Gardening Challenge| My Small Cultivation

Hello friends. I hope you are all well. Today I am going to take part of contest which known as Gardening Challenge in STEEM FOR BETTERLIFE community. First of all I would like to thanks @irawandedy for this contest. Let us see.

First of all, I don't live at home. I am staying in a hostel because of work. I am talking about the small cultivation that I did there. I do this cultivation for my consumption and hobby. I did the cultivation here in 2 ways.

Land cultivation

Here I prepared the beds in a selected piece of land and started cultivating. There I cultivated several types of vegetables. Below are the names of those crops.

• Eggplant
• Tomato
• Okra
• Chili

Pot Cultivation

Here I used discarded plastic mega bottles for pot cultivation. I did this especially for home decor and hobby. Here I grow strawberry tomatoes. You can see it in the image below.

• Bed making
  I prepared the ground here first. After that, the soil was exposed to the sun for a few days to revive it. After that, 3 feet x 10 feet raised beds were prepared. Organic fertilizers were applied before planting.

• Fertilizer application
  I used organic manure as fertilizer. I made fertilizer by rotting plant parts and cow dung. So I didn't have to spend money on fertilizers.

• Watering
  Outdoor cultivation was watered once a day as needed. There was no need to add water on rainy days. I had to water my indoor tomato plant every day.

Since my plantation is very small, harvesting is not done here under special methods. I harvest when necessary according to my need. I was able to harvest tomatoes after three months. It took about five months to harvest the chillies.

In any crop there is a risk of crop failure. It can happen in several ways.

• Environmental factors
  especially different environmental factors can affect the yield. Heavy rains can cause pollinators to wash away, plants toppling, and flooding. Also, excessive drought can cause plants to dehydrate and die. For example, tomatoes and chillies belong to the family Solanaceae. Overwatering crops can cause root damage.

• Damage from insects and other animals
  Another form of crop damage is animal damage. For example, animals like cows, goats, monkeys can damage crops. Also the damage caused by insects also affects the cultivation. Animals like cattle eat the crops and insects also destroy the produce.

• Microbial damage
  Fungal bacterial viruses also damage crops.Examples,

Spotted leaf blight
anthrax

• Protection from environmental damage
  I used several methods to prevent damage to the plants due to heavy rain. First I made raised beds so the water wouldn't stand. Therefore, the crop is protected even during heavy rains. I also installed supports to prevent the trees from falling to the ground due to the wind.

• Protection from animals and Insects
  In choosing the land, I did not want protection from animals like cattle and goats. Because the grounds of the hostel where I am staying have a safety fence, so an animal cannot enter from outside. To protect against insects For protection from insects, I planted a repellent crop of Dahaspethiya in the field. Also,Dahaspethiya leaves were dissolved in soapy water and tobacco water and used as a spray.

• To protect against microbes
  Microbial damage is difficult to prevent because we cannot see it. To that end, as a strategy, I left the soil in a deficit of sun exposure during the initial stages of land preparation. Also, I loosened the soil around the roots of the plants from time to time

To tell the truth, I did not spend any money for this small cultivation of mine. I didn't want to buy plants to plant. Because I got the plants from the nursery at home. Also, I did not spend money on fertilizers and pesticides. This cost me only my time and effort.

So I request you to spend your free time and do this kind of small cultivation. It will boost your economy and you can use your free time in a meaningful way. This is a good method to keep mind and body health in good level. Let us cultivate.