The base for any agriculture is to have a fertile soil. Without good quality soil, it is difficult for the seeds to germinate and sustain in the environment. So, for any farming activity we need to set the soil initially. There are different steps to create a perfect growing space for your plants

Preparation can be done in two different seasons based on the vegetable you select. Usually the creepers and climbers like cucumber, bottle gourd, ash gourd etc are planted in rainy season. Even the ladies finger goes best when planted in rainy season. The summer grown plants include brinjal, beans, lobia etc. Once the soil is prepared and seeds are planted, the best way to get good yield is just “take care of them”. This blog gives you an idea about how to prepare your soil for olericulture.

1. Fired soil – Using fired soil increases the fertility of soil. This can be prepared by burning the soil with other organic, biodegradable wastes like plant waste, vegetable waste, bricks, twigs, wood, areca husk dried areca leaf dried coconut leaf, coconut husk etc. Burning the soil allows it to convert the essential nutrients and chemicals of the soil into much more available form by increasing the mineralization rate. So, it acts the best base for any plant or seedling to germinate.

2. Areca husk – Place good amount of areca husk on the place where you want to plant your seeds. This is something similar to using the coco peat for planting seeds in pot 😊 Since we do it in large quantity, we use the areca husk in place of it. Then, pour the Fired soil on top of it. Water it well so that the husk and soil both are wet enough to hold the seed firm. The amount of soil and husk all depends on how many plants you need to have at the end. More the soil, more the yield!

3. Organic leaves – Once the above two steps are done, your base is ready for planting the seeds. Place the seeds gently on the above mixture and allow it to settle. Now it’s the time to preserve it till its germination. There are high chances that the seeds may get eroded when rains pour heavily or even when we water them. So, we need to place the organic leaves on top of them in such a way that the seeds do get required amount of light and water. Once this is done carefully, we must patiently wait till we get a good grown plant/creeper for our yield. This is also called Glericidia in English . You can find its used and more on this link

All of the above methods act as the first step for your olericulture. This is our way of doing it . What are your techniques ? Let us know in the comment section !