How it began:

Covid-19 and its attendant lockdown occasioned my foray into the world of gardening. During the lockdown and the free hours and days i had on my hands, i looked at the backyard of where i live and thought of what could be done with the space. Meanwhile in 2019 BC (Before Covid , i already had minimal success with sack and backyard gardening. so, with the aid of some hood boys (tipped with cash), we proceeded to cut bamboo (to fence the yard against goats) and construction began.
My first foray was into vegetables, cucumbers, watermelons to add to the banana already present. Note that all the crops planted are for personal and household consumption. The crops that have refused to stick with me or has 'winchy-winchy' as Oga Jidestroud calls it are watermelon and tomato

Where we are

The first foray was great (except the cucumber- i had very poor yields due to not planting hybrid varieties and the watermelon- I've not been able to grow it as it keeps dying off). I decided to step up my game this session/year, so i researched more, bought improved seeds (Darina for cucumber) and venture into other crops (other varieties of eggplants, improved vegetable seeds). Now, i have carrots growing, onions planted and eggplants already been harvested.
To have a better outing, i purchased cocopeat blocks from Solokad at Ibadan, Thema Carrots from FarmSquare (Online seed company in Nigeria) and Premier Onion seeds.
One thing i have noted is that some folks see my plantings as waste of money, time because in their own words 'why spend above 5k on seeds'.
Notwithstanding, I pay no attention to them since i view this as testing ground for future advancements. This year is devoted to sack farming due to space constraints and ground farming on whatever space is left

So distinguished folks, join me in this journey as i proceed this year in another journey into the gardening world. Advise is welcomed, criticisms are welcomed and corrections are encouraged. I don't claim to know it all but i am ever willing to learn.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

The following people have been great encouragement to me in this journey
1.Mazi Okoroemeka (his thread is an higher institution)
2. FarmerAkinloye6 (i have seen ALL his Youtube videos and i constantly engage him on his Instagram also)
3. Ideepaul (his interactions on relevant threads are insightful)
4. emmaachile2 (prompt response to enquiries and logical engagements on threads)
5. Jovar (purchased the onion seeds from him), Seedforthagro1 (the RZ Carrot seeds and RZ Eggplant seeds were bought there)
6. All youtubers i watched their videos and various Whatsapp Agricultural Groups.

As stated in the previous post, planting has commenced since but I'll be starting the cucumbers this month.
Seed (Darina) was purchased from FarmSquare NG and planted August 2nd and sprouting was noticed on the 6th. Planting will be in sacks, tyres and ground.

Planting space was prepared by using decomposed chicken manure as basal mixed with ash and fungicide (FunguForce).

Picture attached shows prepared planting space and seedlings to be transplanted. For potting mix, cocopeat was used (i found this easier to use as seed starter). I will be transplanting them this Friday and will be applying NPK 20-10-10 and spraying fungicide when the plants reach 14 days. I know some folks will advise pure organic but i tried that last year and it was not too good. I understand the withdrawal and re-entry periods and will be closely monitoring my spaying in order to reduce the impact of chemicals on pollinators. For my spraying, i have a separate sprayer to be used for all chemicals and i would also be comparing some that will be planted organically.

Stay tuned!

Make I sit for front abeg...
Where is my Popcorn and Pepsi

Dear diary,

Challenges of a small-scale gardener/farmer

1. High cost of seeds: This has been a major bane of we small time agriculturists. For example, a tin of Greengo Cucumber (one of the very best varieties) is sold for N9000 - N9,500. This really expensive for someone like me who is a hobbyist and not a commercial farmer. Hence, most times we resort to buying cheap seeds that are often not of the best quality.

2. Attitude of 'experts' : there are so called 'experts' who feel they know it all and have zero patience for beginners. When you ask them questions, they give curt replies and feel you're wasting their time. To these ones i say "na you sabi " . We are all learners in this life and na person wey dey 6ft under don learn finish.

3. Nosy/Lazy Neighbours : na them be that! They see you going through all the stress, rigor and ardor of farming and dey will siddon dey look you . Harvest period go reach, you will see them hailing you and asking for some of your produce . Anyways, we rise by lifting others so once in a while, give them small. A wise man once told me, ' when you plant, include the lazy people and the thief in your planting'

Despite the challenges, farming is one of the noble professions and it really is fun and therapeutic working in/on the farm.

