Farmerakinloye6:
senior, your contribution shows you have deep knowledge on vegetable. Pls am a learner and I will appreciate any advice to make me a better farmer and pro like you sir.

You are a humble man.

I am far from being a pro. I come to Nairaland to learn. I have learnt somethings from your posts.

You are clearly advanced in tomato production, for instance. I am just learning the ropes.

The comments I made about the clay soil were drawn for personal experience from farming for a few years on soil of similar characteristics.

I enjoy your dedication and your readiness to share.

Thanks and Cheers!

tpben:
Good evening all.
Please if you have had an experience regarding this please help asap.

There is this land I got recently that is close to stream but I'm having serious headache with it regarding the type of soil.

I noticed the soil is a clay soil and that it holds on water.
My fear is on the soil drainage when the rain comes since I'm not in control of rain and I'm in the south that experiences heavy downpour yearly.

I have never grown vegetables on a soil like this.
I have always had loamy and sandy soils that drains well with raised bed and have not had issues.

What is your experience growing pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, etc on a clay soil.

Drought problems made me source for a land close to water but this clay is giving greater headache now.

Please help asap with your suggestions.

Thank you.

Good day,

From my experience, cucumber might be the most suitable of the three crops you listed for the clay soil especially when the rains come pouring down.

All this being equal, the cucumber might do a little better there than elsewhere.

You may however, have to contend with more than usual weed pressure.

All the best

Cheers

Okoroemeka
The excitement in your tone is palpable. The scale is huge. You have come a long way.

How many days apart were the two sections planted. I am assuming the crop in question is cucumber.

Have you given some thought to how to manage the scheduling of the harvests to avoid taking too many bags to market at any one time; especially in periods of glut?

Does this farm rely more on in house workers for the land prep, irrigation setup, planting, stake and trellis installation, daily management and the planned harvest? Or is it a blend of casual worker and in house workers?

I have some experience with high volume cucumber production. We can compare notes offline if you do not mind.

Cheers!

okoroemeka:
PROJECT GREEN SEAS at veggie city,it's incredible seeing one hectare of lovely healthy crops thriving in the middle of the harshest harmattan in the decade,we already have one foot across the finish line on this sector and we have planted another hectare and it's coming up nicely and after completely staking on the 2 sites,we will tackle the mother of all a 2 hectares behemoth a land so virgin that it has not been touched by man since God created earth,maybe we can even find Adam and eve inside.

tpben:


So you think it can't make one smile to the bank sir?
Is melon not profitable?
If you didn't record success in that does not make it unprofitable.
I grow them and they have been pretty easy.
Had bursting issue with Koloss f1 too and learnt lessons. This happened while I had Kaolack side by side.
Anyway, I rest my case nwanne.
I no get strength to argue.

Bros,

No vex. Different farmers have had differing levels of success with various crops. It appears many more farmers in the south have had more unpleasant experiences with watermelon than with other crops.

For instance, some successful watermelon farmers (Team A) dread cucumber like leprosy, while many successful cucumber farmers (Team B) will not go close to watermelon. There is Team C that has mastered both watermelon and cucumber.

I find it interesting when Team A and Team C tell team B watermelon is a walk in the park, and Team B disagrees vehemently; or when Team B and Team C tell Team A that cucumber is a money spinner and Team B snigers at them.

I am currently in team B. I aspire to join Team C. I dread watermelon. I have had an unpleasant experience with watermelon that left me scarred. But I will like to master it too. I know my poor results with watermelon is connected to the fact that farm is in a swamp which accentuates the farming challenges.

Somehow, I have managed to have relative success with cucumber in the swamp, despite the challenges. But it's watermelon is a no no as long as my farm is in the swamp.

I digress.

tpben,

I guess the point I am trying to make is that you should understand what might be the background of okoroemeka's position on watermelon.

Kindly share as much useful insights into how to successfully crop watermelon, as you are comfortable sharing. Do not be discouraged by our direct or indirect skepticism.

I want to be Team C.


Cheers!

okoroemeka:
the flowering and pollination is on point,the only problem we are having now is power,for some days now the utility guys has decided that we don't need light anymore and we have been running generators to pump water,it's funny seeing our leaders blowing hot on 7 point development agenda while power the one agenda that will make all possible is ignored, power or no power nothing will step between us and our reward this dry season.

Congratulations. You have checked the major boxes.
Next is for money to start rolling in...

okoroemeka:
our cucumber farm at 35 days,I cannot begin to imagine how we could have managed to irrigate this farm coupled with other things we are doing,drip irrigation is not only an effective way of irrigating it's also a life saver,if you water 5000 crops everyday for at least 3-4hrs standing in the sun,you will agree with me that it will take an iron will to achieve that.

okoroemeka,

This is a great job!

They are generally looking very healthy. The foliage spread is robust. That will help with good photosynthetic efficiency. Good job.

Are the flowering and pollination adequate, with respect to your previous experience?

Your timing (of the planting) is on point as well.

