You have to follow discussions from the beginning. Most of the questions are answered.
i didnt find the details in this forum, please help
Papaya Economics: (member :dns1807 reply)
farmnest.com/forum/new-trends-in ā¦ vable/100/
yield/acre of all vegetables:
farmnest.com/forum/agricultural- ā¦ 6/#msg3566
Hi,
Can anyone help me to find our a soil testing place in an around kodaikanal or pollachi/coimbatore.
Regards
Kiran
I think they would be doing TNAU coimbatore or any of their branches/colleges near your place.
Nikhil
Hi guys i am jayantā¦from nasikā¦i am planing for green house cultivation of dutuch rosesā¦should i continue with investmentā¦please help me with information such as equipments required ā¦cost of project for 2 acreā¦and along with green house what should be taken as side income source such as polutryā¦or dairy or fish farm8ng
Hi friends,
I am a city dweller now trying to enter farming. New to this forum too.
Just last week I bought a small 2 acres agri land in chevella (Hyderabad) which contains black soil. Would like to cultivate Tomato, Capsicum, Cauliflower and Pappaya at some time. Thinking of natural farming.
However the first year I would like to start with Tomato on half an acre only to get hands on experience, then slowly take it forward.
Now comes my main concern: The water management.
There is no water source at all on my land as of now. At the back of my land there is a check dam with no water at all.
Should I go for:
bore well (which may go 500 feet deep) or
should I wait for the next monsoon to make some trenches and divert the water to some sump tank kind which is to be made or
a small pond. I have no idea about these.
Can somebody guide me through this.
Would appreciate your suggestions.
098867870479, ravi-1954@hotmail.com
Thanks
Ravinder
Hello all good evening
am planning to do organic farming near by hyd in aler
give me useful ideas
Hi all,
I am a wannabe farmer, I am a new member of this forum and i am here to get assistance and guidance from like minded people and experts.
My background - I am from a lower middle class family and i have very little practical experience and knowledge on farming. When i was a kid i used to help my mother with the 2 cows we had, i used to indulge in gardening during my school days, thatās all. I donāt have any farm land. I native is Mysore, currently living in Bangalore.
After degree, i started working in BPO industry in Bangalore. All i have saved till now is 5 lakh rs.
I am now 30 years old and I have decided to take up farming.
I want to follow sustainable farming techniques but i want to first start with sheep and goat farming (preferably dorper sheep). I will then save money to purchase some land after which i want to cultivate commercial crops, will buy some cows, will grow some coconut and economically important fast growing trees and will continue with the sheep farming. this is the plan as of now.
As I donāt have my own farm land, I am toying with the idea of getting 5 acres of land for lease for at least 5-10 years to start sheep and goat farming, plant some fodder giving trees and economically important fast growing tree species along the boundary of the farm for timber.
Is it possible to start this venture with a budget of 5 lakh rs. I am aware that there wont be any returns in sheep and goat farming for at least a year and i can manage till then.
Please advise if this is practical and viable.
what are the possible challenges i might face along the road.
I want some one to help me with the economics of sheep and goat farming, infrastructure and labor involved etc.
How fast can i grow with this venture, i mean, what would be the profit at the end of 3 and 5 years.
I want to start this venture by meeting successful farmers by visiting their farms.
Hi kumarblr,
Have you started Greenhouse project. Please share your experience.
Seek your help or assistance.
Regards,
Ankur Saini
hello friends,can anybody guide me about capsicum cultivation in polyhouse,need u help basically from mumbai(kalyan),will be thankful to share you opinion about the same. you can also mail me
sri08_86@yahoo.com
Hello FMās,
have started browsing the forum so some stuff might be repeat, please pardon and guide to the right post.
Since Iāve started actively pursuing agriculture now, there are a lot of opportunities i see in this field. There is a broad plan i have drawn and i want some feedback from the experts, seniors, start ups and contributing memberās.
i only have a 1.5 acre land about 25 kms from my home in Lko, UP. When i first started about 2 years back, we bought it dry & barren and it was economical for us financially coz of that. The surroundings is all active agri land. Iāve only yet managed 50 % productivity of land compared to surrounding yields of the same crop. Currently there is no electricity and the nearest pole is about a km & half and also there is a non-operational & defunct 100 ft bore. But thatās just the start, i know.
