Green beans have a very narrow window in when they can be harvested. Consider them like ripening pears in a fruit basket. One day too late and they are mushy.  Ok, bush beans are not that bad, but very close.  Your harvesting window is usually within two weeks at most. Considering all the planning that [...]

It is possible to grow a healthy crop purely by adding enough compost to the soil. Gardeners and small scale farmers do it every day. But, it is not viable as a large commercial grower. Just to maintain the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) in the soil will take at least 30t/ha organic material, and [...]

Tomatoes are among the easiest fresh produce crops to sell. Whether you're supplying a supermarket, a roadside stall, a farmers' market, or an informal market, there's almost always demand for good tomatoes. That steady demand is one reason the crop remains so popular with commercial growers. The sensory attributes of tomatoes such as flavor, sugar-acid [...]

Lettuce fertilizer requirements can be calculated if you know your soil type and have a good idea of the yield potential of your land and climate. So these tables are not really suitable if you have no experience in lettuce or you have not done a soil analysis. These are basic norms and your specific [...]

Foliar feeding is not new, farmers use this method since the early 50's on large scale to alleviate iron, copper, zinc and manganese deficienciesH. J. MederskiGarth W. Volk. 1 January 1956. Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station . The question is, is it worth applying for small scale farmers. There are pro's and con's in foliar feeding [...]

There are many plants that repel insects. Most insect repelling plants can also be used commercially. see the list below. However, any monocrop field will attract various insects that will cause damage. Just because lavender repels certain moths, it does not mean that lavender will be moth free and not eaten. Another conundrum, flies play [...]

Agrius convolvuli is commonly known as the sweet potato hawkmoth or hornworm. Hawkmoths are big, with wing spans between 80–105 mm, grey to black with pink abdominal segments. Sweet potato weevil is the most destructive of all sweet potato pests as it destroys stems, leaves and fruit from the field to stored produce Kibrom Beyene. [...]

Comfrey is classified as an herb. It stands out from all other herbs that its leaves has the highest concentration of protein of all vegetables.  High concentration of calcium (Ca), potassium (K), vit A, C and very importantly Vit B12. It has a significant tap root that can reach 3m in deep soils from which [...]