All the best.

Cheers!

frankedoka:

Please sir, do you use over head tank or do you connect to pumping machine? Which one is better?
Secondly, the connectors with valves and the ones without valves which is better and why?

Hello sir.

If you will permit me to attempt to answer your questions...

I will start by saying every farm setup is unique and as a result the configuration that's optimal for one farm might not be optimal for another. This is true in general terms and also specifically in terms of irrigation.

Generally speaking, you can irrigate your drips with water coming from your borehole under the pressure delivered by your submersible pump. It should work in most cases.

You can also deliver via overhead tank. One option is not necessarily better than the other. The overhead tank comes with added cost of installation. But gives you the added advantage of storage; which allows you to deliver water under considerable pressure without requiring to run tour pump until you exhaust the stored water.

In terms of running costs. You still spend the same amount on fuel for the generator that powers the pumping machine. So no winner there.

If your interest is in which option delivers better pressure? The answer is it depends on the height of the stand on which the tank is placed versus the capacity of the submersible pump versus the size of your operations.

For a relatively small operation, pressure from the borehole would be adequate, in which case there will be no need for the added cost of installing overhead tank.

The advantage of overhead tank is you have water stored, that you can use for irrigation even when you are not running your pump. The question is whether the extra cost of installing overhead tank is justified. I will say you can avoid that cost.

In terms of the better drip connectors; in my experience, the ones with valves are better. They allow you the flexibility of deciding which beds to water, when and to what extent. They are definitely worth the extra cost.

Depending of the setup of your drips and size of operations, you might discover that the pressure from your borehole or overhead tank or other sources of water is not getting to all the emitters on all the drip lines.

Let's say you have 20 drip lines. You discover that not all the emitters are getting sufficient water, the connectors with valves allows you to do staggered watering. You close off the valves at say 10 of the driplines so that only 10 driplines have to share the pressure from your water source. You will find that the emitters will be better served and than when you had all 20 driplines lined up.

After delivering sufficient water to the first 10 lines, you open the valves of the next 10 lines and close those first 10 driplines. Note, please do NOT close all the connectors before opening the next set....if your pump is delivering water and all the emitters are closed, you will start bursting your hoses or pipes....or even damage the pump.

Even when your pump can serve water to all the driplines sufficiently, you might discover that more water gets some drip lines than to others so that after 1hour of running your pump, some emitter points are already saturated with water while others are not. It is advisable to isolate those that are saturated so that more water gets to those that are yet to get enough water. Otherwise you will overwater some crops and under water some and both categories of crops will potentially be stressed.

I know that some very seasoned farmers can setup their drip irrigation in away that they can effectively use the connectors that don't have valves. But my advise will be to choose the option of with valve. It will save you many known and yet to be seen hassles.

Cheers

Intendy:


Will give u for #2,900 and where is your location to confirm waybilling cost ?

Let's take the conversation offline to not derail this thread.

I have an offer for N2,500 already. If you can beat that please contact me privately.

Thanks

Intendy:


Like how many ?

About 100 needed within 1 -2 weeks. More needed shortly afterwards (provided the weight in gsm is acceptable).

I am in frantic need because the batch I ordered from China won't arrive on time.

Thanks

okoroemeka:
last price I knew was ₦3500 for one roll of 100 meters length and 2 meters height, check seed world he may still have it.

Thanks OkoroEmeka. I have reached out to Seedworld. Waiting for his response.

N3,500 is much higher than I am willing to pay for it, though. I am hoping for a price range of N2,000 to N2,500. I am buying a substantial quantity.

Thanks, once again

Greetings all.

I am in need of trellis nets. Is there one with information on how I could source for it in the Lagos-Ogun-Oyo axes?

I hope the price is reasonable too.

Thanks.

Wizs2019:


Hey,

This happens more than I would like it to especially when there is a strong cross wind. What I try to do is check all the bamboo poles and top wires before every planting season and replace any weak ones. I am still looking for a permanent solution.

PS. From your other question permit me to suggest one thing, For cucumber, drip irrigation is the easiest irrigation solution to have success with as it negates all the bad points from all other types of irrigation.

Regards

Hello bro,

If you are willing to commit additional funds for staking, then the 'A-Frame' staking design might be the way to go. It is a sturdier method. But you are likely going to need almost three times the amount of bamboo you currently use.

And I am not surprised you have that challenge particularly going by the volume of yield you record for your production.

Nuel2good, if funding isn't much of a limitation, drip system is what you should be looking at (as advised by Wizs2019). Even if funding is an issue, plan on how you can gradually implement drip system.

If irrigation is your biggest challenge with cucumber, then we can say you have identified the solution to your biggest headache; pending implementation.

Cheers

Pistotita:


You are working with me. The variety is from Japan, and I am the one importing the seed. Minimum purchase is 10kg and one person cannot buy it all, so I am sharing among everyone involved.

