₦airaland Forum

That's 5k per bag ?

saliubello:
Not problem. It comes in 5kg packing.

jidestroud:
Day 50 (The Rains and Diseases)

Sad day for me in my garden. Why won't the rain just stop?!!! Tomato plants and the rains is a no no. It's been a week with barely a day going without the constant downpours. It has started to take its toll on my Tomato plants with many of them coming down with diseases. Had to destroy a couple of them (there's no coming back from it honestly, prevention is the key. Once infected, best option, pull out and dispose appropriately).

Moreover, I have got my pretty little garden flooded.

Time to replace the empty holes with new seedling (Rio degrande), and do a little adjustment to the garden.

1. The need for mulching
2. Use of black nylon bags to cover the whole beds (prevents the rainwater hitting the spoil, splashing on the plant leaves)
3. Spray the whole surroundings (this will be of little benefit though, all will still get washed away by the rain)
4. Get a more resistant variety.

The fluted pumpkins, cucumbers, Lagos spinach, Corn are doing just fine though.

Lesson learnt: Farming is no joke at all biko! It's real business.

[quote]

Heartbreaking. You have to raise the Beds a little higher and considering your soil looks sandy,it will cave at the touch of consistent water pressure.
My beds were higher than this but after the rains beat them they caved a little but still OK to drain well if any flooding.

oladiran2:
Yes.

ok brilliant. How do you sell them - pricing, please.

oladiran2:
For your green house wooven uv plastic.

Are this for sale?
Thanks

Four weeks from planting or transplanting.

oladiran2:
Fruit appearance on my 4weeks old maxim after first fruit settings#HardWorkPayingOff#Grateful

Do you sell liquid feed for veggies?
Thanks.

There are self pollinating seed varieties- passandra f1 is an all female cucumber variety developed for growing undercover - greenhouse .

Boss man, could I have picture of your cocopeat. please. Might need it for Nursery potting and probably soil amendment.
How do you sort out delivery?
Thanks.

Ken4agent:
7.5 PH Is not on the high PH. It is optimal and can not prevent your crop from accessing the nutrient available. I must say that you may have challenge with your crop if you go ahead to plant a crop that do not strive well in alkaline soil on your farm. If you intend planting a crop that strive well in alkaline soil, that good. But if you intend planting crop that strive well in acidic soil, then you need to ameliorate your soil before planting the acid loving crop on your farm.....cheers

Thanks for the answer , appreciate. Obviously, I would be doing veggies and top on me list are: Capsicum, tomatoes and Cucumber.
I might try amend some of my beds with cocopeat to see if it helps or bring in soil from else where and put them in planter bags to grow the plants inside.
Thanks

Ken4agent:
UPDATE ON SOIL PH

Soil pH is an excellent indicator of the suitability of a soil for plant growth. For most crops, pH of 6 to 7.5 is optimal (table 1). Soil pH levels that are too high or too low (fig. 1) lead to a deficiency of many nutrients, decline in microbial activity, decrease in crop yields, and deterioration of soil health.

For example, soil pH values below 5.5 and between 7.5 and 8.5 limit the availability of phosphate for plants (figures 2 and 3). Four major management practices that increase the availability of phosphate for plants are:

1. Liming acid soils to increase pH to between 6.5 and 7.0.

2. Applying small amounts of phosphorus fertilizer frequently rather than a large amount at one time.

3. Banding or injecting the source of the phosphorus (manure and/or fertilizer) into the soil to reduce the contact between the soil and the phosphorus.

4. Applying phosphorus fertilizer near crop rows, where roots are most active. Nitrogen cycling is inhibited by low pH.

The effectiveness and degradation of herbicides and insecticides and the solubility of heavy metals are dependent on the soil pH.

Some diseases thrive in alkaline or acidic soils. The effectiveness and potential carryover of certain herbicides is also impacted by soil pH.

I have soil test kit and I did mine twice to validate the first test-
My soil is Alkaline but I have a very high level of phosphorus in the soil so I am wondering would the 7.5 range my result showed prevent my plant from accessing the high Phosphate in the soil.
I have been a little concerned about the phosphate level as my fish blood and bone meal contains lots of phosphorus: Ratio 4:7:4
Cheers.

