Abundant land and labour
Use cheap seed, and use cheap irrigation. Labour is highly intensive. Varieties include pointsett, market more, and other open pollinated kinds. No staking required. Roma, and other kinds of OPV tomatoes. Practised in the North. Very succesful farmers in their ways. Team work and excellent cooperation.

Scarce land, Labour is still available

Use hybrid seed. I have heard about many brands like Greengo, Monalisa, Murano, Nagano, Cu999, Popular, Ring Star, Darina, and many others for cucumber. While I have read about the wonders of platinum, padma, cobra, shanti, and bla bla bla. This is usually practised in the southern part. The challenge is unreliable labor. The better option is to use technology but comes with high initial start up cost. Over 97% farmers fail every year, not because they lack the required skill, but they lack farm helping hands. But it amazes me how they still do things the same way in that part of the country thinking they can get better results doing it same way everytime. Too bad! While very few farmers can manage farm workers, majority of these farmers are slaves in their farms having their workers bossing over them. Again, new farmers have enslaved themselves into the hands of failed farmers who positioned themselves as managers. Deception is super high in this part of the country. Do not be deceived with what you read here. I appreciate the skills and knowledge shared here, but that is not the first step to take. The very first hurdle you must jump is managing workers effectively. You cannot replicate what you read here if you do not get farm management right.

But there is another way. This thread focuses on this new approach. Let us try to see if we can get 30 to 60 fruits per cucumber plant. Also, can we get 10 - 20 kg per tomato plant?

I am not against any of the varieties listed above. They are all good in their own ways; however, they must be managed well. Every seed can give high yield. It is the responsibility of the gardener to make a choice which suits him well.


Note
1. I diverted into open field. Anywhere you read manure on my thread, kindly substitute it with compost. Check my post on dangers of using manure. Please take it serious if you don't want to be a victim of infectious diseases. Click HERE

2. From page 9 to 14, there are attacks from chemicals farmers and consultants who even engaged hackers (tried hacking me) to attack me. So, I wish to leave this thread as it is for now. They teach very annoying agro-practice which can spread cholera, and many infectious diseasses. I had to slam many of them to back off. Many of them are even c.urs.ed for killing innocent consumers of their chemical products. They are already cu.rs.ed without adding more to it.

3. I am going to start teaching gardening for good health soon which is going to be a non profitable venture. Watch out! However, I am thinking of a way to go about it. Perhaps, food or health sections need it more than Agric section. Most here are interested in profitable ventures.

Cucumber

My position:
I used to cultivate minimum of 1 acre of vegetable farm. Of course, I invested so much in irrigation and other equipment. Well, it was profitable; however, there was a big limitation. It is extremely hard to train farm helping hands. And gradually, it became unprofitable. Therefore, I changed my style.
1. I can do 1/2 plot conveniently without employing anyone.
2. I can maintain 200 to 1,000 plants without any assistance if (a) I do not use side dressing nutrient application, (b) I do not engage in weeding, (c) Irrigation is automatic.

Target:
Ratio of open field to my new approach is 1 : 4. Meaning, if I used to produce 50 bags of 40kg each (2 tons) on open field; I should make 200 bags (8 tons) on the same size of land. But of course, the system has a potential of ratio 1:10.

Requirements
1. Moisturized roots everytime
2. Nutrients must be available always
3. Get my nutrient precisely to N : P : K 3:1:2 during vegetative, and 2:1:3 during fruiting. Give plants amino acids and micro nutrients.
4. Maintain close to optimum climate condition 30C +/-5C
5. Disease free environment
6. Excellent pruning and staking
7. Scheduled harvesting

8. Sales at premium prices

My Decisions:
1. Pathenocarpy variety. To be sure I can pull off as many fruits as possible on a plant. Of course it depends on the sizes of harvest. Two varieties on my mind - Long Dutch varieties and Beit Alpha. Pickling is not a choice for me since it is fat and most groceries prefer thin and medium sizes fruits. Even, I must be careful with Beit Alpha to not make it fat. For the purpose of this thread, I have chosen Beit Alpha. It has the potential of 120 tons per acre. And from my personal experience, it is possible to pull out an average of 25 cukes as a limited garderner. If under proper management, pulling out 120 fruits of 240grams average fruit is an understatement. Hahahaahah! You are shocked. Yes. Also, this guy is tough that you hardly get bitter taste even if subjected to the worst weather. Unlike CU999 that most people complain of bitter taste. This guy is an innovation of the dons of vegetables - My Jewish friends in the middle east. They made it to produce even under 40C temp. This is the power of Beit Alpha varieties. Unfortunately, the market for it is limited in this part of the world. But we are educating farmers to take the opportunity. Shoprite, Spar, HubMart, etc have no choice. They will start taking in more of this variety.

2. Hydroponic - What is what doing at all is what doing well. It easily meets my requirements. Makes life extremely easy for me.

3. Start with inorganic soluble nutrients. Later, I will digress into organic. I am beginning to shift gradually to organic since I became a mini plot gardener. Let me put it like this: I want to be a rich gardener instead of being a struggling farmer. Lol.

