Evaluation of few Clovers

I was looking for a right cover crop with rice, wanted to try white clover which Fukuoka san had tried, but two times seed didn't even germinate. Recently got seeds of white clover, yellow clover and crimson clover and one more (to be identified), in exchange with Happy Hill rice seeds and to my surprise all of them germinated.

They couldn't survive the harsh summer, none of them flowered also, have some spare seeds will try them at the beginning of the next rainy season

Happy Hill rice - 2017

Happy hill rice was put in small scale to maintain seeds. I put lot of seeds in the paddy field in the farm, but it was too early in the summer and by the time rain started all the seeds were eaten by termites or some other insects.

Happy hill rice and some clover varieties on trial, yellow clover and white clover. 

Hopefully will have some seeds to share to other people also.

Got some seeds, kept it for next season and also sharing it with some people. I have already have a backlog to send it to 4-5 farmers, will be doing it soon.

2nd Season Rice Crop - Kunjukunju - 2017

8-October-2017
Since first crop was not successful, thought of doing 2nd rice crop since otherwise I have to buy rice from market.

Puddled using tractor guage wheel and planning to use direct seeded SRI to save water.

15-October-2017Pre-germinated seeds were put at 20cm distance by using a marker made using PVC pipes.

18-October-2017
Seeds estimated was not enough hence put some seeds in a nursery for transplanting to remaining portions.

4-November-2017

Gap filling was done..Weeding going on..at initial stages weeding is really easy..

17-November-2017

After weeding, applied some cowdung slurry, initially mixed in a drum and started pouring at different places, it was too difficult to walk in the field with that weight, so started just pouring at the water entering place. For some time, scattered cowdung, here and there in the water.

24-Nov-2017
2nd weeding is in progress...flooding the field on alternate days, still weeds manage to come through.

Harvest was over, this time it was very bad, just got around 30Kgs. Decided two things

1. Go only for transplanting
2. Make seedlings ready in a separate place

Farm at the end of rainy season - 2017

This year rain was slightly better than the last year..Here are the different crops as of now..

 

Some heads of 'Koorkka' (don't know the english name), planted using cuttings

Banana variety called 'Attu nethran', since it is near to the house, gets some frequent doses of cowdung

This coconut tree was lost in the summer, it was one of the best yielding tree

Colacasia 

Another variety of banana called 'Poovan'

Pappaya grows good

Tree badly effected in summer, not recovered yet

Banana - sunhemp is put around these and they are slowly growing 

Sunhemp magic, they grow through the grass

Fig and pepper on it, pruned it once, but its natural growth affected and tree has more diseases now

A banana circle, scattered fresh cowdung around, and they are responding well

Pigeon pea and coconut plant, scattered sunhemp seeds around 

Pureria cover crop, if not controlled they are a threat to young plants... 

Pepper

Subabul taking over some areas