Theres no point kicking off over semantics,really. devaluation or a float, the end game is to ensure the naira is trading at fair value and I believe it's premature for anyone to take whats happening today too seriously - give it a week.And if you need Fx-data for planning reasons, check what the forward rate market quotes

jasper7:
Ermmm, yes you are right. But the evaporation that will take place from the soil without the mulching is usually more than what you lose through transpiration

thank you sir for the answer. I am not questioning the importance of mulching rather wondering maybe, organic mulch( grass clippings,sawdust/wood chip,ricepads, coconut bark/coco coir) could be more appropriate for a tropical weather like ours - we can protect the soil from direct sun exposure and also have neglible rise in soil temperature and probably, drive down your water needs
my last digressive question so as to stop distracting from the purpose of this thread- for the project of this size can you successfully use organic mulch instead of the plastic/would you consider it ?

Thank you.

phollar:
The Journey so far:
  From day one, Jasper7 made it clear (in his words) "we all just bought a one way ticket to Ogbomosho, And the only way home would be success". Our project started on the 1st of May 2015 at our Farm site in Ogbomosho. We knew what we wanted to achieve, and in order to achieve it we needed a plan B, C or D as the case may be. and for the first month, we spent it not only working on our project, but also creating fall back plans. We got our Labor to work, start Land preparation as we got our borehole team to try and get us a borehole that would give us the necessary water we need (a cucumber and watermelon farm like ours needs at least 100,000 Litres of water per day to give maximum production). From the survey carried out on total Land Mass of over 20hectares,  we could not get  more than 15,000 Litres. These surveys cost both time and money which are both precious to us. We were directed to a "seasonal" the water body close to the farm that dries
during the dry season.And since there were no rains, it was just a big valley of dry ground with just little patches of water at irregular parts of the Land. We had our Lands ready, Beds made, Mulching film covered on the first part, we were waiting for rain or favorable news from our
borehole team but neither of the 2 were forth coming.

Out of curiosity, don't you think these plastic film can increase soil temperature hence increase transpiration which eventually increase your watering needs. Thanks .

noblefarm:
I have not been having it easy with my plants. Dunno what's wrong with my pepper, my tomato was a waste now pepper too trying to b a waste. What am I not doing right.

I am no expert but from a biginner's consideration, your soil looks compacted. It looks from the picture you do not have a clear walk/foot path for the farm so people and/or equipment freely walk on/around the beds and this have been said to cause soil compaction- it makes it diffcult for air/water to get to the root of your plants and, for the plant root to reach deeper for nutrients.

Some of the solution i have seen are if you have a broadfork/pitchfork/soil aerator or any prodding metal that can loosen (not pulverise) the soil abit without damaging the roots system it may help with the above.

The second thing is mulching.If i were in your shoes i wouldnt expose my soil to direct sun light-i have learnt it increase soil temperature causing heat stress and loss of moisture

You may put leaves, grass clippings,wood chips to cover up your bed.These have been said to be better for our climate compared to plastic and fabric mulch

Ultimately without an idea of the composition of your soil through a soil test- All i have said and probably what you have been doing would amount to guess work.

Quite innovative but the question is- do you really need it.

Planter bags without good soil in it would be an absolute waste of time because bad soil is one of the reasons u grow in bags -When your soil isn't good enough (nutrient deficient ,diseased) for the crops/seeds,plant you are looking at .

You can not compare the moisture retaining capacity of the natural ground to these bags hence your plant would need more watering if it's in a bag. However, good compost soil may increase t moisture holding.


Aeration and drainage- those considering DIY should understand manufactured planter/grow bags are usually made with strong consideration for air flow and the issue of waterlogging. So consider this when choosing your homemade sack.

It's a brilliant idea if you have limited space and no point really, if land isn't an issue.Moreover a lot of farmers here talk in hectares.

A brief introduction to DIY vermiculture here http://accessagriculture.org/node/1382/en
And if you would like to go full blast into it, there are loads of off-the shelf Wormery solution- check Amazon and some other online garden suppliers

azimibraun:
Talk which parables? If I were you, I will rather make efforts to watch the sermon by Bakare. I watched the program on Channelstv 5pm today.