4. I feed nutrients only via root. And I treat plants with organic nutrients, amino acids, and enzymes via leaves. All those fertilizers Haifa bonus, potassium nitrate, npk 20-20-20 powder and liquid, maxiforce, etc are all potential cancer givers. It took me years to accept this fact. Well, it is possible to use them well, but from my experience farmers do not use them well. So, let me just come up with my system which is almost chemical free. Very soon, it will be 100% chemical free.

5. Try as much as possible to not use chemicals in the leaves and fruits. No pesticides like action 40, no dimeforce, no imiforce, No cabriduo, no wormforce, no mancozeb, no Ridomil Gold, no crazyforce, no badhealthforce, no cancerforce, no no No!

For now, it is just synthetic nutrients I will use, and it is via root. All other things sprayed are organic via leaves. Gradually, I will shift to 100% inorganic.

Note
I diverted into open field. Anywhere you read manure on my thread, kindly substitute it with compost. Check my post on dangers of using manure. Please take it serious if you don't want to get serious infection. Click HERE.

Very interesting. Would follow closely to know how the yield turns out.How much will such a setup cost on a quarter of a plot?

funsoul:
Very interesting. Would follow closely to know how the yield turns out.How much will such a setup cost on a quarter of a plot?

A quarter of a plot is a good size to start. Most farmers or gardeners here do not realize that the so called "sack farming" is the simplest hydroponic system. Yeah! You got me right. Yes, it is.

The human mind is manifiicent and innovative. I mean, I have seen improvisation by brilliant minds that beats my imagination. I do tell myself that I am innovative, but many times simple stuff knock me out with amazement. How the heck this simple idea solves this notorious problem?

Here is my point: "Necessity is the mother of Invention". Simple sack system can be tweaked. to increase its efficiency.

What material can I use in place of poly or hdpe which will promote free flow of sir? Or perhaps, should I peforate the sack? What of net-like material?

What kind of planting media is cheap in my area? Of course soil is free, but is it really a good media in container farming? Manure? If I decide to use coir, is it in the range I can call affordable in my world? Ok. I can use soil and manure, and I must sterilize it. Hmmmm! Or perhaps, I can just pasteurize them. I guess your mind is beginning to troubleshoot with me.

I must make the media moisturized all the time. Can drip get it done well? If yes, why not? Oh, I do not want to waste my nutrients, so I can afford a recirculatory style where I can create a return of drained water full of nutrients. Or maybe, just let me allow it slide and I do
not care about saving any nutrient water. lol.

Soluble nutrients are crazily expensive, so let me help myself with granules. Oh! Granules can be to salty. Hmm!

And perhaps, I just want to use only water and I do not want any media. Yeah! It is possible.

If you want to get ready-made system, it will cost you quite a fortune, but it makes life extremely easy for you. But if you put on your innovative cap, and sit on your dining table with a plate of peanut and a bottle of chilled apple juice with a pen in your hand, you may come up with a cheap method of doing it your own way.

I will discuss about about 3 methods I use later. I use both planting media and only water. But all my systems are automatic. I rarely use drip irrigation these days. In fact, I sold all my drip, but I still have like 10km new drip that I have not touched. What do I need it for now? Really, I just keep the rolls for an opportunity which I may stumble on anytime.

If you have experienced terrible bitter cucumber taste due to excessive heat and you are helpless with your sack style, we may be able to tweak it, and make it work better. The more you see your sack as hydroponic, the earlier you will arrive at a solution.

I will sow the seeds if I have time tomorrow, and show you how I sterilize. I am using very little planting media for this one.

Hmmnm!

Are you talking of theories or present practical practice somewhere in Africa?

L know many cucumber farmers will be on this thread in no time to learn how to increase yield and productivity,pls post updates with pics on how to get 40 fruits from one cucumber plant,many farmers including me wants to learn more and that idea about 100% organic in a commercial farm,hmm!!

okoroemeka:
L know many cucumber farmers will be on this thread in no time to learn how to increase yield and productivity,pls post updates with pics on how to get 40 fruits from one cucumber plant,many farmers including me wants to learn more and that idea about 100% organic in a commercial farm,hmm!!

I'll endeavor to carry everyone along; however, some technical terms will be used. I expect readers to make further researches on their own. Also, I'll post pictures.

The idea of 100% organic is possible, but not the way I have seen organic farmers operate in this part of the world. Farmers practise organic farming with terrible mind sets here. Even, market is not encouraging. But when you have been in the game of retailing to expats and rich people ( if you live in Lagos, Abuja, PH, or any place where there is oil exploration, refinery, railway compounds, or where expats live), you are at advantage. These guys pay well.

To do 100% organic, you need this approach: "Prevention is better than cure". Your first preventive task is to get rid of diseases in the soil. How many people doing sack farming can afford good sterilized planting media? Let us say you find a way to use soil, do you have the patience to kill all the diseases in it before sowing? Is it not pack and dump inside N10 poly bags they all do? Anything beyond that is termed "too expensive". So, how can you do organic like this?

They just move inside poultry or piggery houses to pack manure filled with diseases - e-coli, staph, h.pylori, and I can continue naming deadly diseases. They do not even use the cheapest hand gloves around. Guy, we dey try for Africa.

The human body is really tough. The way we abuse it in Africa is terrible. Yet, our body still produce antioxidants, and other enzymes to fight these diseases.