At the beginning, it was all like small pieces of the jigsaw scrambled randomly. Now after two years, i can visualize the pieces falling in their right places to complete the whole picture. And i already like the beauty in the picture. So my questions and their optional answers are as follows:
A) How can i best utilise my 1.5 acre land?
1.Keep doing conventional farming.
2.Do Poly House or Hydroponics.
3.Part land can be used for Animal Husbandry.
4.Do contract farming of 10 acres on a five year contract lease and convert self land to an organic Seeding House.
B) Water! What should i do?
1.Keep borrowing as i currently do.
2.Get a new borewell done along with the works.
3.Get a local man to check and suggest repairs.
4.Get professional consultancy about boring and wells to get optimal results by understanding the natural cycles of Rain & Aquifers and the surrounding canal system. (Yes, i forgot to mention, there is a canal system quite near to my farm and iāve used it whenever possiable)
C) Electricity! How to go about it? (iāve never needed it in the past but i certainly will in the future)
1.Get a new connection and get the works done.
2.Calculate future requirements and get an off-grid system. (DIY style or purchase & install a PnP system)
D) There are a lot of resources around the village which are lying as waste. How to tap them? (mainly refer to residual waste of banana plantations)
1.Let it be, donāt bother!
2.Look for industries where this is being used or can be used and do some trade off.
3.Use as input for organic biomass creation.
4.Look to develop skills and create a small unit which can develop utility end products from the plantationās residual waste.
E) There are designated ponds (averaging 5 mts deep x 10 mts long x 5mts wide) lying idle or vacant. I believe they are available for contract. How can i use this opportunity?
1.Like i said, Donāt Bother, ā¦ period!
2.Get the village Pradhan and the surrounding community involved in making use of the resource.
3.Do a contract fishing farm.
4.Find out the contract obligations first and then get back here later.
For A, option 3 & 4 seems viable, that is if i decide to take things in a pro manner. Or is option 2 & 3 better. Please suggest. Please advise for B as iām not too sure. For C, option 2 sounds like the way itās done by a modern farmer. For D, 3 or 4 or both seem appropriate and for E, iāll pick 4 and repeat it later when have more info.
These are the major important things on my mind right now. Of course these are just the first few questions that i need guidance for. There are many other things to consider, like financing, sale and marketing of the produce and iām working on them as well. Like i mentioned in one of my earlier posts, i want to go PRO and for that i need all the support and guidance for this forum and itās valuaed members.
Cheers & Regards, naf 
Here are my views Naf
A)
1 or 1 &3 to start with and may be small scale 2 to learn. Buyers in 4 would surely look for experience. (My understanding of your āseeding houseā is kind of nursery setup)
B)
4 sounds logical
C)
1 if possible, if not, its only B . B can be either diesel or solar. FYI, we do have a PnP controller, refer ads here on FM.
D)
2 or 3 or 4. If all fails then 1!
E)
2 & 3 initially, then 4, if fails then 1!
P.S: Your post was crisp, clear and right on point!
Regards,
Hi naf,
please check the legal process to pump water from canal . If needed you can go for new pipeline along the boundary of other farms. Also you can convince other farmer to share expenses of laying pipeline (not sure if its diesel/or electric pump you need to use at source).
Better check with other farmers if they are willing to share, if they share, they are bound to protect it .
You also need to plan for water storage of few weeks need for your farm in long term .
For electricity better start paper work and talk to other farmers who all will be benefited with EB .
EB and Water are long term developments, please work on them .
Hope it helps .
Thanks,
Prashant
Yes like Ppb says check the legal process, convince your neighbours to lay pipe lines share pipe, motor costs etc
Or
Hire a professional, identify bore point and drill it. You are the owner of your water source.
If this fails then you can consider canal pumping I. E if itās legal in your place.
Regards
Thank you for the support.
@ Saravana Kumar
A) Buyers in 4 would surely look for experience. (My understanding of your āseeding houseā is kind of nursery setup)
Yes, Seeding house is nursery setup. I understand that an element of ZBNF is to cultivate our own seed from the harvest and this circle keeps going round. Thus the Nursery concept in case of contract farming. What i didnāt get is what you mean by āBuyers in 4 would surely look for experienceā?
B) 4 sounds logical : Could you suggest someone offhand. I believe there is someone on the forum as well. Will check!
C) 1 if possible, if not, its only B . B can be either diesel or solar. FYI, we do have a PnP controller, refer ads here on FM. I will first have to study this science of electricity. Can you refer me to a crash course material online.
