Attit:

Why don't you discuss it here if it is about brainstorming so others can learn. If it is a private stuff, then, drop your email.

Thanks sir, it's more of private sir. Here is my email basseyphilips@gmail.com I will be glad to here from you soon sir.God bless you.

We need to restrategize. I keep saying this that when I wrote about more than 33 fruits per cucumber fruits they said I was a liar. Funny, some seed sellers have moved in such varieties. Lol. Also, when I said 19kg per tomato fruits, they were shocked. Funny, many are still doing 2kg per plant.

For heaven sake, you are a gardener if you have small plots. I have thought deeply, and honestly speaking, how can you enter bush to cultivate 1 plot.

Anyway, what about going for 30kg and above on a single tomato plant? And then, what above combining it with retailing? I am not revealing anything yet. You can combine these two strategies and actually make huge income even on 1/4 plot of land. Even maybe if you get my point you cannot on high density and having just 500 plants on less than 200sqm. Hmmm.

This is the time to start thinking about being smart. Or do you want to enter bush and get yourself kidnapped? You will need 3 plots and more to do well with the likes of cobra, padma, platinum, etc. Do not get me wrong, you can do them...but they actually arent for you as a small farmer. Believe me when I say so. I can never use them. I am not saying they arent good, but they arent profitable enough for me. If I am doing mechanized farming, I can consider them because that is what they are made for. They know it too. But just for the fact that they are more affordable, those manufacturers made it a standard for Nigerian farmers. For even sake, they aren't for small farmers. How do you expect to really make profit from them? Not possible.

Do not mind the cost of 20kg to 40kg per plant varieties. Do not mind the cost of feeding them....trust me, you will enjoy them and make more profit at the end of the day. 10,000 cobras at 2kg per plant each....is equivalent to just 750 - 800 of the ones I am.talking about. Imagine taking care of just 1,000 plants and at the end of the day, you make almost same profit as 1 acre of those ones you are presently using.

The only issue is that it will take you like much more time (months) to achieve it. But if you retail your products, trust me, you will be very ok.

I dont want Nigerians to die on farm working too hard.

Think! Think!! Think!!!

Attit:
If you have any trouble or challenge on your farm, send it here. Let's brainstorm together. Let us make 2021 better than 2020. Scammers, stay away! Haters, buzz off! "I too know" enterprises, Stay away! I have decided to listen to many cries and private messages, here is the opportunity to get solutions again. I want even haters to learn. 2021 will be great!

How can one farm profitably.....A cursory look at my costs tells me that chemicals and fertilizer eat up more than 75% of my cost...........
The original idea of farming is to get free seeds and ur highest cost should be labor.....Even when there’s bumper harvest,Costs are already so high that one is not enthusiastic to go another run and I really dont want to end up selling farm inputs as thats how many people end.....,

betabread:


How can one farm profitably.....A cursory look at my costs tells me that chemicals and fertilizer eat up more than 75% of my cost...........
The original idea of farming is to get free seeds and ur highest cost should be labor.....

Your idea of farming to get free seeds is your main challenge. Have you ever seen any succesful person in any business structure who is successful getting free things? When that free thing is removed, what next? Who is supposed to pay for the free things you use? Lol.

The cost of farming input has gone crazily high in recent months; however, the profit is still huge. Profit is even higher presently. Yes, 75% or more can be spent on fertilizer and chemicals...I have been shouting that producers do not like small scale farmers. How can they be in business when farmers are not patronizing them? So, they pay politicians to change the rule. Banning of this and that arent in the interest of small farmers, but huge farmers gain so much at the end of the day.

Scaling up is the way out. They want to sell more, so they want big farmers to enter the business instead of small farmers. Buying larger quantities come with huge discount also.

Again, we have been shouting regulation and safety. Listen, anything regulated will be more expensive. Imagine the amount Tompolo and those Niger Delta are paid just to keep oil pipes safe there. Who pay for the security? It is the people. Yes, it is subsidized now, but we pay even more expensive price for it later. Subsidy is a debt which are usually paid with pain and at extremely high interest rate. This is why we must stop the free fertilizer, free seeds, free this and that from government because our children are the ones who will pay for these free gifts the way we are presently paying what our great, grand parents ate foolishly. And we know subsidized products are looting avenue for politicians. It is as simple as ABC. The price of free things are extremely huge at the long run.

If our parents have paid for all they used, they wouldn't be reckless with many things. Let's leave it here.

The cost of food itself is high, and even higher than in those days. Harvest tomato at the right time and you won't even think about the cost of fertilizer, but trouble comes when you got if wrong. When you pay for high cost of input and you harvest less or nothing is when you complain. But when you harvest massively and you sell at the fight time to the right people, you just keep smiling. Let fertilizer go up to 500%, you know that you will make even far more.

Therefore, getting ig right is the KEY. I keep saying it, and you all will soon get out of farming if you dont want to change. The era of watery can business is over.

They used covid 19 to change the game...and everything I have been saying is coming to pass. Expect more viral diseases. Lol.

Even when there’s bumper harvest,Costs are already so high that one is not enthusiastic to go another run and I really dont want to end up selling farm inputs as thats how many people end.....,

You are wrong here. When inputs were cheap, go read even on this nairaland, the amount people say it is not possible to make on 1 ha tomato is 10 million naira in a growing season. What is 10 million naira today? Amount I will make on a plot of land of tomato when done rightly. Lol.

In those days, it didnt make sense to do 1 plot, but right now, market is so dynamic that even greenhouse farming is profitable. In those days, only SPAR and Shoprite were the major offtakers, and we were at their mercy. They did as they like then...but right now, they arent the major offtaker of greenhouse products anymore. They are just there. Lol.

Leave those cutlass and hoes farming, and those threads ....and learn 2022 farming methods. Get enough cash ready, and put in your time. In 12 months, you will start smiling.

Again, watery can farmers are getting booted out of the value chain. This is what manufacturers want, and they have beginning to achieve it. Do you want to upgrade yourself and join the wagon? Or do you want to stay behind still wishing for free things? The choice is your. Join today at the present price, or wait later to pay more. Those who had joined earlier can testify that it was not easy to join at that time, but thank God I joined. That's it.

It is like some civil servants who saved hard to buy land in expensive locations versus those who bought in anyhow locations. And then the two sets both built their homes. The ones in expensive locations ended up having neighbors who are in the range of the amount paid despite the standard of living of the civil servants is lower. 10 years down the lane, the blessings of such sacrifice turned to huge reward. Why? They paid for everything down to having C of O amd making sure govt wont say the land was illegally acquired, or build on erosion, or related stories. But the other set of civil servants also have neighbors in their league too and they might even be the rich among the neighbors. Lol. Have you been to police barracks? Lol. That's it. 10 years later, there might be transformer wahala and all of them will refuse to pay. They are the ones who wont pay electricity and water bills because they always want free things. They are the ones who by pass meter to enjoy hot plates, A/C etc at home. Transformers dont last there cos they always exceed the capacity they told govt they need. Problems here and there....very noisy areas with touts everywhere. Even their landlord association meetings are filled with irritating ideas. Lol.

The choice is yours sir.

im planning a 1hectare tomato farm by febraury next year, I've gone with drip and installation is about 55% complete, my biggest problem is water quality,I cant afford big sand filters and i fear the stream after heavy down-pour............ 100ft of driptape cost me 1500, I wont mind that expense if the tape would last just 1 season of tomato production.............

I ask if new roll tape is installed, Can i Still get 40% efficiency at end of season(2l-0.8l/hr) without much maintenance of d installation.........One would like to focus on the farm than irrigation when im set

betabread:
im planning a 1hectare tomato farm by febraury next year, I've gone with drip and installation is about 55% complete, my biggest problem is water quality,I cant afford big sand filters and i fear the stream after heavy down-pour............ 100ft of driptape cost me 1500, I wont mind that expense if the tape would last just 1 season of tomato production.............

I ask if new roll tape is installed, Can i Still get 40% efficiency at end of [b]season(2l-0.8l/hr) [/b]without much maintenance of d installation.........One would like to focus on the farm than irrigation when im set

The figures here aren't adding up, but it's ok. I will share some things with you.

First, the cost of 1 ha drip depends on the variety you are working on. How can you say 1 ha drip is 55% completed. Please, just be straight forward sir. You don't have to say it for me to reply you and help. Nope...dont make me feel you are doing 1 ha. What I wrote earlier does not mean you should do 1 ha. It is expensive to do 1 ha. Yes, manufacturers want you to even buy input for 100 ha and above. This is what they want, but we are here to support each other. My point is that there is a minimum you can take to make profit. That minimum is not necessarily 1 ha. I think just 1 plot is still profitable if you are close to market and farm.