Here is my line of thought. Infact, this is what I am trying to do now - 100% organic. Why? I found an opportunity. This week, I am working on the financial aspect of it so I can get a price which I will sell that can give me good profit before I embark on it. If the buyers accept the prices, I will shoot ahead. If not, I will allow it slide.

The challenge with organic is that it needs media good bacteria can live in to do their job. And it seems I will do a lot of sterilization and re-introduction of these microbes in sterile environment. Again, going the aquaponics route might be a good option (even at this, 2% chemical will still be used but generally regarded as organic style).

Our definition of commercial seems different. While you might think commercial production is based on planting growth area (input), I think in
terms of output. Farmer A has 10 acres of tomatoes, and he produces 10 tons bi-annually, while farmer B has 3 plots and produces 40 tons biannually, who is the commercial producer between these two farmers?

Yield is not directly proportional to input. This is what you must first understand. If it is 200 plants your hands can manage perfectly, then manage them perfectly. Gradually scale up. It is like the body builders, they start lifting what their bodies can carry, and gradually they scale up according to their body. Listen to your sense of innovation.

Cucumber Nursery
Planting media readily available are: Rice husk, bran, cocopeat (coir), sand, manure, and charcoal. I decided to go with 3 parts sharp sand and two parts manure. 30 minutes sterilization in a pressure pot is enough to make the media sterile.

Instead of using 10cm net pot, I decided to use 10cm window fibre screen. Both containers promote air circulation in the root.

I opened these seeds sachets like 10 months ago, lol. I hope not to have issues with germination. So, I put 2 seeds per pot. I intend managing only 2 cucumber plants. Normally, seeds should germinate within 24 hours. I really hope one seed in each pot will germinate.

Tomato Nursery
Same procedure as cucumber above. But I had real difficulty in choosing a cultivar for this thread. BHN is a brand I love. Anyone who has had a garden in the tropical parts of the United States definitely will know about BHN. Then, I leaped further and see if I should use Asian seeds since majority farmers here are already becoming loyal customers to the Asians. I was a bit reluctant and I felt like seeing if I should use Continental maxim cultivar from Kenya. But really, there is nothing special about maxim, so I ditched it. I still have some maxim seeds. I could not easily make up my mind. Then, I started checking all the seeds in my collections, and I stumbled on Arka series. Hmmm. Ok. I picked the cultivar Girish. Let us see how far these two cultivars will perform.

Yeah! I had the privilege of talking directly to the head of the horticultural departments of the institution in chrage of these cultivars, and the lead scientist for Arka series cultivars some years ago. So, I know the ins and outs of these cultivars. Damn! My love for heirlooms (oh! I will open another thread just on tomatoes and you will see why tomato is the king of all veggies). OMG! When you taste some tomatoes, you will think they are grown in the garden of Eden. Yellow, orange, green, zebra, purple, red, indigo, black, pink, brown colors tomatoes. We will get there soon. My love for heirlooms made me forget hybrids.

I know one guy 3 years ago who had 1 ha of one of these cultivars in Idi-Iroko side of Ogun State, and the guy was just shouting that he has hit Jack pot. lol. Then, there is this guy I know in IITA who is an expert and he is just about these series. One boy told me he bought 10 grams for around N80,000 or so from him. Of course, they are not as expensive as that, but to get these seeds out of India, you will suffer. And then, I met another lady who told me that his cousin worked in one of the research institutes also and got the seed around N15,000 for 10 grams. And I told her to start dancing cos the guy really did him well. Indians do not like exporting these cultivars to Africa. So, they are gold. lol. We are talking of seeds you are talking of some that I read here and there on this site called nairaland, and I always just laugh. Ha! My people do not know anything. Move with researchers and you will get deep secrets. Of course, I gat my inner circle that we roll. We do not make noise. We just roll. I am sure one or two peole here will drop comments about these cultivars. Just wait and see. Comments are coming. If you know about these cultivars, then, you gat my respect.

But make no mistake, there are many other cultivars that are making farmers happy. I know that the whole nairaland will start looking for these cultivars. Normally I do not reveal my cultivars, but let me release these ones and see the maturity of my readers. I do not expect anyone to jump into it. It may not be good for you. Please, cultivars are not the whole story, management is the key. Even, I can use the cultivar maxim that I ditched and still get the same result. And if you want to know, I still have the cultivar Cobra from technisem in my archive. And I have Roma and Rio Grande that I asked one old woman to pick from rotten tomatoes in the market. If I start with the secrets of growing Roma, we will not finish the topic. lol. I still have my drip rolls. Perhaps, if I get a reliable hand I can partner with, we can roll a project on 2 ha of land.

OK. That is all about the tomato cultivars I am using.

I don't know. This sounds kind of crazy to me. But I'm watching from the sidelines.

Nutrient Solution
There are different approaches, but I decided to go with the following:

180 ppm N
50 ppm P
250 ppm K
135 ppm Ca
50 ppm Mg
65 ppm S
3.0 ppm Fe
0.2 ppm Cu
0.8 ppm Mn
0.3 ppm Zn
0.7 ppm B
0.06 ppm Mo

The pH of the nutrient solution will be maintained between 5.5 and 6.5.

