue of following you.. Yes, I will follow you. If there's anyway to follow you elsewhere, I will do it again. Why? Knowledge. God punish pride where knowledge dey. If not for the attack on that gentle man, I would have continued to follow you silently, read all your epistle, jot whatever I can, gather 5 million naira. Then I'll send you a pm
Once more, I'm sorry.
Now that I have apologised, can you do same to that gentle man? By now, you should be sure that the e-farmer was not directed to you

Liftitupo:

Thank you sir. Someone who you trained guided me but he did not answer many of my questions though I saw with my eyes that some of the methods work well. I know he hid good information.What I need are laid down steps so I can do the right thing.

I do not think you know anyone in my last tomato group because my businesses are not on nairaland, though I am not calling you a liar. Maybe just astonished. But the truth is that most people who eventually prove resourceful don't make comments. Once again, thank you for your kind words.

I do not want to make this thread about training as I am interested in discussion here. I want to discuss, and not give short robotic instructions here. And my motive is not to train anyone here, or recruit trainees via this forum. So, I am sorry if people think I am a teacher who isn't teaching very well here. I am here to discuss, debate, learn, and connect. But I guess many want me to be dishing out farming instructions. I need to learn too.

Summary of how I piloted the last group
1. I concentrated only on tomato, so it was easy to give out step by step.
2. Exact measurement of what were needed were given.
3. I formulated for each person based on the fertilizers readily available for each person. Those who could buy DAP, NPK, etc got formulations based on exactly what they told me they could easily buy. Those who used solution fertilizers also were not left out. And some combined the two. They were 190 in number, so serious dedication was put into it.
4. About 1/8 of the trainees eventually cultivated tomato. This was one of the reasons I was discouraged that just 1/8. Hmmm!
5. I estimated the cost of 2 plots for each person, and they all bought materials required to cultivate 2 plots each; however, some got more.
6. An average of 7 kg per plant for the group was recorded with highest of 9.75 kg per plant. Marketable fruits per plant was 7.3 kg, resulting to a total of 9.7 tons marketable fruits for 2 plots.
7. Sales were from March to August with average price of N 241.2 per kg over the six months harvest period.
8. Two volunteers set up a joint farm 2 months earlier than the time the rest started. I visited the farm regularly, and the farm was used as the standard the group copied. (I do not have the time for this again as I have other endeavors for the rest of this year, so I do not know how new trainees will cope).

I dissolved the group exactly at the end of August that year, though most of them wanted to continue. But mehn! That kind of work is too much for me. It was one of the reasons I am forced to rest. My body cannot take such stress again. In fact, guys have been buzzing me since you put this topic here. So, I am addressing it once for all sir. I wished to really pilot people but I cannot be as committed as I was that year. Funny, guys no wan gree.

Sir, send me an email and let us move this out of this thread. I am looking for a new dimension to work with guys that will not hurt me. If I can find something my conscience will be ok with that these trainees are not just spending in vain, I will send out messages to them all. I always have records of my contacts. Therefore, if anyone is really interested, the person should mail me. I may not reply immediately, but if I eventually decide to move ahead, anyone who has shown interest by sending email will get a message from me. That's all I can say for now sir.

Functionoftime:

I'm sorry. Really? Yes, I'm truly sorry, because
1. People of knowledge are really dear to me. That was the reason for my comment. The attack on that gentle man (person of knowledge, at least to me) really got to me
2. I'm an omoluabli. I was brought up that way. So, throwing insults and tantrums around is not my nature.
On the issue of following you.. Yes, I will follow you. If there's anyway to follow you elsewhere, I will do it again. Why? Knowledge. God punish pride where knowledge dey. If not for the attack on that gentle man, I would have continued to follow you silently, read all your epistle, jot whatever I can, gather 5 million naira. Then I'll send you a pm
Once more, I'm sorry.
Now that I have apologised, can you do same to that gentle man? By now, you should be sure that the e-farmer was not directed to you

It's ok bro. Many things are not the way they seem to be. Patience is a virtue that saves from apologising later. Many issues go behind scene.

Are you certain the efarmer comment was not directed to me? Read the comment again?

All intending watermelon farmers be warned,it is not an easy crop to grow,do not be deceived by E-farmers throwing mouth watering returns,if it's too good to be true,then it's probably is...

