My Farm Journal

                                          10 Gardening Tips for Monsoon Season Monsoon season brings many reasons for celebration. Monsoons relieve the living organisms from hot summer waves. Agriculture activities begin in full swing. Plant bloom and flower during this season. But sometimes due to excessive rainfall, strong winds, and high humidity plants suffer from different abiotic and biotic stresses. Following are 10 gardening tips for monsoon season: 1. Drainage Water management in the garden includes both irrigation and drainage. Both irrigation and drainage are equally important. During the rainy season drainage of excess water is very important. Stagnation of water in a field or garden for a long period has reported a drastic loss in the yield of the crop. Corns are very sensitive to waterlogging.24 hrs of waterlogging in maize can reduce the yield up to 75 %. So, before th...

    India experiences two distinct monsoon winds namely the South-west monsoon and Northeast monsoon. The Indian summer monsoon (southwest monsoon) typically starts from 1st June and lasts till September, with large areas of the country receiving 70% of annual rainfall. After the hot summer months, the season is loved by all. There are a variety of vegetables that loves the rainy season and grow divinely during this season. So it becomes extremely necessary to pick the right kind of vegetables.  1.Bhindi Bhindi is also known by other common names like lady's finger, okra, etc. is one of the most loved vegetables in India. It is also easy to grow if the climate is warm and humid. The beginning of the rainy season in India is the best time to grow bhindi. 2.Cucumber                                                Cucumber is one of the mo...

  Cutworms as their name suggests cut down young plants as they feed on stems. Young seedlings are very susceptible to cutworm feeding.  Identification: Cutworms are smooth with very few hairs on the surface and are about two inches when fully grown. When they are disturbed they roll into a tight 'C' shape. Different species of cutworms are known and they can look different from one another and they can range from brown or tan to pink, green or grey, and black color. Some species of cutworms are a uniform color while others are spotted or striped. Cutworms complete only one generation in a year and they generally overwinter as eggs or larvae depending on the climate of the region. The larva emerges from eggs during April or early May, and young larvae feed at night on crops and weeds. Larvae molt six times and the size of the larva increases with each instar. Cutworm damage is most noticeable in crops during the months of May-June. Cutworms complete their development in la...

  10 Plants that can shoo away mosquitoes   Mosquitoes are the most famous uninvited guests which always turns up for any outdoor gatherings. Sometimes they sneak into the house and disturbs our peace of mind. These pesky pests are not just annoying but they posses a threat to human and animal health. They are known to transmit many deadly diseases like malaria, dengue, yellow fever to mention some. Mosquitoes are attracted to the certain aroma and warm bodies making humans their first choice. Mosquito bites are sometimes very painful and also cause certain allergic reactions. Mosquitoes are indeed attracted to a certain aroma but it is also true that they don’t like some specific aromas release by some plants.   Following is the list of 10 plants that can shoo away the mosquitoes from our gardens and our homes. The addition of some of these plants can chase away the mosquitoes and we can enjoy evening tea or barbeque in our garden.   1. Marigold ...

  DIY Potting mixture Are you a big fan of container gardening or you love to grow indoor plants or otherwise, you live in an urban area, and due to limited space you are compelled to grow plants in the containers? Then you must of well aware of the importance of potting mixture. The potting mixture is a well-blended mixture of the growing medium and nutrients. The potting mixture can contain soil or sometimes they can be made without soil. A good quality potting mixture should be able to sustain the plants grown in them. The mixture should provide well aeration to the roots of the plants and just able to maintain optimum moisture required by the plants. Alongside, they should allow excess water to drain out to avoid the rotting of plants. Different plants may need different potting mixtures but the common of experts is that that a good quality potting mixture should be lightweight and drain well, yet contain enough organic matter to hold moisture and nutrients. Most commercial...

  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 ...