Clearing weeds and green manure plants

In the coconut orchard, I grow the following for making the land fertile...

1. Local fodder grass -  This is seen locally and especially on the road sides, this has very vigorous growth - in rainy season, can be cut in every 15-20 days. Main attraction is that it is perennial and hence will remain green to some extend in summer also and hence there is year round coverage

2. Mexican sunflower - This was introduced after reading that permaculture people value this a lot and calls this as dynamic accumulator. This also is perennial and produce a lots of biomass and easy to cut and mulch. Leaves decompose very fast.

3.  Super napier grass - This also is perennial and produce lots of biomass and will be ready for cutting in every 25-30 days

4. Pureria Javanica  - This is leguminous and does not survive summer here

5. Subabul - This grows naturally and is an invasive species and hence many plants will be there under each tree. Leguminous and perennial

6. Other local weeds - typically annual

Super napier fodder grass and mexican sunflower grows to a height of 8 feet and it gives a wild view to the farm. Decided that will cut them at least twice an year. Cut mulch will be left there itself, some mulch will be piled under the coconut trees.

lady cutting and clearing the growth

mango sapling

mexican sunflower piled around coconut tree

28-06-2024

Local fodder grass

Indigenous mango varieties for next year

 Decided to grow mango saplings to a good height of 5 feet or more and then plant in the rainy season. The reason for this decision was that few mango saplings planted were lost in the summer. If they are very strong plants, chances of loosing them is less.

I have few plants from last season...These are Karthikeyan, Dukran, IMCP Kilichundan, Cheriya Priyur etc...Few plants like DS Red, Thiruvarambu, Gira,Lalitha and Kuttiadi.

Also collected some seeds of another variety which is said to be of good taste, would like to grow them for an year and plant throughout the farm. 

08-July-2024

they are growing quite well

16-July-2024

25-July-2024

27-Aug-2024

02-Sept-2024

23-Sept-2024

sown horsegram at the base for nitrogen fixing...

09-October-2024

23-Oct-24

with rain, most of them gets new shoots

01-Dec-2024

Received a reasonably good rain today..hope ttheir growth will continue...

Trial of chettadi rice in backyard

Chettadi is an indigenous rice which grows vigorously and have a duration of 6 months. Not sure if it require lots of water or will do well in upland conditions also, just giving a try. When tried in farm few years back, it grew well and had to cut it twice, and after each cutting it grew much thicker. 

One month old seedlings...

03-Sept-2024

Papaya seedlings

Every year I plant few papaya seedlings with start of monsoon and uproot them and plant in the farm when rain has established well. Have seen that saplings which are at least a foot or more survive well. This year used some old seeds and nothing germinated. But I saw few plants which came in the backyard, uprooted them and planted in grow bags. When rain is established well, will be planting them.

Planting indigenous mango varieties

 Mango seedlings collected from Sakhil of IMCP group, Gireesh Sir etc...are being planted this year. Only plants which have grown really well and have reached around 5 feet is being planted this year. Idea is to establish them well before the next drought.

The following varieties are planted....Red ponnus, Golden Ponnus, Blue Ponnus, Manikyan, IMCP kilichundan, Chelan, Dukran, Sakhi, Kanimangalam etc...Each one will be photographed and growth will be monitored in this page.

Blue Ponnus

Dukran

Golden Ponnus

IMCP KCN

IMCP KCN

Jaan Priyur

Kanimangalam

Manikyan

Red Ponnus

Sakhi

Chelan

Happy hill rice in pots

Just to keep seeds, happy hill rice seeds were sown in the pots, without pre-soaking them. Seeds were kept at the refrigerator hence kept them outside for a day and then sown them. Germinated well and growing, applied compost tea couple of times and weed extract liquid couple of times, and also applied compost once. Watering them regularly...Seeds sown around May 15th...

16-June-2024

28-June-2024

16-July-2024

25-July-2024

grains started forming

grains started turning yellow

13-Aug-2024

harvested few of the heads in bit advance so that I don't loose the seeds

27-Aug-2024

02-Sept-2024

Organic tilled paddy - 1st season 2024

This year summer was very hot and usual summer rains didn't happen, 1st rain came on April 12nd and after that around 3 weeks delay and next rain came. After that it has been consistently raining now. Since I am completely rainfed now, wanted to utilise every rain, especially paddy has to be started with early rains. Traditionally it says, paddy has to be started in Aswathy (April 13 to 27th)  or Bharani njattuvela (April 27th to May 11th).

Bought 10Kgs of Uma seed from Kannannur rice mill of Sivadasan for 35/- per Kg. Also bought 2Kgs of green gram at 150/- per Kg, and 0.5Kgs of Sesame at 200/- perKg and also used some finger millet seeds from last year. All mixed well in a sack and then sown in the field after the tractor completed 1st round of rotovator tilling.

Also put a coir fence around the field, one labor was used and 10 bunches of coir was used at around 180/ rupees totally. Next two days there was heavy rain at the night, so left everything to nature, to see what happens.

May 14th, 2024

May 20,2024

can see green gram and paddy seedlings,both germinated well..could see weeds also coming up well, that is the next challenge

16-June-2024

green gram and sesame grows very well, rice germinated very well, but not able to compete with weeds. May be I have to get a variety which compete with weeds well and also can tolerate drought. 

16-July-2024

finally it is just sesame that is seen..surprisingly sesame just came above the seeds and they look quite heavily loaded, but not sure about the harvest since it may be raining when they mature