Note:
NPK 20-20-20, 15-15-15, 13-13,13, etc are rubbish nutrients. No wonder Audu Ogbeh, the Agriculture and Rural Area Development minister is pressing hard for total ban of 15-15-15 NPK. This is the worst kind of fertilizer in circulation. They just destroy soil, and reduce yield. Continuous usage eventually destroys the ecosystem of the land. Infact, it should be banned today. I support the action of Mr. Ogbeh.

To formulate accurate nutrient solution, arithmetic and chemistry knowledge is required. One must know the molar mass of each element . Usage of periodic table is essential here. There are wide range of raw materials one can choose from. Even from the so called 20-20-20 Foliar fertilizers (2 brands are: Haifa bonus and MaxiForce), one can formulate different solutions.


Salinity
I always test my solution with Eva bottled water (made by Cocacola) if I do not have access to distilled water. The ph of Eva bottles water is 7 on dot (neutral). Too much salt in nutrient solution is bad for plants. They retard growth of plants if too much. This is a very strong advantage of organic fertilizers over synthetic fertilizers. There is no over dose with organic fertilizer. And for container (sack) farming, it is good to flush your sacks weekly with water running from a hose. Using drip continuously promotes salt accumulation on the top soil in sacks. So, weekly flushing out of salt is recommended. Rain water used for recirculatory system or static is the best. Harvesting rain water during rainy season helps. But who has cursed Nigeria? We do not have rain these days.

EC
I favor EC over TDS. Though, I usually buy 4 in 1 meter with EC, TDS, Temp, and PH.

Transplanting to blossom - 1.0mS
Blossom (2 weeks) - 1.5mS
Fruiting till the end - 2.0mS


This solution is what I use to moisturize my plants, and available 24-7 to all of them. Continuous supply is a must for my system.

If you decide to use drip irrigation and you go with a return channel of your nutrient solution, I guarantee you of fast growth cos you can keep supplying your plants nutrients continuously. Well, still possible without a return channel. just that wastage of nutrients is the price to pay.

Remember that I do not spray my plants with synthetic fertilizers. I feed mostly via root. If you get it right, there is no need to spray any Haifa bonus or maxiforce, or ultrasol whatever on the leaves.



And there is one organic spraying formular out that. That product is rubbish. lol. It is just exactly like water to me, yet those organic guys promote it like gold. Very useless product. Infact, most organic Foliar liquid are scams. Except those you make yourself, but those imported ones are not so good like how the marketers promote them.

GNLD Super Glo:
I use it, but not as Foliar feed for nutrients. It is not a fertilizer. No no no. Though, it has traces of nutrients but can never be regarded as fertilizer. Its main purpose is to make the water you are spraying soft, and to make your solution easily absorbed by the plants. That's all. So, if I do not have it with me, I do not bother myself. It is not a necessity. But it is a powerful product I always use.

Fluentinfor is back as psitotita. Welcome, se daada lode ati nreti re.

All this big grammar and codes,I beg you we are not scientisst just ordinary farmers trying to make a living,can't you at least whittle down these scientific terms to the level most farmers will understand,

okoroemeka:
All this big grammar and codes,I beg you we are not scientisst just ordinary farmers trying to make a living,can't you at least whittle down these scientific terms to the level most farmers will understand,

Where are the big grammars? And point to the codes. Is it cos I wrote that some scientific terms will be used? Guy, try to use Google to search any new terms first. Then after, if not clear, politely ask me. And you will get your answers.

I want to pull out maximum number of cucumbers and tomatoes from a plant, and I must make sure I give them the exact energy needed. There are exact energy levels in every nutrients based on the contents, at the same time, I want to reduce salinity (salt level), so the only way I can give you accurate measurement is how I have written it. If I start saying 2 cups, 2 caps, 2 teaspoon, bla bla bla will be inaccurate. So, put on your thinking cap and kindly use Google or ask questions instead of complaining.

You can decide to do it your old ways, or you buckle up, and upgrade yourself. My specialty is not even Agricultural related course, but thank God for Google. And mind you, all the Introductory Technology, Integrated Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Accounting, BookKeeping, Social Studies, Mathematics (ratio, fraction, factorization, combination and permutation, etc) do help me. I just move back and revise when I meet a challenge which involves using any. And it is interesting to note that one does not need to know how to use most of them, but Google will just do most conversations. But kinda still good to have an idea of the concept.

As long as you find yourself using your a computer or mobile phones to type here, you can as well just use Google to check out any new term. So, please, kindly ask your questions politely and professionally. Whether you are a farmer or a scientist, or you do not care. Just let us be polite to one another. And if anyone find my style too complex or advance, the fellow can ask politely, and point to the areas more explanations are needed. We are all here to learn.

Thanks bro for cooperating.

Fake products are too many in Nigeria
Honestly, it is a terrible battle field this Nigeria is in any field. OK I was trying to buy detergents for my washing machine, and I am used to one particular brand (can be used for machine wash and hand wash, well it is hard to find just machine wash detergents around since over 90% people still use hand wash, and not that they cannot afford machine. We just like to suffer ourselves). And I could not get "Ariel" detergent. I checked many stores, but nope. I saw some new products, and I bought one. One getting home, I regretted it cos soap forming level was terrible. And this product is in high demand according to the man. So, I think we just naturally love quantity over quality in Nigeria. Too bad!

