Farms

Edna's Garden, found in Gutterside, Danver's Pen, St. Thomas, contains thousands of Aloe Vera plants. This project was started in September, 2014 when 2,000 suckers were initially planted (in the dry season) with the objective to fill the 74,000 sq. ft. property with at least 10,000 plants. Gutterside. 1.7 acres | 74,098 ft 2 This plant is low-maintenance because it requires very little water and a lot of exposure to the sun. It is a desert plant. It only requires water every 3-4 weeks to grow at the most optimal level. Small part of Edna's Garden in Gutterside, Danver's Pen in St. Thomas When cultivating this plant, the following information was used [1] , Aloe Vera is generally propagated by root suckers by carefully digging out without damaging the parent plant and planting it in the main field. It can also be propagated through rhizome cuttings by digging out the rhizomes after the harvest of the crop and making them into 5-6 cm length cuttings with a minimu...

Jamaica is the land of wood and water. So it is no surprise that we have rich biodiversity in our island [1]   [2] .  I am fascinated with the history and development of my country's flora. I have come to understand, by the little research that I have done, that foreign plants (and even animals) were introduced to this region, like the breadfruit [3] . Some of the other plants that were introduced includes coconuts (very surprising to me), sugar cane (one of the biggest slave trade product), tomatoes, red peas (or kidney beans), yam, orange, ackee (shocking!) and the list goes on. I have ventured down this path because I have an interest in introducing a few more foreign species into our island. Is it possible for me to create hybrids of plants that are native to regions outside our tropical zone? Our planet has five (5) geographical zones: North Frigid (4% of the planet), North Temperate (26%), Torrid or Tropical (40%), South Temperate (26%), South Frigid (4%). Apart from t...

According to Wikipedia, a greenhouse (also called a glasshouse , or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse ) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown. Greenhouses are used to create a controlled environment for plants, mainly vegetables and flowers, where the can grow producing the best results possible. The controls that are implemented usually involve temperature control, ventilation, nutrient and carbon dioxide enrichment. The supply of certain nutrients and carbon dioxide can cause plants to bring out extraordinary results. Tomatoes that are bigger and more tasty; bigger and more colourful bell-peppers. Plants produce more fruit when more than the usual carbon dioxide is supplied to the roots of the plant. Another important factor in housing plants in greenhouses is that they can be sheltered from the storm and refreshed during a drought. See an excerpt below from ...

There are so many approaches to raising crops which include traditional farming, hydroponics and aqua-ponics. Traditional farming is planting crops into the soil and involves using irrigation systems to provide the field containing the crops with water. This offers very little automation and is exposed to weather of the region of that farm. Hydroponics is a method of providing nutrients to crops without the use of soil. Some hydroponics systems recycle the water used to grow the crops and much effort is placed into the irrigation system to ensure optimal levels of water and nutrients are provided to the crops. This is a controlled system that may be setup in open air or in a green house. Aqua-ponics is a method of growing crops and fish in a symbiotic environment, where the crops receive nutrient rich water filled with the faeces of the fish and the plant filters the faecal water so that it returns clean into the fish pond. This system of farming is usually set up in an enclosed envi...

One of the most important foundation component of agriculture is the soil. The soil has three main purpose: retain water for the plants, provide nutrients to the plant and give physical support to the plant. Soil contains many minerals in it that is vital for plant growth. Soils differ in different regions because it contains one type of mineral more than other soil in other regions. This kind of mineral can come from volcanic activity as well as weathering activity. Soil has layers (or horizons). At the very top, humus can be found which is rich in organic matter (usually decomposing plant and animal matter). As we go deeper below the surface, the soil particles become bigger until we hit rocks (the parent material of soils). Soil is made up of sand, silt and clay. All sand, silt and clay are not the same. Sand is bigger in (particle) size than silt and silt is bigger in (particle) size than clay. The perfect soil for agriculture is said to be 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay, which is...

Every farmer looks forward to the harvest. This is where all the work put into the farm through the growing process bears fruit, literally. I have no experience in this stage of the farming process and, hence, what I blog about here is from research done through reading material on the internet. Every plant has its time for harvesting and timing is very important. When harvesting the crop, the farmer and his laborers must perform the proper procedure to harvest the crop. Each crop has its unique process in doing so, even though some are intuitive and pretty much the same process of harvesting as others. When the crops are removed from the plant, the crop must be cleaned and prepared for the merchant or the manufacturer. In these cases, the farmer must think of making the transition by making use of storage and transportation. Some crops must be carefully arranged for storage because of its fragility while some can just be stacked on top of each other. It is important that the farmer ...

