₦airaland Forum

A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men (proverbs chap18 vers16)

hello nairalanders,
greetings to you all

all i want to say is that i have now devised a new way of growing tomatoes and peppers vertically in sack bags

pavore9 the man from kenya i want to thank you for all this

for making me to believe there is truelly no limits in farming

all i want to say is that everyday technologies and science keeps making us to say goodbye to hoes and cutlasses,

the old farm ways are really going out for good to be replaced with modernized farming techniques

there is really a gold mine in agriculture if only you can find a loophole and exploit it to your own advantage,

back to the discussion,

this vertical type of farming will make you to grow tons of vegetables in a limited area or space,

no need going to ogun state or any rural areas again to go and buy lands for farming

just a plot of land can be converted to an hectare of land,

with just a little space someone can really grow what is normally been grown in an acre of land or even more

to those of you simply surprised about all this,
you can go all out and browse about vertical sack farming

this method utilises the little amount of space,water and farm workers

i can say to you with just a plot of land you can simply make a lot of money growing different vegetables,

lets do business together and i will show you the things i have already learned so far.

With an investment of 50k then you will be sure of a bumper harvest

i have a free land that we can use and there is a water source there

just only 10 vertical sacks will be enrolling you to sell on a commercial scale,

tomatoes or pepper are the main target here,

come to my world and i will show you hidden things that are hardly been found online.

But promise me you will not use me and dump

for many are only interested in knowing how it is done and after that they will discard you

this investment will make you grow in doulble figures and in hundred folds

please can someone help me answer what the bible said about someone reaping in an hundred fold,

it is not 1000 naira to make you 100,000 naira

it is not 1 million naira to make you 100 million naira

but it is a little amount of just 100 naira that can make you an unlimited amount of billions of money,

an hundred fold is what we all are praying and hoping for

unfortunately we can truelly achieve this from just vertical sack farming

many will call me just to ask me to explain a little all about it,

but i will tell you this,

the methods that you will employ are just the once you will see or have seen online,

this are the types the kenyans do now,

this are the types that are been pictured online,

with proper planning you will surpass all that

mine is different,

for the kenyans has devised a way to grow things in a very big sack bags

but i have now think out a way that can make you grow things that are worth growing in an hectare of land with just a limited space.

This kind of farming is what we need around here,

this are things we ought to be discussing here in this agricultural threads not virgin lands available in ogun state limited slots still available do call us on 090*** for your land inspections thanks.

This is not good,
because i can stay here in my house and grow what the full mile 12 markets wont be able to sell off in 2 weeks

some say am joking or am kind of day dreaming,

please i am not joking here in anyway,

let me ask you a question

hybrid tomato seeds against our local tomato seeds which one will you prefer to buy?

To me i will prefer the local seeds because its way cheaper and will fill up my farmland in no time

but with hybrid seeds my productions will be limited

you can even spend upto 200k on hybrid seeds that will fill up an hectare of land

to me afterall both of them will produce tomatoes that will be sold why then give me the headache that hybrid seeds is better all because of its disease resistance and fast maturing period.

What if am to tell you there is a substance you get to buy and mix with water that can help boost the production of your tomato plants all through the season?

Hmm i have said enough on this,
all i need is someone that i can trust so i can share all this things with,

with just a limited space we can kick this off to a start and wait for 3-4 months of harvesting tomatoes or pepper

please remember i am based in lagos and i have a piece of land that we can use that has a good water source there,

when the project is a succes then we can move to rent other areas for larger production

please and please this is for those that are really serious and needs agricultural investments,

banks can not gurantee you an investment profit of just 20% in a whole year

but agriculture can guarantee you way much more than that in just only 6 months

just like tomato jos in kaduna,
i have now changed my name to tomato boss,

do call me on 07041246325 lets do business

Please read jeremiah chapter 9 from vers 23-24

the lord says,

wise men should not boast of their wisdom,
nor strong men of their strenght,
nor rich men of their wealth,

if anyone wants to boast,
he should boast that he knows and understands me,

because my love is constant and i do what is just and right.

These are the things that please me.

I the lord have spoken"

codeQue:
Do you use watering can for your wetting?

From what you explained, seems what you use to wet has heavy droplets of water, it probably breaks the stems and they dont recover.

You might use something lighter in wetting.

hmm that means heavy water hanging on the seedlings is the cause of it

i was even thinking maybe the seeds are just too weak to survive thats why they die off early

looks like i will devise for a new way of wetting them from now on

Brazenbabe:
My point is that you people are quick to share bills with your wives/fiances but never share the domestic responsibilities
You people are quick to say what you did for her but never say what they do for you
See how all of you are on the other thread saying your families come before your wife, bla bla bla
Will you also tell your families your wives pay at least half of the bills?
I thought Nigerian women contributed nothing to the household and lives of their husbands? Why are we now being asked to pay for weddings
Abi would the man agree to answer our surname?

ah! Darling you are indeed a talkactive

its women like you that are ready to beat the hell out of their husbands for no good reasons

it is well

Please there is this pepper seedlings problem am just suffering badly from

why is it that every single time i water the seedlings some of it will just bend and die off just like that

i had almost 80% good germination rate from the current atarodo that i just even planted

but currently now am only left with barely 30% of them still standing

please whats the cause of all this because me am kind of confused here

but am sure tomatoes dont really have this kind of problem as like this pepper seedlings

why?