Back to Agric, there is a leader of Agricultural products that all farmers must avoid. I will not mention the name, but if you love yourself try to know this brand, and avoid it. If the content of an active ingredient is suppose to be 200grams, trust me, theirs will be around 50 to 100grams, yet the content written on the pack or sachet will be 200grams. I run away from this brand, and many farmers are beginning to know about their pranks. They are demons. Infact, I think East West guys avoid this company too as I have interacted with about 5 technical guys, and they said that they can never use their products. lol. Very soon, that company will be closed. Anyway go for brand like Bayern and Syngenta. Even Monsanto is more opened (just that most people have linked Monsanto with GMO which I am beginning to frown at now, one day I will write about my health issues and how God saved me). Oh! I will make sure I get 100% organic production accurately so that I can be rest assured of good quality food. If I have to do 100% organic for myself only, so be it. But I must get it.

So, it is why concentration level using ppm is the most appropriate way to give measurement of what I am using. Frequently, I check my solutions too (send them to laboratories for confirmation) to be very sure of what I am using. I do not trust what is written in these products. But so far, Syngenta, Mosanto, and Bayern have not disappointed me. Of course, there is another big brand that you all know and use their products. Never will I touch any product from that company. Never. They come cheap, but to me, they are more expensive cos they have reduced the content of their active ingredients.

I am writing this cos many farmers have spoilt their soil with jargons from such manufacturers. In most 15 15 15 fertilizers, maybe 5 5 5 or 6 6 6 is there, and the rest are salty fillers. So, how will you have good harvest. If it is 3 3 3, tell buyers and use the approriate quantity of fillers, but using high % of fillers will 3 3 3 is demonic and you call it 15 15 15. Ha! Terrible act. So, you see that the guy who uses 1kg of manure for one plant during bed preparation is more succesful than you. How? Manure keeps salinity in check, and the nutrient in it gives an initial rapid growth which is essential in farming. One secret of huge harvest is early fast growth. It builds up the plants immune system against diseases. If your initial growth is bad, forget high yield. Please, take note of this.

But if you have a solution, and you close your eyes towards the amount you will spend in a laboratory and you get it right, and you stick to the brands you tested, you will reap the benefit. Expensive products most times turn to be cheaper.

About my plants, I checked them this morning and they are yet to sprout. I will wait 3 more days, and if the cucumber don't sprout, it means the seeds are bad, and I will have to get another. I hope they aren't dead.

EC
I favor EC over TDS. Though, I usually buy 4 in 1 meter with EC, TDS, Temp, and PH.

Transplanting to blossom - 1.0mS
Blossom (2 weeks) - 1.5mS
Fruiting till the end - 2.0mS



pls sir, in plain language what is the meaning of the above. Thanks

Juliana7:


EC
I favor EC over TDS. Though, I usually buy 4 in 1 meter with EC, TDS, Temp, and PH.

Transplanting to blossom - 1.0mS
Blossom (2 weeks) - 1.5mS
Fruiting till the end - 2.0mS



pls sir, in plain language what is the meaning of the above. Thanks

EC - Electrical Conductivity
It is the amount of conductivity in the solution. If high, it means electric current can easily flow through it. And why do we try to measure it? Fertilizers are salt. Salt conducts electricity. The more salt you have, the more the solution will allow free flow electricity. In summary, EC tells you how concentrated solutions are.

TDS - Total Dissolved Solid
This tells you the approx solid dissolved in water. Salts are solids, and we just want to measure the amount in water.

Note: Either can be used, but I prefer EC. We want the solution to not be too concentrated during the early stage, so we make the concentration 1.0mS. Plants need more during blossom (flowering stage) and we make it 1.5mS. And finally, we need 2.0mS during fruiting stage. And we push potassium a bit higher than what we had previously. In some plants, I reduce Nitrogen, in some I make it same, while I increase it in many.

You need a special meter to measure E.C. and YES, just like how you measure PH.

Normally, municipal water contains chlorine which has some EC value. So, we try to avoid using it. Again stream water contains TDS value. It is why rain water or distilled water is preferred.

From this explanation, if you bought 15 15 15 fertilizer but in it was 5 5 5, the EC might even be more than that of 15 15 15 cos it is going to be more salty, and the nutrient in it is not up to what one wanted.

In summary, we are measuring the amount of salt in solutions with these parameters. I hope it is clearer. If you have more questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Thank u sir, for the prompt response to my question. Pls sir, how true is this sir "ur crops need more phosphorus to more flowers during flowering/blossom period to get more fruits" how true is d above quote. Thanks

Juliana7:
Thank u sir, for the prompt response to my question. Pls sir, how true is this sir "ur crops need more phosphorus to more flowers during flowering/blossom period to get more fruits" how true is d above quote. Thanks

Lovely question. I love people who think deep. You will hear this claim from organic guys and sellers of soluble fertilizers. Sellers of Phosphorus in liquid form especially.

I do not argue with either of the group of people above. Why? They are partially right. But that is not the whole story.

What is the essence of Phosphorus in Plants?
Phosphorus is used in several energy transfer compounds in plants. A very important function for P is its role in nucleic acids, the building blocks for the genetic code material in plant cells.
So, to get fruits, plants needs the blossom cells. To fight diseases, plants need immune cells. Phosphorus is essential, it is the nutrient needed to multiply cells in plants. Energy to produce fruits is transferred to various places via phosphorus.