What do you mean by big sand filter? You either use 2 inch or 3 inch size depending on the size of your drip. And even your drip is 3 in, I can teach you how to still use 2 in. And the price is N10k to N25k ...maybe they sell at N30k or more for 3inches now. Not sure. Is it N10k to N12k you dont have for 2in filter?

You said 1000ft drip cost you 1500. I think you need to check your figures.

Which one is 2 - 0.8l/hr? Anyway, forget about the info since it really depends on pressure. It is not really necessary.

If you use 0.2mm very well, it can last you even 10 years because it has UV protection. The only way it can get destroyed is when you have high water pressure and it starts bursting (you can reduce the pressure), or when weeding and you use cutlass to cut it. Sun cannot easily destroy it. Also, rats can easily damage 0.2mm...and sharp objects on farm will damage it too. But the good news is that you can amend it. I know even cheaper ways of joining drip without buying expensive joiners. All you do is sit down and take your time to close up all bursted spots. Guy, I have sat down to close up spots in 1.5ha farm with so many bursts here and here. I was short of cash, and I went into my stores and removed sets of drips I wanted to throw away. Listen, even my ex workers refused to use them when I gave them. They said it will be too much cash to buy joiners, and they politely rejected it. Guy, I sat down for good 5 days in my house and amended everything. Took them to farm, set them up and saw many more spots I couldn't detect at home. I returned home and the following started amending the spots I marked the previous day. This one is working in the field which took me 2 solid weeks. The 3 workers I had were just looking at me like zombie. And I didnt bother them cos if I tell them to do it, they will do rubbish. So, I patiently did all myself when I knew I had no cash then. Such experience was the reason I asked people to buy thicker ones. Right now, I even even thicker ones that what I I recommended previously, but I cant tell anyone else to.

My suggestion
Say exactly the size of the plot you want to do and I can give you suggestions. Say exactly what you have and hope to get.

What variety?
Size of bed?
How many rolls of drip per bed
How many rolls of drip have you got?
How many meters in one roll?
How many plants altogether do you want yo do?
Give as many details as possible.

I mean it when i say 1hectare
My plan starts november, i install everything and plant corn to harvest February and reuse d land for tomatoes; come march

My biggest nuisance on drip will be the rate at which water stops seeping out of the tapes.....

I was more of a sprinkler person before but ran from it, my equipment can only water 0.4 acres at a time......

I want to do all irrigation installation latest d day of planting after which i face farm full time......

I understand corn so well that i want to use it to figure out drip installation then fire by march....,

I would have loved to do water melon with d installation by November but no i wont ive never tried it before......

I would have tried okro but it requires hoe weeding at least once......

Attit:


The figures here aren't adding up, but it's ok. I will share some things with you.

First, the cost of 1 ha drip depends on the variety you are working on. How can you say 1 ha drip is 55% completed. Please, just be straight forward sir. You don't have to say it for me to reply you and help. Nope...dont make me feel you are doing 1 ha. What I wrote earlier does not mean you should do 1 ha. It is expensive to do 1 ha. Yes, manufacturers want you to even buy input for 100 ha and above. This is what they want, but we are here to support each other. My point is that there is a minimum you can take to make profit. That minimum is not necessarily 1 ha. I think just 1 plot is still profitable if you are close to market and farm.

What do you mean by big sand filter? You either use 2 inch or 3 inch size depending on the size of your drip. And even your drip is 3 in, I can teach you how to still use 2 in. And the price is N10k to N25k ...maybe they sell at N30k or more for 3inches now. Not sure. Is it N10k to N12k you dont have for 2in filter?

You said 1000ft drip cost you 1500. I think you need to check your figures.

Which one is 2 - 0.8l/hr? Anyway, forget about the info since it really depends on pressure. It is not really necessary.

If you use 0.2mm very well, it can last you even 10 years because it has UV protection. The only way it can get destroyed is when you have high water pressure and it starts bursting (you can reduce the pressure), or when weeding and you use cutlass to cut it. Sun cannot easily destroy it. Also, rats can easily damage 0.2mm...and sharp objects on farm will damage it too. But the good news is that you can amend it. I know even cheaper ways of joining drip without buying expensive joiners. All you do is sit down and take your time to close up all bursted spots. Guy, I have sat down to close up spots in 1.5ha farm with so many bursts here and here. I was short of cash, and I went into my stores and removed sets of drips I wanted to throw away. Listen, even my ex workers refused to use them when I gave them. They said it will be too much cash to buy joiners, and they politely rejected it. Guy, I sat down for good 5 days in my house and amended everything. Took them to farm, set them up and saw many more spots I couldn't detect at home. I returned home and the following started amending the spots I marked the previous day. This one is working in the field which took me 2 solid weeks. The 3 workers I had were just looking at me like zombie. And I didnt bother them cos if I tell them to do it, they will do rubbish. So, I patiently did all myself when I knew I had no cash then. Such experience was the reason I asked people to buy thicker ones. Right now, I even even thicker ones that what I I recommended previously, but I cant tell anyone else to.

My suggestion
Say exactly the size of the plot you want to do and I can give you suggestions. Say exactly what you have and hope to get.

What variety?
Size of bed?
How many rolls of drip per bed
How many rolls of drip have you got?
How many meters in one roll?
How many plants altogether do you want yo do?
Give as many details as possible.

1.cobra
2. 1roll of tape per bed
3. currently got 3km of driptape length upgrading to 13km
4. by Gods grace i will get 25000 population

betabread:


1.cobra
2. 1roll of tape per bed
3. currently got 3km of driptape length upgrading to 13km
4. by Gods grace i will get 25000 population

I doubt you have managed a tomato farm before. If not, stop at 3km driptape length. With what you have said, it seems it is 50cm emitter spacing so that the lowest population is 6 000 plants. This is enough to make you a huge profit. And you want to extend to 13km when you haven't done it before. Not advisable.

If you do it well as a beginners, and with cobra, you can make 450 to 600 crates altogether. First, get yourself in order and endeavor to even hit 600 before you start thinking of expanding. If not, maybe its 100 per crates you are going to make for every 3km drip despite wasting farm inputs.

Therefore, forget about expansion now. Do only what your pump and drip can take. Prepare your soil well, tackle your workers well, and make sure you hit 600 crates. By April next year, you should have harvest enough crates. If you see that you are on the right mind to expand, use part of your sales to acquire more drip and do another 1km to 3km. And improve on it.

Stop forcing 13km. You do not have the financial means to do it. Also, I doubt you can handle it if you have the money.

400 crates at N7k is 2.8million naira which you know well is a low price. You can make up to N5million sales with your 3km. So, are you saying you will spend more than N2.5 million naira for 3km?

What I have learned is that most people cannot do more than 1 plot. Even those who asked me for 1 ha, they couldn't. So, I thought about if deeply. And then kidnappers made me to restrategize. I used to say that you should do nothing less than 1 acre in the past. And I would even encourage you to do 1 ha and above. Yes, I was successful in such, but most people cannot handle it. So, I have started telling them to not go inside bushes again. It doesn't worth it if you are a new farmer. Find a small plot and get a good cultivar.

Oga, a beg...veggie is rewarding. Do what you can do well. No need to expand big when you are still learning it.

If I were you, I would take 3km there and test my ability with just 500m drip for like 4 months. Of course, you will learn so much with this way. And then by March - April next year when I have practised well enough, booooom...... 2,500m drip and you hit it big...maybe even hit 650 to 700 crates.

Even with one of my styles, I use 3,500 to 4000 for 1 acre. And I use 80cm spacing for one of my varieties. So, you can see that I dont even have up to your own population. And believe me, if I am on farm, nothing stops me from making 1,400 crates.

Sit down, learn and move your efficiency up. If you do 3km this year and you know your efficiency is 60%, then, downsize to 500m and try to move your efficiency to 90%. I am a perfectionist, so, I strive at 98% and above. If I have my old boys who are active, I can go up to 30km. Yea. But when I had no one with me, and I did not trust the boys who they gave me, I said nope. I went to the city and I pulled out just 200m that my strength can take. I managed it from A to Z at my backyard cos I just want to exercise myself (way to bouncing back to field work after a long rest). Did I force what I used to do? Nope. My boys are already cultivating their own land. I need to build again. On top, kidnapping here and there. And I cannot build a bungalow in a bush for some boys to come pick me. Nope. Rather, we will spell it out there...so in order for me not to even take any risk, I refused to go. And I have nog seen anything which will take me to the bush for now. 30 million naira promise cannot even make me go to any bush now. Never.

