Hello everyone! Today, I want to share our farming journey. A story of patience, hard work, hope and faith in the land.
I am a child of a farmer, and now I am also the wife of a farmer. Today, I help in farming too. Because of this I truly feel the heat of the sun. the body pain and the daily sacrifice that farmers face. Farming is not easy. It needs strength and patience. That is why I salute all farmers. You are the real heroes behind the food on our table.
Last year, we planted rice. Like many farmers, we faced problems such as weather changes, high costs, and low buying prices. After that season, my husband and I decided to try something new. We chose to plant watermelon, It is a sensitive crop and not easy to grow, but it has good market value if done right.
Planting watermelon needs big financing. From the start, money is already needed. First is land preparation. The field must be cleared, plowed and prepared well so the soil becomes soft and healthy. This alone costs fuel, labor and machine rental. Next are the seeds. Watermelon seeds are expensive, especially good quality hybrid seeds. fertilizers are also important. We needed basal fertilizer, side dressing and sometimes foliar spray to help the plants grow strong. These are also pesticides to protect the plants grow strong. There are also pesticides to protect the plants from insects and diseases.
Aside from materials, daily far work is needed. Someone must always be in the far, to check the plants. Watermelon needs close attention and care. To check always the leaves, the vines and the fruits almost every day. Watering must be correct not too much and not too little. Because of this, my husband stayed in the farm, most of the time. Farming watermelon is not just planting and waiting. It need hand-on care.
Our journey started from day one with planting the seeds. After about 10 days, the seeds sprouted. After 30 days the vines grew longer and flowers appeared. Pollination is very important at this stage. After round 45 days, small fruits started to form. We carefully selected which fruits to keep so that could focus the energy. From 60 to 75 days the fruits became big and heavy. Finally around 80 days, harvest time came.
Harvest time brought so much joy. All the tired days felt worth it. We remembered the past failures, the losses and the doubts. This time, we were rewarded. The price of watermelon went up during harvest season, which helped us recover our expenses.
During harvest, my husband carried the watermelons from the farm to the roadside. When the wholesale truck arrived, each watermelon was weighed per kilo and loaded into the vehicle.
This journey taught us that farming is risky but rewarding. With hard work, planning and faith, farmers can rise again after failures.
Thank you for reading my story. This is my owned photo, the lead photo was edited in Canva.