How much phosphorus do plants need?
This is where most get it wrong. And organic farmers just use overdose. And fertigation with drip users apply phosphorus based fertilizers recklessly because sellers lied to them.

My approach is to look at plant tissue tests. Take a look at the attached picture. Look at cucumber, and check the adequate before blossom, during blossom, and after blossom. Phosphorus remain same. And funny enough, it has the lowest % of all major nutrients. Even plants needs more Mg and S than P. Hahaha! Dejavu! Miracle! LOL!

Check my nutrient solution up there and see. P is 50ppm, Mg is 50ppm, while A is 65ppm. I may move Mg up later.

Now, let us look at NPK 15 15 15.
N = 15%
P2O5 = 15%, P= 15 × 0.43 = 6.45% (still very high if we use the ratio of the tissue test)
K2O= 15% ×0.83 = 12.45%

If I go through a long calculation which is not necessary for this thread, the right proportion for NPK is always 3 : 1: 2 before blossom, and 2 : 1 : 3 or 3 : 1 : 3 after blossom. Phosphorus need does not change.

How to apply Phosphorus and Calcium
Using soluble phosphorus of any brand in non hydroponic system (in open field) is waste of money. Sellers tell you that you need phosphorus, bla bla bla bla. Rubbish. Yeah! You need it, but not like how they want to sell.

Phosphorus and Calcium does not just escape from the soil. They bind well with soil. I can permit calcium nitrate since it is not that expensive like phosphorus, but better if you use lime. Apply lime during soil preparation. Apply it in a good quantity to get to the right PH. If you eventually need more calcium, it will be later part of the crop. Then use Calcium Nitrate. For Phosphorus, apply as much SSP or TSP as
possible during soil preparation in accordance with what your plants need. It will bind with the soil and not evaporate.

The first nutrient plants need is phosphorus to build good roots. First the root cells must be formed. It is why you need it constantly in the soil but at lower rate than all major nutrients.

You only need to fertigate potassium and nitrogen. That is all you need to fertigate. During soil preparation, mix NPK inside soil too to put in potassium. For the first two weeks, use urea only to fertigate. Guys, if you need potassium, dissolve NPK in hot water and fertigate it. LOL. Not good practice but what can man do? I tried it once and it worked, and I have introduced many to it. The brown particles that don't dissolve is phosphorus. Do not fertigate that as it will clog your emitters. Just take it and pour beside the roots of your plants.

After blossom, fertigate with potassium nitrate plus calcium nitrate, and if you need more nitrogen, add urea. Or you fertigate with urea and potassium chloride. Just be careful with the high salinity of potassium chloride. But the amount of potassium in it is extremely high. I think 63%. I always have it. And I use together with potassium nitrate. I interchange.

So, if you can calculate the total amount of Phosphorus needed for your plant from A to Z, add it to the soil from the start. That is the way to go. But if you find later you are phosphorus deficient, your first option is side dressing with NPK. And you may then consider soluble phosphorus fertilizer if you have the cash. I have not for once used soluble phosphorus on open field. And I do not think I will ever use it. Only for hydroponics.

For organic guys, it is a good practice to spray soluble phosphorus during blossom. Yeah! I encourage you to do it. And I will be using it for my plants too. I am using it mainly because of enzymes I added to it, and not because of the phosphorus in it. You will be shocked how little quantity major nutrients are in those organic soluble fertilizers. lol. For me, they are insignificant, but if you hear how they promote the stuff like they are millions ppm inside. Ha! Ignorance has really ripped off many people. LOL.

Feel free to ask more questions bro.

I think I am just going to get new viable seeds. My main concern is getting these particular cultivars. Very hard to get. I will try my best to see if they can be delivered next week. Otherwise, I have no choice but to change to different ones. Tomato should still germinate. I am watching them. So sorry for the delay. Time to throw away most of my old seeds, and replace them all.


Open Field Cucumber
While waiting for the seeds to sprout, I want to mention few things about open field.

1. You can still make reasonable profit doing it.
2. I commend recent threads here. They arequite impressive.

But I noticed a thread whereby the OP is trying to compare two varieties. The mistake he made was to have them on the same plot. Obviously, he is getting hybrid fruits from pollination of two cultivars. So, the aim of what he is doing is defeated. He should have kept the cultivars far away from each other.

Anyway, this reminds me of the year 2013 when I cultivated CU999, Murano, and Nagano on the same plot of land. Christ, that was one of the best production I have made. I wanted to buy only Murano,but the guys had just 5g or 10g sachets, and very few quantities. I bought all the remaining, and added 50grams of Nagano. I knew I did not need Nagano as it has no tolerance to downy mildew, but high tolerance to powdery mildew. And since downy is what I was going to fight, Nagano was not the right seed. But anyway, I bought it. And I was left with some spaces to fill. After much contemplation and discussion with a friend, I got 100grams of Cu999.


Result
Nagano surprising resisted downy mildew. Why? Cross pollination with Cu999. As soon as the disease reaches the tip of the fruits, they just stop. As soon as I noticed this, I just removed most leaves on Nagano. So, it stayed longer.