Remember that I hablve been shouting it on this platform even before kidnapping is rampant in the south. Many here insulted me that I was wicked and selfish cos I refused to do trainings on my farms or invite them to come see me. Make I use my own hand invite kidnappers cos I want to prove super hero on yeye Nairaland. They hit their heads on imaginary walls here, and I didnt even send them. Lol.

So, the little you think is nothing is something. Do what your irrigation can take now. Your challenge is your efficiency. Sir, go back to the drawing board and increase your efficiency. Make sure you learn about soil preparation. This is the secret of high yield. I see the useless ways soils are prepared here on NL and I always laugh. One was even using fresh manure. Lol. Na waooo. They hit heads on NL imaginary wall and I assited them to hit it more. It is not by force to teach arrogant people things they dont know. Anyway, check my old threads and learn.

Oga, if you are serious, just 1000 seeds of another variety...if you follow my plan, you will hit that 600 crates you want to use 3km for. Sure your 3km will hit the number like 3 months ahead of the variety. The issue is that, you remove extra costs and harvest gradually. You just have to take staking extremely serious. Staking is not like the skeleton bamboo sticks like kwashokor bends all over farms I see. You will use solid stakes that are tall and fitted with strong wire guage.

It is not how many plants, but how good you are and how the variety you are planting can perform. Why will I use 1.5kg per plant seed cos it is cheap, when I can use one that will give me 10kg, 15kg, 20kg, 25kg, or even 30kg per plant? But you dont expect to buy these kind of seeds the amount you buy cobra. Nope. So, before you start using them, practise very well. Practise your cobra also

Please permit my ignorance as I have never farmed tomato before. But I am seeing things that have made me decide to venture into it.

I prepared a green house with sprinklers for snails, 25m X 23m. For some reason, I am not feeling like heading the direction of snails just yet.
My wife washed tomatoes bought from the market and threw the water with the seeds into a snail hutch box we had, which had loamy soil. They germinated, and grew. Now they are fruiting. The hutch box had a small reflective shaded net I got from China. I was surprised at their productivity. I have seen one of the tomato plants carry clusters of 10-15 tomatoes, and there are nearly 6 clusters.

These are seeds of tomatoes bought from the market. No special seeds purchased. No trace of disease on any one. I did not use any pesticides, fungicides or anything. Manure was from the dwarf goats I have had in my farm. My workers clean their pen every week, mix it with soil and allow it to stand for 7 days before applying the manure.

With what I have seen and from your analysis, I am thinking of doing something like this in that green house of mine. I have a borehole that was sunk in the heat of the dry season in February with a total depth of 180m. Water was struck at 130m, so I have a dry season water depth of 50m. Water is not an issue for me. Sprinklers are set up, shaded net set up and all I need to do is to start. But I need direction, especially on the 30kg per plant seed. What's the name and where do I get it? What should be my best practices? What yield can I expect from my dimensions (575 sq. metres) and what is the ideal plant population for this size?

Nobody is doing tomatoes where my farm is. I smell opportunity.

staga:
Please permit my ignorance as I have never farmed tomato before. But I am seeing things that have made me decide to venture into it.

I prepared a green house with sprinklers for snails, 25m X 23m. For some reason, I am not feeling like heading the direction of snails just yet.

Snail is good, but it takes time and if one isnt around, one may lose everything to the manager. But tomatoes and sweet pepper will always reign, especially tomatoes.

My wife washed tomatoes bought from the market and threw the water with the seeds into a snail hutch box we had, which had loamy soil. They germinated, and grew. Now they are fruiting. The hutch box had a small reflective shaded net I got from China. I was surprised at their productivity. I have seen one of the tomato plants carry clusters of 10-15 tomatoes, and there are nearly 6 clusters.

The ones you have, perhaps 8 will survive out of the 10 to 15 fruits. For small tomatoes, perhaps 8 to 10. And maybe one tomato is 40 to 50 grams. Most hybrids are 80 to 110 grams. Now imagine you pick 160grams per fruit and you can save 10 fruits per cluster. So, when we tell people that there are tomatoes, but there are few tomato miracles...hmmmm. Now, you can see the numbers. A smart person can easily calculate what the yield is like.

Also, you must look at their diseases resistance to know what to do. It is not a rocket science, someone like you can sit down and get it down. I sat down with some guys, and we brainstormed it. Then, we went for different approaches according to what we feel like doing.

I can start writing pros and cons of all seeds varieties in Nigeria, but I dont want to look like promoting any brand or destroying others. So, I am careful, but I will give you HINTS.

These are seeds of tomatoes bought from the market. No special seeds purchased. No trace of disease on any one. I did not use any pesticides, fungicides or anything. Manure was from the dwarf goats I have had in my farm. My workers clean their pen every week, mix it with soil and allow it to stand for 7 days before applying the manure.

All tomatoes flourish from 25C to 28C. Your shade is a boom. The weakest tomato will thrive under it. I have said many times the importance of organic matters in the soil. Sir, my soil preparation is my rock. I spend a lot preparing my soil. The first thing I do is to go around and source for abundance compost. If I get an abattoir, my first mission is to compost the manure cos I know that if I use abattoir manure like that, I have invited trouble. Never will I buy chicken manure for those crazy prices. I need loads ...loads....loads....Also, I use carbon and green organic matter. So, I take my time. It is why I stopped renting land. Cos what I put in the soil is an investment ...it can take 10 good years before it is totally dead. So, I prefer one plot now to many plots of rubbish. So, take time and invest in soil preparation and put mulch.

Sir, I related with some organic pros recently, and believe me, I do not mind spending 700k on an acre just to prepare the soil with what I know now. So, the land must be mine. So, for now, I will rather do it in a greenhouse like you and maintain 300 sqm to 500 sqm.

With what I have seen and from your analysis, I am thinking of doing something like this in that green house of mine. I have a borehole that was sunk in the heat of the dry season in February with a total depth of 180m. Water was struck at 130m, so I have a dry season water depth of 50m. Water is not an issue for me. Sprinklers are set up, shaded net set up and all I need to do is to start. But I need direction, especially on the 30kg per plant seed. What's the name and where do I get it? What should be my best practices? What yield can I expect from my dimensions (575 sq. metres) and what is the ideal plant population for this size?

If you are doing 6 clusters per plant, then, do not use a greenhouse. You will think it makes sense, and yes, you may make profit, but you haven't seen anything. Rather, put that seed outside in open field. If if fails, it is not good for you. Outside is tough, so, we try to achieve 6 fruits per cluster...and then above 110grams of fruits sizes. If you pick less than 70grams, you are at a disadvantage. But the mystery is that most heat tolerate varieties cannot produce huge fruits. For example...Gamhar from Rz produces big fruits and the yield is super...check it of sir. But Jarrah which is all round season has smaller fruits. So, if you do gamhar during cool season, Jesus.....you will harvest big fruits...bug Jarrah gives smaller fruits..however, I prefer Jarrah cos it is good for all seasons. The only issue with Rz is that all their open field seeds dont have resistance to bacterial wilt. Of course most seeds like those dont have bw tolerance because in Europe, they expect one to graft them on rootstocks if there is bacterial wilt in the soil. So, they dont pay attention to it again since there is a solution. But manufacturers that target Africa always have it...and it affects the productivity of the cultivar. This is the reason cobra is the standard. I give it to Technisem. If you want to break the open field market seed, you must beat Technism. Cobra 26 F1 is the standard. All the experts abroad I have spoken to, even Israelis know about Cobra. I wrote about this issue like 3 to 4 years ago, and I suspect East West read it. So, they brought out Diva to tackle Cobra. I am watching if Diva will make Cobra lose its relevance but still not yet. East West and Technisem have been saviours to farmers in Africa, but I give it to cobra for commercial determinate seeds.

All the attributes you mentioned are what expert farmers look out for when choosing. And it is why I go abroad to pick. Why? I speak with breeders and we discuss. These sellers here know nothing about the seeds. They sell what they are told. Ask them why Gamhar is for rainy season and they cant say. Even Rz promoters will tell you Jarrah is for dry season only when it is for all seasons. The only issue is that make sure you can take care of bacterial wilt. Ask East West sellers why padma is for rainy season and they cannot tell you. Platinum is also for all round season...but why Diva again? Now we know.

Nobody is doing tomatoes where my farm is. I smell opportunity.

A great opportunity.