You have made an absolutely relevant point- he was going no where without the help of some of these politicians.
I think those who really want change need to pick up a book or read a bit on change and change management to grasp the complexity of what we are trying to do at this point in our National life. By the way, purists need to know that compromise is a big part of Change

saliubello:
@all.

I've got something on my mind today. Its giving me concern alot. Its marketing our farm produce. Imagine after the stress one goes through in dry season farming with irrigation and your cucumber gets to Mile 12, Lagos and it can only command N2500 per bag as at 3 days ago.

Here are my questions:
1. I thought the price goes really up between february and april. So what happened at this time?
2. When is the peak of harvest of dry season cucumber and water melon from the north?
3. When is it that the supply from the north is lowest in our south west markets?

Is it that we in the south west do not have comparative advantage of producing the curcumbits?

Lets reason the timing of dry season planting and harvesting in the north together with the view of determining when best our product will command high value. I mean when the northerners' curcumbits will be fewer in the market.

:

My basic interpretation is:

They are setting the prices based on the margin acceptable to them but why should you be bound by the prices they set?
I am not 100pcnt conversant with the dynamics but using basic economics the Northerner with a farm 10hours away from mile12 shouldn't have the same cost base as you with a farm probably 5/4 hours away- the logistics of getting his produce to mile 12 alone should be higher and there probably, lies your own competitive advantage.
But if you cost base is the same as a competitor with such a huge logistical disadvantage then you may need to have a look at your cost structure with the ultimate aim of setting your own prices - which I think should be lower.




I assume: they up-north do not get subsidy, you probably have the same level of expertise and you can compete on volume .

jethro2:
Then i create a thread on nairaland.
"Sell my tomatoes in your neighbourhood and get 10% from the sales.
What to do
Find minimum of 50 tomatoes sellers in your neighourhood.
Each must be willing to pick atleast 2 basket.
Make arrangement for where to bring the produce for pick up. (I will visit to see if the road is accessible)
We bring the tomato at a better price than mile 12.(We will be saving transport fare for the women and stress)
Imagine those that moves from Okoko to Mile 12.
I posted this on several threads. I even went to job section to post. Lets create jobs
There was someone there that said "is this job?
Please go to advertisement.
I keep updating this until i have no tomatoes again.
During those period i visit some intending marketers place in Lagos.
Yes to that extent.

I might have missed it because I am wondering, why aren't you targeting Ibadan market

innovationafrik:
It is normal that no matter how you try to give your nascent business a headstart, some people will do everything possible to scuttle it.


It is nonsensical and total hogwash that a practising farmer is the only person that can be a farm solution provider. This notion has been left to flourish on Nairaland and it is been championed by some people in order to give their businesses more mileage.


In other climes, Greenhouses, drip irrigation, nursery sets etc are sold off shelves, some of these sellers will not even visit your farms, all they will do is to give you a telephone/email guidance.


A college Professor will advise a Billionaire entrepreneur on how to make more profit despite the fact that the Professor has never operated the kind of business the Billionaire does.


I have seen non-practising farmers teaching established plantain farmers how to do sucker decapitation and get good suckers.

Young Belgian women came to teach some local cocoa farmers in Ondo state on how to reduce the incidences of Blackpod disease, the knowledge they passed to these farmers helped the farmers a great deal. These Belgian women are not practising farmers.
A woman who started out as a Greenhouse farmer in Kenya closed down her greenhouses because of reasons best known to her, she started building cheap greenhouses for Kenyans, today she has built over 1,000 Greenhouses.

A foreigner will come into Nigeria to start and market a product and everybody will run after his offering but when a young Nigeria tries to do same even offering cheaper prices, some misguided Nigerians will do everything possible to shoot his business down instead of encouraging him.

While I will like people to give me a trial, I will not force anyone to patronise me.


Please note I do not build greenhouses alone, I provide irrigation and organic fertigation solutions.

For bad belle people, I will be unveiling my self built hydroponic (soiless cultivation) PVC pipes system soon on Nairaland.

@obstead200, your comments are great and you have shown justified worries without neccessarily insulting me or trying to pull my business down. I will address your concerns.