Nagano and Murano fruits were bigger- Effect of cross pollination with Cu999. Very interesting, but many fruits were lighter green, and still very marketable. On the other hand, like 1/4 fruits on Cu999 were darker too. And some were smaller in width and length. Result of Cross pollination from Nagano and Murano.

I Fine-Tuned the style
1. It is more productive to have 2 or 3 cultivars on same plot. Better yield.
2. Gynecious like Darina and Greengo will do better if you have monoecious like Cu999, Popular F1, Cu301, or Cu302 on the field which are sown 1 week earlier in nursery trays. At least 10% population.
3. You can easily survive open field using inorganic fungicides - You need Imichlopoid too.
4. Farmers abuse Metalyxl too much. RedForce, Ridomil Gold, Tratum, Blue Boat, etc are all abused the way I read how you guys use them.Very soon, your sites will develop resistant to it.
5. There are recent powerful fungicides that will wipe off downy mildew. But are they really good for our health? A real concern for me.
6. OPV cultivar are not encouraged to be used by farmers in the south,but Ashley stands out. Very lovely cultivar. I will not stake it if doing it, will find like 1 ha of land, and use furrow irrigation for it.


The logic behind my style
If you are making 400 bags from an area of land, you can easily shoot it to 600 bags without much stress by using 30% 1kg fruits monoecious plants population. 1 fruit is like 3 fruits of gynecious. 3 fruits are like 9 fruits Gynecious.

Also, you should try to change the flower pattern of monoecious. Make male flowers come faster to pollinate Gynecious, then make more female flowers come up so you can have even more harvest on monoecious. There is an organic enzyme for doing this.

Balance the farm with a predominant female flower like murano or Monalisa. I prefer murano as it has better downy mildew resistance. If using Monalisa, be on guard with your fungicides if you are in downy mildew infected region.

Microbes perform wonders. Learn how to use them without getting infection into your system if doing organic. And you can still use them with inorganic, there is a method. It is the best.

Pay attention to nutrition. Make sure there is enough phosphorus and potassium in your soil before sowing seeds. After a week of sowing, start with urea fertigation for the next 2 weeks. As soon as you see flower, it's time for Calcium, Suphur, Magnesium, and Potassium.

Never joke with micro nutrients from the beginning to the end. Make sure you have B, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, and Mo in the right ratio. Usually, sprayed on the leaves. No need to spray NPK on leaves. Spray more of Mg, S, and micro nutrients. Stop using all those Foliar maxiforce, haifa bonus,etc. Use them with other products for fertigation. They are waste of resources to me if using them on Foliar. Even never use potassium nitrate or calcium nitrate on leaves. Go for organic fungicide with potassium ingredient like potassium bicarbonate. That is using two stones to kill a bird.

The more you do it, the better you become. I do not have a perfect formular, I fertigate with results. Just seeing the pictures, I can tell you what to do at any stage. Everyone who followed my principles always return with good news, except those who are stubborn in their thought. They think they know all. Even while guiding people, I still give room for them to think, and even teach me. I cannot tell you what I have learned from newbies. Many are gifted with innovative ideas. Some will just suggest something new, and I will approve it. Then, I even fine tuned the suggestions later. While some people just keep nagging and arguing without any result. LOL.

The better option is using non destructive tissue analysis by measuring the chlorophyll in your leaves. Very useful equipment. I have one, and it has been helpful with grains production. Very useful equipment. Nitrogen is the most essential nutrient in plants, if you can measure only nitrogen, use it to formulate other nutrients.

Above all, make sure your irrigation is superb. Nothing beats a very good irrigation system.

You are always welcome to ask me any question. But remember, do not approach me if you want to use watery can or carry hose over 1 acre of land. No drip, never contact me.
Except you want to use improvised drip, and back it up with hose.

Never rely on rain even during rainy season for Cucumber.

May God reward all your effort on your farm. Amen!

Thank u sir, for the priceless info. Pls sir, how to we guard/protect ourselves when using microbes on d farm. Thanks

Juliana7:
Thank u sir, for the priceless info. Pls sir, how to we guard/protect ourselves when using microbes on d farm. Thanks

Wear gloves, do not touch any sensitive part of yourself while handling them. Wash yourself with disinfectant immediately after handling them. Above all, make sure your immume system is high before doing organic farming.

Yea, he's back. Time to increase my knowledge base.

gurus in the house, what's your take on using npk 0 15 15 during flowering stage in cucumber?

lahify:
gurus in the house, what's your take on using npk 0 15 15 during flowering stage in cucumber?

Is this kind readily available in Nigeria?

Legalised Cannabis Farming In Ondo State
Talking about hydroponics and indoor farming, the governor of Ondo State has just taken a bold step towards medicinal cannabis in order to stop illegal cultivation in thick forest. lol.

Of course, the only accepted method is indoor farming with hydroponics. And securities in place to guard against theft.

It is funny that the man decided to travel to Thailand or so to learn it. lol. Anyway, man must cut some millions while awarding the contract to expats. We are so funny in this nation. What he can assemble without any external help, he had to first waste money to travel with delegates to Asia. And pay them to teach them how to do it. Very funny. Even he wants to get training, he could use 1/1000th of the amount he is spending to bring experts to Ondo State if he is so much into using expats. Lol. They must "chop" naooo.

