Mercie123:



Thank you so much for these great tips!!! God bless you.

Be blessed also.

organicfoods:
Numbers of Sack Deployed: I deployed 440 sacks, planting 3 cucumber in each bags
Total Numbers of cucumbers: On the average I had close to 1,300 cucumber vines on the farm (Massive you will say)
Space: Not up to half a plot.
Variety: Murano2F1
Expected Yield per plants : 15 fruits per vine

Actual Yield per plant was 5 fruits on the average. (Reasons for this low yield was as a result of water management that affected us) I will discuss this in another post.

We divided the farm into four, planting them with 10 days interval. (Reason was to have a continous harvest all through)
Our first harvest was given out. We had a lot of Nairalanders and other visitors coming to the farm...plus the fact that we were shooting a documentary on the farm. On the average we had more than 200 fruits per harvest every week.
Our first harvest.

Please come and continue o!

Mercie123:


Please come and continue o!

have u started cultivating urs?

knostbrown01:

have u started cultivating urs?

This month will not elude me by God's grace. Materials 85%...loading. That's why I'm gathering all the necessary info.

Mercie123:



Please come and continue o!

Sorry dear! I have been extremely busy lately...You know this is farmers season

What you must do:
1. Adequate planning.
2. Water
3. Commitments
4. Avoid Stressing the vine

Adequate Planning: In cucumber farm, you must plan well from start to finish. Your planning must include logistics like
a. Visitation to the farm: You can not abandon a cucumber farm like you do to maize, things happen very fast and there is little you can control when the vines are in full gear. So you have to monitor and ensure things works according to plan. If you don't love farming and you want money don't try cucumbers. If you have a tight schedule, planning from the scratch will help you a lot. You must know what's happening on the field every other day, because the faster they grow the faster things can go wrong. Pests also arrive very fast as well, many of them don't joke with it. You must have a program in place to control the pest. Our program was using neem oil and neem water. We soaked neem leaves in water for seven days and use every week, renewing the broth with fresh leaves every time we harvest the pesticide. This is how we initiate our pest control. We spray twice a week. Neem water on Monday and neem oil plus Black soap on Friday. When it rains, we change the day to when its favorable. Because we planted three in a sack, it was really crowded, I will recommend two per sack. You can plant three seeds per sack and prone to two leaving the healthiest plants. Recently I discover Palm Kernel oil (Yoruba called it adi eyan) when mixed with neem oil was really effective and powerful against caterpillar pest. The solution kills the pest almost immediately, I was really glad with the result. The tips of the cucumber vine are safe heaven for these pests. So spray the tips properly when applying pesticides.

[b]Fertilization:[/b]Cucumber depend heavily on continuous fertilization during production. Understanding the needs of cucumber in every stage of their development is crucial. For growth up to 2 weeks, cucumber nutrients demand appears to be moderate, from this stage upward they tend to demand more, so you can start given them supply. I used different fertilizer at different stages. At two week I used fruits blossom and Lacto Bacillus folia spray. At fruiting stage, I used Harvest plus rich in calcium and phosphorous plus fish hydrosylate. My harvest was really massive.

The composition of the soil will also go a long way. let me share an Idea I got from a crop farming group that I belong. I found great merit in the idea Using, chicken poo, Ash, charcoal and neem dust to constitute the sack will help a lot. Cucumber are susceptible to diseases because of pest activities, this composition will be of great help to the plant. Ash and charcoal has enough sulfur to keep virus and bacteria away. I will talk about new soil composition later in the post
c. Watering/Irrigation[/b]The success of the farm will depend greatly on water. Without it, your plants will get stressed and famished. Fruits quality will depend greatly on the amount of water given to the plant. Try and install simple irrigation like the type ishaqteejay implemented in one of his thread, it will save you a lot of energy needed for pest control. Lest I forget, try and mulch to conserve water and keep weeds away. cucumber don't like disturbance to their roots.
[b]d. Staking: Stake the vines early. They help release enough space for the plants, remember they don't like been crowded.

First Pix is where you will find those demonic caterpillar
second is a stressed fruit from poor water supply or weak pollination.

Mercie123:


This month will not elude me by God's grace. Materials 85%...loading. That's why I'm gathering all the necessary info.

good 2hear dt, u will learn most during practical session wen u start ur farm

organicfoods:
What you must do:
1. Adequate planning.
2. Water
3. Commitments
4. Avoid Stressing the vine

