₦airaland Forum

When the rains stop in Nigeria, most farmlands go silent. But that silence is actually a huge opportunity. Dry season farming is the art of growing crops—like vegetables and maize—when everyone else believes the soil is resting. And that single decision can change a farmer’s entire income story.

Below are three reasons why dry season farming is important:

1. It Is One of the Fastest Routes to Financial Stability: farming during dry season has the advantage of lower pest infestation, profit is higher because you are producing in the time of scarcity when almost everyone is resting and waiting for the rainy season.

2. Because Food Demand Never Goes on Holiday: even when farmers have gone on recess waiting for the rains to set in before they could resume farm work. Meanwhile, you are still cashing out because wether farmers rest during dry season to resume in the wet season, people will still need to eat, food demand will not stop.

3. A farmer producing in this period does not beg for buyers.
Buyers look for them.

I included pictures of my small tomatoes farm by the stream.

Ask questions as I take you on a journey of dry season tomato production.

Good morning Nairalanders.

Today we would proceed on the dry season tomato production update.

Variety: UC Tomato

This variety is widely recognized due to its high yield, disease resistance, and suitability for both dry and wet seasons. It thrives in the hot, dry conditions of Northern Nigeria, making it ideal for dry season farming.

The variety stays longer in storage due to its low moisture content compared with other tomato varieties like Roma etc. also, when you prepare stew with UC tomato, it will be thick due to its fleshy nature. People tend to like it so it's demand is high.

These are the reasons why I chose UC tomato.

My next post we would be talking about the agronomic practices of tomato, from nursery to harvest.

Tomato is one of the most important cooking ingredient in Nigeria, 90% of our food is never complete without tomato.

1. Site selection for tomato:
choose a fertile land with well drained clay loam to sandy souls that have good infiltration rate. For dry season, adequate water source is required.

When cultivating tomato, have it at the back of your mind that the crop is sensitive to cool night temperatures below 55°F. So the best temperature range for the growing season is between 60 to 90°F, anything above 90°F and below 55°F will slow the growth, pollination and nutrition of the crop.

It is also very important that a farmer should know the size of his farm, thank God we now have GPS and apps that have simplified the rigor of land measurements.

2. Land preparion:
Clear your land and till the soil (whatever works best for you, use it -chemical, Manuel etc)

If you have Farm yard manure, incorporate into the soil during land preparion.

3. Nursery:
You can select a spot on your farm to make your tomato nursery. Prepare raised bed during rainy season and sunken beds during dry season. Prepare the seed bed by loosening the soil and incorporate manure and 20-25 grams of a balanced
fertilizer per square meter.

Personally I broadcast my seed when preparing a nursery, some people sow along drills of 10-50 cm apart. After sowing, cover seeds lightly with soil and apply mulch.

4. Care of seedlings in the nursery:
- water lightly and regularly
- keep your seed bed free from weeds
-seedlings will be ready for transplanting at 3-4 weeks in the nursery.

5. Transplanting to permanent farm site:
- Pre-irrigate the permanent site about an hour before transplanting
-Transplanting should be done in the evenings or early mornings.
- When transplanting on permanent site, give a spacing of 60cm x 45cm or 50cm.

The first picture in the post is my Nursery while the second picture, you can see that transplanting has been done and the plant has established successfully.

As for now I am carrying out surface irrigation bur I pray that when more blessings come, we would expand and upgrade to drip irrigation system. As for now, I employed some young boys to help me water in the evenings.

As the article says: tomatoes require high-quality nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizer, along with essential nutrients like calcium and magnesium, to support optimal tomato plant growth and address any nutrient deficiencies.
https://www.ihumico.com/what-is-the-best-fertilizer-for-tomato-plants/