Do you know Cannabis is the most valuable plant in the world? It is a multi million in dollars business. Google it and see. It is the most profitable plant one can cultivate. Getting the licence to cultivate it in the US or Canada is tougher than getting an oil refinery license. Even boys that are doing it illegally deep in the forest in Nigeria are extremely rich.

I am not encouraging anyone to get involved in illegal business. But who knows, if eventually legalized, one can move into it with pre knowledge of indoor farming and hydroponics. Anyone who prepares himself and is able to position himself for this great opportunity will be extremely rich. But I think the Dangotes, Otedolas, Dantatas, Abachas, Danjumas, Buharis, Tinubus, etc will definitely hijack this opportunity. But if smart guys can move ahead of them, it will be wonderful.

Learn the principles of indoor farming, the opportunities are too broad in the nearest future. I pity guys who are bent on open field only because It is what they think is affordable now. They just keep limiting their potentials. Are you not even tired of always travelling to the bush because you own a farm?

The principle and concepts of indoor farming are invaluable tools for modern horticultural businesses.


While I am waiting for the delivery of new viable seeds to proceed, anyone with ideas can drop them here. Questions are welcome too. Thanks!

The seed is not difficult to get,just go to any weed seller or dealer and request for seed,trust me they measure it in cups like garri,if u can do pepper nursery then u are good to go,I have cultivated that in commercial quantity in my mad and crazy youth, from experience the most difficult part of that is spotting the male plants in time and removing it before it pollinates the females or less you will end up with useless leafs and seeds rather than icy shiny dada leafs.

okoroemeka:
The seed is not difficult to get,just go to any weed seller or dealer and request for seed,trust me they measure it in cups like garri,if u can do pepper nursery then u are good to go,I have cultivated that in commercial quantity in my mad and crazy youth, from experience the most difficult part of that is spotting the male plants in time and removing it before it pollinates the females or less you will end up with useless leafs and seeds rather than icy shiny dada leafs.

LOL!

And Akeredolu is wasting money in Asia. He could just have asked you and your team to come together so an expert can work with you guys. lol.

Trust me, I will not use the seeds bro so as not to breed males. I will clone the female so that I do not bother myself with cross pollination. These are new tricks. And perhaps I can just be selling only cloned female seedlings. Yeah! It is a serious business in North America.

Just a pity Sowore did not win the presidential race cos he is so serious about legalizing it. LOL! , If he had won, I would have just created a thread on producing it at home. And I am sure boys will push for recreational purpose too, and not only medicinal purpose. LOL!

Or what are we saying? Can't that governor consult Seun or Femi Anikulapo- Kuti?

Apart from Cannabis, which plants are highly valuable? And can anyone let us know the sales (exportation, wholesaling, or retailing)? We may be able to develop varieties of businesses with this. Why not? And we open different threads for each crop for contributions. Why not? We put all info there for anyone to use. Why not?

Or what do you think?

Pistotita:

Is this kind readily available in Nigeria?

yes it is

lahify:
yes it is

0 15 15 Fertilizer. Hmmmm! What is the price? How many kg per bag or sachet? Is it soluble or granules?

The way I choose is this: The most cost effective is what I go for. If the price is good, it is a good choice as urea, Calcium nitrate, Ammonia whatever can be added as Nitrogen.
And I can step up Potassium with Potassium Nitrate or Potassium Chloride. For me, I aim at 3 : 1 : 2, or 3 : 1 : 3, or 2 : 1 : 3. At every point, my phosphorus level is always the lowest.

You may have your style which may be great. Perhaps you should share yours too.

it's #8200 per 50kg bag and it's in granules. my fertilizer protocol is this, I use npk + ssp a week after germination and urea + npk when the plant is 15days old then at flowering stage, mop + npk or npk 15 15 15 with fruit bloom organic fertilizer.

lahify:
it's #8200 per 50kg bag and it's in granules. my fertilizer protocol is this, I use npk + ssp a week after germination and urea + npk when the plant is 15days old then at flowering stage, mop + npk or npk 15 15 15 with fruit bloom organic fertilizer.

I think using NPK 15 15 15 is more cost effective. You don't have 15% Nitrogen on it. So, the manufacturer will add more filler which is not too good. And they call it bloom fertilizer. Hmmmm! But wait! Did you call it organic? Ok. If organic, that is another story. What materials are used to make it? And the urea + npk. Just use NPK 15 15 15 again during flowering. I would ditch the bloom fertilizer if it is synthetic. But if the raw materials are organic, I will go for it since it will help in reducing salt.

But why dont you just use SSP only for phosphorus? And if you will NO later, just subtract that from the SSP you will apply during soil preparation. You need to apply nutrient before sowing. apply nutrient 10 days after sowing is a bad technique. If you apply nutrients in soil before planting cucumber, be ready to run cos that cucumber will be flying.


Why do you delay fertilizer application till 10 days after germination? What will your plants feed on for 10 days? Try to use SSP + NPK inside the holes you are planting. Mix very well and see result. You will be amazed. Then after 10 days, start using urea only.

If MOP works well for you, fine. But for me, it is too expensive to use on open field when there are cheaper options readily available.