Cee9:
I don't know all sir but I know well enough to let you know plants don't discriminate on it.What is the basis for the discrimination? Nutritional value?
When you watch videos, it is best to read further on it.Do not take what you watch hook ,line and sinker.

please note it took me 2 months to fully accept urine fertilizer can be used on plants

i did make my research in several online websites and forums

i mean the white men's discussion forums and not our nigerian own

some of them argued of it,
while some supported the motion and are now using it

they experimented both and found out that male urines are the best when it comes to comparison with the female urine

if you are to use the female urine then you are to even dilute it with water the more

not the one recomended here

so its better you just stick with the one generally accepted by all

Everyday flunctuation in prize of vegetables in nigeria

please note that there is never a steady and a standard price tag on any grown vegetable

today it might be #7000 per basket and tomorrow it might be #3000 per basket

so in any situation you find yourself just dont forget to always give God the praise!

After all its not by your own power that those crops grew well to be even harvested

cheers!

Cee9:
50:? Bikowa

10 to 1 is to be used on plants that are matured enough,

while 50 to 1 is for seedlings that are just newly growing so the full effect wont naturally distroy the soft roots of the plants

Cee9:
Every Urine(both male & female) is useful sir. Those who are exempted are those on drugs..

mr know all please who told you women urine are suitable for this?

For those that have checked on the urine nutritional value to crops said only male urine can be used

and you are here saying both male and female urine should be used

in all of the videos i have watched they tend to remind everyone that only male urine is the best to be used and not the one from a female

Parablesonmarble:
I asked cos when I was at Leventis Foundation/Osun State Agric School in 2016, we planted both 42-day dwarf and lady finger species. It was a wonderful experience learning to grow and tend. However, sales became an issue. In southwest, half of the population do not eat okro for different reasons, part of the remaining half preferred jute mallow (ewedu) to okro. Since demand was poor, price was low. I then asked about post- harvest processes and I realized that very few Yoruba take processed okro (orunla).
I expanded my research and realized that South- east and South-south people eat more okro and both fresh and processed okro are valued especially during dry season when you only grow by fadama. The problem to me now is going as far as east or south-south to get market may be counterproductive in the long run. Well, I guess you'll never know until you try.

why not move it down to lagos,
there is always a market for every thing here

ARCHANGEL OF ABUNDANCE AND PROSPERITY

As a child of God, it is your divine right to receive abundance at every stage of your life. God and the Angels want you to be prosperous therefore, we all have an Archangel of abundance and prosperity. Their job is to listen to you when you invoke them and help you find solutions to issues in life or to grant what you have asked them for; as long as your prayers are genuine. There are many Archangels of prosperity and abundance, which you can invoke. Each of them is unique and special in its nature. To experience abundance is to feel an overflowing fullness of what you need and desire. It may be in the form of love, relationships, work, and of course, financial abundance. Get ready to invoke an Archangel of abundance and prosperity into your life to receive all the gifts and guidance from him. Are you ready to receive and enjoy? Archangels that help you increase your abundance and prosperity – Archangel Raziel Certain Archangels have the pleasure of assisting you in ways so you can experience more prosperity and abundance in your life. The name of Archangel Raziel means “Secret of God.” Mysterious as it sounds, Raziel is the Archangel that helps manifest abundance and prosperity; the Archangel of abundance and prosperity. It is believed that Raziel stands at God’s throne and records everything God says. We should all understand how to increase prosperity and abundance! Invoking the power of Archangels and sayings prayers for abundance symbolizes important steps along your spiritual path as it represents your ability to learn and grow. As you learn to trust in your abilities, you will begin to understand the meaning behind more aspects of your journey.

In summary all you need is to get weeds or grass and put them inside a big bucket, then pour water into the bucket and cover it for 2 weeks or more after the 2 weeks then it is now ready to be used on your plants.

this is a free fertilizer for people looking for alternatives you know not everyone can afford a fertilizer,
but the thing about this is the smell after it has decomposted,

i swear the smell can make you loose an election.

if you are the type that have read all your books and you are awaiting your exams just know that the smell will make you forget just everything you have read LOL!

Anyways its simple if you can block your nose and filter out the weeds and use only the water and dilute the content as directed and apply to your plants.

the good news is that you can really store the weed fertilizer for a long period of time unlike the urine fertilizer,
the more it stays the more it works. also note it should only be applied once in a week to the plants.

am thinking will someone still ask me please how can i get weeds for this?

Which weeds is the best to use for this weed tea fertilizer?

Hmm my reply to you will be like this,

go to the market and buy ugwu leaf and bitter leaf then mix and boil them in a hot water for seven days and apply it gently to your plants LOL!

Let us see if your plants wont die in just 2 minutes.

please do note weeds is just any unwanted grass growing around you.

Any grass is just suitable for this as far it is still fresh green in colour and not the dried once o!

The once that you just freshly pulled out from the ground will be good and make sure you dont go to pistotita's farm and steal his tomato leafs just because you want to prepare a weed tea fertilizer LOL!

Or maybe you should just headup to oluchidelly okro farm and pull down almost half of his farm and use the okro leafs and stem as a sweet loving weed tea fertilizer for your plants LoL!