Adequate Planning: In cucumber farm, you must plan well from start to finish. Your planning must include logistics like
a. Visitation to the farm: You can not abandon a cucumber farm like you do to maize, things happen very fast and there is little you can control when the vines are in full gear. So you have to monitor and ensure things works according to plan. If you don't love farming and you want money don't try cucumbers. If you have a tight schedule, planning from the scratch will help you a lot. You must know what's happening on the field every other day, because the faster they grow the faster things can go wrong. Pests also arrive very fast as well, many of them don't joke with it. You must have a program in place to control the pest. Our program was using neem oil and neem water. We soaked neem leaves in water for seven days and use every week, renewing the broth with fresh leaves every time we harvest the pesticide. This is how we initiate our pest control. We spray twice a week. Neem water on Monday and neem oil plus Black soap on Friday. When it rains, we change the day to when its favorable. Because we planted three in a sack, it was really crowded, I will recommend two per sack. You can plant three seeds per sack and prone to two leaving the healthiest plants. Recently I discover Palm Kernel oil (Yoruba called it adi eyan) when mixed with neem oil was really effective and powerful against caterpillar pest. The solution kills the pest almost immediately, I was really glad with the result. The tips of the cucumber vine are safe heaven for these pests. So spray the tips properly when applying pesticides.

Fertilization: Cucumber depend heavily on continuous fertilization during production. Understanding the needs of cucumber in every stage of their development is crucial. For growth up to 2 weeks, cucumber nutrients demand appears to be moderate, from this stage upward they tend to demand more, so you can start given them supply. I used different fertilizer at different stages. At two week I used fruits blossom and Lacto Bacillus folia spray. At fruiting stage, I used Harvest plus rich in calcium and phosphorous plus fish hydrosylate. My harvest was really massive.

The composition of the soil will also go a long way. let me share an Idea I got from a crop farming group that I belong. I found great merit in the idea Using, chicken poo, Ash, charcoal and neem dust to constitute the sack will help a lot. Cucumber are susceptible to diseases because of pest activities, this composition will be of great help to the plant. Ash and charcoal has enough sulfur to keep virus and bacteria away. I will talk about new soil composition later in the post
c. Watering/Irrigation The success of the farm will depend greatly on water. Without it, your plants will get stressed and famished. Fruits quality will depend greatly on the amount of water given to the plant. Try and install simple irrigation like the type ishaqteejay implemented in one of his thread, it will save you a lot of energy needed for pest control. Lest I forget, try and mulch to conserve water and keep weeds away. cucumber don't like disturbance to their roots.
d. Staking Stake the vines early. They help release enough space for the plants, remember they don't like been crowded.

First Pix is where you will find those demonic caterpillar
second is a stressed fruit from poor water supply or weak pollination.

In fact, thanks again. Can we use fish fertilizer also? And the new soil composition, chicken poo, Ash, charcoal and neem dust no sand at all? Coupled with where do we get neem dust? Do people supply cow dung and chicken manure? Just looking for where to buy in Ibadan.

Mercie123:



In fact, thanks again. Can we use fish fertilizer also? And the new soil composition, chicken poo, Ash, charcoal and neem dust no sand at all? Coupled with where do we get neem dust? Do people supply cow dung and chicken manure? Just looking for where to buy in Ibadan.

You have to mix with soil. The ratio of soil to manure is 1:1 500g each of Ash, Charcoal and neem dust wil serve. Neem dust is just neem leaves that was dried and grounded into powder Neem (dongoyaro) You can source all these material locally. If you have problem with manure, then I can help you with compost at a cost though.

Sir,can water melon be planted in a sack?

leelat:
Sir,can water melon be planted in a sack?

It will be impossible to do because of the size of the fruits. But who knows, a system may evolve.

Morning Sir. Please I'm back with questions again o. One of my major reasons for choosing to go back farming was to prevent spread of diseases through the soil, now u r scaring me with pests again. Don't know where to get dongoyaro here o cos t seems to b d one u favour d most among all u mentioned. Secondly when preparing d soil to put in the sack, can cow dung be used and if yes, how long should t stay b4 being mixed with the sack, if no, please what r d processes for mixing d other materials mentioned with sacj, as in how long should they be left to decompose because I read a thread where someone said about 3months.... Abeg that is too long for someone that wants to start now, abeg isn't there any alternative? Thanks in anticipation for your reply

Yampotatocarrot:
Morning Sir. Please I'm back with questions again o. One of my major reasons for choosing to go back farming was to prevent spread of diseases through the soil, now u r scaring me with pests again. Don't know where to get dongoyaro here o cos t seems to b d one u favour d most among all u mentioned. Secondly when preparing d soil to put in the sack, can cow dung be used and if yes, how long should t stay b4 being mixed with the sack, if no, please what r d processes for mixing d other materials mentioned with sacj, as in how long should they be left to decompose because I read a thread where someone said about 3months.... Abeg that is too long for someone that wants to start now, abeg isn't there any alternative? Thanks in anticipation for your reply

Neem oil is about the best pest management regime you can use in organic farm, its readily available if you can't get neem leaves. Cow dung and chicken poo are like raw food packed full with nutrients, they need to be prepared for use for the plants. composting it is one of the most important aspect of making the nutrients available for plants use. It does take a while for this to happen though, between three to six months. If you can't wait, I have properly aged organic manure you can use for vegetables, you can send me a PM.

