₦airaland Forum

abbeynism:
Thanks so much for this.

And one of the reason I started this is to learn so many things from the knowledgeable ones here.

Firstly, I have never done farming before now, and I have read many journey in this forum.

Now for organic manure/fertilizer, which product would you recommend? As the few farmers shop I have been here in Ibadan have no organic fertilizer except chemical ones.

Thanks.

What I said was for individuals that want to do organic farming without inorganic fertilizers
If it's for foliar/soil drench, you can use DI grow, maxi boost, Haifa bonus plantzyme and other fertilizers like the NPK(only to be applied on the soil) granules every two weeks.
Please if you are interested in making profit from that farm, apply standard fungicides and insecticides. If you were planning to farm without inorganic fertilizers, fungicides, and insecticides, you should have generously incorporated huge quantities of manure into the soil first of all. Cultivating fruit veges organically in this rainy season is not for beginners o

abbeynism:
For insect prevention, I would be using natural insecticides. Prevention they say is better than cure...

My Natural Pesticides Combinations:
Neem Leave
Lemon Grass
Ginger
Garlic
Chilli Pepper
Oil Soap (I couldn't get this for now)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7UrTytyVDc - Video Detail

I don't know a lot about organic cucumber farming, but if you don't have manure, I wonder how you will get good yield. Please work hard to make sure you make it work

bottlewater1:
from what I know cucumber and water melon doesn't require fertilizer except water maybe the soil you are using has poor nutrients

Unless you have excess quantities of organic manure to apply twice a month, you can't grow watermelon and cucumber, in short any fruit vegetable successfully (Modified) that is if you don't use fertilizers at all

Farmerakinloye6:
thing that almost cost me the farm, 1.I do not irrigate properly, 2. I don't buy Ortiva Top 3. No helping hand. ( I got broke along the line) thing that help me, 1. I monitor it well almost 24/7 smile 2. virgii land 3. Baba God for early small small rain and my anointing oil, if not farm for don fail Tete 4. Good seed I give platinum f1 five star.

Did you notice any signs of fruit borer/tuta absoluta around your farm? Cos what I am seeing in neighbouring farms is scary. Please how does ortiva top compare to cabrio duo and how much is a litre?

Farmerakinloye6:
Some hint, the hardest part in tomato cultivation is stake, if you are cultivating more than 1500,you will need helping hand!!!!!! Ayam serious, though I did 3200 alone but I will not lie
I am tied,and the painful part is I was unable to finish control spray in mine 3.2hectare cassava farm before it lock. Pegging close to 800 pieces Baboo 1.3 meter by length and knot 18000 point no be moimoi!!! If you are planning commercial one pls, farm no be one man work oooo, nah condition make only me do am.

Thank God you scaled through! How was the size of the platinum compared to other cultivars? Coz I heard it's fruits are tiny like cobra F1
Bros you tried o! To stake that quantity of tomato needs Anthony Joshua and Roman Reigns join o

jidestroud:
Well said.

I wouldn't mind you letting me in on our watermelon trials ooo
As for cucumbers, I am done with that. Never again...

Organic cucumber and rainy season can hardly be used in the same sentence! But just restrategize and you will succeed. As for the watermelon, I think the right word I should have used was staked watermelons not vertical. Getting bamboo of the required strength is the challenge for now, but i will definitely do my best to inform you on happenings

freshrose:
No. Eleven days old

Get a cypermethrin based insecticide to spray both your Corn and the cucumber plants if you notice any signs of insect attack on their leaf. Don't spray them on flowering plants as no insect will come near

freshrose:
Please, what type of insect is this below clinging on pepper plant. I saw two yesterday on my cucumber plant.
T

Have your cucumbers started flowering?

lifestyle1:
Good day everyone, please can anyone identify what's responsible for this attack?

Thanks.