Once again, stay tuned for more!

okorookwus:
Make I sit for front abeg...
Where is my Popcorn and Pepsi

Welcome distinguished

Let me quickly buy a plot of land here, I want to learn too. Op that 20:10:10 is a no no for me in cultivating both tomato and cucumber..I tried it twice I don't like the result...I will advise you use 15:15:15, but you are my teacher here. Good luck in your work sir!

Farmerakinloye6:
Let me quickly buy a plot of land here, I want to learn too. Op that 20:10:10 is a no no for me in cultivating both tomato and cucumber..I tried it twice I don't like the result...I will advise you use 15:15:15, but you are my teacher here. Good luck in your work sir!

Your teacher kè ? Na you be boss o. You handle acres of land while I'm just trying my hands on a small piece of land ��

The 20-10-10 is applied in very small quantities. Also, that's what I could afford since buying a bag of 15-15-15 would be a blatant waste of money.

zxcvbnmlkjhgfds:
Dear diary,

Challenges of a small-scale gardener/farmer

1. High cost of seeds: This has been a major bane of we small time agriculturists. For example, a tin of Greengo Cucumber (one of the very best varieties) is sold for N9000 - N9,500. This really expensive for someone like me who is a hobbyist and not a commercial farmer. Hence, most times we resort to buying cheap seeds that are often not of the best quality.

2. Attitude of 'experts' : there are so called 'experts' who feel they know it all and have zero patience for beginners. When you ask them questions, they give curt replies and feel you're wasting their time. To these ones i say "na you sabi " . We are all learners in this life and na person wey dey 6ft under don learn finish.

3. Nosy/Lazy Neighbours : na them be that! They see you going through all the stress, rigor and ardor of farming and dey will siddon dey look you . Harvest period go reach, you will see them hailing you and asking for some of your produce . Anyways, we rise by lifting others so once in a while, give them small. A wise man once told me, ' when you plant, include the lazy people and the thief in your planting'

Despite the challenges, farming is one of the noble professions and it really is fun and therapeutic working in/on the farm.

Once again, stay tuned for more!

I can relate with the number 1 for some types of hybrid tomatoes. I have been trying to get seeds for awhile now. But having to get it in more than 5g is not encouraging when it's just for my small garden. I probably will just be nursing 5 seedlings per pepper, tomatoes, Cucumber , sweet pepper...onions can be more.

tikkykay:

I can relate with the number 1 for some types of hybrid tomatoes. I have been trying to get seeds for awhile now. But having to get it in more than 5g is not encouraging when it's just for my small garden. I probably will just be nursing 5 seedlings per pepper, tomatoes, Cucumber , sweet pepper...onions can be more.

Even to get the 10g for purchase is quite high!
I resorted to saving seeds from the tomatoes I bought but I know it can't have the same characteristics as an original F1 seed.

zxcvbnmlkjhgfds:


Even to get the 10g for purchase is quite high!
I resorted to saving seeds from the tomatoes I bought but I know it can't have the same characteristics as an original F1 seed.

Hopefully it germinates...to start with

Dear diary,

One of the advantages of been an hobbyist gardener is the advantage to experiment with various medium of planting.

Join me as we compare the difference(s) between planting with the aid of manure only and planting with manure + fertilizers and planting with soil only.

Also, we'll be checking planting with cocopeat and soil only and planting with cocopeat mixed with manure........

It's gonna be interesting!

Great work sir. Do ensure you post some pics also.

Dear diary,

What do you do when you're a sack gardener but you don't have soil to make use of?

You simply make your own soil.
To do this, I got 3 headpans of river sand and mixed it with 6 headpans of well aged chicken manure and two headpans of cocopeat (to aid water retention)

Note that the cocopeat hasn't been added in the picture attached. I'll do that later today.

This will be used to plant two stands of cucumber and garden egg.

PS:- Effect of mulch on water retention is also been studied. I'll send the pictures today also.

Stay tuned!

Shalom.

Dear diary ,

As the dry season approaches (or is here already ), it's very important to apply mulch to your farm/garden.
Mulching will reduce the rate of water evaporation from your soil and keep the soil temperature at a cooler rate.

