Starting my Organic Garden - Part1

 Background : I live in southern part of India.  To start with i dont belong to a farming family or have any knowledge in gardening apart from growing a some vegetable and rose plants during my youth. But i was always passionate about having plants and knowing them. Of late i become aware of organic gardening / farming practices. My interest starting beaming again when i settled down in my own home . The details of which i will reveal in the following post.

  I live in a 60X40 individual house. Where most of the space is constructed. Since i bought this house i have no control over the structure of this.  Around the build up structure there is a patch of 2.5 feet soil , see the pic below.

From the above you can see that how small the available area for garden. But i was confident bcz people with much smaller area and apartment balcony's  were able to grow something.
 The second big problem is the sunlight , because of the tall buildings on both sides makes availability of sun light very minimal on both side patches. Only the south side patch receives sunlight all day. All the though about sunlight actually happened to me later. Currently i'm aware of the limitations.
  Before we moved into this house there were lot of weeds in this patch. Also there was some flowering creepers in the fence above our small compound wall all around. When we moved in we removed the creepers on 3 sides apart front side. When we removed this plants and weeds i didnt throw them away , i made small pits in the mud patch and buried these organic matter. I was atleast aware that organic matter make good manure when compost. So these become the starting nutrients for my garden.  We planted a drumstick tree in the south west corner before moved into the house. 
  I started with greens, tomatoes, chillies all around . The plants in the south patch showed good progress , east and west sides nothing much to say. But chiles started having fungal infection (i was not aware at that time it was fungal infection) , the leaves started curling and anybody can say they are sick. The didn't gave any harvest.
 I started loosing hope. I tried a Broad beans (Avarai in Tamil) in the south east corner where there is always good sunlight and also i buried lot of organic matter in this spot earlier. Since its a climber, we put a simple structure for it to grow. To my amaze it was growing healthy , i put the same seed in the north west corner of the patch as well. There was a wire fence on my compound wall. This plant used that to grow.

  Both the places the beans had a great growth, but no beans . I started worrying . My grand mother told me , still its not season. Imm, we waited. They started flowering . Curiosity grow within. In a months time there were lot of flower and beans everywhere. In a short time it started pouring beans in our house. Also started pests and infections in beans.
  I never wanted to use chemical pesticides, so i bought some thing called 'PanchaVakya' the organic magic produced from cow based ingredients (more about this later) . It really worked well, the pests and diseases were kept in bay. But the chillies didnt improved may be because of other problems which i was not able to figure out. 
 After couple of months of harvest , the produce started coming down. The plant was aging , time to remove. Removed the plant. Now a few feet from the broad bean corner towards west we planted rib gourd . This too was a creeper. A little improved over head structure was placed for this plant. Within a month it started flowering. Within 2 months we started getting vegetables.

  The plant really started growing well , covered an area of about 4' X 6' . The vegetable from flower to full growth take atmost 6-7 days. After that i becomes hard. So need to be cooked during this stage. We make a side dish for our breakfast with this vegetable. This is cooked as a curry for lunch as well. So we consumed a lot of this during that period. Of course we distributed this to our neighbors as well. During the same time i planted a bottle guard on the west side patch . This patch gets sunlight for about 3-4 hours . This plant as well is a creeper ,  i made a over head structure for this as well with a small metal frame and wires.
  The plant was growing very well , green and thick . But no flower or vegetable for several months. Then it started flowering . We were happy. But the vegetable didnt really grow , while they were very small , a small brown dot will appear , within days the whole vegetable will become dark brown and die out. Not even a single vegetable was produced in several months. I tried 'PanchaKavya' on this. But didnt worked. I was really not aware what this was.
 So far only 2 vegetables were really successful in several months. The drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera) in the south west corner started producing large number of vegetables. We make a lot of recipes using the vegetable , leaves and flower of this tree. But there is always a problem everybody fear about having this tree at home. Seasonally the tree will attract hairy caterpillar moth . People fear when in contact with human skin , it produces rashes and irritation.  People used to make a flame in a stick and burn these moth in trees. We actually found a much simpler solution to this. Just pouring soap solution on this kills them instantly.
More to come.