The best way to get traction- create a website,People make all sort of claims on this platform however being here is cost effective
I would be really happy if we can get all these skills locally , I have been trawling through books,pdf and sites just to ensure I don't get stuck when I finally stake resource on this venture
People share their experience so others would learn and feed that back into their business plan or process .No one should be dissuaded from commenting even if you have no single seed to your name yet. The other thread on tomatoes by Jethro, one of the few things I learnt is tomato wilt and I have been trawling for disease resistant variety and have found them- potential problem probably avoided

choiceman:
@ ufeolorun,Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Let me say for the proposed tomato farm, I have 1 and half plot, that should take of 3 greenhouses of dimension 240m2. For my poultry I have to pen 30feet by 100feet, I have two of that but at the moment I am using one with 2000 birds. Don't want to go above my means but 2 pens should take 4K birds conveniently. As per security, I have purchased 4 rolls of gauze wire popularly known as barbed wire, each is of 60feet
length that I planned to secure the tomato farm with but the poultry is sited at Odongunyan farm settlement at Ikorodu, initially left everything in the hands of God(f olorun shole) but thieves almost killed my dreams so I employed vigilante called Onyabo in Ikorodu their fees is reasonable sha, like 15k per month. Their is the adage that says person wey wan chop well most lock door well, those guys can send someone back to square one if you are not prepared for them.

Brilliant, cheers for the details. Are the vigilante on 247 and would mounted dummy camera scare people of?

choiceman:
@Kalusam, i thank you for the input. I may have approached the wrong people for seeds but at the same time, i had limited time that was why i decided to import. Like i told you, i always run a pilot project before embarking on large scale, so the cost of seeds wasn't an issue to me, TIME was the main issue. Now, @kalusal and Soloxam, where can i get seeds in Lagos? How much is the weed barrier and how can i get it ASAP(Plastic Mulch). Please tell me now before I import o. Laugh!!!! (but i am serious).

I work in office 7am to 6pm everyday, the windows i have are Sat/Sun plus Public holidays, I work like donkey on these days with the help of my beautiful wife, very hard working. You can see reason why i cannot wait for so long for these farm inputs. Dry season farming is more profitable and we have very short window especially in Lagos that you cannot determine when the rainy season starts.E.g, I have been making money from Ewedu(Corchorous Olitorius) since December, I sell a bed of 3 feet by 7 feet 1,200 Naira minimum thank God for people that supply the seeds from Abeokuta we wouldnt have been able to get it easily. During rainy season the bed goes for as low as 300 Naira max, 500 and i have like 160 beds( free money) a paint rubber of the seed cost 4,500 anyways but we still churn out high profit. You can see the difference in dry season farming compared to rainy season.

PLEASE PARDON ME FOR MENTIONING EWEDU AS WE ARE DISCUSSING TOMATO. Didn't mean to deviate from our discussion,I just used it to drive home a point. House forgive me please.

Time na money my brother.

Choiceman,

How big is your farm and how do you secure the parameters ?

Thanks.

innovationafrik:
Back to the building of my greenhouse. After installation, I was confused on which irrigation method to use. Rain Gun or Drip Irrigation. After some days, I chose drip irrigation. I did not use the cheap thin drip irrigation kits as it does not last long and if you are unlucky to be in an area with medium to large Rodents, they may destroy it. The cheap ones also need a pressure reducing. equipment. The drip kits I used are relatively think with inline emitters and they don't need pressure reduction. To install my drip irrigation was not easy, I practically had to teach the Plumbers their job. Its not their fault anyway, they haven't seen this stuff before. I will tell you the miracle drip irrigation does later.

I bought plastic covers for the Greenhouses severally as wind in my location continue to rip them off. The wind in my location 'na die', the wind has a whistle sound everyday, a big Mountain is nearby. At last, I got a fairly thick plastic cover, I used the transparent one not the white one since I was gonna plant crops that need intense sun. Most people even in Isreal are now encouraging the use of 100 percent nethouse because of wind and sun damaging the plastic cover. After I had relocated from the town I did the trial greenhouse set up, I came back several months later to see that wind again has ripped up the plastic cover, the side nets were intact.

From the bit I have learnt you need to do a drum test on the covering- they have to be firmly attached to the frames so much when you hit it, it should sound like hitting a drum.

Hopefully it works out well and some of us can ask for your help at an appropriate pricing although I think I have built a enough knowledge and have access to the main equipment to do it myself , nothing beats experience .