The agent picks from my farm, but since I cannot produce presently, he asked me to give him guys who can cover my end. I have been out of production for some months, and he's complaining bitterly that he's not meeting target. Those he commissioned are failing him. So, I told him that I will find a replacement or replacements. He will always relate with me as things go on. And it's ok if you relate with me too. But the most important issue is that the two of you must meet. The two of you should decide where and when. I will get him tonight and tell him to talk with you. I will share your contact with him, and likewise his with you. Anyone can initiate the first call.

I have told him already the person interested is a fearless man in the field. Of course, I know you very well that you are up to the task.

My number remains same, but whatsapp is not working temporarily. I still receive sms and calls via it. Unfortunately, I have your number in that particular phone that's faulty. So, you will need to share your number again with me via sms. You may call the number first. Then, I will get you with my temporary whatsapp number. Or you can send me email and share your number again.

By the way, I hope the micro-nutrients mixture you got is serving its purpose. I always try to get update from people who use it, but I can't remember why I didn't even ask you. I think you got around 10kg. Are you the one who asked for the boron content to be raised? Cos many people ask me to tweak it differently. I should have asked you for update. You will use it and get tired. I hope it's really serving you. Anyway, we can discuss further when we talk.

Sounds great. Talk to you soon

Pistotita:


You should meet the agent and discuss further. I will assist with working out the number of plants and land area needed for production. You get seeds and start. Since you have enough experience with cucumber, you will have no problem. These are my networks, but I cannot produce at this time because my doctor hasn't cleared me. And don't worry, you will have a reasonable time limit which you will enjoy. I will not take it over quickly from you. If you prove resourceful, I will introduce you to more crops by the grace of God. There can be challenges, especially if you don't get the quality right. Withdrawal of chemical at the right time is essential for this market. Fruits will be tested for toxins. There is a limit you cannot cross. So, you cannot just use any pesticide. I will give you the procedure. From there, I will clear off the scene so you can work hand in hand with him. There can be challenges, even in sales, you might run into glitches. In that case, you get across to me, and we look for ways to address them. What I appreciate is patience in the midst of challenges or disappointments. But I don't expect there will be any problem if you follow the procedure correctly.

Thank you for this.

I don't know the agent.

Will you provide me the contact details of the agent or should I wait to be contact by the agent? I also believe you still have my number; it has not changed. Are you still reachable on the number I used to have for you?

Is it the same agent that I will get the seed from that I will work with for the sales? (You said an agent will come collect harvests every 3 days).

You know me. Challenges don't scare me. I see them as learning opportunities.

I am eager to receive the procedure you promised.

Thank you.

Enjoy your evening.

Pistotita:
Grow and Sell Burpless Cucumber
Opportunity to cultivate and sell at a reasonable price. Average price is N10,000 per bag. Lowest is N8,000. It can even move higher than N10,000 depending on demand. Market is limited. The only challenge is that seeds are more expensive than usual slicing seeds, because they will be specially imported. But still cheaper than what is around. I can point to where 1,000 seeds are sold at N80,000. This will be around N60,000 for the minimum unit a farmer should cultivate. It's a greenhouse variety, but I have developed a way it can be cultivated on open field. Also, special fungicides and other foliar sprays will be provided. These are not usual ones you get around in Nigeria.

An agent will come pick up the fruits on your farm every 3 days, but you are responsible for logistics cost. If you are in Lagos/Ogun/Ibadan, you can hook up with me for more details. There is a special method for growing it. Not the usual way of growing slicing cucumber for open market.

I am interested. What's the next step?

Wizs2019:


My brother, I will never take your inputs personally. In fact I cherish them. Anyone who cannot take corrections, inputs and criticism is sure to fail. I am not like that. I like to speak openly and clearly so anyone can fact check me and also point out mistakes I am making.

For everyone, I am not asking you to follow blindly, please run a pilot with recommendations and compare the results against what have been doing. One of my motto is Never follow blindly, question everything.

Personally, I would advise you against urea and ammonia sources of Nitrogen. If you have to use it, make sure more than half of the total Nitrogen is from Nitrate. @TangoAlpha please I hope you read the article in the link I attached previously. My brother just for me, run a small pilot where you substitute urea and Potassium Sulphate for just Potassium Nitrate, then come and tell me the result.

Final one on Potassium and Calcium, the key is not to apply any one of the two in excess. It is when there is excess you will that inhibiting other nutrients. The program I shared takes into account what is required and when.

Generally poultry Manure has pretty much all nutrients cucumber plants require. See attachment. Definitely it the amount will vary based on the chickens diet. Best bet if you have the time and money, get the manure analysed. One thing I will say on micronutrients is that it is quite rare to be deficient in them, I will even say it is much much easier to have excess because by their nature, they are mostly naturally available in soil, water etc.

Happy Sunday!

Thank you once again.

I wouldn't really want to go back and forth on the same issue.

Potassium Nitrate will give you very good yield. I have seen that happen on my farm. Yield isn't the reason I advised against it.