My Suggestion
Since you have a greenhouse, pick a variety (indeterminate) which can give you minimum of 20 clusters. It means it will continue growing tall. Sir, Nigerian sellers cannot give you any details. Forget it. You must try the seeds yourself to know. Breeders try to make the nodes btw clusters shorter now so that you can even have more cluster before it grows up to 2m length. Most seed I know have about 7 clusters before it gets to 2m. And then, it starts getting shorter the taller it is. Why? It depends on how you manage it and feed it. If you prepare your soil well, you will use less salts (fertilizer), and they just perform excellently well. The lesser salts in your soil, the better your plants perform. You easily got 6 clusters from determinate you planted because you didnt prune. This is the purpose...but the fruits are smaller. For gardener and greenhouses, they arent the best. You have to pick the ones that grow very tall (indeterminates). When they reach 2m height, you lower them. Also, you prune to one stem for bigger fruits. If you dont prune, you can have 20 stems and you cannot really have huge fruits. They die even faster because the load are too much on them. One stem, double stem...are ok for beginners. If you feel like having more than 3 stems, you start thinking about how you will lower them or the plants may start breaking when you start lowering them. Therefore, you just get better everytime you enter the greenhouse. It is a skill.

Since the plants will grow very tall, you need drip irrigation instead of sprinkler. And keeping water out of the leaves is rewarding. Therefore, you may want to install a cover which prevents rain during rainy season. You may go for an open and close nylon type...and you still have a net and shade under it. Or you start now with only net, and by next year May, you can think of putting a cover on the structure. You should have earned enough to easily make up your mind. By them, you should have known if its really worth it or not.

My analysis...
5 fruits per cluster
Average of 160 grams per fruit
10 clusters per stem.
Total - 8 kg.

So you should know that if you are doing a stem, you must hit 20 clusters and increase to 6 fruits per cluster to hit 19kg per plant. Simply go for double stem and hit above 25kg. But you will have to feed very well. Fruit will be smaller and wont attain 160 grams easily. But if you feed well, and maintain the right ph, you will still hit 160 gram. Now think about 3 stems? Lol. So, if you are doing must 100 plants, can you see how you multiple your yield drastically? And it can be a double edged sword. You may do 2 or 3 stems and you may not get it right...also, may be so tedious for you.

Please, dont ask workers to prune for you. If its 100 plants you alone can do to learn, please do it. After going through the process, you can know how to organize helping hands.

It is easy on paper, but when you get to a greenhouse, you have to wesr your thinking cap. Tomatoes pull out nutrients. Some papers tell you the NPK tomato pills put for every 1000 kg fruits, but that's for inorganic fertilizer using soiless. But when you use manure in abundance, it is like a magic. Seriously, I myself still dont get it. So, pick some papers to learn about tomato nutrients and keep learning. This is the best approach to becoming an expert.

Build your roots with phosphorus Phosphorus the initial stage, and make sure your soil has enough calcium. And keep pushing in Magnesium, Nitrogen, and Pottasium via drip....watch what happens, and you will be amazed. Towards harvest time, you may need to start adding calcium and phosphorus again.

For the first year, you may achieve 15 to 20 kg per plant, but the following, you can improve and hit 25kg...or even up to 40kg per plant with the same variety.

The good news is that they come out gradually over 8 to 10 months period. So, you have the time to retail your tomatoes. This is the advantage.

If I was in the US or UK, I would do cherry tomato, but in Nigeria, plum and round is our choice. Just get heat tolerance seeds, and try to make sure the fruits are btw 140g to 250grams. The bigger the fruits, the more job you have to do to maintain more fruits per cluster...cos they are heavy load.

I do not want to promote any brand, but Rz has Uwezo plum. That one can give 10 fruits per cluster if you do it well and average 6 fruits gives 1kg. Its plum. They also have rounds...but maybe they are more of beefstake, not sure if they are easily accepted. The seeds are N44k to N85k for 1000 seeds. Lol. They sell in 100 seeds per pack also.

Another seller is Dizengoff. They have varieties but choose the ones that can stand heat. You should ask the guys for details of disease resistance and heat tolerance.

If you can hunt for seeds in Asia especially from China, that's it. They are extremely cheaper and can do well. The only issue is that I seem not to be able to use Alibaba and aliexpress to buy seeds again. It seems China has blocked Nigeria from purchasing seeds. But if you can, you may try. This is how I hunt my seeds. Many people have bought quality seeds because of clues and hints I put here. I am sure you can do it. Everyone is trying to keep away importers and seed sellers from knowing their source cos those people are dangerous. They go there and tell the producers to not sell to individuals. They have done it several times after reading my posts. And when I investigated, I realised the people are always Nairalanders. So, forgive me for not saying some other seeds here. I can just point to the ones that are popular and readily available in Nigeria.

You may start with Dizengoff or Rz. Maybe you can even have just 100 seeds from Rz and them use the seeds you have to test. Then compare. I am sure you will start hunting for better seeds after your first attempt. Rz has better documentation than Dizengoff. .so check them out.

For personal consumption, I grow heirlooms..you can check american sites and go for some hybrid heirlooms. You will be amazed how your family will cherish you. Also, pick some cherry tomatoes seeds too and grow them. If you can buy from alibaba....great. You can just have 3 to 5 plants of cherry tomato and heirlooms for you own consumption inside the greenhouse. Seriously, you will love them. And maybe you can add brandywine, cherokee purple, or any of the ancients seeds ...these are open pollinated you can use their seeds. For cherry, I grow either sungold or super sweet 100 or million. I saw some sellers displaying Greenworld seeds. Fortunately, they have Cherry Tomato Satura (30 seeds) packs. If you are in south west, you can contact Solokad. I think its N1500. I am sure there are suppliers in Abuja, Ph and other places also. This is for personal consumption. But if you have the market for cherry tomato, believe me...just go for it. You will make a heck of great fortune. You van imagine Rz sells its cherry tomato at 250K for 1000 seeds. I laughed and laughed. Well, you can check Dizengoff also...their Luciplus isnt bad...they also have another brand. But both cant stand white flies and thrips. Also, they cant stand heat for long.

Again, for your business, look at Rz products and then Dizengoff...them try to see if you can get similar from outside at cheaper rate.

If you can get Newton F1 from syngenta, that's a good one also for commercial round tomato. It used to be available....cheaper and very reliable. But I think Syngenta stopped supplying the Nigerian market cos farmers are into cobra, Parma and platinum.

Another company in Nigeria that I know is Enza. It has some too, but they are expensive, even more than Rz. And to me, Rz has better disease resistance.

I cant say one seed or variety is better until after a cycle which is 1 year. Cos some have very short nodes..and they sacrifice that for soil disease resistance. In such case, one has to treat the soil or endure to use sterilized soil in containers. So, you can imagine having 20 nodes with 10 fruits and 190 grams average weight. The disease tolerance might be low.

So, this kind of farming is like art. The more you do it, the better you get at it, and you can choose your style. Then, you can know if multiple disease resistance is what you want to go for, or extremely high yield variety. For a start, check Rz...they have 100 seeds packs from N4500 to N9000. You may want to sacrifice this to learn and understand your style of farming that you want to adopt.

I used this approach cos I know you are extremely smart. If it's someone else, I may just give the person direct and shorter response with maybe only Rz 100 seeds packs as the only option available.

Attit:

I doubt you have managed a tomato farm before. If not, stop at 3km driptape length. With what you have said, it seems it is 50cm emitter spacing so that the lowest population is 6 000 plants. This is enough to make you a huge profit. And you want to extend to 13km when you haven't done it before. Not advisable.

If you do it well as a beginners, and with cobra, you can make 450 to 600 crates altogether. First, get yourself in order and endeavor to even hit 600 before you start thinking of expanding. If not, maybe its 100 per crates you are going to make for every 3km drip despite wasting farm inputs.

Therefore, forget about expansion now. Do only what your pump and drip can take. Prepare your soil well, tackle your workers well, and make sure you hit 600 crates. By April next year, you should have harvest enough crates. If you see that you are on the right mind to expand, use part of your sales to acquire more drip and do another 1km to 3km. And improve on it.

Stop forcing 13km. You do not have the financial means to do it. Also, I doubt you can handle it if you have the money.

400 crates at N7k is 2.8million naira which you know well is a low price. You can make up to N5million sales with your 3km. So, are you saying you will spend more than N2.5 million naira for 3km?

What I have learned is that most people cannot do more than 1 plot. Even those who asked me for 1 ha, they couldn't. So, I thought about if deeply. And then kidnappers made me to restrategize. I used to say that you should do nothing less than 1 acre in the past. And I would even encourage you to do 1 ha and above. Yes, I was successful in such, but most people cannot handle it. So, I have started telling them to not go inside bushes again. It doesn't worth it if you are a new farmer. Find a small plot and get a good cultivar.

Oga, a beg...veggie is rewarding. Do what you can do well. No need to expand big when you are still learning it.

If I were you, I would take 3km there and test my ability with just 500m drip for like 4 months. Of course, you will learn so much with this way. And then by March - April next year when I have practised well enough, booooom...... 2,500m drip and you hit it big...maybe even hit 650 to 700 crates.