Impressive thread by the way and keep them coming

1m for dizengoff Amiran kit maybe, another 300k for relevant running cost( workers),add another 300k if you don't have 2 plots so start up cost 1.6m. The kit promises. 7000kg of tomatoes all other things being equal (if you go for the nemo-neta package)
A basket of tomatoes in the market is, say 50kg -
7000/50 = 140 baskets. Assume a price lower than the prevailing market rate for competitive reason (so you can get a buyer quickly)

Let take 3k5 for a basket * 140 =490k first revenue

NB.
I assume the following;
7000kg would be the total from initial harvest but in real life, its likely to be the total over a multiple harvesting period

No loss atall from seed to harvest (unreal)


Lastly they would train you and leave you to it all probably after the first harvest.

The most important part of the polytunnel is the polythene and that should last about 2years depending on the quality hence you would have to buy another covering for your greenhouse

You can draw your conclusions

onatisi:
Please I am lost here. From what I can see,this place is covered which means there is no direct sunlight reaching the plants or air . What happened to the secondary school biology theory that plants require sunlight to process their food during photo synthesis? Just asking

The covering is polythene which regulates the amount of sunlight which enters the Polytunnel- so the plant doesn't get too much sunlight and also pest are kept to a minimum. Some of them have roll up nets as doors but the best I have seen are the ones with side nets and installed lever that allows you to pull up the polythene ,all for ventilation.
The whole point of a Polytunnel is to create an artificial environment for the plant to flourish with minimum resource usage: Land and water

Maybe the voting criteria should be at the same level.
If I am not eligible to be voted for cos of some over-emphasised academic exercise then I shouldn't be allowed to vote either - following your logic - The fate of the biggest black economy Shouldn't be put in the hands of voters who do not have first degree

There's no point discriminating against majority of the populace- it's probable majority of those who are going to vote do not have primary school cert.

jasper7:
@Ufeolorun. Brilliant questions! Been waiting for such questions. Like I say always, am still on a learning curve. Mine farm is not perfect, yes. I still believe there are ways to increase profit margin and I am deeply researching on them. Meanwhile, one of those is automation of most of the cultivation process.

Right now, I use tractor to clear, plough and harrrow. But that's it. The making of beds and covering with mulching film are done manually. The cost is high for this. And there's a machine for all these.

Also, weeding cost, there's a machine for weeding too.

If you aurltomate, you cut down cost drastically, thereby increasing profit margin (that's if the machines are readily available to you).

Yes sir, am very aware of poly tunnels and green houses. In fact I have 2 50x50 green houses. (Although the land they were mounted was repossessed by state government). I do find it unnecessary for cucumber farming tho. But I strongly recommend it for tomatoes, pepper and Green pepper. I would have uploaded pics of my little green house experiment with tomatoes but I am on a trip.

The bus thing, it depends on ur capital and the availability of the bus. Many factors come to play here. I have never had to rent transport to carry my goods because I have an available sienna mini-van and a hilux. The hilux needs to go on 6 trips to be able to carry the whole products from a hectare to the market. So, yes maybe if I had a bus, I might go 2 times or 3 times only.

Concerning the crash course, am not an advocate for schooling, I am more interested in education. If you are intelligent and you follow up with the thread this december, you'll be able to cultivate yours by yourself. But the growth has to be exponential. You have to manage a plot first. Before advancing to acres or hectares.

Land leasing is never a bad idea, especially if the money to buy is not readily available. If the area is secure and accessible by you. Please do lease the land. Good thing about cucumber is that in 35 days, you are harvesting.

I encourage people to staff up as possible, have staff available to you at all times. Wethee in the farm or in the shop. I think any shop you are going to have will be more of like a distribution center. You cannot understand the quantity of harvest, from a hectare. About 700kg per harvest is no small feat at all. You cannot sell all to end users. But you can have a wholesale and retail department. Because the profit from retail supersedes all. But the bulk should go out on wholesale.

In my own farm, local sellers converge at the farm early in the morning to buy off the harvest. So I don't worry much about going to market or setting up a shop anymore.

I think that's all your question sir. I hope you find my answers useful. Please give me a feedback on that

Quality response, thanks boss.