After the question about watermelon was posted and the difficulties stated, who else gave positive comment about watermelon on the thread before this comment was made? Please, go and analyse the comments from the start where watermelon issue started to his comment before you jump to conclusion. I am not a kid. I think before I write or talk. As fast as my mouth and hands are, they are slower than my brain. I think ahead. So, bro, let us end the matter. I have handled it the right way it should be handled. I do not want anyone to make me look like an arrogant man. And I have left his group to return there no more. And thanks for telling me to go apologies to a smart tantrum thrower. I will rather confront directly but politely than use style to throw insults. That one I can handle it very well. In fact, to put someone in his corner is my area of specialisation sir. Let us just end the case.

Let me say ask you a question. Do you pray to be a professor who piled up books in your shelf like his professor of Agric that are dum.b? Guy, if that sounded like a good comment to you, I have brain I use. I was calm with that and I just waved it. Guy, go through my thread and read where he posted that. And one guy was saying he actually praised me. Which kind of praise is that? When intelligent people are laughing at the comment. He felt he is very smart with words. I can do it too. But like you too, I am from a house we are trained to be respectful and straight forward. But if anyone tries to use smart words to belittle me, I will dash him or her what is expected.

Please, let us end the matter.

@Pistotita I think your inference and interpretations are not particularly correct and you are fairly harsh on the fellow and i think i align with the other person that said you need to apologise to him

I follow most of your writings and i was particularly impressed by the way you resolved the lesgup cassava issue and the way you managed the maize issue when someone was upset with your use of word "speculation" Most at times we misinterpret intentions and we have a strong feelings we've gotten the interpretations right

You spoke about the beauty in cropping watermelon but you never bandied any figure. Long before your comment, i ran some analysis while trying to figure a way of making agriculture more profitable. I came up with numbers. I said one way to improve profitability is to grow vertical crops that are traditionally grown horizontally. I went further to say that distance between rows is 75cm and with vertical planting you can use 50cm within crops and with that spacing you get a plant population of 26,000 per hectare and if you assume a farm gate price of N300.00 for a big ball of watermelon assuming two fruits per vine, you will be looking at a revenue of N15.6m

Long before now while looking for land to farm, I contacted alpha2k somewhere around ofada. It was in the month of April and i saw big balls of watermelon all over the place. It was amazing to me because at that time rain was yet to be fully established. I later got to know that it is a common occurrence in that axis especially in the federal government farm estates around that area

The practise is to plant watermelon latest by the second week in February. We had three rains in January and about two rains in February and that is sufficient from what i learnt. So when this gentleman started planting his own in April, i was eagerly awaiting the technology to be deployed But when someone asked about the watermelon, quite unlike him he parried the question, another person, he did the same then i knew things must have gone haywire

Anyone that is involved in marketing knows about customers' profiling. The space is enough for everyone. You are a precision hi-tech millennium agroprenuer, in my opinion, he is a low end affordable agroprenuer - the space is enough for everyone - What works for one might not necessarily work for another so its not right referring to him as bush farmer in as much as bush farming pays his bills

I have seen a number of e -book on watermelon millionaire and you can not say with absolute certainty that he is referring to you The only thing am uncomfortable with is his sweeping statement that watermelon can not work

Thanks

Pistotita:


It's ok bro. Many things are not the way they seem to be. Patience is a virtue that saves from apologising later. Many issues go behind scene.

Are you certain the efarmer comment was not directed to me? Read the comment again?

All intending watermelon farmers be warned,it is not an easy crop to grow,do not be deceived by E-farmers throwing mouth watering returns,if it's too good to be true,then it's probably is...

After the question about watermelon was posted and the difficulties stated, who else gave positive comment about watermelon on the thread before this comment was made? Please, go and analyse the comments from the start where watermelon issue started to his comment before you jump to conclusion. I am not a kid. I think before I write or talk. As fast as my mouth and hands are, they are slower than my brain. I think ahead. So, bro, let us end the matter. I have handled it the right way it should be handled. I do not want anyone to make me look like an arrogant man. And I have left his group to return there no more. And thanks for telling me to go apologies to a smart tantrum thrower. I will rather confront directly but politely than use style to throw insults. That one I can handle it very well. In fact, to put someone in his corner is my area of specialisation sir. Let us just end the case.

Let me say ask you a question. Do you pray to be a professor who piled up books in your shelf like his professor of Agric that are dum.b? Guy, if that sounded like a good comment to you, I have brain I use. I was calm with that and I just waved it. Guy, go through my thread and read where he posted that. And one guy was saying he actually praised me. Which kind of praise is that? When intelligent people are laughing at the comment. He felt he is very smart with words. I can do it too. But like you too, I am from a house we are trained to be respectful and straight forward. But if anyone tries to use smart words to belittle me, I will dash him or her what is expected.

Please, let us end the matter.