D) 2 or 3 or 4. If all fails then 1! One thingās for sure, i want to go Organic / Natural, thus 3 & 4 would be better choice.
More Later, Cheers, naf
Definitely yes experience counts.If I had to buy seedlings from a nursery I would not do it with a random xyz nursery isnt it?
Regarding B), though I have many in my circles I have not touched upon their credentials. Hence I would not be of much help in this regard.
Unfortunately there is no crash course online, because lot of calculations, science goes into a solar pumping and also with each requirement varying there cannot be benchmark or thumb rule design.
Regards,
After completing the write-up, my net went down yesterday and lost the entire thing. So, doing it again.
See my comments inline.
A) How can i best utilise my 1.5 acre land?
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - What is your aim in doing agriculture? Just making money or something else.
Something else & Money
1.Keep doing conventional farming.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Is best for organic model
After started reading on ZBNF, now iām confused, Organic or ZBNF? Please guide.
2.Do Poly House or Hydroponics.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - High cost (initial setup) and high produce as well
Not bad; any govt concessions, subsidy or any support from any quarters.
3.Part land can be used for Animal Husbandry.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Definitely Yes. Options are Goat, Cow (Milk) & Chicken which has ready market.
Iām contemplating a pair of Boer + 48 local goats, Stall fed method, on an estimated area of 5 to 6 K sqft. Doable?
Plus add a pair of cattle as well.
4.Do contract farming of 10 acres on a five year contract lease and convert self land to an organic Seeding House.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Need Mother Plants or Seeds for starting nursery.
So a 5 yr contract for 10 acres with own nursery sounds good to you? Iām sure mother plants and seed can be availed on a one time basis as i believe ( and iām yet to explore this) more seeds can be cultivated from these initial seeds? So iāll never have to buy seeds again except for the first time? Am i right on this accord?
B) Water! What should i do?
1.Keep borrowing as i currently do.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Temp option
Will hold till canāt do without own.
3.Get a local man to check and suggest repairs.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Should try this and if it wont work out, go for Option 4 below which is similar to Option 2 above
More info - Figured itās a Jaali/ Netted boring and not a Captive Boring and thatās why it is defunct coz inspite of it being a 4 inch output hole, it dosenāt give more than 2.5 inch water flow and hardly any throw. That was using a 5 hp diesel machine. Thatās the hear say from local folks aound. The difference of option 2 and 4 is that 2 is the local bore man, and one of them didnāt know what he was doing when he did the given bore on the field. Other bores around that area have a good 4 inch flow and decent throw as well with same power machine. How to determine whoās good and honest at their jobs? Whereas option 4 i referred to is something on a more professional manner, atleast for guidance or consulting or even the job. Please suggest again! and also whatās the difference of captive and non captive boring?
C) Electricity! Will explore in more detail gradually.
D) There are a lot of resources around the village which are lying as waste. How to tap them? (mainly refer to residual waste of banana plantations)
3.Use as input for organic biomass creation.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Can be used as input to compost or vermicompost.
Here again, compost would be natural and vermi would be organic?
4.Look to develop skills and create a small unit which can develop utility end products from the plantationās residual waste.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Can be used for creating Bags and Sarees from Banana fibre.
Thanks, will surely look into it more.
E) There are designated ponds (averaging 5 mts deep x 10 mts long x 5mts wide) lying idle or vacant. I believe they are available for contract. How can i use this opportunity?
2.Get the village Pradhan and the surrounding community involved in making use of the resource.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Use the canal to bring water for future use.
Opt way of getting water if i can channel and time it correctly. Will explore more. But this option wonāt be possiable if i do self contract, or will it? Let me see.
3.Do a contract fishing farm.
[Padmanabhan Ganesan] - Is water available for more than 6 months, then go for contract fishing.
Never done fish farming before. There are people around that do. I see it as a high risk activity as the crop is very susceptible to damage from a lot of fronts. But, there are atleast 5 to 6 good 10/10/5 deep ponds and decent neat & clean. These good clean ponds are mostly surrounded by barb wire fencing and tri colour painted pillars. I believe they are GOI property? The rest are not so clean and no fencing at all in the name of protection. I canāt say if they are private. Hardly 2 / 10 ponds is used for any activity except laying vacant or dump. None of the fenced ones are used either. Will explore the mystery on this.
Regards, naf