I don’t have money for fertilizer, but compost manure is really helping me out.
Note: All the components of this article, both the pictures are mine and original.
Welcome to my blog friend. Let’s talk about compost manure and how it can help farmers especially in developing countries of Africa.
In Africa, compost is one of those natural and available resources that are undervalued, reason being that it’s common and is found everywhere. But not everyone knows the importance of compost manure in agricultural activities.
Some of my colleagues who desires to have bountiful harvest are busy spending much on chemicals and industrialized fertilizers which at the end of the day puts them in a great loss and also leaves their farm lands at more pitiable condition.
Since I’ve learned how to utilize things available to me in solving problems, I now prefer to support my crops with composts which are gathered around me.
Waste from my maize harvest
The procedure of preparing compost manure may come thereafter, but I’ll remain on how that compost manure has helped me a lot in my farming. Take for instance, the above picture is waste from my maize farm after harvest, ordinarily in Africa, things like this are gathered and set ablaze, but for me, not anymore. I now utilizes all these things from my farm for manure.
Maybe because things like grasses, leafs and wood carcass are everywhere and common in Africa, maybe that’s why some of us has trodden on their natural value, and everyone is clamoring for scientific and for things prepared in laboratories.
Anyways, bad economy has made it compulsory for people to learn how to solve problems with things available to them.
Turning waste to wealth
Let me tell you a little story on an idea that helped me so much in my farming activities and in my dealings with my neighbors. In Africa, things are not really like you have it in developed world, though Nigeria is not that conservative anymore, but it can be categorized as developing country. Here, most of us live in village setting or in communities where people comes to live together.
They share things in common, but sometimes misunderstanding may happen between those people and families living close to each other. One of the challenges that I’ve experienced with my neighbors is this attitude of dumping composts and kitchen remains closer and around my vicinity, it became so alarming due to misunderstanding and conflicts that it generates between I and my arrogant neighbors. I dislike having those untidy things around me. This incident happened for so long that at a point I decided to look for an alternative means of stopping this constant misunderstanding and enmity between I and my neighbors over dumping of refuse.
That was when I decided to see how I could turn the whole scenario to my advantage. I began to pick those refuse, I separates non organic mater from organic ones, things like plastics, I separate them and sell them to people who recycles them for byproducts. For the organic wastes, I slice and chop them in smaller pieces and dump them somewhere to decompose to manure. This was how I resolved the misunderstanding, and now, many of my neighbors are trying to copy my lifestyle lol 😆
My maize crops turned giants due to compost manure added
It’s amazing how one can simplify this life and live happily with little or nothing around him. Everything that I cultivated this farming season deed wonderfully well so that people couldn’t connect the dots of how I was able to take care of my crops to that extent.
Where and how I utilize my homemade compost manure
Compost can be apply to any plant, from seedlings to vegetables etc. in my case, I use them in my vegetable garden and in my plantain garden.
I have some plantains inside my compound, and I apply compost on them
Hope you can see how I’ve supported this plantain with compost around it. This plantain is just two months of age, but good and sufficient compost manure around it has made it to grow healthier and faster.
Wastes from my maize farm is decomposing for my plantain
That’s the compost that I heaped around my plantain, they’re already decomposing, it wouldn’t take long before they’re finally crushing by good bacteria and earthworms as long as I’m adding adequate water to it while the sunlight is also doing it natural job.
Happy crop, happy farmer
You could see how healthy this plantain is, I have many of them like this right inside my compound. I got this species from an abandoned plantain farm near my cassava farm. According to the news that I got, this special species was shipped from Cameroon 🇨🇲 by a farmer who later abandoned his plantation due to lack of water and security issues.
When I brought them from that abandoned plantation, they’re almost gone with starvation, lack of water and too much heat. I picked the last surviving two left.
Now that they’ve picked again, I’m planing to replenish two pots of land with suckers that I’ll get from this few.
I’m lucky that they are already bringing out many suckers around them. It then means that I’ll not spend money again in buying suckers. That’s one of the ways that I’ve found in solving problems with little things around me.
I’ve been able to do something about food security in my habitat somewhere in west Africa. My next target is on finding a permanent solution to water problems in my community which is also affecting my farming. There’s no irrigation schemes from the government coming to my state of residence yet. My people are suffering from water scarcity, the little that they can lay hand on is not potable, meaning that they’re not consumable by humans and livestock. Some who tries to filter and drink these bad and contaminated waters are suffering from one waterborne disease to another.
My water project isn’t yet actualized, water is a challenge now.
Are you interested in knowing what that unclean water in the bucket is for? That’s the best that I could lay my hands on. I went very far to fetch this water for my crops, especially for my nearby vegetable garden. But for how long will I continue to fetch enough water for my vegetables?