That's armyworm attack on the maize! Get an insecticide, mix according to instruction and pour little quantities on the upper funnel of the corn asap

This method of horizontal and vertical trellises works best for me when cultivating bushy types like Padma and co
Our 1800 cucumber/ 80 vertical watermelon trials is going smoothly

If the boss @jidestroud permits, I would like to say this from the perspective of someone who started trialing tomatoes from market wash and plant seeds before using improved varieties. I still be learner o!
In June 2015, I decided to plant Tomatoes at my garden in the peak of the rainy season. I went to the market and got all the beautifully shaped tomatoes I could lay my hands on, I extracted the seeds and put them in the nursery bed outside, they grew beautiful, I quickly transplanted about 196 plants(no manure, no nematicides, just fertilizer) into a raised bed system with short trellis sticks.
Then my problems began to manifest, some plants were stunted, some had colouration on the leafs, some just wilted, some were just too tall(more than 5 feet) but fruits were just too heavy, they broke the plants. I used bicarbonate, streptomycin, lactobacillus (believe me every method I found online, I experimented with them). After all the suffering, I am sure total harvest if measure would not have been more than half 20L paint container. I learnt some lessons from that episode and I am still learning
- Your success or failure starts with the seeds
- Endeavour to use seeds that are known to survive open field cultivation during the rainy season
- If you don't know the growing and fruiting habit of your cultivar, you are on a long thing
- Don't use market wash and plant seeds at all for tomato cultivation except it's a garden
- If your plants are stunted at the nursery stage, you have lost major battle
- If you don't stake your rainy season tomato, you have lost another battle
- Space properly
- learn how to stake different cultivars appropriately
- If you use organic methods for rainy season commercial cultivation, ?
- Don't joke with manure and fertilizer application
- Prepare to spray your farm bi-weekly with fungicides o
- Don't plant after June, the northern tomato will arrive by November till February in huge quantity
- Last year's and this year's trials are the best I have seen in tomato gardening (AVG fruits per plants last year was above 25, this year may AVG above 35-40 per plant.
Above all I am still learning what works and doesn't

Farmerakinloye6:
This are the disease I know that affect TOMATO and the deadly one is fungi. 1. Curling leaf,it not that dangerous,I think it is cause by too much heat and a way TOMATO can preserve water. 2.turning too small and discontinue to grow. 3.namatode which attack the root and kill the whole stand, it can be prevent by treating the soil before transplanting. 4. Fungi, the deadly one, it can not be cure but manage. This are the way I think you can manage it,cut the leaf that are touching ground, spray fungicide at Least once in a week and anytime Rain Fall, and one effective chemical I strongly suggest you should have before going into commercial tomato farming is ORTIVA TOP ( #10000) you will be alternateing it with saaf and any insecticide. 5.If you are planting high breed don't stake your TOMATO be sure you have invite the fight, failure and fungi, rodent,bird.. smile. Once your tomato leaf is turning to purple no for sure it is stress and can't reach it full potential. Farmer in the house ,pls add your own and let make Nigeria Great!

Look for varieties that favour the climatic conditions as at the time of planting! Some disease resistance are dry/wet season dependent, so I repeat, look for cultivars that favour the season you are in and the part of the country at the time of cultivation

Pes13:
Good evening sir, @okoroemeka.

I got my murano 2f1 today. I took the pain to count the seeds in a can (1, 916 seeds in a can). I got two can in total to be planted on 1/2 acres.

I have some questions

1.Can I use NPK 20-10-10? That is what my supplier have at the moment, and I don't trust must of the 7k per bag NPK 15-15-15 in ibadan.


2. I have about 10 bags of poultry manure, which was bag since last year( I hope it is still good enough) . However, my question is that what quantity should I mix with soil as basal manure, in other to avoid burning my plant.

3. What other things do I need to get, to start the game. I have bought ridmogold fungicide.

4. I need a supplier of staking net and hafier bonus or maxiforce in Ibadan, I will be grateful if you have any link in Ibadan that can be of help sir.



Let me add my observations and plans.

I want to collect every data of murano 2f1, from percentage growth, first harvest date, average total number of fruit per plant yield of murano 2f1 under good intense Agricultural conditions.

When I planted greengo, one of the cucumber plant produce 6 big fruits at a go, even with the fact that I only fed it with NPK weekly, and my first harvest was on day 35 after planting. The least of the plant produce 3 fruits at a go.