I am not contemplating a longwinded course just a workshop-like training to learn the technical details in Agric from people with industry knowledge . I don't want to under estimate the huge knowledge gap I have right now although, I have greatly improved my awareness .
‎
You staffing issues reinforced the complaint of a family member whose business is  just 5-month old. One would've thought with unemployment at rooftop level people would hold whatever they get with both hands but this seem not to be the case , and this makes simplifying my operation and process not just a cost issue but also to ensure I engage less hands so I don't have to deal with same experience  .‎

I am not considering cucumber at least for now but your detailed explanations makes it an attractive option. Whatever I eventually decide on would be driven by my passion and the market
‎
More questions:
‎
How and why did you decide on cucumber? ‎

Can I go completely organic?‎
If so, can I still compete on volume (output/harvest)

How did you go about building your small 
Greenhouse? ( would love to see the picture) 
‎
Do you live on the farm if not, how do you secure the area ? ‎

I wouldn't mind leasing at all if I could  get a deal that would give me a right to buy the space at a later date.
Cost is an issue for me. I want to absolutely justify  any outgoings cos getting stuck isn't an option.
‎
How much work did you put in to make people come buy straight from the farm rather than you taking it to them ? 
‎

Thanks for your help.

Impressive thread! Very Decent work. 
‎
I have few questions and I hope you would spare some moment, please. -

How did you cultivate,prepare the land-  was it the major contributor to your labour cost ?‎

Would you have cut down labour and other costs , If you did automate/mechanise some or most part of the process - irrigation timing equipment, drip irrigation tools (off the shelf ) electric or pms propelled rotovators/cultivator /tillers,Towable seed spreader, etc? 


Do you have any idea about Poly-tunnels /Greenhouse farming - the benefits are enormous , so I read .

Do  I need to have a bus of my own or I am better off sourcing transportation as and when needed (note my location is bound to be 2hours max.,away from the trading hubs or the markets) ?

Do I need a crash course as a new comer to agribusiness -emphasis on the Agric. aspect as I believe I have the business side  of things covered ?


Would you encourage land leasing for farming purpose?

Would you consider extending your value chain by opening a store to sell your cucumber directly to the consumer if buyer pressure or glut is putting pressure on your margin and/or ability to sell your lines (obviously renting a store,equipping it and staffing would increase operational gearing/cost but the certainty of moving your lines as quickly as  possible could help business profit and liquidity ) ?

‎
‎

Kind regards

A learner.

Who's the future?! The current administration combines,open embrace of misuse of office and a shockingly level of incompetence. Nigeria has never seen these combination before,the incremental progress we require as a fall back option amid decades of massive looting automatically becomes unachievable if incapacity becomes another national issue. We can't afford it.

I believe He came on stage with subtle disadvantage of being a minority : this isn't the usual majority/minority disadvantage, he appeared on the scene with a mindset typical of minorities: little room for compromise and insular inclination.
Minorities are actually more insular when compared to major groups. At least, coming from a major ethnic group would have given him the natural opportunity to understand and learn how a big society runs, the art of compromise and the need for constant scheming.

Abuja isn't Niger-delta or bayelsa,its a massive tent, the president and his mates failed to accept this
mendelow said you have people you have to keep happy,those you have to keep informed ,those you need to engage,and those you can ignore,this administration bundled everyone in one column and ignored them all

It's absolutely wrong to ask for a review in a situation where forensic audit would be more appropriate.
A review doesn't reflect anything other than :"I have gone through the books and I haven't found anything wrong although I am not saying everything is fine"

Orlando Owoh: I don't remember.

Fiddlesticks!

Itoroetti :
Don't mind him.even when the truth is staring at his face,he wouldn't want to distinguish them.

I would not defend the cost of the Opon imo because I haven't paid much attention to the project but it's common knowledge that off the shelf products comes far cheaper compared to bespoke/tailored products like the tablet. So comparing ordinary,pre-packaged laptops to device with probably a standalone ecosystem isn't smart

The same miscalculation and simplistic assessment of issues that's made a sitting president the laughing stock of those who pay attention to details.
Well,
you lot should keep throwing around base less figures in the face of stark political reality however,there has to be
a change of trajectory so back water politicians can go back home and stop acting out of league .
Nigeria is on the floor already and we need not fear a any further plunge,I pray so.