I bet you that if you try that nonsense with healthserve mummy's farm i swear na only one leg of slippers you go use take run with speed go house LOL!

By the time healthserve pursue you with the anger of loosing his entire empire on nairaland then you go remember say for calarbar land dem dey even kidnapp house owner with him local dog at the same time trow enter car back boot pick race run LoL!

Na that time your eyes go clear to dey see where dem write for front of the farm

Not sutiable for persons below 18 (please do not try this at home)

please in other to avoid trouble and live long there are unwanted grasses everywhere.

Indeed you will be surprised to see here in nairaland somebody advertising to sell mechanised plants weed tea,

he would tell you that the weed tea have been basically bumbarzed by the netherlands ministry agricultural authorities LOL!

You know what just tell him to go tell all that to his grand mum in the village

and also tell him you got your own weed tea fertilizer from zimbabwe LOL!

Afterall zimbabwe na people still dey live there and not baboons!

cheers!

Turning weeds into liquid fertilizer is rather easy.

1. Get a large bucket or other container with a lid.
2. Put the pulled-up weeds (including both roots and leaves) in the bucket.
3. Add water. Put about 8 cups of water in the bucket for every pound of weeds.
4. Cover the bucket with a tight-fitting lid.
5. Leave the bucket for 2 to 4 weeks.
6. Stir it every week or so. But be forewarned — it isn’t going to smell very good—the fermentation process can be smelly, for sure. Try to think of it as having an earthy, agricultural aroma! And try not to get any of this concentrated concoction on your hands or clothes. It will stain.
7. Strain it using cheesecloth (or even pantyhose!). The liquid is what you will want to use on your garden; the solid mass of fermented weeds may still contain some viable weed seeds, so you will want to discard it. After you have strained the liquid, it is done.
8. Dilute it before using, at the rate of 1 part weed tea to 10 parts water. Then pour it on the soil at the base of your plants. To use it as a fertilizing foliar spray, dilute it until the color of the liquid is like a weak tea. You can also pour it on the base of your vegetable plants, but don’t spray it on the vegetables that are ready to be harvested. Perhaps a better way to make it—a method that requires no straining—is to put the weeds in a permeable sack (tied at the neck), and put the sack in a large bucket of water (enough water to cover the sack of weeds). Let it sit for 2 to 4 weeks, adding water if necessary. You can also add additional sacks of weeds, making this method a recipe for ongoing weed tea production. You can also add aged manure or herbs to the bucket, along with grass clippings and pruned-off plant parts. They all contain nutrients that can be recycled back into the soil through this process. It’s best to use the weed tea during the same season you produced it, the quicker the better. People have been gardening for thousands of years, and did not always have manufactured fertilizers available for purchase. They used what they had available—including weeds— and made their own fertilizer. Making liquid fertilizer from weeds is a back-to- basics way of returning the nutrients in weeds to the soil. What could be easier?

Fresh grass clippings are high in nitrogen and potassium. Gather up your clippings next time you mow the lawn, fill a bucket 2/3 full of them, add water and steep 3 days, stirring daily. Fertilizer teas are fast-acting and free. Apply them no more than every two weeks or when your plants need a boost. They are especially effective on newly transplanted ones and those in blossom or setting fruit. Brew up a batch of weeds and throw a garden tea party for your plants!

Using your own farm weeds and grass,
do you know you can make homemade fertilizer tea?
Here’s how.
Yes, plants appreciate a spot of tea now and then too—just like I do— instead I make a free fertilizer tea from plants, weeds or grass that they appreciate even more.
Compost tea and manure tea have been mainstays of the organic garden for a long time. It is not hard to toss some compost into a bucket of water and let it steep for a few days to a few weeks, stirring daily. Cover with a piece of screening or row cover to keep mosquitoes from breeding in it. Strain off the liquid, return the solids to your compost pile, and use the liquid as a soil drench or a foliage spray, either full strength or diluted. Garden teas made from plants are just as easy and don’t require you to pick up a load of manure or use any of your precious compost. Next time you are weeding the farm throw all the weeds into a bucket or trash can, chopping them up as you go. When it is about half full, fill it with water. Don’t use chlorinated water; rainwater is the best (also free!) Screen the top to keep mosquitoes out. Stir daily or if using manageable sized buckets you can pour it from one bucket into another to mix things up and keep it aerated. Let it soak for 3 days to 2 weeks. Strain and use the liquid right away as a fertilizer or foliar feeding. It can be diluted or used full strength on established plants. Since plant leaves tend to absorb more nutrients faster than roots, foliar feeding is an efficient way to fertilize. Weeds are full of nutrients they have absorbed from your soil so it is only fitting to extract the water soluble ones and return them to your plants.

One thing am sure about is that fertilizer producing companies will not like this

some will be looking for ways to shut me up for good,

but the thing is what if you want to fertilize 10 acres or 50 acres of farmland?

How do we go about it?

Hmm the thing is you will have to call out all your village people and neighbours for this great a task

or meet your buddies and friends that can help you

but the thing is they will be thinking that you want to use their pee to do money ritual

some will say

so this guy won use my pee take hammer buy jeep abi?

Its better i dash my pee to ashawo in da other room than this idiot. (i hope you know what i mean by da other room)

i cover myself and my pee with the precious blood of jesus!

What of the unhealthy weak friends that will give you very useless weak urines?