Even with one of my styles, I use 3,500 to 4000 for 1 acre. And I use 80cm spacing for one of my varieties. So, you can see that I dont even have up to your own population. And believe me, if I am on farm, nothing stops me from making 1,400 crates.

Sit down, learn and move your efficiency up. If you do 3km this year and you know your efficiency is 60%, then, downsize to 500m and try to move your efficiency to 90%. I am a perfectionist, so, I strive at 98% and above. If I have my old boys who are active, I can go up to 30km. Yea. But when I had no one with me, and I did not trust the boys who they gave me, I said nope. I went to the city and I pulled out just 200m that my strength can take. I managed it from A to Z at my backyard cos I just want to exercise myself (way to bouncing back to field work after a long rest). Did I force what I used to do? Nope. My boys are already cultivating their own land. I need to build again. On top, kidnapping here and there. And I cannot build a bungalow in a bush for some boys to come pick me. Nope. Rather, we will spell it out there...so in order for me not to even take any risk, I refused to go. And I have nog seen anything which will take me to the bush for now. 30 million naira promise cannot even make me go to any bush now. Never.

Remember that I hablve been shouting it on this platform even before kidnapping is rampant in the south. Many here insulted me that I was wicked and selfish cos I refused to do trainings on my farms or invite them to come see me. Make I use my own hand invite kidnappers cos I want to prove super hero on yeye Nairaland. They hit their heads on imaginary walls here, and I didnt even send them. Lol.

So, the little you think is nothing is something. Do what your irrigation can take now. Your challenge is your efficiency. Sir, go back to the drawing board and increase your efficiency. Make sure you learn about soil preparation. This is the secret of high yield. I see the useless ways soils are prepared here on NL and I always laugh. One was even using fresh manure. Lol. Na waooo. They hit heads on NL imaginary wall and I assited them to hit it more. It is not by force to teach arrogant people things they dont know. Anyway, check my old threads and learn.

Oga, if you are serious, just 1000 seeds of another variety...if you follow my plan, you will hit that 600 crates you want to use 3km for. Sure your 3km will hit the number like 3 months ahead of the variety. The issue is that, you remove extra costs and harvest gradually. You just have to take staking extremely serious. Staking is not like the skeleton bamboo sticks like kwashokor bends all over farms I see. You will use solid stakes that are tall and fitted with strong wire guage.

It is not how many plants, but how good you are and how the variety you are planting can perform. Why will I use 1.5kg per plant seed cos it is cheap, when I can use one that will give me 10kg, 15kg, 20kg, 25kg, or even 30kg per plant? But you dont expect to buy these kind of seeds the amount you buy cobra. Nope. So, before you start using them, practise very well. Practise your cobra also

Ive never managed a tomato farm.....my 3km drip is locked into corn.......... its already sounding like corn is not profitable with drip, i grow corn profitably with sprinkers as its a popution driven crop

Currently my layflats are punctured at 80cm spacing “corn parameters”

And i use 30cm spaced emitters (corn parameters) and im a cheap scape pls forgive that too

Im trying to hit a sweet spot, one reason i go for d cheap stuffs is cos of my workers, no need trying to change their values,
Many dropped farming and were just farm laborers, boom i started making cash from farm and all now run parallel farms trying to replicate what goes on in mine, im not worried but my biggest fear is theft of my inputs......

I lost all my tomato transplants in march this year “local tomatoes “.....stolen by one of my worker but they did not survive on his own farm, he could not sustain d watering

I know soil preparation is key, i practice no till in my corn cultivation and have been escaping with good yields except when i get rain timing wrong......

Hopefully im clearing and liming my soil come month end

How advisable is it to plant tomato after tomato on the same plot

I have a friend who says hes got d answer to that, he innoculate his crops with fungi before planting, hes on d second year running

All in all i fear staking, staking means I’ll raise my game to d perfectionist level and consider retailing,

My biggest fear in tomato remains this

Im particularly about stream water which is what i use, i dont consider water quality with sprinklers but looking like water quality is an issue with drip....

Many people i see with drip sink boreholes or wells so issue of water quality don’t come to play .....Pumping from any form of depth is expensive though i get filteredwater but volume is low

Security is the main challenge for me, farm produce are secure if d thief is actually going to some work before making some money....... chances are that he would be seen committing the act
Ive grown cobra successfully before though i did not know what’s actually happening in retrospect

Attit:

Snail is good, but it takes time and if one isnt around, one may lose everything to the manager. But tomatoes and sweet pepper will always reign, especially tomatoes.


The ones you have, perhaps 8 will survive out of the 10 to 15 fruits. For small tomatoes, perhaps 8 to 10. And maybe one tomato is 40 to 50 grams. Most hybrids are 80 to 110 grams. Now imagine you pick 160grams per fruit and you can save 10 fruits per cluster. So, when we tell people that there are tomatoes, but there are few tomato miracles...hmmmm. Now, you can see the numbers. A smart person can easily calculate what the yield is like.

Also, you must look at their diseases resistance to know what to do. It is not a rocket science, someone like you can sit down and get it down. I sat down with some guys, and we brainstormed it. Then, we went for different approaches according to what we feel like doing.

I can start writing pros and cons of all seeds varieties in Nigeria, but I dont want to look like promoting any brand or destroying others. So, I am careful, but I will give you HINTS.


All tomatoes flourish from 25C to 28C. Your shade is a boom. The weakest tomato will thrive under it. I have said many times the importance of organic matters in the soil. Sir, my soil preparation is my rock. I spend a lot preparing my soil. The first thing I do is to go around and source for abundance compost. If I get an abattoir, my first mission is to compost the manure cos I know that if I use abattoir manure like that, I have invited trouble. Never will I buy chicken manure for those crazy prices. I need loads ...loads....loads....Also, I use carbon and green organic matter. So, I take my time. It is why I stopped renting land. Cos what I put in the soil is an investment ...it can take 10 good years before it is totally dead. So, I prefer one plot now to many plots of rubbish. So, take time and invest in soil preparation and put mulch.

Sir, I related with some organic pros recently, and believe me, I do not mind spending 700k on an acre just to prepare the soil with what I know now. So, the land must be mine. So, for now, I will rather do it in a greenhouse like you and maintain 300 sqm to 500 sqm.


If you are doing 6 clusters per plant, then, do not use a greenhouse. You will think it makes sense, and yes, you may make profit, but you haven't seen anything. Rather, put that seed outside in open field. If if fails, it is not good for you. Outside is tough, so, we try to achieve 6 fruits per cluster...and then above 110grams of fruits sizes. If you pick less than 70grams, you are at a disadvantage. But the mystery is that most heat tolerate varieties cannot produce huge fruits. For example...Gamhar from Rz produces big fruits and the yield is super...check it of sir. But Jarrah which is all round season has smaller fruits. So, if you do gamhar during cool season, Jesus.....you will harvest big fruits...bug Jarrah gives smaller fruits..however, I prefer Jarrah cos it is good for all seasons. The only issue with Rz is that all their open field seeds dont have resistance to bacterial wilt. Of course most seeds like those dont have bw tolerance because in Europe, they expect one to graft them on rootstocks if there is bacterial wilt in the soil. So, they dont pay attention to it again since there is a solution. But manufacturers that target Africa always have it...and it affects the productivity of the cultivar. This is the reason cobra is the standard. I give it to Technisem. If you want to break the open field market seed, you must beat Technism. Cobra 26 F1 is the standard. All the experts abroad I have spoken to, even Israelis know about Cobra. I wrote about this issue like 3 to 4 years ago, and I suspect East West read it. So, they brought out Diva to tackle Cobra. I am watching if Diva will make Cobra lose its relevance but still not yet. East West and Technisem have been saviours to farmers in Africa, but I give it to cobra for commercial determinate seeds.

All the attributes you mentioned are what expert farmers look out for when choosing. And it is why I go abroad to pick. Why? I speak with breeders and we discuss. These sellers here know nothing about the seeds. They sell what they are told. Ask them why Gamhar is for rainy season and they cant say. Even Rz promoters will tell you Jarrah is for dry season only when it is for all seasons. The only issue is that make sure you can take care of bacterial wilt. Ask East West sellers why padma is for rainy season and they cannot tell you. Platinum is also for all round season...but why Diva again? Now we know.


A great opportunity.


