LiveKerala.com Agriculture is our passion and culture. Creating new farming techniques from our knowledge and experience with some trial and error. Through organic Agriculture we create regenerative agricultural systems that help people who are interested in agriculture at home, garden and farms, in disease and insect resistant crops with complete nutrition. With this aim Mrs. Anit Thomas the leading Youtube Vlogger started vlogging through LiveKerala.com. She sharing ideas, for agriculture actives, gardening tips, Insects free organic way farming, organic fertilisers etc.
1. Cucumber farming and harvesting within 45 days
Cucumber is one of the vegetables we are most familiar, Cucumber can be cultivated in different climate and different soils, better soil is clay to sandy loam, and warm climate is good for cultivation, it has a shorter span of life time for harvesting, we can harvest with in 45 days if using hybrid varieties of seeds. Different varieties of cucumber cultivated in Kerala. Some of them are Mudicode, Arunima and Saubhagya are high yielding . The best time to cultivate cucumbers is January – March, April – June, August – September – December. Of these, February-March is the best season for cucumber cultivation.
Cucumber Seed-planting and nurturing
Preparation of land- Pits of 60 cm diameter and 30-45 cm depth are to be taken. Organic fertilizers are best for home cultivation. Mix fertilizers well Rotted Farmyard Manure, born meal, neem cake etc are mixed with topsoil in the pit and four or five seeds are sown in a pit. Remove unhealthy plants after two weeks and retain three plants per pit. For trailing cucumber and melon, spread dried twigs on the ground.
During the initial stages of growth, irrigate daily, during flowering and fruiting. Conduct weeding and raking of the soil at the time of fertilizer application. Earthing up may be done during rainy season. Along with water add some organic fertilizers like Jaiva slurry pour weekly for a healthy growth.
Cucumber Pest control
The important diseases are downy mildew, powdery mildew and mosaic. Neem based pestisides are very effective for cucumber, Bio pesticides such as pseudomonas solution (10 grams in one litre water) can be sprinkled once in every 15 days to ensure steady growth. Only after 10 days (at least) of insecticide / fungicide application harvesting can done. The fruits should be washed thoroughly in water before cooking.
After 45 days of sowing we done harvesting the cucumber, about 8-10 harvest can be made
2. Coriander Cultivation Easy at Home
Coriander a must grow for every kitchen garden. If you do a few things, it is very easy to grow, it grows very fast, get the yields at a very early stage.
Here we are discussing the methods to grwo coriander in growbags or pots. Coriander plant is difficult to transplant well. It is better to plant in growbgas or pots, take the container it is big enough to grow many plants. We can use trays/tubs to grow them since the soil surface is more in tubs and hence we can grow multiple rows of coriander in it.
Seeds of Coriander
Coriander seeds are usually the easiest to germinate. Growing coriander at home is the best way to get fresh coriander. Depending on where you live, you amy want to choose the right time to sow coriander seeds. Buy seeds to ensure that they are trustworthy to germinate. In one coriander seed, it has technically a fruit containing two seeds. Each of them will grow into a coriander plant. Either way it can be sown whole or split. When split, it increases the germination rate since it scarifies the seed.
Using a splitter you can split the seed, either a stick of bottle can be used to split. Spread the seeds on the floor or rough surface, keep the splitter on the seeds on floor gently moveand pressig them to split. Don’t use high pressure, ensure the the seed not to be damages by pressing. Try it or you can sow the whole seed as well. It is more easier when you split. Just sprinkle the seed on the ground it will seedlings in a week. But there are also people who have trouble germinating coriander seeds. The reasons for not germinating Coriander seeds due to the following reasons, Poor seed quality, Sowing seeds that are not meant for sowing and aged seeds.
Tips for germinating coriander seeds
Always buy seeds from sources that are trustworthy when growing coriander, Buy coriander seeds that are meant for sowing purposes. If it is Processed coriander seeds wont germinate.
How to plant coriander
Took the tray with potting mix filled, sow the seeds by springle and then spingle some potting mixture of sand over it, spray some water, water them daily it take seven to fifteen days to germinate the seeds.
Post Germination Steps
When starting germination, ensure they get good amount of sunlight. It will start growing vigorously. Watering them thoroughly, especially when they are thickly sown. More leaves in a container, more water them. If you want to thin them or remove some of the plants, always cut the stems with a scissor or knife. As the coriander plants start growing, pay attention to the plants and look for pests, diseases and deficiencies. Never let coriander plants dry out, they are very sensitive and any stress during the growing period will cause them to spoil.
Around four weeks of planting, they will have lots of leaves and can be harvested. If it cultivated for home purposes, we can start harvesting earlier.
3. Easy way to grow Green Chillies at home
Now a days a lot of people have started growing vegetables at home, you can too. Green chillies? An essential ingredient in almost all Kerala recipes. It is the perfect start for chilly cultivation in easy method. Green Chilies nurturing and Caring will result flowering within fourty-five days .