Urines that are as useless like a crazy mad dog LOL!

Those ones that will be soaking and eating garri morning afternoon and night LOL!

Anybody that is soaking garri is to be avoided here,

so if you are harvesting your crops so the market women wont tell you that

oga abeg this your cucumber be like wetin person make dey soak garri too much plant

see as the cucumber thin like malaria patient LOL!

Ah! Pistotita is no where to be found here again

if not i would have said pistotita urine would have been the best to use on your plants

so the plants can be as wiser and smart looking like him LOL!

Blessings!

Please and please this urine fertilizer is not to be practiced by a female in anyway due to their periodic blood,

only to be applied from a healthy male,

meaning it can only be men's urine that is suitable for it.

Women urine tends to be high content of nutrients and it can distroy the plants

if you are a female you can just ask any healthy guy around to help you with his pee LOL!

This is how you will ask him,

bros abeg can you help me with your sweet loving pee? LOL!

My plants tends to like and want them please help feed the nation

anyways this urine fertilizer is absolutely free,

make sure you use it fresh at once,

please do not store it to use later,
just use it after diliuting with the right amount of water and apply it straight to the plants

this type of fertilizer is for the broke ass niggars like us

niggars that are looking for ways to cut cost in farming LOL!

The surprising fact is that this is what i have been using to grow my few okro plants and they do grow well

to be applied just once in a week

just try it to see the difference

cheers!

Keep it separate
Separate urine from other bodily waste to keep it sterile. Pee in a bottle or bucket, or invest in a urine-separating toilet.
Use it fresh
The smell of ammonia also indicates a drop in nutritional content. Use old wee directly on your compost heap
Always dilute
Urine is too strong to be used neat on plants. Dilute at least 10:1 and up to 50:1 for use on tender plants and seedlings.

What is wee?

Urine is 95 per cent water, 2.5 per cent of which is urea, and a further 2.5 per cent of which is a mixture of minerals, salts, hormones and enzymes. It is a blood byproduct but despite containing some bodily waste is non-toxic. presenting a few of the critical nutrients found in urine, including urea nitrogen, urea, creatinin nitrogen, creatinin, uric acid nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, amino nitrogen, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, inorganic sulphate and inorganic phosphate. During a pee, a healthy adult will release 11g nitrogen/urea, 1g phosphorus/super-phosphate and 2.5g potassium. Patrick Makhosi, a soil scientist with Uganda's Kawanda Agricultural Research Organisation, confirms the efficacy of human urine as a fertiliser. He says that applying urine to growing vegetables once every week for at least two months will more than double the yield. Flushed with embarrassment Many toilets use between 50 and 100 litres of water a day to flush approximately 1.5 litres of pee. The average person has five wees a day and the average flush uses eight litres of water - that's 40 litres. Given that the population of the UK is an estimated 62 million, we may be contaminating and then flushing away somewhere in the region of 2,500 million litres of clean drinking water every day. (Returning our waste water to a drinkable condition also involves a complicated process of chemical separation and cleaning.) If this were an action by a commercial company, serious questions would be asked about its practices. Diluting urine to use as a fertiliser would use a fraction of this amount of water while producing a valuable plant food. Using urine instead of disposing of it also cuts down on river pollution: urine is a major source of nitrogen, which, if an expensive denitrification process is not undertaken at the water treatment plant, can contribute to river eutrophication. Excessive levels of nutrients in our effluent systems leads to the growth of algae. Algal blooms can ultimately causes the death of plants and animals throughout our waterways. So, if you want a ready source of plant food that is perfectly balanced for your garden, that is absolutely free, available all year round, saves valuable drinking water and excessive use of cleaning chemicals, and limits the heavy use of fossil fuels in artificial fertiliser production, consider using your own urine. There is also the added pleasure of feeling that you are a more integrated part of the cycle of growth in your garden; in the loop, not exempted from it. Happy gardening - and remember these golden rules...

Urine is a free and widely available fertiliser...
Your bladder's loss could be your vegetable garden's gain, since urine makes for a surprisingly good fertiliser - so why are we wasting our wee? Ever felt the urge to skip the toilet and just pee in the bush, behind the tree, in the flowerbed? Have you ever wondered why we have been so conditioned to hold on to a screaming bladder while we search for the nearest toilet, which could be many minutes away, meanwhile putting certain internal organs through extreme stress? There are public decency laws to respect, and for women there are obvious added complications surrounding the degree of derobing that may be necessary, but we shouldn't be wasting this ultimate homemade fertiliser. Most of us may have a deeply ingrained belief that urine is a noxious substance that must be disposed of in a urinal, but this is a myth that needs busting. Urine for a pleasant surprise Human urine is one of the fastest-acting, most excellent sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements for plants, delivered in a form that’s perfect for assimilation. Not only that, we all have a constant, year-round supply of it - and it's free!

