Hello, fellow Hivers!
- It's been more than a year since I have been away from my farm. Getting my body back into farming was difficult, but then if I don't farm, I don't eat, just like the African adage: No food for a lazy man, and this leaves me no choice but to take a step.
Farming is fun if you get the right things done at the right time, and right now I am racing against time to do things that should have been done a month ago. The reason I stayed so long to start really doesn't make sense, but then I am here, so let's begin.
🌱 Why I Started with a Nursery
Every farmer has their own way of doing their thing, and most times what happens in between doesn't matter at all; all that matters is how productive the style of farming is at harvest.
In the case of rice there are several ways to go about just as there are several different varieties out there the the three that I know is transplanting which is the most productive if you ask me, planting directly which is not as productive as the former but then the harvest is good enough if it is catered for the right way by the right people, and then finally broadcasting which am not a fan of because I have seen farmer who has managed to convince me that this is a good method based on how good their harvest is and most people who use this method around where I stay are mostly considered to be lazy for picking this approach but who cares if it works for you then 👏 bravo.
📸 Nursery Preparation
To prepare a nursery certain things need to be in place the first one is the seeds we are planting, then the land has to be selected based the land that fits using for a rice nursery one of which is that the land should not have water above the ground level, the fact that rice thrive in lands with good quantity of water doesn't mean it works to it's advantage during it's earliest days of growth.
Then we need the hoe to clear and till the soil to ensure it is suitable to grow the rice on.
🌾 Sowing the Rice Seeds
The seeds are evenly spread across the already prepared nursery, and the spacing shouldn't be too big, as we would be occupying the whole farm beating the whole idea of it being a temporary place for growth.
Next, we scatter the soil and the rice using our feet; that way, it mixes up with the soil that is sometimes mouldy, making it difficult for birds to spot it from a distance.
Dry grasses can also be used by placing them all over the nursery, though sometimes it becomes really unnecessary if birds' activities around the farm are minimal; but in other places it is actually a must, or we end up getting nothing.
🌦️ What's Next?
Over the next few weeks, I need to monitor seedlings as it grows and provide as much moisture as required to help them grow, and in three weeks' time the rice should be ready for transplanting.
Thank you for reading!
🌱 Stay tuned for the next update:
Transplanting the Rice Seedlings to the Main Farm