My Diarygame|| 26- 02- 2025 || A Diverse Ecosystem Of Homegrown Crops And Fruit Trees In My Village -Backyard Plantation

Dear steemians,

It's a great pleasure to share with you diverse of homegrown crops in my backyard.
It is farming season in my village though all the pictures I will share with you is about crops planted in backyard of my compound. yet, I will share with you a bit indepth of farming season in my village.

To start with, planting season in my village generally follows the rainy season, which provides sufficient moisture for crops to grow.

Major Planting Period In My Village👇

1. Early Planting Season👉 (March – May):
This span between the period of March to May. The farming system involved homegrown crops which start from February - a period farmer plant within their residential environment and not in a far distance farmland. In my native, we called farmland within proximity of our home as "mfum, while the distance farmland is called iwang"

Example of Mfum - usually situated within residential environment.

In the early planting season, farmers use this time to plant staple crops such as cassava which is most consumed within my locality, maize, yam, sweet potatoes, cucumber seed etc. that require a longer growing period before harvesting period.

Brief List Of Early Planted Staple Crops In My Village 👇

Crops Planted in Early Season:
Maize:
A staple cereal crop that thrives with early rains and if planted during late season, such individual might end up having no maize to enjoy with his/her family and the maturity period of maize is in about 3–4 months.

Cassava: Cassava is a damn resilient crop such that make us resilient too😊 and it requires moisture to establish roots and grow but can tolerate varying weather conditions.
In college,student do refer to garri as first aid -a finished product of cassava. And trust me when I say the name is line to the beautiful work of this finished product 😊

Yam: This set involved planting using yam setts, which is cut into pieces and place in a set of ways that will enable the yam to germinate and grow and this require moist soil for sprouting.
In days of ancient, boil yam with red oil was a yummy food to eat but this days, climate change has left a lot of changes in how some farm products taste 🤷🤷 I am not an agriculturist, so pardon me if I am not right with this fact. And if you are an agriculturist,you owe me that explanation.

Before the plantation, farmer usually engage in land clearing and soil preparation for planting which involved lots of ethical farm practices.

Backyard Picture Of Cleared Farmland

2. Late Planting Season👉 (August – September)

This is one of the period I don't like in village farming lifestyle though it is suitable for crops that require a shorter growing cycle or a second planting cycle before the year ends - this is kind of cashout period 😊. Although the peak rains are in progress and during this peak rain, depending on raining season farmers do experience maximum amount of rainfall that occurs during a specific period usually September - October and some time differs. So, farmers do take advantage of this season to plant crops that will mature before the dry season begins and some of this crops will be what they already planted during early planting period such as maize and cassava etc.

Brief Introduction Into Processes Involve In Farmland Before Cultivation 👇

1. Soil Preparation:
This involved a tedious set of work to do. I usually don't like visiting home during this period.
Soil preparation usually start with land clearing and is done before the rainy season starts for early planting, you can either use manual which is tedious or mechanized methods which is less tedious.

2. Crop Rotation & Mixed Cropping:
This is usually done to maintain soil nutrients,
In crop rotation, farmers plant different crops in successive seasons.

Mixed cropping, which involved planting maize with beans or cassava with vegetables, also practice by those who don't have much farmland to cultivate and also helps to reduce pests

3. Pest & Disease Control:
Outside the insecticide and pesticide or herbicide to be used
regular weeding is necessary as well to prevent competition for nutrients in the soil.
Omo eh, I fear weeding.

Having said this few I know ☝️

Let's have a look of some nice pictures I snap with my phone about different crops in my backyard 👇