Oga mi @organicfoods, abeg no vex o.... But I no know how to send PM on Nairaland. Please u fit drop your number make we chat on whatsapp?

Yampotatocarrot:
Oga mi @organicfoods, abeg no vex o.... But I no know how to send PM on Nairaland. Please u fit drop your number make we chat on whatsapp?

08034342637 my number

@organicfoods, kudos to you! I have a fertile land that I can use , must I go for vertical sack farming,? What are the pros an

@organicfoods, kudos to you! I have a fertile land that I can use , must I go for vertical sack farming,? What are the pros and cons if I decided to plant directly?.

Thanks a million, Sir

organicfoods:
Gradually we made some little progress on the field. The journey wasn't really smooth. My farm assistance used the short cut of bush burning before my arrival to the farm and I felt bad. As a proponent of organic farming, bush burning is a no, no. The reasons are not far fetched. The bio diversity of the land is further destroyed as many beneficiary insects and animals are killed. Besides the nutrients are made to be available in sudden large quantity on the field when you practice bush burning, which cannot be used by the plants because it takes a while for it grow and obtain such nutrients, hence exposing the nutrients to leaching, wind and water erosion when it rains. Remember the bio build up of a particular land consists of many living organism and micro organisms thriving on it, so also many weeds, some deep rooted others perennial. Deep rooted dig deep into the soil to extract nutrients locked there. When such plants dies they make available these nutrients for other plants that doesn't have a well developed root system to extract nutrients, burning such plants and releasing those nutrients without using it, is waste of nature's effort and resource to nourish the soil. So consider dropping bush burning as a method of bush clearing.

Thanks so much for this inspirational tips,God bless u and give u more grace.......will personally appreciate to chat with you on my whatsapp number 07032054765......have an agric project and will be happy to involve you.
Thanks.

doubleportion:
@organicfoods, kudos to you! I have a fertile land that I can use , must I go for vertical sack farming,? What are the pros and cons if I decided to plant directly?.

Conventional farming is also good, but with sack farming, you can control a lot of things. Conserve space, water, nutrients and avoid endless weeding that can compete with the plants of interest.

Pavore9:


The nearer you are to your market the better. Lagos offers market at different levels. I streamed online this morning listening to Fidelity bank's SME radio show. I was inspired by the resource person who co-own greenhouse based farm, owned by two well educated and widely travelled women with strong corporate backgrounds, having worked in the U.S, Canada, UK, France, Singapore etc. They even brought in a Kenyan who is a guru in greenhouse farming to work for them. They know their target market is upscale shopping centres, thus applying international standards in their operations in their farm there in Lagos.

What is your projected scale of operation? Who is your target market? These should influence your decision-making.

@pavere9 can you please share you the link for that particular interview.

EJaja:


@pavere9 can you please share you the link for that particular interview.

I can't get the link for that particular interview as it seems Fidelity SME has not yet uploaded it as other episodes on https://sme.fidelitybank.ng/radio-forum/

Help, my cucumber leave turning yellow, wht is d solution?

knostbrown01:
Help, my cucumber leave turning yellow, wht is d solution?

That's serious lack of nutrients. How old are they? You can resuscitate with blood meal. Mix one liter of fresh blood (gotten from Abattoir) in four liters of water and apply as soil drench. But if fruiting, then you need liquid fertilizer.

organicfoods:
That's serious lack of nutrients. How old are they? You can resuscitate with blood meal. Mix one liter of fresh blood (gotten from Abattoir) in four liters of water and apply as soil drench. But if fruiting, then you need liquid fertilizer.

they r 4weeks old

knostbrown01:

they r 4weeks old

What you are having is downy mildew...Its a kind of fungi disease that occurs when too much of humidity and water disturbs the plants. You can remove affected plants to reduce it spreading to other plant. keeping plant dry will help. Four table spoons of baking soda in four liter used as foliar spray and soil drench will help you alt their spread.

Neem oil and black soap will also help if you can combine them.

organicfoods:
What you are having is downy mildew...Its a kind of fungi disease that occurs when too much of humidity and water disturbs the plants. You can remove affected plants to reduce it spreading to other plant. keeping plant dry will help. Four table spoons of baking soda in four liter used as foliar spray and soil drench will help you alt their spread.

Neem oil and black soap will also help if you can combine them.

Baking Soda?, pls does it av any local name?

knostbrown01:

Baking Soda?, pls does it av any local name?

Sodium Bicarbonate, it is used locally in bread making as leavening agent.

organicfoods:
Sodium Bicarbonate, it is used locally in bread making as leavening agent.

thnks boss, can I also apply urea fertiliser to boost nitrogen efficiency?

knostbrown01:

thnks boss, can I also apply urea fertiliser to boost nitrogen efficiency?

I don't do chemicals oooo. Can't advice you on that.

organicfoods:
I don't do chemicals oooo. Can't advice you on that.

Ok boss, if it were to be Nitrogen deficiency sir, which fertiliser or how can I solved that?