SOME COMMON MISTAKES THAT BEGGINER FARMERS NEED TO AVOID

By Penjani Nzima

WHEN starting a business it is important to understand how the same business operates so that certain mistakes can be avoided at all cost. This applies to all types of businesses with farming inclusive.

And in this article the author brings to the attention of the would be farmers and highlights some of the common mistakes that most farmers encounter as the start their faming business,

When news farmers follow or master these outlined mistakes then success in their farming business ventures becomes inevitable.

These are some of the common mistakes the beginner farmers usually commit because the overlook them as not being important.

This is according to Farm with Fred from Small scale farmers as a business face Bookpage. He brings out the following mistakes:

1. Poor Soil Management

Any Successful farmer will testify to the fact good soil guarantees a healthy beginning from planting to harvest. Therefore, it is important farmers to understand that farming in poor Soil is a recipe to failure & an invite to a number of complications.

Many vegetables especially Cabbage, Capsicum, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and the exotic types are heavy feeders and will require plenty of manure in order to grow as expected. As such, it is very important to carry out soil tests before planting anything.

2. Purchasing Poor Quality Seeds

Another top mistake that New Farmers make in vegetables farming is planting of poor quality seeds. The truth is that poor seeds may not grow well or grow at all, some will become stunted if they manage to germinate.

While others may not produce healthy produce at all. Some produce scanty fruits.

Planting of traditional seeds are gradually fading away & improved seeds are coming up. It is advisable that Farmers generally, should go for hybrid seeds. This is because they have good yield capacity.

3. Poor Water Management

Just as you need water to survive, Plants also need water in order to grow healthy. If you are inconsistent or are improperly watering your crops in a manner which may lead to crops not receiving enough water, your crop’s health will decrease or die.

Therefore Irrigation is very important for vegetable farming especially during dry season. Vegetables are healthier, fresher during dry season if well irrigated. That is why dry season vegetable farming is the best in terms of commercial purposes.

Farmers that engage in farming this Season make 5 times the profit as compared to those that plant during the rainy season. It should be noted that vegetables are to be irrigated during the rainy season only if there is shortage in rainfall or drought.

Keep in mind that vegetables need just the right amount of water, over watering may lead to fruits cracking or leaves dying. Make sure you make a path way for water to flow out after heavy rain or irrigation.

4. Planting too much is not right

Some farmers in a bid to manage space cluster crop in the farm whereas there should be enough space for plants to breathe and receive sunlight. Planting too much seeds/seedlings is a mistake in vegetable farming. Avoid it at all cost.

5. Inadequate Spacing

Give your plants enough space to breathe while you also use the most of the space you have available.

6. Non maintenance Culture

Weeds and alien plants compete with crops for space, water and soil nutrients. Failure to tackle such issues in the early days will lead the weeds to overgrow and eventually cover your crops.

It's understandable that most new vegetable farmers don’t know the actual time to weed the farm.  Another bad mistake in vegetable farming is poor pest or insect management.

6. Ignoring challenges

Let’s assume the leaves are becoming yellowish, you should be worried because it maybe as a result of many things, such as; lack of a particular nutrient or too much water intake.

7. Not staking as a common mistake in vegetables farming

Some vegetable plants such as cucumber, pepper, tomatoes require staking for proper fruiting. and may not produce plenty pod if they are not stake.

8. Not Harvesting on time is a common mistake in Vegetables farming

Vegetable crops should be harvested on time; vegetables are harvested at different times depending on the crop. Harvesting cucumber starts from week 6, watermelon 75days if delayed, they fruits will rot.

These are some of the mistakes that most beginner farmers make when they engage into vegetable or any other crop production.  

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