Various materials like grass clippings, palm fronds, banana leaves and the plastic mulch can be applied.

For me, I made use of accessible materials (banana leaves) for mulch this year and I can tell you that so far, it's been awesome!
I also saw an abandoned bird nest on the banana tree and I 'recycled ' it as mulch.

I'll advise the use of organic mulch since it adds back to the soil as it decays gradually! Na win-win situation

^{Dear diary,}

So today, I transplanted one stand of cucumber that'll be 14 days old tomorrow.

As dry season approaches, I followed a step I learnt from oga Okoroemeka. I dug a little trench round it in order to retain water and keep the soil moist. I will be adding a layer of mulch also.

As stated in the introductory post, application of fertilizer, spraying of fungicide and foliar fertilizer comes up tomorrow when the plants will be 14 days old. This I learnt from FarmerAkinloye6 . I'll be revising his YouTube video on staking tonight since I'll be staking tomorrow also .

Stay tuned for more and fingers crossed!

PS: I transferred some eggplants into individual cups (a total of 10 stands).

My ogas, send your blessings o

Dear diary,

So far, it's been a busy few days. We've staked, applied fungicide, foliar fertilizer (twice because of the rains here) and top-dressed with manure also.

The seedlings are looking great and all is going well so far.

New seeds were planted to cater for another planting somewhere else. The eggplants, carrots are looking fantastic
Unfortunately, it seems the onion seeds I got are expired .... It's been two weeks now and zero sprouting so far
₦5000 wasted nìyẹn!
Anyways, we move

As usual, stay tuned for more updates!

Shalom.

zxcvbnmlkjhgfds:
Dear diary,

So far, it's been a busy few days. We've staked, applied fungicide, foliar fertilizer (twice because of the rains here) and top-dressed with manure also.

The seedlings are looking great and all is going well so far.

New seeds were planted to cater for another planting somewhere else. The eggplants, carrots are looking fantastic
Unfortunately, it seems the onion seeds I got are expired .... It's been two weeks now and zero sprouting so far
₦5000 wasted nìyẹn!
Anyways, we move

As usual, stay tuned for more updates!

Shalom.

Where is your location?

emmaachile2:

Where is your location?

Abeokuta, Ogun State

On a serious note, I need anyone with viable onion seeds who is willing to dash or share with me to DM.

I really wish to try planting it but the cost for a Tin of the onion seed is too much.

My WhatsApp contact resides in my signature.

Shalom.

zxcvbnmlkjhgfds:
On a serious note, I need anyone with viable onion seeds who is willing to dash and/or share with me to DM.

I really wish to try planting it but the cost for a Tin of the onion seed is too much.

My WhatsApp contact resides in my signature.

Shalom.

I can send you 200 seeds averagely if I get the time this week. You pay for transport. The onions are from Sakata red creole.

emmaachile2:

I can send you 200 seeds averagely if I get the time this week. You pay for transport. The onions are from Sakata red creole.

Bless you bro!

Can we conclude this on WhatsApp?
[s]Kindly message me. My contact is on my signature.
[/s]

I've dropped a message on your WhatsApp
Thanks.

zxcvbnmlkjhgfds:
Dear diary,

So far, it's been a busy few days. We've staked, applied fungicide, foliar fertilizer (twice because of the rains here) and top-dressed with manure also.

The seedlings are looking great and all is going well so far.

New seeds were planted to cater for another planting somewhere else. The eggplants, carrots are looking fantastic
Unfortunately, it seems the onion seeds I got are expired .... It's been two weeks now and zero sprouting so far
₦5000 wasted nìyẹn!
Anyways, we move

As usual, stay tuned for more updates!

Shalom.

Sorry about your onion seeds, i thought the seeds always have their expiry date on the tin or pack. perhaps you could try again. Thankfully someone also offered you some seeds so you don't have to buy again.

tikkykay:

Sorry about your onion seeds, i thought the seeds always have their expiry date on the tin or pack. perhaps you could try again. Thankfully someone also offered you some seeds so you don't have to buy again.

The pack actually didn't state the expiry date!

I've replanted twice now and nothing came out of it. I guess the seeds are bad then.