Potassium nitrate KN might give you a better yield in the short term. Because cukes need a lot of potassium during fruiting, if you are KN is your source of the K. You will also be providing a lot nitrogen. Which we shouldn't be doing during fruiting as I have said earlier.

Disease susceptibility appears to be more with direct nitrate being your primary source of Nitrogen.

From your experience, have you taken any notice if the day after you apply KN if you don't any particular pests invade your farm? If you it doesn't happen to you, great. Generally, KN is a big magnet for beetles.

Meanwhile, there is a restriction/ banon the importation of nitrate fertilizers, apparently for security reasons. They are now scarce. The ban, if it continues, is likely to impact availability.

The potassium- calcium relationship is something you need to research.

From the breakdown of the constituent of chicken manure you provided, there is no boron, molybdenum, cobalt.etc. I hope you know how important these are, particularly boron and molybdenum...


Like I implied earlier, your program is similar to one I used in my 2nd cucumber cycle this year. And the yield was my best upto that point.

But I have since come by superior information. Which is what I have tried to allude to.

If you are not comfortable with urea (even after I suggested you buffer it with fulvic and humid acids), no problems, nitrates will give you a good result in terms of yield. But please do not take the information about potassium-calcium relationship lightly.

Wizs2019:


If you notice the recommendations I made is based on one plant (per plant), so the aggregated figures is that total number of Fertilisers you need for planting ONE cucumber plant. The table is in grams not bags (you mentioned bags in your post).

The reason I did it this way is to make it easier for everyone to understand. If I had made the recommendations in kg/hectare or lb/acre is might cause confusion and I would also have to recommend a strict plant spacing and the total number of plants. And then people will have to do a more complex maths using conversion rate etc.

The recommended spacing is not really for Fertiliser amount calculation (in the instructions), it more about the providing the optimum spacing for air flow, sun radiation and plant growth.

@TangoAlpha and @vosquare please signify if this is now clear for you.

My bad.

I noticed at the start of the document that your recommendations were per plant. But at last table I didn't see the units (at first, until you mentioned it again here). I just assumed the aggregated figures were in bags or kg.

So I guess it helps whoever needs it to extrapolate based on the plant population they plan to do.

Thanks for the clarification.

okoroemeka:
can't we have a detailed nutrients composition of the two common used manure easily available like chicken and pig,I know the composition depends on many factors like feed used,storeage,age,etc,but we can get a fairly close average of available nutrients in them,pls don't tell me to goggle it ,we have our own trusted scientists and researchers like tango,wiz,etc.

If I understand what you are saying, I think the response to your question is already embedded within the question.

Unless you produce your own manure, and you don't vary the feed for your animals that produce the manure and you keep other factors constant...you cannot honestly expect to produce manure with the same characteristics consistently.

This means we might need to analyse every batch of manure we acquire. This is not feasible for many of us. I don't bother with analyses. My operation is quite large and requires a lot of manure which I have had to source from multiple countries. Analysing them is the least of my priority.

My current preference is for NatSoil which is derived from Black Soldier Fly Frasse. I may still combine with chicken feed in the future.

I try to avoid the debate of which manure source is superior.

When I use manure now, it's more for boosting microbial activity in my soil rather than for dependence on specific nutrients. When you have the right microbes active in your soil their activity could help breakdown minerals that were previously in states that your crops could not access. Unfortunately, our heavy dependence on synthetic inputs counteracts the activities of microbes.

If anyone is interested in the nutritional composition of their manure they need to take to the lab, any information gotten from the internet on this would only serve as a general guide.

Wizs2019:


My brother thanks for you comments. I will disagree with you strongly on some points you have made and I will clarify some questions you raised.

On Potassium and Calcium, you are correct when you say they affect the absorption of each other BUT only when too much of one is applied. If you notice in the Fertiliser program I published, Calcium is applied at the start as preplant and the Potassium Nitrate from day 1 to 20 is quite low. The key is to have a balance nutrition because both elements are needed but I will bet you one thing, you are more likely to have potassium deficiency in your soil than being deficient of calcium because a lot more potassium is needed during the season than calcium.

Also on potasium being needed mainly at or only fruiting stage, I think this is totally incorrect. Pottasium is really the most important and most needed nutrient for cucumber because its benefits are numerous, for example it helps by enhancing plant resistance to pathogens and reduces the impact of the infection. Potassium is needed throughout the whole life of a cucumber plant but more of it is needed during the vegetative, fruiting and harvesting stages (notice on the Fertiliser chart that more Potassium Nitrate is applied from day 20 to the end of the season than at the start). See below article.
https://www.haifa-group.com/cucumber-0/crop-guide-nutrients-cucumber

Note, when it is said a plant need a certain nutrient at a particular stage it doesn't mean don't apply any of that nutrient until that stage. What it actually means is that you should make sure that the nutrient is more available at that stage. Major mistake people make is to say for example Nitrogen is required at vegetative stage so I will only apply then, this is totally wrong. You should apply gradually to build up to when it is needed the most. Also if you apply all at once, you more likely to cause an excess and inhibit the absorption of other nutrients.