 
 

Fermented castor solution for pest control

 

original hindu article here : http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/fermented-castor-solution-traps-pests-of-sugarcane-groundnut/article4412009.ece

Fermented castor solution traps pests of sugarcane, groundnut

 Andiyur village in Erode district is well known for groundnut and sugarcane cultivation.

But the farmers there face a recurring pest problem called white grub that makes it difficult for them to harvest a good yield. Managing the pest proves difficult for the groundnut cultivators as the grub lives under the soil and its lifecycle takes a year to complete.

It feeds on the root system of the crops and the plants wither and die. Annually nearly 41 per cent of crop loss is being reported from this region.

No effect

“Chemical control measures did not prove to be a long-standing solution for this and the pest keeps recurring,” says Dr. K. Alagesan, Program Co-ordinator, Myrada (Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency), Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu.

A progressive farmer G.R. Sakthivel, who grows sugarcane and groundnut, repeatedly faced losses due to this pest.

“I used almost all the pest preventive measures available in the market for this but the problem continued. No amount of specialist intervention could offer a long standing solution to this.

Accidental discovery

“One day I casually happened to see a large number of the grubs moving on a heap of de-oiled castor cake I had left near my cow shed. This made me think of using this as an effective trap for the insects. I tried it first in a small mud pot in my sugarcane field and found that it had the desired result. I started increasing it for my entire crops,” he says.

Detailing the method on how it should be done, the farmer says:

“Select some five litre mud pots and bury them till the neck at different places in the field. Pulverise about 5kg of castor seed and mix it in five litres of water. Keep this solution undisturbed in a plastic drum for 10 days.

Foul smell

On the 11th day pour two litres of this liquid in all the buried pots and fill it with water till the neck portion. The odour that comes out from the pot attracts the pest towards it.

“In addition to white grub this solution is also found effective to control the notorious rhinoceros beetle that infests coconut trees,” explains the farmer.

In fact, coconut growers are well aware about the rhino beetle and its damage to fronds and small nuts. This method is a good way of controlling it and does not require a big investment.

The mud pot with the solution needs to be buried near the trunk of the tree and attracted by the odour from the pot the insects come towards it and fall into the pot and die.

Collect the dead insects found floating in the pot once every 2 days and keep filling the pot with solution whenever the quantity gets reduced. The solution can be kept for a period of three months, according to Mr. Sakthivel.

Myrada did an extensive study on this indigenous technology over a period of four years and found that about five pots suffice for an acre. This method is found to reduce the plant protection expense to 20 per cent since the cost of the entire process comes to Rs.200-250.

Expense

If farmers use the conventional methods they need to spend anything from Rs.450 to 600 for buying chemicals.

Though the farmer developed this concept some 10 years back, today nearly 300 farmers in the region follow this for their groundnut, sugarcane and cotton crops.

“We found that there is an 80 per cent reduction in white grub and rhinoceros beetle pest population and 35-40 per cent yield increase in sugarcane and groundnut crops when this castor trap is used.

Problems galore

“Though, during the start of the green revolution fertilizers and pesticides led to high yields in hybrid crops, later on it led to serious issues like development of insect resistant, resurgence and residual problems.

“Natural and non pesticidal methods for controlling pests have been in place since time immemorial. But sadly the present generation of farmers has either forgotten their efficiency or are not prepared to accept them,” says Dr. Alagesan.

To know more, interested readers can contact Mr. G.R.Sakthivel at No. 149, Ganeshapuram, Gettavadi (P.o), Talavadi (Via), Sathyamangalam(T.K), Erode District-638461, Mobile: 94863 16041 and Dr. P. Alagesan, Programme Co-ordinator, Myrada Krishi Vigyan Kendra, No.272, Perumal Nagar, Puduvalliyampalayam Road, Kalingiyam – Post, Gobichettipalayam – 638453, Erode District, Tamil Nadu, e-mail: myradakvk@gmail.com, website: www.myradakvk.org, Phone : 04285 241626, 241627.