Fresh human urine is sterile and so free from bacteria. In fact it is so sterile that it can be drunk when fresh; it’s only when it is older than 24 hours that the urea turns into ammonia, which is what causes the 'wee' smell. At this stage it will be too strong for use on plants, but poured neat on to the compost heap it makes a fabulous compost accelerator/activator, with the extra benefit of adding more nutrients. Dilute one part urine to 10-15 parts water for application on plants in the growth stage. Dilute in 30-50 parts water for use on pot plants, which are much more sensitive to fertilisers of any kind. Trees, shrubs and lawns are fine with undiluted urine, but for obvious reasons apply it underneath fruiting bushes, as opposed to directly on to foliage and fruit. Some fertilisers, such as seaweed, are specifically used as foliar feeds [applied direct to leaves], but urine is always best applied directly to a plant's root system. Antibiotics, vitamin supplements and other medications will end up in your urine, but in such minute quantities as to be negligible, especially when diluted in water.

Human urine provides an excellent source of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements for plants, and can be delivered in a form that’s perfect for assimilation. With a constant, year-round and free supply of this resource available, more and more farmers and gardeners are making use of it.

What’s in it?
Urine is 95% water. The other 5% consists of urea (around 2.5%), and a mixture of minerals, salts, hormones and enzymes. It is a blood byproduct, but despite containing some bodily waste, it is non-toxic. The average urine from a healthy adult will release 11g nitrogen/ urea, 1g phosphorus/super-phosphate and 2.5g potassium. The normal range for a 24-hour urine output is 800 to 2000 milliliters (ml) per day with a normal fluid intake of about 2 liters per day. That’s an average of 1400 ml per person, per day! Fresh human urine is sterile and so free from bacteria. Only when it is older than 24 hours, the urea turns into ammonia, which is what causes the distinctive smell. Antibiotics, vitamin supplements, and other medications will end up in your urine, but in such minute quantities as to be negligible, especially when diluted with water.

How to use it
Urine can be used in a number of ways, such as a solution that is applied to plants to provide a quick, short-term boost in growth or as a nitrogen additive to the carbon-based material, facilitating the composting process. I prefer to use urine for compost building or biomass production as I find long-term fertility solutions preferable to quick fixes. Let’s look at the various ways it can be used.

Plant feed solution
It is too strong to be used neat on most plants and should be diluted. Dilute one part fresh urine to 10-15 parts water for application on plants in the growth stage. Dilute one part fresh urine to 30-50 parts water for use on pot plants, which are much more sensitive to fertilisers of any kind. Even when diluted your plants don’t need daily applications, and it’s best used on plants that need lots of nitrogen, such as corn and squash, tomatoes and cucumbers during their fruit-bearing stage. You can also use it to remedy nitrogen deficiencies. Signs of nitrogen deficiency include yellow or pale green leaves. Nitrogen deficiency in Tomato
There is a danger of applying too much, and the excess nitrogen can lead to bushy, leafy plants that attract aphids and bear little fruit. Signs of excess nitrogen include curled leaves, Excess diluted urine can be used on lawns and trees.

Compost additive
Urine can be applied directly to the compost pile. As it’s very high in nitrogen, it should be added to plenty of carbon-rich materials, like dry leaves, sawdust, straw, and cardboard. Urine can act as a starter for compost, encouraging the decomposition process. Undiluted urine can also be applied directly to heavily mulched soils serving the same function as above. The mulch should be thick enough to absorb the urine before it can make contact with plant roots
This creates an excellent opportunity to cut out the dilution phase and produce good quantities of high quality nutrient dense mulch for your crops. This biomass when continuously applied to the surface of your beds will help create long-term fertility in your gardens by building up the soil humus levels.

A study out of Finland has found that plants fertilized with urine performed four times as well as nonfertilized plants and just as well as plants given commercial mineral fertilizer. Urine plus wood ash (collected from a wood stove) produced as well, yet with the added benefit of reducing the acidity of the soil. The wood ash also adds extra potassium which encourages more fruit. The study shows that urine can be used as a substitute for chemical fertilizers “without posing any microbial or chemical risks.”* The urine fertilized plants had a surprising increase in protein content- 35−37% higher protein compared to mineral and ash fertilized.* And more good news was that the study’s panel of 20 taste tasters found no taste difference between mineral or urine fertilized tomatoes.* Similar performance results have been found with cabbage, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, leafy greens, onions, radishes, spinach, citrus, melons, barley and wheat (better list below). Urine is an excellent source of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements. All the right elements that are necessary in large quantities for plant growth. One litre of urine contains 11 gms of nitrogen, 1 gm of phosphorus and 2 gms of potassium.** Nitrogen promotes leafy growth, phosphorus promotes root development and seed germination. Phosphorous and potassium promote fruit and flower development. Urine from a ‘healthy’ person is sterile, free of bacteria and viruses as long as it is uncontaminated by feces. Only diseases of the urinary tract contaminate urine so those with a urinary tract infection should not use their urine for fertilizer. Also, those taking antibiotics or meds should abstain, and those who consume a lot of salt should consider reducing their salt intake. A family of four creates enough urine to fertilize a third of an acre, year round.** After you collect your urine store it in an air tight container otherwise it will smell, lose its nitrogen, and become ammonia. As a general rule for home garden use, dilute ‘fresh’ urine with water 3 or 4 parts to one, mixing only as much as you will use that day. Dilute 10 to one, for very young or delicate plants. It is recommended that you use this as an occasional fertilizer, not more than twice a week, and not every time you water. The plants must have regular water as well. If plants start to yellow, decrease urine and increase water. Corn is an exception and likes to be urine fertilized 3 times a week. Apply the urine into the soil around the plant’s roots. Watering after application helps drive in the nutrients and is recommended. Start applying urine fertilizer when plants are 2 weeks old. Stop fertilizing two weeks before harvest as mature plants do not need the extra nutrients. Use a gallon per 10 square feet of garden, 1 quart urine, 4 quarts water. Undiluted urine that sits around for more than a few days, where the nitrogen has decomposed into ammonia, can be thrown on the compost pile, as ammonia will hasten your composts’ breakdown. Urine that turns into ammonia will be more alkaline, but adding a touch of vinegar will slow the nitrogen off-gassing. Straight urine will nitrogen-burn plants and can be used to kill weeds. Why Is Fertilizing With Urine Green? Using 2+ gallons of water to down a half a cup of pee seems excessive…and nitrogen and phosphorous are excellent for plants, but ‘very’ harmful to our waterways. No need to transport fertilizer via carbon-creating vehicles to your garden. Our great-grandparents and their great-grandparents did this. This is much healthier than using sewer sludge as fertilizer, which most all of us have already consumed. Urine keeps fungus and bacteria at bay. This process is a boon to third world countries. As it is free, plentiful and local. A lot of natural gas is used in the production of synthetic urea. And their runoff into our waterways creates oxygen-less dead zones. Plants That Do Well When Fertilized With Urine Basil (dilute to 10 to 1 till one month old) Cabbage Celery Corn Cucumber Eggplant (dilute to 10 to 1 till one month old) Garlic Leafy greens Onions Parsley Peppers Potatoes Radishes Spinach Squash Tomatoes Bananas Citrus Grapes Melons Pineapple Alfalfa Barley Millet Sorghum Wheat Think green and leafy. If you use on carrots- they will be all top. Not as helpful on beans and legumes. *** Too strong for sugar snap peas.

