Preparing Cassava Stem For Planting
According to the law of nature, there is no reaping without sowing or there is no harvesting without planting. This statement is true as it applies to every area of our lives. One should not expect to reap where not sown.
For the farmers in my country, the planting season have started. The bushes are getting cleared and burnt to make planting easy. Farmers are taking out their crops from their reserves or store houses to plant. Others are buying the crops for planting in their farm. It not time to relax! It is time to go for farming.
As a small scale farmer, I woud be sharing with this amazing nature and ahriculture community, the series of my farming activities here as the planting season has set in.
Preparing Cassava Stem For Planting
Cassava is a widely grown plant that produces the food like carbobydrate, that we eat. But it does not just become food on its own. It undergoes different planting processes before it grows to become harvestible. The non mechanical way of planting thhe stem is as follows:
- Bush clearing:
This could be done by hiring laborers. The size of the farmland is also considered when hiring laborers.
Bush burning:
This done after clearing the land. The bush is burnt after the sun must have shined to dry the small woods and other unwanted plants that were cut down during the bush clearing.Clearing the firewoods:
Now as the bush is burnt, there would some wood particles scattered all over the land. These woods would be picked away or cleared to enable tilling the soil.Tilling the soil:
This is another stage where labourers may be needed. The size of the land matters and so determines the number laborers to till the soil.Planting the cassava stem:
This could be done just as the laborers are tilling the soil or after they finish.
Hips of tilled soil for cassava planting
I got my cassava stem from my farm which I planted last year. Meaning that they are now due for harvesting. So the stems are brought down to the new site for planting this year. The stem is cut between five to six inches. It would now be inserted into the hiped soil as planting.
These are the processes of planting cassava without using the machines to do it. It is the most popular way of planting cassava in my region as most farmers are peasant and can not afford mechanical farming even if they have a large expanse of land to do it. The process is very tudious and time consuming. This is why laborers are sought for and hired, to help during the farming period.
I would be sharing more of these to this farming loving community