My Farm Journal

  Pamper your soil with cakes Soil that is low in organic content needs organic amendment along with the application of conventional nutrients. Manuring the soil with organic matter becomes extremely essential for maintaining soil fertility to ensure better plant productivity. Manure is organic matter that is obtained from the plant and animal waste that can be applied to the soil to maintain its fertility by improving the soil structure, building up the population of microorganisms in the soil, and slowly releasing the nutrients present in them. Organic manure can be broadly classified into two groups: 1. Bulky organic manure (Compost, FYM, Green manure, etc.) 2. Concentrate organic manure (Oilcakes, Bone meal, etc.) Bulky organic manures contain a small percentage of nutrients and they are applied in large quantities to meet the requirement of plants. Bulky manure is best when they are produced and applied and used on the same farm as transportation of such bulky mater...

  Must own gardening tools for beginners     Having suitable tools for every work makes the work easy to carry out. Starting from field preparation till harvest some basic tools are required depending on the type of crop and soil condition. Having suitable tool saves time, labor and cause less damage to the crops. Also, using the suitable tool will give clean-finished work. Following some basic tools every gardener should own:   1. Khurpi   A khurpi is a cutting tool with a flat blade and a short handle used for digging soil and intercultural operations in small gardens or vegetable farms. It is used for various farm processes like tilling, bed preparation, weeding, digging, and harvesting shallow roots crops at a small scale.   2. Trowel   Trowels are short-handled hand-held trowels use for digging, applying fertilizers and manuring, and also for mixing soil. Trowel has a cast iron blade with a flat or curved surface and a short ...

  Aloe vera : A Miracle Plant Aloe vera is a monocot, succulent, stemless, or with a very short plant belonging to the family Liliaceae and the genus Aloe. The leaves are thick and fleshy with colors ranging from dark green to light green and some varieties also show white flecks on the surface. The margin of the leaves is not smooth with serrated white teeth like spines. The plant produces flowers during summer after 2-3 years of planting. The flowers are produced on a spike-like inflorescence that can grow up to 90 cm in length, each flower being pendulous, with a yellow to orange color tubular corolla of   2–3 cm long. Aloe vera is known to originate from the Arabian Peninsula but grows wild in tropical, semi-tropical, and arid climates around the world. The species are mostly inhabitants of arid climates and are widely distributed in Africa, India, and other arid areas. But they are now cultivated in the agricultural field, under protected conditions, or as indoor pla...

  Container Garden: What pot you should use People who live in the urban area and who loves to grow plants often face the problem of land unavailability. Here, container gardening comes to the rescue. You don’t have to fuss about the soil in your backyard. You can start gardening in any container available. One advantage of growing plants in containers is you can ensure soil fertility. Plus you can change the location of the containers at different growth stages of the crops. There are more benefits of growing plants in the container like they have less risk of soil-borne diseases, virtually eliminate weeds and weed-related problems, and the mobile plants give more control over moisture, sunlight, and temperature. The size of the container may vary depending on the crops to be grown in it. There are quite options of pots available in the market. If you are new to container gardening you may get confused while choosing best the pot. The choice of the pot will depend on the type o...

  10 House plants that love indirect Sunlight     Indoor plants or houseplants not only add aesthetic beauty to a room but also interact with the body, mind, and quality of life of the people living in the room and influence positively. The benefits of growing houseplants are well known. Fresh toxin-free fresh in the room can be maintained in the room or living area by adding few indoor plants as the décor. Some plants are easy to grow while some plants need pampering and they love to be taken care of. Plants that are easy to grow and that need less sunlight are the best choice to grow in our rooms and office. Some indoor plants need bright sunlight to be they hate direct sunlight. The leaves of such plants get scorched when exposed to direct sunlight. Following are some indoor plants that love indirect sunlight. They flourish well even in the corner of the room that receives minimal sunlight. In addition to it, they are easy to grow and take care of. So, they are t...

  7 Homemade pesticides   1.      Vegetable Oil Spray   To make the oil spray insecticide, mix one cup of vegetable oil with one tablespoon of liquid soap and shake thoroughly, and then it can be diluted by adding two teaspoons of the oil spray mix with one quart of water and after shaking thoroughly, spray directly on the foliage which is affected by the little pests. The oil coats the bodies of the insects and suffocates them thus killing the pests. It is very effective in controlling pests like aphids, mites, thrips, etc.   2.      Neem oil spray   Neem oil extracted from the seed kernel of neem has an insecticidal property by disrupting the life cycle of insects. Neem oil acts as an antifeedant and hence the plants sprayed with neem oil are generally avoided by pests. Neem oil being organic is highly desirable by gardeners and can be used as a preventive spray before an actual infestation occurs. Neem o...