Parablesonmarble:
I love your post. Sound, precise and concise but you missed the biggest part, which I was earnestly looking forward to. How do I identity my market? Okro as a fresh vegetable has short life span. If I don't have a market, what are the post-harvest processes I can use to still make sales and eventually smile to bank? I'll really love to get answers to these questions.

to me i dont really think that will be a big deal,

the thing is there are general markets just almost everywhere.

You can just walk up to sellers there and ask them if you can be supplying them fresh okro straight from the farm,

or better still pay their market union fees and take your produce direct to the market and sell

buyers will ask you where your farm is so they can be coming there direct to buy rather than you bringing it down to the market.

The thing is for you to just move around and ask for where major sellers of okro are and supply them

hmm the last time i went for a market survey on a basket filled with okro the woman told me she bought it for 4,500 and that was during october last year

General Advice

Abdulhakeem says, “The younger generation should not only depend on white collar jobs, as government can only absorb a little percentage of the graduate population. They should start developing the idea they have learnt in school in the area of agriculture. You will see a graduate of agric planning to work in the bank or with the government. What you ought to do is to find somewhere and start farming – practicing what you have learnt in school. Fine, you may not get the real money you want at the start but you won’t be like people who are just roaming the street. “You just have to start from somewhere – the mentality we have is that it is only the retirees that are going back to farming. No, it is not like that, as they have used the major energy they have to serve the government, so they will retire to rest. See most of them, when they get to the farm, they won’t be able to perform – it is the youth they will employ. So, why can’t the youth be developed to doing it, as they have still have the energy. They are better than the retirees. Farming is the only way to sustain the economy of this country and it is farming that can absorb different professionals. For instance, when you get to Obasanjo Farms, you will see mechanical engineer there and a lot of technicians there. It creates employment – it creates, at least, not less than 60 percent of the workforce of the country.”

Challenges

Abdulhakeem says, “There could be vegetable glut – a time when the harvest of farmers mature and are brought to the market at the same time. It is not peculiar to vegetable farmers alone. It could also affect poultry farmers – with regards to egg production, etc. Everybody plants when the rain sets and starts harvesting at the same time. Definitely, there will be glut. “We need to do something as regards preservation – though, it is the duty of the government, but we, as individuals, can also do our own bit. When there is glut, you need to preserve produce to last throughout the year. We have scarcity because we are still battling with preservation idea. You know this is a perishable good that can only last for a short period of time. Through the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Development Authority, we have developed something, but it can only preserve the vegetables for a week”. Jimoh says, “The major challenge is capital. If money is on ground, you just need to start your vegetable farming and it goes on smoothly. “Another one is the weather, as no body can predict it – it is in the hand of God. “ About money, just source for your money and your farm will go on smoothly”.