Planting/Growing Chilli seeds
Use good quality seed for planting. Chilli seeds can be planted into Grow bag or small pots and firmed down to the soil by using compost and soaked thoroughly. The seeds require enough space between them so that their roots are not harmed when they will be potted. If the soil is poor quality Preparing the growbag, generally soil in kerala is acidy in nature, to reduce the acidity apply limeand water to the soil and put it in week, then filled the pot with potting mixture, dried cowdung, none meal, neem cake. it will fertilize the soil, one thing to remember chillies like potassium as too much can soften the leaves with no fruit production. Around 6-8 hours of direct exposure to sunlight. moderately watering – whenever the top one-inch of the soil feels dry. Never overwatered as the leaves may turn yellow indicating suffocation from soggy soil and they may shrivel up and die if left unchecked. They should be kept in small pots and a general compost should be used for good drainage.
Pests control: Chillies suffer from a variety of pests and diseases that may include greenfly, potato blight, thrips, blossom end rot and botrytis. They may affect the lush growth of the plants and lead to the decrement in the health of the plant. for organic cultivation Neem based pestisides are very effective for chilly flys, Bio pesticides such as pseudomonas solution can be used at the time of seeding and at the time of growing in some intervals.
Harvest: Around two months time chillies should be ready to be harvest. Chillies can be harvested green or left to ripen on the plant. The ripened colour will depend on the variety grown and can be red, yellow, orange or black. If they are left in the plant until they are ripened, the chillies will have a better sweeter flavour. Since you’re likely to have more than you’ll need, you can use inripe and also even dry some chillies and store for use throughout the year.
4. Curry leaves planting and growing tips at home
Curry leaf plays an important role as a condiment in the culinary preparation of Kerala dishes.
Climate and Soil:It does not require a specific climate and can come up in dry climate too, it comes up well in light textured red soils. The curry leaf plant grows well in full to partial sunlight, but it can also be grown in a grow bgas and pot where you get direct sunlight for a few good hours. It requires a slightly acidic soil that is well drained with a good mix of cow dung/compost with poting mixture and sand for good growth. The best times for growing the plant is during the months of February to March. The curry leaf plant can be grown from seeds or from root. If you grow the plant from a seed, it will take between 1-2 years for a steady growth. If the planting a nursury plant in grow bag or pot make sure it is done properly, that is the potting mix vontain ordinary soil, sand, composit, cowdung and water it well. Curry leaves grow from seeds also. sow the seeds ina good potting mix, and watering it will take around two wekk to germinate. it can be grwon from stem also prepare good potting mix select a pencil size branch put it in the potting mix, do not over water the plant put it in shade for few days. One new leaves grown apply small level of organic fertilizers.
Buying a curry leaf plant from a nursery is the better way to reap the benefits faster. In general, the curry leaf plants are grown slowely, reaching a height of about 6 inches a year.
The curry leaf plant is normally not affected by pests or diseases. but some times the white fly attack and leaf curling can be occur, for that organic and home made solutions are enough, use one day late ricesoup pour on the leaves and apply in the soil, Apply neem based pesticides once a while.
When the leaves are growing normaly, at the time of reap, do not cut the branches instead nip off the tips of the branches to encourage the plant to product lateral branches, which will give more leaves.
5. Cowpea cultivation and caring
Cowpea is vegetable that grows year round, (Heavy heat and heavy rain are a challenges). Malayalees are very fond of cowpea. No matter how much you harvest, it will not be enough. There is only one vegetable that has the specialty of being a vegetable. Cowpea can be cultivated in all season, but depend on the season the different type of seeds used for different seasons.
Cowpea Seeds:
In kerala so many different varieties of cowpea cultivation is going, some of them are Kuttipayar, Vallipayar and common type climbers. The best for the cultivation in Kerala is the just after the heavy rain and summer season, for each season different types of seeds are used.
Soil: Cowpea can be cultivated in wide range of soils but in all over Kerala cowpea is cultivated. It can be done in home, farms etc. Also in Grow bags and pots. If your are doing in kitchen garden, can do in pots or growbags or even in the backyard, first step is preparing the soil, for that reduce the acidity of the soil by adding lime to the soil and mix with water and wait for a week. It is better to get good yield make the soil rich in organic, take soil, cow dung, composite in a ratio of 2:1:1 and add a handful of bone meal and neemcake as base fertilizer to the soil.
Sowing: Buy Seeds from reliable sources that get good yields and also note the type of seed and season of the seed to be cultivated. if you are doing in farm you can sow the seeds by spreading the seeds in a an order, if it is in grow bags you can do it directly or sow the seeds in tray and after germination replant to the pot at time two or three leaves are grown.
Growth stage caring
Make sure enough sunlight is getting. and watering regulary, generally beans not require large quantity of water. In regular intervals ad organic fertilizers like jaiva slary, chestnut cake slurry, dried cow dung, diluted cow urine etc
Pest control
There must be very care for the insects, normaly cowpea’s have more attack of insects than other plants. These are mainly wormwood aphids, legumes of lentils, legumes, lemons and legumes(Mooja, Chazhi, worms etc) They are resistant to neem oil and garlic. If the pest is not managed, there is a significant reduction in yield.
Diseases
A handful of diseases should be shown, monitored regularly to identify bacterial fungal secretion like diseases. Protect them by pouring diluted Pseudomonas solution in to the soil in intervals, it will protect the fungal like diseases.
Generally say like all other plants, watering and fertilizer are the same as in beans. But beans not require much water, in short supply of water, it can be harvested from 45 to 50 days .It can be up to 60 days. In order to be profitable, beans can be harvested 60 kg from one cent.
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