Keywords: Green revolution, groundnut cultivation, sugarcane cultivation

 

Wonder ful Organic farming model.

The original article from Hindu here : http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/weaving-livelihood-through-cultivating-organic-cotton/article4530111.ece

Tentulipada, a small village in Kalahandi district in interior Odisha, is predominantly a dry area. Known for poverty and a harsh dry climate, the tillers there could hardly lead a comfortable livelihood.

Till some years back the entire village was cultivating cotton. The gamble on the crop was accompanied by a baggage of external, expensive, and often toxic inputs in the form of pesticides and fertilizers. But today this entire village is into organic cultivation.

Transformation

“The transformation towards organic started sometime during 2007 when initially 39 farmers took to the sustainable practice. It took two more years for all the farmers to shift to organic. In 2001 American bollworm infestation was very high and even 15 sprays of toxic chemical pesticides wouldn’t help.

“Today, this village does not worry about pests on cotton. They use their simple, naturally made bio-pesticides to control any pest problems,” says Mr. Ananthoo, co- convener of ASHA —Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture — and coordinator of Safe Food Alliance, Tamil Nadu and an organisation called Restore in Chennai.

This was made possible by committed effort and intense dialogue with and amongst farmers by an organisation called Chetna organic. Based in Hyderabad, the organisation started a dialogue with the farmers and initiated the shift towards organic cultivation. Chetna Organic works with farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha.

In Odisha alone, the company functions in five districts, having five co-operatives, operating in 132 villages, impacting more than 5,000 farmers who in turn are organized into 411 SHGs (self help groups).

While initially the focus was on cotton, today, all crops are cultivated only through organic methods.

Much more

“Chetna Organic brought in much more than just sustainable agriculture. While mixed cropping, integrated approach, crop rotation, sustainable and biological practices and self-consumption-first were the focus, they also brought in very valuable principles like natural resources management, food and nutrition security, seed sovereignty, child welfare & education. Thus the whole idea of improving livelihoods with sustainable agriculture was approached in a holistic fashion,” says Mr. Ananthoo.

Their value chain development, for instance, is very impressive.

Different groups

Farmers are federated into groups and involved in the whole process of the value chain. The local administration bought organic dhal from the farmers’ federation to feed safe food to school children. Safe food for the poorest happened so easily and meticulously.

Almost all of the farmers carried the same conviction and interest.

They were proud of the fact that their own local cooperatives and national level producer company employed management graduates by paying really good salaries.

“Their CEO, an employee, hired by the farmers’ cooperative, is paid on par with the private sector/ MNCs. The pay cheque is being signed by two farmers who are on the board of directors.

“It was very heartening to see the huge storage spaces and local processing units built by the farmers for their own use,”says Mr. Ananthoo.

The processing centres are specifically for the food crops (like dhal processing). Women play an active role in both manual and mechanical processing of the organic food produces.

Different areas

Chetna Organic Agriculture Producer Company works on training, certifying and establishing sustainable market linkages for all their produce including cotton.

The latter is the backbone as it is essential to have a successful market to bring about sustained interest and encourage more farmers to join in. The produce goes into branded garments in India and abroad.

Mr. Arun Ambatipudi, one of the founders of Chetna says: “Collectivization is the key for improvement of livelihood for small farmers. The other major point demonstrated here is that sustainable agriculture is the only way out for small and marginal farmers.”

Good study model

“While the Government of India is busy bringing green revolution to Eastern India, It can be a good lesson to learn from such models that leverage on its strengths than copying the mistakes of elsewhere,” says Mr. Ananthoo.

For more information on Chetna Organic readers can , visit http://chetnaorganic.org.in,

mobile: 9959300330 and Mr. Ananthoo, co- convener ASHA- Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture and coordinator of Safe Food Alliance, email: restoreananthoo@gmail.com, Mobile: 9444166779.