Step By Step Guide For New Vegetable Farmers.
Abdulhakeem says, “You have to get a land of a minimum of one acre which is viable for vegetable farming if it is well drained loamy soil with the source of manure. You then source for vegetables to plant and from there, you will be expanding. Unlike other vegetables, you can get grains of pepper, ugwu, ewedu, okro and others to plant from the ones you planted year back. Having planted your vegetables, it does not mean that you cannot take care of other things. You can engage yourself in buying and selling. It is only the cucumber and water melon you need to buy. After this, just make sure you take care of them, harvest and market your produce”. Jimoh says, “Before embarking on any farming practice, you need to first acquire land. So, government should have hand in the land issue in the country, as to curbing the palaver of “Omo-onile.” After you have gotten the land, what to plant is next on the agenda, which must be well taken care of, with a view to ensuring its drastic growth. After planting, it begins to grow to the harvest level and lastly; set for marketing”. But there is no need to worry about getting land for your vegetable cultivation. Olufisayo Akinlolu, Initiator of Hulk Estates & Farms is giving an opportunity to own a home and a commercial farm in his hot new Green Agro Settlement Scheme located in Afuye, Ilase area of Ipokia Local Government Area, West of Ogun State – bordering Benin Republic. It costs N750,000 for one acre [six plots] – meaning, you are getting one plot for about N120,000. In the same vein, Mogaji, who has been benefiting from government funded land which costs N2,500 per Hectare, says such opportunity is still available in River Basin Authorities across the nation. Mogaji, advising new vegetable farmers and those who aspire to be one, says, “You need to be aware of the technicality and variety in marketing. Talking about growing for instance, we have the traditional and the improved varieties, that is local and agric. To differentiate between the two, the agric leaves are bigger but the local ones are smaller and they taste better. People prefer to go for the local ones. “You also need to be aware of the timing of production. Dry season farming is more profitable. During rainy season, you can make 50% profit but during dry season, you can make 95% profit. Farmers that make use of Fadama irrigation farming can make 100%. It is advisable to plant during dry season than rainy season; this is because not all farmers would be able to plant, so there is more demand and low supply. Another reason why dry season is more profitable is that there is inflow of foreigners which allows for more consumption. We have more people who are abroad coming home because they are running from the cold weather (snow). Also the nature of the weather during dry season allows people to consume more vegetables. Irrigation farming is the best method of farming. Another thing you need to be aware of when going into vegetable farming is climate change. It is not in all periods that you should grow vegetables, e.g., in August. Climate change will affect production.

Abdulhakeem says, “You can plant water melon, cucumber and other vegetables on any agricultural land. Vegetables require well drained loamy soil – they need fertile soil, but not much sun and definitely not too much water or a water lodged area. You also need additional nutrients, like farm yard manure. Also, if you observe any yellowish sign or an acidic sign, you can add lime to your soil”. Jimoh says, “To maintain the fertility of any vegetable plantation, you must add farm yard manure”. vegetable farming

Maintaining The Fertility Of Vegetable Farmland
Mogaji says, “You make use of fertilizer and crop enhancers and boosters. I prefer to use liquid fertilizer because it is absorbed into the leaves compared to the normal fertilizer that can be washed away by rain. When the liquid fertilizer is absorbed into the leaves, it helps the leaves to grow faster. The crop enhancer and booster helps the crop to have more roots. It also looses the soil so that the roots can penetrate deeply into the soil. And when the roots penetrate into the soil, it can take more nutrients from the soil. It is in your second year that the soil is more conditioned. So, you have more yield in your second year than in your first year. Crop enhancers and boosters also reduce the maturity of the vegetables by five days.

Planting Days.
Shoko and tete take 3 weeks Ewedu also takes 3 to 4 weeks Okro takes 45 days to 3 months. You plant okro like corn. You sprinkle the seed for vegetables while you plant okro seeds. Okro that you don’t use fertilizer for or apply the fertilizer as at when necessary have a longer shelf life. You apply fertilizer to okro two weeks after planting and then four weeks later. Another advantage of liquid fertilizer, crop enhancer and booster is longevity of life of the vegetables. It also doesn’t allow the flower to abort, i.e., they do not fall of during the rainy or dry season.

Pest Control In Vegetable Farming
Jimoh says, “Before planting pepper, for instance, you need to first nurse it on the ground for four months before transplanting on the heap. It is on the heap you will be fumigating it for a period of two weeks interval to control pest and give you more yield. Meanwhile, the most common pest that affects pepper and tomatoes is nematodes and can be controlled by using pesticides. After planting, you need to spray and while bringing out fruit, you spray also”.

It is actually in the dry season that you sell more. In the dry season, a bed of vegetable costs double of what it will cost in the raining season. This implies that vegetables are scarce in the dry season, so that is the area the government is looking at, with a view to encouraging its plantation – especially in the dry season”. Jimoh says, “It is true it doesn’t need much water. Here, in this part of the world, in Lagos, we are not really experiencing dry season. Even, if that happens, there will be need for irrigation system, which is not so rampant here. So, it is the northern part of the country that needs irrigation system more”.

Minimum Start-Up Capital
Mogaji says, “To grow vegetables on I hectare to 2 ½ hectares of land, you would need between N50,000 to N60,000. This amount is due to climate change, insecticides, etc”. Abdulhakeem says, “Well, it depends on an individual’s target. For instance, if you want to cultivate it at your back-yard, you can start with any amount. Maybe you have two plots of land and you don’t want it to lie fallow, you can decide to use part of the land for vegetable cultivation and the other for residential. But if you want to cultivate vegetables on commercial basis, I will advise that the minimum land you need is one acre. You just have to clear the land and the amount you will be using for clearing one acre might, at times, be much. All in all, I will say, with N25,000, you can start”. Jimoh says, “When talking about pepper or okro cultivation, it depends on the soil and the size of the land you are planning to cultivate – one or two plots or you are doing on acres of land. Again, one most important thing, you have to make heaps for pepper. So, if you have one plot, you can start with N10,000 and you will still get results”.