My Suggestion
Since you have a greenhouse, pick a variety (indeterminate) which can give you minimum of 20 clusters. It means it will continue growing tall. Sir, Nigerian sellers cannot give you any details. Forget it. You must try the seeds yourself to know. Breeders try to make the nodes btw clusters shorter now so that you can even have more cluster before it grows up to 2m length. Most seed I know have about 7 clusters before it gets to 2m. And then, it starts getting shorter the taller it is. Why? It depends on how you manage it and feed it. If you prepare your soil well, you will use less salts (fertilizer), and they just perform excellently well. The lesser salts in your soil, the better your plants perform. You easily got 6 clusters from determinate you planted because you didnt prune. This is the purpose...but the fruits are smaller. For gardener and greenhouses, they arent the best. You have to pick the ones that grow very tall (indeterminates). When they reach 2m height, you lower them. Also, you prune to one stem for bigger fruits. If you dont prune, you can have 20 stems and you cannot really have huge fruits. They die even faster because the load are too much on them. One stem, double stem...are ok for beginners. If you feel like having more than 3 stems, you start thinking about how you will lower them or the plants may start breaking when you start lowering them. Therefore, you just get better everytime you enter the greenhouse. It is a skill.

Since the plants will grow very tall, you need drip irrigation instead of sprinkler. And keeping water out of the leaves is rewarding. Therefore, you may want to install a cover which prevents rain during rainy season. You may go for an open and close nylon type...and you still have a net and shade under it. Or you start now with only net, and by next year May, you can think of putting a cover on the structure. You should have earned enough to easily make up your mind. By them, you should have known if its really worth it or not.

My analysis...
5 fruits per cluster
Average of 160 grams per fruit
10 clusters per stem.
Total - 8 kg.

So you should know that if you are doing a stem, you must hit 20 clusters and increase to 6 fruits per cluster to hit 19kg per plant. Simply go for double stem and hit above 25kg. But you will have to feed very well. Fruit will be smaller and wont attain 160 grams easily. But if you feed well, and maintain the right ph, you will still hit 160 gram. Now think about 3 stems? Lol. So, if you are doing must 100 plants, can you see how you multiple your yield drastically? And it can be a double edged sword. You may do 2 or 3 stems and you may not get it right...also, may be so tedious for you.

Please, dont ask workers to prune for you. If its 100 plants you alone can do to learn, please do it. After going through the process, you can know how to organize helping hands.

It is easy on paper, but when you get to a greenhouse, you have to wesr your thinking cap. Tomatoes pull out nutrients. Some papers tell you the NPK tomato pills put for every 1000 kg fruits, but that's for inorganic fertilizer using soiless. But when you use manure in abundance, it is like a magic. Seriously, I myself still dont get it. So, pick some papers to learn about tomato nutrients and keep learning. This is the best approach to becoming an expert.

Build your roots with phosphorus Phosphorus the initial stage, and make sure your soil has enough calcium. And keep pushing in Magnesium, Nitrogen, and Pottasium via drip....watch what happens, and you will be amazed. Towards harvest time, you may need to start adding calcium and phosphorus again.

For the first year, you may achieve 15 to 20 kg per plant, but the following, you can improve and hit 25kg...or even up to 40kg per plant with the same variety.

The good news is that they come out gradually over 8 to 10 months period. So, you have the time to retail your tomatoes. This is the advantage.

If I was in the US or UK, I would do cherry tomato, but in Nigeria, plum and round is our choice. Just get heat tolerance seeds, and try to make sure the fruits are btw 140g to 250grams. The bigger the fruits, the more job you have to do to maintain more fruits per cluster...cos they are heavy load.

I do not want to promote any brand, but Rz has Uwezo plum. That one can give 10 fruits per cluster if you do it well and average 6 fruits gives 1kg. Its plum. They also have rounds...but maybe they are more of beefstake, not sure if they are easily accepted. The seeds are N44k to N85k for 1000 seeds. Lol. They sell in 100 seeds per pack also.

Another seller is Dizengoff. They have varieties but choose the ones that can stand heat. You should ask the guys for details of disease resistance and heat tolerance.

If you can hunt for seeds in Asia especially from China, that's it. They are extremely cheaper and can do well. The only issue is that I seem not to be able to use Alibaba and aliexpress to buy seeds again. It seems China has blocked Nigeria from purchasing seeds. But if you can, you may try. This is how I hunt my seeds. Many people have bought quality seeds because of clues and hints I put here. I am sure you can do it. Everyone is trying to keep away importers and seed sellers from knowing their source cos those people are dangerous. They go there and tell the producers to not sell to individuals. They have done it several times after reading my posts. And when I investigated, I realised the people are always Nairalanders. So, forgive me for not saying some other seeds here. I can just point to the ones that are popular and readily available in Nigeria.

You may start with Dizengoff or Rz. Maybe you can even have just 100 seeds from Rz and them use the seeds you have to test. Then compare. I am sure you will start hunting for better seeds after your first attempt. Rz has better documentation than Dizengoff. .so check them out.

For personal consumption, I grow heirlooms..you can check american sites and go for some hybrid heirlooms. You will be amazed how your family will cherish you. Also, pick some cherry tomatoes seeds too and grow them. If you can buy from alibaba....great. You can just have 3 to 5 plants of cherry tomato and heirlooms for you own consumption inside the greenhouse. Seriously, you will love them. And maybe you can add brandywine, cherokee purple, or any of the ancients seeds ...these are open pollinated you can use their seeds. For cherry, I grow either sungold or super sweet 100 or million. I saw some sellers displaying Greenworld seeds. Fortunately, they have Cherry Tomato Satura (30 seeds) packs. If you are in south west, you can contact Solokad. I think its N1500. I am sure there are suppliers in Abuja, Ph and other places also. This is for personal consumption. But if you have the market for cherry tomato, believe me...just go for it. You will make a heck of great fortune. You van imagine Rz sells its cherry tomato at 250K for 1000 seeds. I laughed and laughed. Well, you can check Dizengoff also...their Luciplus isnt bad...they also have another brand. But both cant stand white flies and thrips. Also, they cant stand heat for long.

Again, for your business, look at Rz products and then Dizengoff...them try to see if you can get similar from outside at cheaper rate.

If you can get Newton F1 from syngenta, that's a good one also for commercial round tomato. It used to be available....cheaper and very reliable. But I think Syngenta stopped supplying the Nigerian market cos farmers are into cobra, Parma and platinum.

Another company in Nigeria that I know is Enza. It has some too, but they are expensive, even more than Rz. And to me, Rz has better disease resistance.

I cant say one seed or variety is better until after a cycle which is 1 year. Cos some have very short nodes..and they sacrifice that for soil disease resistance. In such case, one has to treat the soil or endure to use sterilized soil in containers. So, you can imagine having 20 nodes with 10 fruits and 190 grams average weight. The disease tolerance might be low.

So, this kind of farming is like art. The more you do it, the better you get at it, and you can choose your style. Then, you can know if multiple disease resistance is what you want to go for, or extremely high yield variety. For a start, check Rz...they have 100 seeds packs from N4500 to N9000. You may want to sacrifice this to learn and understand your style of farming that you want to adopt.

I used this approach cos I know you are extremely smart. If it's someone else, I may just give the person direct and shorter response with maybe only Rz 100 seeds packs as the only option available.

I am extremely grateful for the nuggets of information you dropped. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.

betabread:

Ive never managed a tomato farm.....my 3km drip is locked into corn.......... its already sounding like corn is not profitable with drip, i grow corn profitably with sprinkers as its a popution driven crop.

This is the time to farm smarter. Sir, reduce the cost of production. This should be your first approach.

Downsize. If you can sell to Lagos and Ibadan market, go and find the quantity of sweetcorn you can sell and go on staggered production. Forget the normal corn if it is not worth it for you, but I know it's still a gold for some others. But, you may need to downsize. Work less, earn more.

Poultry and pig owners were complaining then that the cost of feed was high....veggie farmers used to laugh at them. Lol. Now, the wind has blown towards veggie farmers too. Why? Buhari and APC are removing all forms of subsidies which is good, but if they can be faithful to it and not make us suffer and regret this pain we are passing through.

But necessity is the mother of invention. Poultry farmers did not give up. Maybe pig farmers relaxed, but for the fact that backyard poultry is possible, I started seeing different templates. First, the guys downsized, and gradually, they started picking up again. Those that went via maggot and larvae production started doing wonders...also, some others started scouting different materials here and there. Organic farmers started coming up. In those days, you dear not give your chickens antibiotics and vaccines. But today, backyard farmers have perfected organic poultry production. Even I slaughter 3 to 5 organic chickens that are over 3kg every week. Imagine I am selling them, I can easily sell 10 to 20 every week. Do you know the profit in it? Sir, I can make N2k per chicken, and imagine selling 20. That's N40k per week income. And a total of N160k per month. And I am at home ooo...while one civil servant goes to work Mon to Fri 7am to 5pm daily hustling and earning less...and another one works in bank from 6am to 8pm still earning less.