I want to know the boss , because I love greengo, very slick, any amateur can operate it.

With respect to the male flower issue of murano I asked you about sir, I have an idea. I will just separate 10 cucumber plant, and expose them to a very stressful agricultural conditions (supplying them with water only ). With this arrangement, they will be force to produce only male flowers. I mistakenly discovered this effect on greengo.

Boss you got 1900 seeds from the 50g container whereas the 5×10g) Saira sachets gave me about 1800 seeds!
Oga Okoroemeka and the profs in the house will help about the fertilizer issue, but from my tomato experience, 20-10-10 is not really for the fruiting stage . I applied the 15-15-15 and 20-10-10 fertilizer on my pepper and tomato, but 12-12-17-2 brought out more flowers and balanced plant growth
10 bags of manure for 1/2 acre? I think it's totally inadequate! I paid for 50 bags of manure but got 32 bags for about 1800 crops, please increase the quantity of manure if possible.
Murano is predominantly female, and if your stress experiment doesn't work, I hate to think of the consequence o. I really don't know a lot about cukes(dark green) varieties that have high male flower population. I wish you good luck, I will show my seeds on monday

okoroemeka:
look for wasott,ebonyi fertilizer, Springfield,etc,any fertilizer that is around #6-7000k a bag,but all this solar,golden,etc,that is sold for #3-3500 naira is just moulded clay soil with little urea added.

What is your experience with 12-12-17-2 NPK.Mg fertilizers? I know it works well for tomatoes, don't know about cucumber

freshrose:
Please, in spraying fungicide on a newly germinating seedlings (4 days old ),can it touch the germinating leaves or only the surrounding soil. Thanks

It won't affect the leafs if you follow the instructions. Btw is the 4 days not too early? I think a 4 day old cuke seedling doesn't have up to 2 true leafs. I am planning to spray mine from days 8-10 by God's grace if I get the cabrio I am looking for presently

dreymania:
A first timers hustle still going on
Have stumbled on so many challenges from Lack of manure before planting to lack of water and poor irrigation system (which has been partially solved, it has even been raining here) to a suspected DM attack. Thanks to Oga okoroemeka, I was able to detect this quickly and things seems to fine.
Today marks day 22, this result might not be compared to that of experts but I have learnt a lot.
I noticed the leaves are very broad(than some peoples farm have seen) I don't know the reason for this. But I think everything is under check and balance

I pray God blesses you with great success in this project. It's not easy to suffer like that with nothing to show for!
If you plan to use fertilizer(I believe this is important if you did not apply sufficient manure), you should apply the second phase already and another application two weeks from now. Are you not staking? Pls you should have all staking materials already in place o, if that crop gets bigger than that it may be difficult to stake. Are you using only saaf fungicide for downy mildew control?

Farmerakinloye6:
I did it and my head get Bald. . But have started smiling starting from today . To be successful in this particular commodity I think you will need to cut your clothes according to your money and have good mentor!

This is so true, people with low budgets jump up to cultivate acres in Vege farming and before they get halfway, funds are not available anymore!

my2chains:
thats is why it is advicable to plant your seeds in dry seasons or very much closer to the rainy season,

or better still plant them indoors so when they are 3-4 weeks then you can transplant them in your farms

cheers!

Have you transplanted cuke seedlings before? What was your experience?
From my experience, cukes and watermelon don't like root disturbances, and is not an option for an unseasoned farmer.
Even the seedling tray management needs multiple trials to master,and for most individuals who don't have the patience to do trials and want to cash out big time, the use of seedling trays results in multiple levels of failure

ublight:
as long as u r busy on the farm

Pls modify the post below if you have copied it out

ublight:
i am not catholic too
i do not believe all publications too
i try to avoid arguments too by not quoting people on religious issues except i am quoted first.
Every thread is an invitation for a comment. Or am i wrong to have commented?
By the way, next week, i should visit ur farm o

I never implied you were wrong to comment. Sorry if you felt that way. I was surprised to even note I uploaded something of that nature years ago! This is something I personally avoid at all cost these days.
About next week? It's ok by me even though I will be very busy.

ublight:
u only have yourself to blame if u misread genesis. Moses was not telling u about the creation of the world. He was passing another message. The more u look... The more u see

I am not Catholic!
I do not believe all news publications have total truth in them!
I was only quoting a link I found strange at the time!
Even though I am still very young, I learnt to avoid religious debate centering around doctrine and beliefs, it doesn't end well no matter how innocently it may have started!
And finally for the records, I am not an atheist

ublight:
thanks. I woild like to visit your farm so as to get to know more. If u do not mind.