Next point, Nitrate is definitely the best source of Nitrogen! It is a plain fact. This is what the plants actually absorb. See below article.
http://www.kno3.org/product-features-a-benefits/nitrate-no3-versus-ammonium-nh4
I don't like urea, I know its a cheap source of Nitrogen but it is not the right type needed because its breakdown into ammonia then into ammonium then into Nitrate. Its such an inefficient way of applying Nitrogen. The nitrification of Ammonia is what causes leaf burn.

Next point, I use fine ground SSP and apply it about 5 to 7 days before planting so that it is broken down into the required nutrients and that they available to the plants straight from the get go. Phosphorus stores very well in the soil and its mostly required at the early growth stage of plants. I really like SSP because it contains calcium and Sulphur but you can use MAP or DAP.

On Sulphate Fertilisers, I remember reading somewhere that Sulphate is mostly salts which are really bad for soil because they make your soil have high salinity. It is better to use nitrates. Maybe someone can confirm this. Also I avoid Fertiliser (for example murate of potash) that contain chloride because if your not careful it can be disaster (high salinity) to plants, soil and any nearby source of water.

I didn't mention micro-nutrients because I use manure which contains all the micro nutrients required. Manure is a wonderful material. Also I use super grow.

On final point, I always try to discard plants from previous season because of disease and pathogens. I prefer to use manure.

My passing comment will be don't forget that you should always perform a soil test and adjust the Fertilisers based on the results.

This is the type of discussions I like to have! Long may it continue.

Well, many thanks for your response.

You have spoken well. Discussions around best nitrogen source are actually a bit controversial, elevated and complex. I won't say I fully understand it yet.

Nitrogen alters many constituents of plants; amino acids, phonetics, nucleic acids, total Nitrogen, protein and ratio of carbohydrates to Nitrogen. The listed constituents are linked to plant resistance or susceptibility to diseases.

Nitrogen is the main mineral factor changing the amount of cellulose in the plant and thereby affecting the mechanical strength of cell walls. Nitrogen promotes succulent tissues which allows some foliar pathogens to easily penetrate, multiply and develop rapidly.

So both Urea and Nitrate as sources of nitrogen are guilty of promoting this vulnerability. It appears that nitrates, perhaps because it triggers great plant response, accentuates the susceptibility to diseases more.

I would buffer my urea application with humid and folic acids for better overall results.

I am quite familiar with what Haifa cucumber document. I have used it as a main guide in one of my cucumber production cycles. The outcome wasnt bad at all.

The potassium products generally have fungicidal properties. My case against early application of potassium is that plant cells only have a certain room to absorbs positive ions like potassium calcium magnesium etc. But because potassium is more mobile, if you apply it earlier than calcium, it will occupy sites into the cells meant for calcium. Thereby reducing the ability of the crop to benefit from immunity promoting properties of calcium.

I didn't really say dont apply potassium at all at the start of the cycle. I said if your soil tests reveal you have some potassium, it might just be better you de-emphasize potassium application in favor of calcium.

Is it ok to apply potassium at anytime? Perhaps. But is it better to delay the application till later in the cycle?Definitely. Bear in mind that plants need almost all the nutrients they need at virtually all the stages. So I will apply some potassium regularly, but small doses before fruit stage. You also don't want to have potassium deficiency at any stage.

It is always better to have a balanced nutritional program at all stages. That's the best way to minimize susceptibility to diseases. Note that 'balanced' doesn't not imply 'equal'.

Because of my knowledge of the antagonistic relationship between potassium calcium and magnesium as well as that the need for potassium is greatest during fruit fill and that calcium is needed to boost immunity; I will rather delay application of potassium so that my crop can be given the best opportunity to develop its own immunity and so that my need for fungicides is minimized.


If I must apply potassium along with calcium, I will add boron and manganese. Boron assists with plant's ability to take up calcium. Manganese regulates the rate at which potassium is taken up.

It might be too general to say that manure contains all the required micro nutrients. It might actually be a fallacy. Manure is an excellent input to crop production. But unless we cannot confidently say what a batch of manure contains unless it is analyzed.

I am not a very public person. My intention is not to call you out. I only wanted to share some of the knowledge I have come by. Like I said it's very generous of you to share your production program. It will help a lot of us. Good enough you also have good results to back up your program with.

Haifa cucumber document is a good place to start. I have benefitted immensely from it. But it's merely a starting point.

Cheers

Wizs2019:


Bro it is designed exactly for large scale farming. It is simple, just multiply by the number of plants you have to get total to apply, dissolve together in large barrel and fertigate all the plants at the same time. You are not meant to apply one by one to each plant .

The aggregated figures you provided at the end of the number of bags required for each type of fertilizer didn't come with say size of area covered, 1plot, 1 acre or 1 hectare.