Farm smarter.. this is not the time to think of making big money. Now is survival period for Nigerians. I believe you have read my past posts, may be this may come as a surprise, but this is the reality. I write according to what I pracrise and what I think is right.

Currently my layflats are punctured at 80cm spacing “corn parameters”

And i use 30cm spaced emitters (corn parameters) and im a cheap scape pls forgive that too

I dont have any problem with starting small, but staying at that inferior stage and even encouraging others is what I am against. Do not see me like someone who wants to just do big things. Many people have misunderstood me. I am the same person who said 1ha and above is the thing...that was then. Now, I am the same telling you that 1 plot is it if you are smart. Why? The present situation made us to restrategize. Imagine working on 25 acres and tomatoes are already out...if dem catch my manager, do you know how much they will demand? One boy I wanted to employ prostrated and said he appreciated it, but I should just let him handle only quarter of an acre. It happened 3 years ago. I was shocked then. And while I was with my friend driving back to Lagos, I kept pondering on what the man said. And I asked my friend...he said he would also carry his wife and kids to beg me too if he was in his position. Now imagine how much kidnappers would demand if they see even 5 acres tomatoes. Lol. Leave me out of Ondo, Jos, Benue, and even Ekiti State.

So, this is not the era to start forming that one manages 1 ha, 5 ha etc. of tomato plantation. Sir, we have all gone under radar. All of us in my network have lower our loud speakers.

Im trying to hit a sweet spot, one reason i go for d cheap stuffs is cos of my workers, no need trying to change their values,
Many dropped farming and were just farm laborers, boom i started making cash from farm and all now run parallel farms trying to replicate what goes on in mine, im not worried but my biggest fear is theft of my inputs......

Why don't you sit down and look at urban farming and retain one or two workers. It may be hard to find a place, but it is going to worth it. And if your farm is not that far, just set out maximum of 2 plots and send all your workers away. Then, read my posts and make further research. Go for extremely high yield cultivars with high diseases resistance.

With what I know now, it is not how big, but how perfect you do it will make you successful. Go the Israeli route. Start thinking about less land...grow vertical....and earn more.

I lost all my tomato transplants in march this year “local tomatoes “.....stolen by one of my worker but they did not survive on his own farm, he could not sustain d watering

Believe me, you will curb theft if you downsize. I am encouraging you to first downsize. Then balance yourself before restrategizing to expand again.

I passed through the phase too. Go and read my threads and you will see where I was asking farmers to grow for me cos I want to continue supplying my market. I had to tell myself the truth that Nigeria is now not the old Nigeria I was safe in. Also, I had health challenge then which made me to step back a bit.

betabread:
I know soil preparation is key, i practice no till in my corn cultivation and have been escaping with good yields except when i get rain timing wrong......

Since you arent using irrigation, then, keep doing it if it works for you. But it seems its no longer working for you. Why? You won't complain about this thing if it is still working for you.

We all must face the reality someday. Climate changes and many factors make farming harder every time. I up grade myself everytime. This is why I don't fight with smart thieves who partnered with me in the past, agreed on what my percentage was going to be, and they changed it. Lol. They were the most foolish people who think they were smart. I dont fight people when it comes to money. My brain is my mobile office. And I don't hide info. You just must be smart to pick gems from my post. After all, I want smart ppl to interact with me. So, why should I spell it all out here? But if you are calm and you process my posts well, believe me, everything you need is there.

If you have the opportunity to hook me on private chat, and I pick interest in you, believe me I can download my whole brain. That's me. I am moved when I see a serious and hardworking person.....not those ones that think they are smart. They soon chase away good people around them. I hope you are not like that cos people like that always complain bitterly at the end of the day. They agree to pay someone something, but when that thing starts coming out, they change it. They always promise heaven and earth when they want to employ good managers, and then, they start talking to the managers like their house helps. Imagine. They always fall. They do.

Hopefully im clearing and liming my soil come month end

How advisable is it to plant tomato after tomato on the same plot

Dont ever try it without being strategic about doing it well. Leave the spot for at least 4 to 6 months if you dont farm there. If you put cucumber and corn there, you may be able to break the diseases there. Go and check those who keep violating crop rotation rule, they are always poor. They get away with it at the initial period, but they start having problems later.

I have a friend who says hes got d answer to that, he innoculate his crops with fungi before planting, hes on d second year running ...

Tell him to keep doing it and keep applying the fungi while you keep watching him. If he is successful after 2 years , it means his method may work. But I know that apart from soil diseases, air borne diseases and pests will accumulate there. So if his fungi can address the pests, please, kindly let us know later. We will like to understudy him.

Maybe he allows grasses and weeds on the land...of course....doing this can do it too. You may try Feb to June tomato...and leave the land till Feb to June again. It's only tomatoes there, but since you leave it, maybe it may work well. The grasses may be able to break the disease continuity.

All in all i fear staking, staking means I’ll raise my game to d perfectionist level and consider retailing,

My biggest fear in tomato remains this

If you want to stake and raise your game, you dont do 1 acre. You start gradually. Do not believe me...what you should do is take up what you can manage and practise well. Listen, the problem with many is that they dont want to do it themselves, or they do not have the time. Yes, in a normal world, you are supposed to call an expert and pay him for it. But Nigeria is not an ideal world. Nigeria is an imperfect case that you must do it yourself at least to get it right. Then after knowing the yield and the process, you can delegate jobs well to workers. Otherwise, you will just rely on empty barrels who are thieves. While you are planning on having income from your produce, they are planning on making income not from salary but on selling your properties or steal your produce. Since there are counter intentions and plans, you cannot be successful.

I keep telling everyone in this present Nigeria during this Buhari era that if you are a full time farmer and your family relies on you...hmmm, you better look for a small garden near you that only you will manage. If you have a bigger plot in the bush, still try to get this. Go for super high yield breeds and see how to make it extremely profitable. Know your limit. If it's only 50 plants you know your ability can take, do it well and see how to market it. At least, feed your family and pay your kids school fees. Saying you want to do 10 acres and you keep paying workers, and they keep destroying your work may not be wise. Even you have such big farmers outside, experience has taught me to keep a small garden for my family.

I had some huge expenses in other areas of my life and I sold many of my land...now, I am restrategizing...and buying again. I dont buy less than 3 plots. Why? Small garden....small garden....small garden. You can start anytime. Yes. I know what those land did for me at the time I used them. My family were all not happy I was flinging them, but deep inside, I know they are worldly things and God can bless me more. Today, they cant talk much cos they have seen actions. God made me attend to my responsibilities well. The things of this world are there...when we pass to glory...that's it. Are we going to take them along?

My point is this...focus more on what is your priority. Draw your scale of preference.

My boys who used to come from the US, UK, and Canada to farm in Naija have all stopped. Why? Security. Yes, I used to say 2ha, 4 ha...bla bla bla...do you think I am the only one there working? Of course not. They have all stopped. I was the one who told them to. Now, boys and girls have been able to get greenhouses there. From Nigeria, I researched farm allocations for the ones in the US and Canada. Those ones in the UK ...see eh...they are not smiling ooo. Land is madly costly there. Lol. Do you know I designed microgreens for one in Washington DC? And that's indoor farming. Guy turned one of his rooms to indoor veggie farm. And the boy has got his green card...so no issue with such.

Anyway, let me not digress, you must restrategize. The only thing constant in this life is change.

betabread:
Im particularly about stream water which is what i use, i dont consider water quality with sprinklers but looking like water quality is an issue with drip....

If your main pipe is 2inches, go get filter from drip sellers. It's only N10k to N12k sir. Ha ba! Yea, when using water with sand, use it.

Many people i see with drip sink boreholes or wells so issue of water quality don’t come to play .....Pumping from any form of depth is expensive though i get filteredwater but volume is low

Funny, I recently started using borehole. I used to use streams with drip. One of my colleagues used to frown at me that screams arent good. Lol. Of course I have experienced terrible diseases cos of that style, but to me, the cost of pumping from underground like you said is high. Lol. And I weighed my risk analysis well, and using streams was what I chose. Lol. But this is why you must be able to sit back and restrategize.

You seem to have water challenge. So, downsize first. Change your seed varieties....and see if you can increase yield.

The amount of water you have determines how much you should expand. Water availability has limited me from growing horizontally many times too. But then, I grow vertically. So, it seems you must find a way to stake by force. Lol. This issue of water availability is a big challenge too for me. Someone here is reading, and she can testify that I have this challenge too cos we brainstormed together on telegram some days ago.

Sir, do you know what I have detected. I even tried going to state capitals outside Lagos to keep my boys there in a plot or two fenced land with boreholes. Let me gist you...yahoo boys have practically created inflation in the cost of leasing such properties cos they always want their privacy also. They have decided to leave Lagos and hide in state capitals. Lol.