Fingers crossed on the new seeds I'm expecting. Hopefully by this time next week, I should have it.

Nice thread, l'm keenly following.. l wish you well in your adventure...

zxcvbnmlkjhgfds:


The pack actually didn't state the expiry date!

I've replanted twice now and nothing came out of it. I guess the seeds are bad then.

Fingers crossed on the new seeds I'm expecting. Hopefully by this time next week, I should have it.

Dear diary,

The onion seeds promised by oga Emmaachile2 has been sent via NIPOST all the way from Lokoja to Abeokuta, Ogun state.
It's expected to take 5 working days, so fingers crossed by this time next week, the seeds should be delivered and we will plant!

Shalom!

Dear diary ,

Refer to August 23rd entry.

It's been raining almost everyday here. The cucumbers are loving it but I fear transmission of fungal infections like powdery mildew or downy mildew .

Anyways, fungicide application is coming up later in the week.

Shalom.

zxcvbnmlkjhgfds:
Dear diary ,

As the dry season approaches (or is here already ), it's very important to apply mulch to your farm/garden.
Mulching will reduce the rate of water evaporation from your soil and keep the soil temperature at a cooler rate.

Various materials like grass clippings, palm fronds, banana leaves and the plastic mulch can be applied.

For me, I made use of accessible materials (banana leaves) for mulch this year and I can tell you that so far, it's been awesome!
I also saw an abandoned bird nest on the banana tree and I 'recycled ' it as mulch.

I'll advise the use of organic mulch since it adds back to the soil as it decays gradually! Na win-win situation

that your mulching film nah legit...am enjoying your diary my brother

Dear Diary ,

So today, i bought aubergine (eggplant) seeds from Seedforthagro1 at their office at Abiola-way, Abeokuta. I am interested in getting another variant of eggplants since:
1. It's a plant i love eating
2. Variety is life
Seeds were planted in cocopeat only and cocopeat mixed with soil today. The aim is to see which sprouts first and which seedling will have the best growth rate.

On a sad note , i lost 3 seed;ings of cucumbers (the one planted purely in cocopeat for experiments was lost).

I believe this was self-inflicted.
Due to me been in a hurry three days ago, I used the sprayer i use to spray fungicide and herbicide to spray the soluble fertilizer I applied.
Today, i noticed the death of the seedlings. (Pictures are attached)

My ogas can help me verify if that's the case or it's something else.

P.S , I am still expecting the onion seeds. When it is received, we will plant together.

Stay safe, Keep Gardening

Shalom

The cucumber plants are not dead yet

emmaachile2:
The cucumber plants are not dead yet

Really

I uprooted them

Then also, I thought Darina is supposed to be parthenocarpic based on what's written on their website! I've been seeing male flowers on the plants o

Dear diary ,

Today's entry brings great news!

Flowering has commenced in most plants and i am excited for what lies ahead. The potassium based soluble fertilizer will be applied this week also to boost plant growth and better fruiting.

To my ogas, i thought Darina was supposed to be parthenocarpic but i am seeing male and female flowers here. Is it supposed to be so?

All other plants are looking great. No sprouting yet on the Fantastic RZ F1 eggplant (as expected), the carrots are great.
I will be going to the post office this week to ask for the onions sent (if i don't get a call from them by Wednesday).

As usual, stay tuned for more updates from here!

Shalom

zxcvbnmlkjhgfds:
Dear diary ,

Today's entry brings great news!

Flowering has commenced in most plants and i am excited for what lies ahead. The potassium based soluble fertilizer will be applied this week also to boost plant growth and better fruiting.

To my ogas, i thought Darina was supposed to be parthenocarpic but i am seeing male and female flowers here. Is it supposed to be so?

All other plants are looking great. No sprouting yet on the Fantastic RZ F1 eggplant (as expected), the carrots are great.
I will be going to the post office this week to ask for the onions sent (if i don't get a call from them by Wednesday).

As usual, stay tuned for more updates from here!

Shalom

Darina should be different from the typical parthenocarpic variety then since it has male flowers but It's grown in greenhouses and it's produces fruit without pollination. The Mydaz RZ F1 has all female flowers all resulting into fruits.