If it's based on number of crops, how many crops do you recommend those quantities for? How many crops do you recommend per acre (range) given the spacing you suggested.

EMMAACHILE:
@TangoAlpha
Are you saying npk is not good for crops?

No.

I am just saying that with NPK you are forced to keep giving your crop a nutrient it doesn't need so much of at a specific stage. It doesn't give you so much flexibility.

Wizs2019:


Hello my people, Hope you're all enjoying the weekend. As I promised, please see my general cucumber instructions and the recipe of Fertilisers that I use for fertigation during the planting season. I tried to make the document concise. Please review, comment, critic, and discuss as you like.

Here is a list of some of the chemical products I use:

NEMATICIDE
Velum Prime

INSECTICIDE
Magic Force
Lamda
Caterpillar Force

FUNGICIDE
Cabrio Duo
Ridomil Gold

MISC
Super Grow

Please remember you are required to follow the label of any agricultural chemical by Law.

I am putting together a best practice document which I share soon.

Have a lovely weekend!

Thank you boss for generously sharing this. May I humbly give some suggestions?

1) Potassium has an antagonistic relationship with Calcium. Potassium is highly mobile within the soil and crops and crops generally have a high affinity for potassium. When you apply a combination of calcium and potassium products, the chances are that the crop takes up the potassium and absorbs little or no calcium. (because of the presence of potassium)

2) Meanwhile, Calcium is needed to build the immune system of most crops from seedling through vegetative stages (till the end of the crops cycle). This will help the crop through the vulnerable stages of fruiting through harvest. If you apply too much potassium too early, you will lock out the calcium from the crops, no matter the quantity of calcium you apply. The crop will just not absorb the calcium. You may even see signs of calcium deficiencies in the leaves (if you know the symptoms) inspite of heavy bombardment with calcium.

3)Potassium is needed in huge amount from fruiting till the end of life of the crops. it is needed for fruit fill.

4) Meanwhile, as I have mentioned in a previous post, nitrate is not the best source of Nitrogen. Nitrates might give your crop a huge foliage boost; but they also attract a lot of pests to your crops. Minimize it as much as possible. Use urea if nitrogen is what you are looking for. Use Sulphate of Potash (SOP) in place of Potassium Nitrate, if potassium is what you are looking for.

5) Be wary of the use of NPK. When you apply NPK at the early stages, you are giving your crop Nitrogen and Phosphorus (which it needs at this stage) but you are also giving it Potassium, which will antagonize the absorption of calcium and thereby make your crop less immune.When you use NPK at the later stages of fruiting, your crop needs more of Potassium and less of Nitrogen. NPK will ensure that you are feeding it the nitrogen it doesn't need so much of. The crop will be wasting valuable energy on feeding its leaves when it should be concentrating on feeding the fruits.

6) Instead, use SSP or some other source of insoluble phosphorus for slow release of phosphate through the live cycle of the plant. Apply very early. If possible, a month before planting. Use urea as a preferred source of Nitrogen. And apply little or no nitrogen when your crop starts to fruit. Apply minimal quantity of potassium at the early stages (or no potassium if your soil has copious amount of potassium). Then apply SOP abundantly once the crop gets to fruiting stage, where it needs a lot of Potassium.


7) Magnesium sulfate is important definitely.

You didn't mention micro nutrients. They are are needed through the entire lifespan of the crop...some more than the others at different stages.

9) One more thing, unless the concern is about leaving infected leaves on the portion to be cultivated, it is good practice to work leaves of cleared vegetation into the soil and apply things like biodigester to accelerate the rate of decomposition. This boosts the organic matter content of the soil and helps you harvest some of the nutrients in the foliage of the cleared vegetation and put them back into your soil.


Cheers

opelyem:
I am so much interested in this farming system. I even got an acre of land for this purpose. However, when I travel around the country, I see a lot of abandoned greenhouses. Of recent, I saw another one that was really functional being closed down. Please, is it because it is not profitable? I need contributions from expert please. The other time I found a supplier of greenhouse materials, he was begging me for a job, saying I am a big man. This has been delaying me from going into farming.

I do not have a greenhouse...yet. But I got close to getting one recently. I might know a bit about the challenges from my little research.

Let me share the little I know.

1) The person that told you to draw your inference from the the large number of greenhouses closing down all around is on point. Many have gotten their fingers burnt by greenhouse farming in this country. But you should be aware that many are also running greenhouse farming successfully in this same country. You need to understand what stands the two categories of investors apart. Please do further research.

2)It appears that many of the earliest new generation farmers that dabbled into greenhouse farming installed greenhouses that were not tropicalized. The temperatures in the greenhouses were too hot for the crops to survive or thrive well. The crops either died off, or gave abysmal yields. The potential solution was to install climate control, the 'best' being airconditioners. Running costs with A/C, considering costs of power, erodes off the profit margin, if any. This is why greenhouses in Jos area and areas with similar temperature profiles stand better chances of success; with respect to temperatures.