My point is that, we will keep meeting challenges...but we have to brainstorm and solve them.

betabread:
Security is the main challenge for me, farm produce are secure if d thief is actually going to some work before making some money....... chances are that he would be seen committing the act
Ive grown cobra successfully before though i did not know what’s actually happening in retrospect

Sir, let's stop this...lol. I can feel your pain.

Can you find a quarter to one plot in a safe place near where you live? Or can easily go to everyday? This farm, you are only going to use casual workers, but you will manage it from A to Z yourself. If you can find such space, and the land is with water, let me know. We can proceed. You will prune if needed, spray, apply fertilizers by yourself, even harvest also...you only call casual workers to do hard jobs you ca not do.

I sense that you need to stabilize yourself first before expanding. I sense you are under pressure and you want to quickly break out of the pressure. Sure, God will help you, but it may not be possible relying on workers to farm big for you at this present time.

I do pilots even when I had big farms...so, its not knew to me. All I did was to make it profitable. Believe me, going to farm and doing hectares may not be the solution for you at this time.

And do ot get me wrong, I am of discouraging anyone from doing hectares of land. If I find a secured location, why not?

Attit:

Since you arent using irrigation, then, keep doing it if it works for you. But it seems its no longer working for you. Why? You won't complain about this thing if it is still working for you.

We all must face the reality someday. Climate changes and many factors make farming harder every time. I up grade myself everytime. This is why I don't fight with smart thieves who partnered with me in the past, agreed on what my percentage was going to be, and they changed it. Lol. They were the most foolish people who think they were smart. I dont fight people when it comes to money. My brain is my mobile office. And I don't hide info. You just must be smart to pick gems from my post. After all, I want smart ppl to interact with me. So, why should I spell it all out here? But if you are calm and you process my posts well, believe me, everything you need is there.

If you have the opportunity to hook me on private chat, and I pick interest in you, believe me I can download my whole brain. That's me. I am moved when I see a serious and hardworking person.....not those ones that think they are smart. They soon chase away good people around them. I hope you are not like that cos people like that always complain bitterly at the end of the day. They agree to pay someone something, but when that thing starts coming out, they change it. They always promise heaven and earth when they want to employ good managers, and then, they start talking to the managers like their house helps. Imagine. They always fall. They do.


Dont ever try it without being strategic about doing it well. Leave the spot for at least 4 to 6 months if you dont farm there. If you put cucumber and corn there, you may be able to break the diseases there. Go and check those who keep violating crop rotation rule, they are always poor. They get away with it at the initial period, but they start having problems later.


Tell him to keep doing it and keep applying the fungi while you keep watching him. If he is successful after 2 years , it means his method may work. But I know that apart from soil diseases, air borne diseases and pests will accumulate there. So if his fungi can address the pests, please, kindly let us know later. We will like to understudy him.

Maybe he allows grasses and weeds on the land...of course....doing this can do it too. You may try Feb to June tomato...and leave the land till Feb to June again. It's only tomatoes there, but since you leave it, maybe it may work well. The grasses may be able to break the disease continuity.


If you want to stake and raise your game, you dont do 1 acre. You start gradually. Do not believe me...what you should do is take up what you can manage and practise well. Listen, the problem with many is that they dont want to do it themselves, or they do not have the time. Yes, in a normal world, you are supposed to call an expert and pay him for it. But Nigeria is not an ideal world. Nigeria is an imperfect case that you must do it yourself at least to get it right. Then after knowing the yield and the process, you can delegate jobs well to workers. Otherwise, you will just rely on empty barrels who are thieves. While you are planning on having income from your produce, they are planning on making income not from salary but on selling your properties or steal your produce. Since there are counter intentions and plans, you cannot be successful.

I keep telling everyone in this present Nigeria during this Buhari era that if you are a full time farmer and your family relies on you...hmmm, you better look for a small garden near you that only you will manage. If you have a bigger plot in the bush, still try to get this. Go for super high yield breeds and see how to make it extremely profitable. Know your limit. If it's only 50 plants you know your ability can take, do it well and see how to market it. At least, feed your family and pay your kids school fees. Saying you want to do 10 acres and you keep paying workers, and they keep destroying your work may not be wise. Even you have such big farmers outside, experience has taught me to keep a small garden for my family.

I had some huge expenses in other areas of my life and I sold many of my land...now, I am restrategizing...and buying again. I dont buy less than 3 plots. Why? Small garden....small garden....small garden. You can start anytime. Yes. I know what those land did for me at the time I used them. My family were all not happy I was flinging them, but deep inside, I know they are worldly things and God can bless me more. Today, they cant talk much cos they have seen actions. God made me attend to my responsibilities well. The things of this world are there...when we pass to glory...that's it. Are we going to take them along?

My point is this...focus more on what is your priority. Draw your scale of preference.

My boys who used to come from the US, UK, and Canada to farm in Naija have all stopped. Why? Security. Yes, I used to say 2ha, 4 ha...bla bla bla...do you think I am the only one there working? Of course not. They have all stopped. I was the one who told them to. Now, boys and girls have been able to get greenhouses there. From Nigeria, I researched farm allocations for the ones in the US and Canada. Those ones in the UK ...see eh...they are not smiling ooo. Land is madly costly there. Lol. Do you know I designed microgreens for one in Washington DC? And that's indoor farming. Guy turned one of his rooms to indoor veggie farm. And the boy has got his green card...so no issue with such.

Anyway, let me not digress, you must restrategize. The only thing constant in this life is change.

you are very right. It looks as if workers are on a mission to destroy farms

Good day sir.
I would like to ask what tomatoes breed you advice for one to plant on a one plot of landAssume all other factors are covered

Emempaul:
Good day sir.
I would like to ask what tomatoes breed you advice for one to plant on a one plot of land Assume all other factors are covered

The most important factor is "Ezeogu" which you have not stated. You know your pocket, go for what you can afford. No matter how I say it, you will definitely go for what you already have in mind. Therefore, perfect it and be happy. You can work on determinate or semi determinate ones. Whichever, do it well.

If you have a robust wallet, you can patronize Hazera. There is a breed they have in the US and SA which is super. They refused to bring it to Naija cos they know they are wasting their time. Lol. My point is that go for Israeli brands if you have cash. If you want to do large hectares move towards middle east or Asia for excellent seeds and extremely high yield. No matter what you do, always ask for photosanitory certificate...if you buy Chinese Seeds and you go catch what you dont expect, you are on your own. Custom may even sieze your seeds of you are unlucky. China isnt smiling these days. I know I wrote something about China recently, and many will start rushing there even when they dont know what to pick. Virus can be spread via seeds. Always ask for photosanitory certs. And I know it costs around $5000 to get that in Holland in some cases even it's just $3 seeds you want to buy. It is quite cheaper in other nations...maybe $50 to $500.

If you want to pick from naija, kindly ask around well. We all know the breeds available here, so, I am not going to start saying what you should pick in Nigeria or not because I dont want to offend anyone, but out of all determinates around Cobra 26 F1 seems to be a reputable variety which has come to stay. It is the cheapest determinate seed around with good yield and can handle wide range of diseases. However, I don't use it.

Please, pick what you already have in mind.

Sir can u shed light on Cabbage production

What portable equipment can i use to measure nitrogen in leaves

Attit:

If your main pipe is 2inches, go get filter from drip sellers. It's only N10k to N12k sir. Ha ba! Yea, when using water with sand, use it.


Funny, I recently started using borehole. I used to use streams with drip. One of my colleagues used to frown at me that screams arent good. Lol. Of course I have experienced terrible diseases cos of that style, but to me, the cost of pumping from underground like you said is high. Lol. And I weighed my risk analysis well, and using streams was what I chose. Lol. But this is why you must be able to sit back and restrategize.

You seem to have water challenge. So, downsize first. Change your seed varieties....and see if you can increase yield.

The amount of water you have determines how much you should expand. Water availability has limited me from growing horizontally many times too. But then, I grow vertically. So, it seems you must find a way to stake by force. Lol. This issue of water availability is a big challenge too for me. Someone here is reading, and she can testify that I have this challenge too cos we brainstormed together on telegram some days ago.

Sir, do you know what I have detected. I even tried going to state capitals outside Lagos to keep my boys there in a plot or two fenced land with boreholes. Let me gist you...yahoo boys have practically created inflation in the cost of leasing such properties cos they always want their privacy also. They have decided to leave Lagos and hide in state capitals. Lol.

My point is that, we will keep meeting challenges...but we have to brainstorm and solve them.

good day sir, please, how many acres can be drip irrigated from a single industrial borehole? Thanks and remain blessed.