Dry season in Africa has just started, which will last till May 2021. I know that my crops will eventually die; all of them! (Vegetables). It’s sad to watch them die because there’s no irrigation for them neither was I able to conclude my bore well water project due to lack of sponsorship
This is actifit fitness report of the day. I went far to fetch this small dirty water for my dying vegetables.
I have plans on solving this water problem permanently in my little community which you can read the business plan following the link below, and eventually come to my rescue.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13dYzGQ6hSzheStKhbDOT2mC-dQcC-0f4LyePBo8DShQ/edit?usp=sharing
You can get across to me through my email at: [email protected]
Remain awesome.
Still your friend Max
I'm here in the US and composting is essential for my garden. I'm growing some sweet peppers and chives (among other things) and certainly i wouldn't be anywhere without my first composting section.
Beautiful. Thanks for commenting dear @esecholito. I’m happy to that there’re folks somewhere who can identify with my experience here in Africa
Great post, Max, and thanks to @naturalmedicine for reposting it, which is how I found you.
I garden with compost as well, and have been doing so for decades, as I learned organic gardening at the side of my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. I try to keep my place as free of synthetic chemicals as possible, although we did recently have to treat for termites.
Great job saving those plantains! I'm so glad that you were able to find some still living, as having a good variety die out is always a crying shame, and I hope they continue to do well for you for many, many years to come. I lived in Florida for years, so I really love plantains, and would love to live where I can grow them again.
One group you may want to reach out to is Echonet.org, which is a faith-based charity in Florida whose mission is to help people grow their own food, and thus establish their own food security. It is possible that they may even be able to help with your water project, or at least put you in contact with someone who can.
Echo specializes in rare and underutilized food plants, from all over the world, and they send plants and seeds all over the world, as well as providing first rate information and advice when needed. Two plants that they carry, which I recommend you look into growing, are moringa and chaya, because they are both heat tolerant trees that provide highly nutritious dark leafy greens, are highly prolific AND drought tolerant once established, and new plants can be started easily from cuttings, so you can increase your plantings each season.
Best of luck in your efforts, and I hope that you get your water situation handled quickly. Blessings to you and yours.
Your comment is gold dear @crescendoofpeace! Thanks for your concern and for those beautiful recommendations.
I’m glad to hear that you’re into gardening too in Florida. Life is making more meaning for me as I’m connecting to lovely people like you.
For echonet.org, I’ll try and see how they operate, or do you have more information about them?
I’ll love to have a way of reaching to you privately for further enquiries if you don’t mind. I’m maxdevalue in discord.
I know of Moringa and Chaya, I have few Moringa tree here, but I don’t know the uses of Chaya. These are things I’ll further look into.
I’m living happily with my family here in Nigeria West Africa, as pilgrims here on earth , and with little but satisfied and contented!
May you continue to find peace and everlasting joy.
Thanks very much, Max.
Here's an article I wrote around fifteen years ago about chaya, back when I still lived in Florida, which gives good information about growing it, as well as some info on its uses.
Oops, initially forgot to include the link:
http://www.caribbeanchoice.com/belize/content.asp?article=1755
These days I live in Middle Tennessee, which is MUCH colder, about an hour and a half East Southeast of Nashville.
I'm on Discord as well, as Cori (@crescendoofpeace), but I'm not on there much of late, simply because I've been so busy with other things, such as the quail cages I need to go build right about now. But if you message me, I'll be sure to respond, most likely within several hours to a day.
Beautiful. Indeed I’ve done some research online about Chaya after you mentioned it to me, I went further searching around, and I found out that it’s around here in West Africa. Nevertheless, I’ll go through your link! Thanks a million for helping out. I’ll continue from Discord.
I like your solution to the problem of neighbors dumping wastes!
I love seeing the utilizing of nature's free fertilizer and soil conditioner to produce food crops -thanks for sharing!
Aww 🥰
Thanks 🙏🏽 beloved @poters, it came to me as an inspiration; from struggling with my neighbors to deriving joy from the same activities that brought conflicts. I now apply same method in other conditions that aren’t favorable to me, and it’s working. Thanks for coming around dear. Remain awesome.
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This is amazing! Thanks for the support given. I’ll follow through your suggestions.
Thanks to @minismallholding who found this post and pointed me to it! It's best to use community tags as your first 5 tags - ecotrain is another good one! I love this post. I found it amazing that many countries don't know about compost or use it, but how easy it can be to make and you don't need to buy anything, and it can make a real difference! We submitted this post to OCD in the hope it will get you more upvotes - but I've given you a tip as well. Thanks for using our tag and good luck with your ventures!
God bless you you for being kind to me, I appreciate your advice and support. I hope to gain more audience as I improve in my original writings. I’ll apply your advice; on using community tag first. I’ll try posting to @ocd to see if they’ll identify with my posts. Thanks 🙏🏽
Some super advice here. I hope you can move forward with water security.
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