3) Next, people matured into ventilated greenhouses. This alleviated the challenges with high temperatures. The next problem was (and still is)
with humidity. Humidity is crazily high in the South. This predisposes southern farms (even open field farmers) to a lot of challenges with fungi and bacteria problems that the northern farmers typically don't have to bother about. There are solutions, but they are expensive. Humidifiers, A/Cs, cooling pads, and High Volume Low Speed (HVLS) fans. HVLS fans, probably hold the most promise in terms of total cost of ownership versus efficiency for us here in the south. Again, if your greenhouse is in the north, provided it is ventilated, humidity isn't so much of your headache.

4) Apparently, greenhouse farmers in the south struggle to break into the market, the so called standard market. When they eventually do, they are unable to stay there for long; reportedly because, buyers shift the goal posts and fail to honor agreements. Greenhouse farmers are already priced out of the open markets because of the huge costs incurred with temperature and humidity controls, among others. the farmer is forced to close shop.

5) Net houses are a close approximation to the greenhouses. It would seem that a number of people are successfully running nethouses even in the south.

Some of my claims might be wrong, because I haven't actually run a greenhouse. I just made some research and asked some questions; and finally decided to put the plans to invest on hold while my scarce funds go elsewhere...for now.

Also bear in mind that there are many other factors that entrepreneurs face in this country that make the business environment unfavorable for the survival of any business. Then farming in general is also a tough venture that attracts a lot of headache in this country. Then you can graduate to the challenges of greenhouse farming.

Business problems in Nigeria. Then Farming problems in Nigeria. Then Greenhouse problems in Nigeria.

I hope this helps you focus the direction of your research?

gbengaoa:
please how can I resolve this problem on my field, it's observed after the 3rd harvest, the leaves are dying from the base but starts with a spotted gold-like coloration, and then the leaves fall off

I've been using imiforce and z-force every 5-7days before this problem was observed.

Advice please.

There are at least three things wrong.

1) Malnourishment. I cannot tell a lot from looking at one leaf. There may be multiple nutrients deficient in the crops. But I can clearly see signs of Potassium deficiency. And your crop is in fruiting/harvest stage; when potassium requirements are at the peak. Apply generous quantities of potassium. Please go for Potassium Sulfate as much as possible. Avoid Potassium Nitrate. Nitrate will cause more harm than good....especially at this stage.

2) There are signs of insect attack. Probably beetles. You should be able to tell which insects are the culprit by observation. Insect traps might have been able to help you ID the insects; but I doubt if you have enough time to get that now. You need to find an appropriate insecticide to support the imiforce. Extensive beetle infestation can introduce bacteria infection (I think)

3) I suspect you Downy mildew. 'Suspect' because the signs from the picture you shared are not so pronounced. You may need to get additional fungicides to support the z-force. I doubt if you still have much room to reverse the DM. I think at best, you will be able to prevent it from getting worse until you get additional harvests from this set of production.

Crops are most susceptible to infection during fruiting. See them as 'pregnant'.

All the best

gthorpe123:
Dear Nairalanders

I hope you are having a great month. We have 58 tons of Your favorite NatSoil organic fertilizer left and available for sale.

Please see below 7 reasons why NatSoil is better than the rest

1. NatSoil is better than other organic fertilizers because of it’s high carbon content (up to 91% on a dry weight basis). NatSoil contains naturally available CO(NH2)2 urea, NH4+ ammonium, organic compounds with nitrogen (N) and fatty acids (carbon, hydrogen and oxygen). In the soil the carbon causes those micro-organisms (microbes) that cannot fix carbon themselves (for e.g fungi) to use the carbon for energy & propagate.

2.It contains chitin (about 20% of carbon content), which is the most important carbon compound in soil as it attracts 3x more beneficial microbes than any other organic fertilizer. Beneficial microbes are essential for nutrient/enzyme exchange in crops. Early appearance of these microbes and readily available nutrients for them to feed on ensures they propane faster than non beneficial microbes.

3. Chitin (from maggot skin) in the soil keeps soil PH optimal. it also increases nitrogen over time as microbes expand, die then decompose (allowing crops mineralize N in various forms over a long period of time).

4.Beneficial microbes in NatSoil enable the flow of auxin and other nutrients like protein (from N which is rated at 3%), K (3%), calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum.

4. The increase in soil activity and the readily available nutrients speed up *germination* and *flowering/fruiting process*.

5. We have composted our product to breakdown chitin, carbon, fat, cellulose and Nitrogen such that it is readily available for mineralization by crops. This ensure that our organic fertilizer is high in microbes.

6. The chitin levels in NatSoil are adequate to restrict the growth of harmful microbes and the composting process ensures that only beneficial microbes grow first and crowd out pest microbes, pathogens and insects.

7.Our customers note a remarked difference in growth of the crop compared with any other fertilizer. Customers have seen a reduction in mites, stem borers, wireworms, botrytis species that cause mildew, moulds etc.

