Help with learning farming skills

Farm Questions
1

Hello,

I have been reading this forum as a farming enthusiast for sometime. Now have decided to switch over to farming as a lifestyle.
Since I don’t have any experience in farming, I’m looking forward to learn the basics of farming by working on a farm with someone willing. Can somebody help me on this?

Dev

2

Dear Dev,

I was in the same place as were you 6 months ago… I visited few farms, met farming friends, attended workshop and started implementing it…few things

First you should decide what help you needed ?

If you dont know yet, introduce your background to the forum so that somebody can guess what you need.

For instance, do you have land? where do u live? what inspired you for farming.

good luck
rajsekhar

3

Dear Rajsekhar,

Thanks for the reply.
I’m from IT background, live in Kerala and don’t own a land yet.

I don’t have any experience in farming; was thinking about getting a hands-on by working with farmer, before i start on my own.

rgds
Dev

4

Dev,
If you really wanted practical training on Farming activities, then you can call or contact me if you can stay in farm house to learn agriculture activities.

5

Thanks Swamy for the encouraging reply…

6

Of late I find a good number of youngsters from IT /software field turning to farming and I salute them for their bold attempt ( which boldness I lack ). And I wish them all success.
Just I want to share a few thoughts.

All natural farming stalwarts have been inspired by nature , especially forests. So look and observe nature.
Don’t make the mistake that since you have assured water supply , you can grow anything at anytime.
The growth of a plant depends mainly on the season , soil type and condition , water supply etc.
The right first step should be to improve the microbial activity in the land which needs growing thickly some leguminous crops along with growing mulch giving trees on the bund. Use of cow dung of desi cow in the form of Jiwamrutha , Panchagavya , Amruth Pani etc may be highly helpful.

Tilling is harmful but this can not be avoided in the initial years. You may go in for manual seeder like one supplied by dhartiagro.net , the usage of which minimises soil disturbance.
Mulching is of paramount importance in controlling weeds and improving microbial activity in the land.

After sowing , try to minimise entering the field as this would affect the micro organisms near the surface of the soil .
Maintain the soil moist but not wet ( just like composting ). Even in rice fields , people don’t keep the water always available. Just they irrigate the field for about an inch and leave it to dry and then re-irrigate.
In the initial years , the farm output may be just a half of what the neighbours get , but it definitely improves with time.

Good luck .