Whenever you're ready!...I am still at land prep stage 80% complete, would be sowing the seeds maybe next weekend if the planting materials arrive early next week

ublight:
like 100k will do i guess, so all things being equal, how much returns?

Yes 100k and a truckload of energy to carry out the back breaking work���, profit ranges from 0- above 100% returns dependent on your ability to manage the farm effectively, i.e, spacing properly, weeding regularly, regular application of fertilizer/manure, proper staking, regular spray of insecticides/fungicides, proper irrigation, timely harvesting and prayers. Before you invest your hard-earned money into cucumber farming, try to understand how all the above listed factors can affect your productivity, I have seen loads people on this forum and even within Uyo who have made huge profits(even above 200% ROI) and those that have lost it all to cucumber

ublight:
ok. I have not done this b4 tho. How much to cultivate 3 plots?

About 5 5gsachets of Saira or Nandini #3,500 each (these are the seeds farmers in Uyo can access for now) #17,500
Manure- I bought 30bags @300 each
Fertilizer 1/2bag @3,500
Staking rope: i am yet to go to the market, but a single rope is #100 each, so don't know how much a bag will cost?
100 long bamboos@ 200(transport inclusive)
Cabrio fungicide @ 6k(not yet delivered)
Terminator insecticide @ 1800(just for vegetative state only)
If you don't have a sprayer already, the 16L sprayer is 7k in Uyo
I can't help with labour cost, cost of acquiring land, and other logistics....abeg make all the bosses correct me if I dey wrong as I still dey learn o

ublight:
. How many acres are u doing? Plus my own challenge over there is water supply.

Argh acres? ...the land is about 3 plots(1/2 acre), but I will be planting them in 2 phases as it's better to do a near perfect plot than 10 hectares don haphazardly! If the land is not too big, you could capitalise on the rains, but if it fails to rain during the fruiting period, wahala don set be that

ublight:
wow. Yes. The proposed farm is at perm site. How did u guess so well

That's the no.1 farming spot along that axis of nwaniba!
When you start the farm, I will come around and maybe we will exchange ideas and methodology...I am still working on getting bamboo for staking before I plant the seeds, maybe I will get it and manure by Monday if the Dyna driver is available

ublight:
nwaniba.

But at least u get experience na

Your farm/proposed farm is in nwaniba? Is it close to the perm site? I stay along abak road, but the farm is in ikono uyo

dreymania:
Please where can I get saaf in Lagos

I guess oga Okoroemeka gave you the answers already! Please don't make the mistake of assuming your farm won't be infected with pests/diseases. Spray your farm weekly with more than 1 type of fungicide/pesticide

ublight:
i am in uyo too, could u put me tru physically?

Wow boss I be learner o...On a serious note,where in Uyo are you?

veggieman2be:
Yes Padma F1 and Platinum F1 (I planted it last year during dry season the yield is amazing imagine having like 80 - 120 fruit on a stand) from East West are high yielding variety but I don't know much about Gahmar from Thai Agro that their marketer have told me about.
It was Platinum F1 I used to open this thread.
I will post the pix if I have the time

Gahmar F1 is a Dutch seed from rijk zwaan...Padma is a nice variety,..when I have money, I will try the new cobra34(not cobra 26) from technisem

I still believe Padma f1 and gahmar F1 from zwaan yield is better than this! The Padma I am doing a trial of about 100 crops is doing very well so far

dmz1:
yes depend 100% on rain and it doesn't rain regularly.

You need to water the farm manually to supplement the irregular rainfall...if the farm is too big, just create a section you can irrigate so as to recoup some part of your investment back while you wait for regular downpour