8. We produce locally in Epe, composting insect manure from our insect farming operations (we make 50% insect protein meal as our core product).

Please do not miss out on this opportunity to try our product at a low price of N20,000 per ton.

Contact me directly for any orders on 08176499981.

Thanks and kind regards

George

MagProtein Nigeria Limited

A post like this, I think, should get a bit more attention. It's a well of information and potentially a solution to many challenges we have as crop farmers in this country.

The NatSoil potentially fills the gaps where poultry and other animal manure are limited, while matching or even out performing the animal manure in their areas of strength. If you study the quoted post carefully, you will probably see my point.

Apart from the nutritional promises of the NatSoil, for me, the chitin it contains gives it a huge edge. We need to study the benefits of chitin and discuss it a bit more to educate ourselves.

A lot of us think that the best way to combat diseases is by generous application of fungicides. Unfortunately, this is the narrative pushed the most in this country. The first advise I see people give farmers on Nairaland and elsewhere in this country when farmers have issues with plant diseases is 'bombard with this or that fungicides'.

Interestingly, crops have natural ability to build immunity to many diseases they face. Our heavy dependence on synthetic inputs limits the plant's ability to build this immunity.

Chitin is one of those substances that trigger a false disease attack on crops early in the crop's lifecycle and forces the crop to secrete 'chemicals' or hormones that fortify the crop's immune response. By the time the actual diseases now start to attack the crop, the crop will be ready to combat it by itself with little or no need for fungicide application. Please study this more.

It's a blessing that we have easy access to a product that has chitin. We don't have to bother about importation costs. (There are other sources of chitin locally, the problem is with extraction)

Natsoil is awesome for other reasons if only we can all interprete the weight behind many of the listed features.

Apologies @okoroemeka for jumping on your thread


Cheers!

arthurshelly:


Sorry for late reapy...i was in your farm this evening 06/02/2018 I saw those equipment you just bought in the farm...weldone...when are you gonna be there again?

Thanks for your visit.

Why don't you come tomorrow? I should be there for the most part.

Regards

arthurshelly:


Good day to you
I was in your farm on Sunday 07/01/2018....when are you coming to the farm?
Regards

Great!

I will be there tomorrow, Wednesday.
If you can make it down, it would be nice.
You may send an email

greetings:
See discuss! I have been reading this thread for over a month,never closed the thread but was too busy to finish up.

I just loved the ways ideas flowed! I wish Nigeria would be great.... I really hope so! You guys here resonates what NIGERIA is.

I hope you all have fun and have success stories to tell soon. See y'all in Forbes!

Cheers!

Thank you so much for your kind comments. Looking forward to hooking up with you on Forbes.

I share your hope for a great Nigeria.

Many thanks to @fluentinfor for adding colour and depth to the thread. His well of knowledge and breadth of experience is inexhaustible, as evident in his contributions here and elsewhere.

It will be more fun if you shared your own experience with us too.

All the best

saliubello:
Well. I came across a post where a falcon bird is offered for sale.

Is this bird of the same specie as those offering falconry services abroad??


@tangoAlpha, message me on whatssap, it's like I found something that will interest you!

Interesting. I will make contact in a bit. Thank you

fluentinfor:


It is only a business plan that will show you clearly what next to do. Hmmmm!

@TangoAlpha and I are working on improving some areas based on the revelations on this thread. Ok, let him come online, if he agrees to share more details especialy on the financial aspect of his farm, I will personally write a business plan for you. Yeah, anyone doing rice farm can benefit from it but i will prefer to limit it. Will not want to involve any other person for now or release it for anyone until the goal is achieved. People need to research more by themselves and not just "xerox" everything.

What we will work on will include Start up cost, personnel, outsourcing, Sales, Income Statement, Cash Flow, Business Ratios (ROI, ROA, IRR, etc up to 30 ratios), Balance Sheet, Inventory Analysis, Breakeven Analaysis, etc. You know we will get almkst accurate figures since two guys here have done it. Though, I was an observer of a rice project too recently. Lol

Above all, a pilot will commence soon and that is exaclty what we will rely on and use for the final plan.

Anyway, let him come online first. If he is in, we can do our best to move it forward.

Remember, the challenge is to find the best method to fight those frustrating tiny birds.

Bro, do not be surprise ooo. There are places in Lagos you can cultivate rice and irrigation is available. Ogun Osun River Basin in Ikorodu is a place you can look into. Though, i am not a fan of usimg governement land.

I will love to share as much details as I can. But I would rather we focus on the future.

That pilot Ofada rice is a project we should make happen. It is crucial to the 'future'. Let's first take the current veggies project (that you are helping me with) to an advanced stage.

When we start the Ofada pilot, implementing some of the suggestions we have discussed on this thread, we would gladly share the details publicly to the benefit of all, all things being equal.

Thank you so much for bringing so much illumination to the discussions; I have not met many people as passionate as you, who walk the talk.

You are a blessing. Stay blessed.