Every plant needs water. Even those that thrive in the desert. Mahtab Rasheed has highlighted 3 main points for irrigation, Critical time for irrigation. Amount of water to be given to the plants. Frequency of irrigation. For brevity, I have broken these points into two main points: Frequency of irrigation and Amount of water to supply. Water is vital to the growth of the plants in that it is a vehicle to provide nutrients to the plant and it is a critical component involved in photosynthesis. So every plant must have its regular cycle of water supplied to its roots. I believe the best water that plants can get is rain water. Nonetheless, rain does not have a regular pattern and cannot be relied upon for farming. There are some plants that can rely solely on the rain. Plants like this are the more resilient types. Not all plants will thrive in the abundance of water. So the water being supplied to the plants must be managed. For example, Aloe Vera need not have water up to 4 week...

After the land is prepared, the seeds can be planted. When planting the seeds, space must be allocated for that seed so that the crop can grow unhindered by its neighboring crop. The farmer must avoid packing the field too tight with the crop and so the number of plant per unit area has to be worked out before sowing. As simple as sowing may seem, some crops require more depth than others so the farmer will have to dig deeper into the soil to bury the seed. During the growth of the crop, the farmer will have to attend to it by watering and constantly weeding unwanted plants from around the crop. The farmer should be careful not to use weed killers and pesticides that will harm the crop or make the crop toxic. The farmer should always consider natural means to resolve this issues. For example, in Israel when farmers had problems with rodents instead of using poison they got a night owl to watch over the field. This proved to be cost effective and less toxic. During this ...

Before planting seeds (or suckers), the land must be prepared to facilitate the growth of the crop. The crop's growth and health is dependent on the soil texture and fertility. There is so much to consider when it comes on to soil. I plan to blog on my findings from my studies and research on soil preparation. Nonetheless, I'll explain what is necessary at this point. Soil is a combination of three main mineral components: sand, silt and clay. The perfect soil for agriculture is said to have 40% sand, 40% soil and 20% clay. The soil needs to have some level of porosity to allow water and nutrients to flow to the roots of the crops and yet still have the ability to retain water. Hence, the need for this kind of balance between the mineral components. Now, fertilizers usually contain minerals that the soil is deficient in delivering to the crop for optimal growth. The best fertilizers are natural. Some of these natural fertilizers are animal excrement, decayed plants and rain wa...

There are a number of factors that is involved in the crop selection process. Some that will involve market demand and pricing but also the farmers ability to produce such a crop. The farmer's ability to produce such crop is dependent on the climate and setting of the land in which he/she plans to raise these crops and, even, the farmer's tolerance and resources required to raise such crops. Some crops require more attention than others. So to list out the factors mentioned, they are as follows: Comparative pricing of crop Market demand of crop Required climate of crop Crop yield Farmer's budget Comparative Pricing Starting a farm will require money to acquire the seeds for planting. The seeds for some crops will cost more than others. This cost adds up when you have calculated the required number of seeds needed to fill the land that you have prepared for farming. Depending on the farmer's budget, the type of crop chosen can be determined by the cost to get th...

So, my blogs on farming has to catch up with my farming project. There are a number of milestones that I have covered before deciding to set up this blog. Some of the steps included: Research: farming, growing and harvesting the Aloe Vera plant Networking: contacting local farmers to receive advice on finding supplies of the plant locally, contacting JAMPRO for marketing information on the plant both local and international, acquiring information from contact persons within manufacturing companies about their plans on buying Aloe Vera Acquisition: Buying the plants Land Preparation: employing laborers within the vicinity of the farm to fence the plot, prepare the land and plant the suckers Since this blog is not only about the farming of Aloe Vera but farming in general, I will have to blog on the findings of my research that is of significance in the next few weeks. So, here's an overview of the blog entries that I will make in the upcoming weeks (or days): The Farming Ste...

So after doing some research on Aloe Vera. I started a project in Danver's Pen, St. Thomas - my father's birth place. Bought 2,000 Aloe Vera suckers and for the past 6 months they have been managing the harsh weather. Got good word from my father a week ago, that the plants are doing well. These plants are desert plants that have a number of uses. I'm excited about this project. I know that with this investment I cannot lose. There are too many ideas that can spring off the farming of Aloe Vera: soaps, lotion, shampoo, medicine and, even, drinks. This is one of the many crops that is king in the Nutraceutical industry. I, eventually, want to manufacture my own set of Nutraceutical products beginning with Aloe Vera. Now, I want to make Aloe Vera drinks including a fermented beverage (like Tequila) and create a line of Aloe Vera salads to put on the market. The Aloe Vera salad off-course, will be mixed with fruits and packaged with enticing names like 'Allure', '...