Appropriate Farming Conditions
Mogaji says, “Contrary to popular belief, vegetables can be grown anywhere: it is the system that is used that would be different. A normal land that is not swampy; that you can grow vegetables during dry season. You make use of sandy-loamy soil. Sandy loamy soil is dark in colour. And this type of land requires less fertilizer because they are rich in organic matter. You can also grow vegetables on sandy soil. Sandy soil is the type of soil that when you put in your palm and squeeze your hands together, it would mould. And if you put a finger on it, the soil will just give way. Most sandy soil is best used for vegetables during the rainy season because it doesn’t hold water. It drains water easily. While you can’t use it during the dry season because you would need to be applying water everyday because of the fact that it drains water easily. So sandy soil is not good for vegetables during the rainy season. Another soil is the clay soil. You should avoid clay soil during the dry season because you would have to need a lot of water. Hence, during rainy season, you can grow on virtually any type of soil”.

Seasons And Vegetable Farming

Absulhakeem says, “Of course, vegetable farming is seasonal and it is usually planted early or late in the year. Most vegetables do not like much rain because too much rain causes abortion of the fruits which are deflowered. To buttress further, there is a type of okro that takes seven months to mature. You plant it in early March, when the season begins, but it starts fruiting in September. Most farmers have moved away from that one because it takes much time and wastes money. They are now into improved ones that take just about two months to start fruiting. The only constraint is that it is not everybody that consumes okro”. Jimoh says, “If I may tell you, pepper has ever been a best and ready market compared to okro. You start preparing to plant pepper in April and you do the planting around the fourth week in June. So, with this, you are going to be getting your harvest two months after planting. That is to say, from August/September, you are in the market. So, you cannot compare pepper to Okro”.
Nwabueze says, “You can grow and harvest vegetables throughout the year, be it rainy or dry season. The only disadvantage is that during the dry season, the vegetables don’t yield as much as they do at rainy season and they dry faster. Vegetables don’t grow fast during dry season as compared to during rainy season, so this makes vegetables more expensive during dry season. For example, ewedu that I would package to sell at N50 during rainy season, that same quantity can be shared into three during dry season. Another disadvantage of dry season is that the vegetable leaves fall off and dry up faster. For example, ewedu turns yellowish and ugwu and tete starts turning black. But if it is rainy, two days after harvesting, they’ll still look vey fresh”.

Locating Vegetable Buyers
Abdulhakeem says, “There are vegetable buyers wherever there are markets. You have markets like the regular Sabo Market in Ikorodu. The buyers are there or at Mile 12 or Ketu Markets, buyers are there everyday. But when there is a glut, you may then go out to restaurants and other places to look for buyers”. Jimoh says, “Well, I will say it is like other vegetable farming, where there are different markets. For pepper, buyers are fond of coming directly to the farm to buy. So, I prefer those selling in large quantity to come to the farm directly to buy than going to the market – they will have more value for their money”.

Cultivation During The Dry Season
Abdulhakeem says, “Irrigation is the way out for vegetable farmers during the dry season. I know the government has started a sort of irrigation practice in the Northern area – that is the Niger River Basin and there is something of such in Ogun/Osun River Basin. As you can see, the Lagos State Government has started encouraging the use of the swampy area for vegetable farming in the dry season for the first time. You just have to dig few feet for your borehole. So, anybody who has land close to the swampy area may just venture into vegetable farming in the dry season.

Vegetables That Sell Fast

Abdulhakeem says, “Pepper, the general one and the green one used in making salad and all sort of things, is one. Water melon and cucumber also sell fast. Pepper is planted and harvested within three months, attracting considerable profit in the market. Pepper is always selling in the market – because almost everybody eats pepper, but not everybody, for example, likes okro. “Water Melon is also cultivated and harvested within three months and it also sells fast. This is because lots of people [especially the middle aged and the elderly] have the understanding that water melon is good for the body. “Cucumber is of immense benefit to the male organ and some other aspects of the body system. It is, however, cultivated and harvested within two months – maturing even faster than water melon and it also sells fast in the market”. Mr. Akintomi Jimoh, another vegetable farmer with high expertise in pepper/okro farming, says, “Okro sells fast and we have two times for planting it – March and September and it runs through three months. The September period, which is the late season is the best planting season, as it can raise farmers up, if done in a very large space”. Mrs. Nwabueze grows and sells vegetables that she plants and harvests from her backyard in Otta, Ogun State. She says, “There are five major types of vegetables. Fluted pumpkin popularly known as ugwu, ewedu, tete, shoko and okro. As far as I am concerned, ugwu is the fastest selling vegetable and I think this is because it is used by both the Yoruba and the Igbo people compared to other kinds of vegetables. I also think the kind of vegetable you sell most will depend on the area you sell in. I say this because I have customers who come and buy vegetables from Ifo and Abeokuta and what they buy mostly is ewedu, tete and shoko and then few ugwu. So, I would say that if you are surrounded more by Igbo people, you would sell more of ugwu and if you sell where there are more of Yoruba people, you would sell more of tete and shoko. Apart from Igbos buying more of ugwu, I feel people buy ugwu also because of its nutritional value. Ugwu helps to build blood. Okro also sells fast and I think this is because it is used by the Yoruba and the Igbo people. The Yorubas use it to make soup and also eat it with stew while the Igbos use okro as a thickener”.