Do you know that the banana stem can be used to vegetables crops during dry season? Dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics which comes up between November and March, usually vegetables and maize are the common crops planted during this season. For most farmers planting in the dry season is a very hard thing to do but the hidden truth is that crops that happens to grow in this period of time are more fresh and healthy compared to the ones grown during rainy season.
Farmers who plant crops during dry season often make massive profit as they tend to increase their prices as the vegetables are scare, neat and healthy. Personally the dry season planting is preferable as there would not be much weed to combat unlike in rainy season where you have lots of weeds springing up due to too much rainfall.
Going to the question of the day we all know that containers or pots have been used in the past to grow vegetables but a new innovative way has been adopted and it is using the banana stem to plant vegetables during dry season.
Banana stems are known to stay for a long period of time at they same time the banana stem is known to have a good water retaining capacity and then with this knowledge it can be used to cultivate vegetables.
How is this done?
This is done by digging small holes in the stem of the banana with a knife, fill in the holes with a little soil as this will help plant growth even without irrigation, then put in the seedlings and cover them up with the sand. The spacing between the seedlings should not be too close so that when growing will not cluster among each other, rather at least 30-40cm spacing can be used to encourage good crop aeration and equal growth.
Banana stem ability to retain water makes the growth of vegetables very easy as there would not be any need to always water vegetables manually also making it easy for nutrient absorption from the soil which has already been filled in. Please note that it is advisable to use good loamy soil in filling in the holes before planting as this is the best soil that facilitates good growth in plants.
Why is this helpful?
This is helpful because it is what anybody can do. It does not require any form of technical know-how and there is high chance that the crops will not suffer much from weed infestation. However, this kind of planting also helps to minimize space and resources and encourages the availability of vegetables all round the year either dry or rainy season.
Since banana stem is readily available, it is a very easy and fast way of making more profit when other farmers are wondering of what irrigation method they can use to grow crops. However, this method of growing vegetables can be done by anyone at the back of the house, in the garden or anywhere you want it as long as you are made available with fresh and healthy vegetables all year round.
Conclusion
I feel that since agriculture is aimed at producing food for the nation there should not be any barrier. Innovative like this should be adopted all over so that there would be plentiful even in dry season.
It therefore means that anyone can do this in the comfort of their homes so that every one would have enough to eat and also eat them fresh and healthy.
Governments should also be willing to support initiatives like this in other to curtail famine and hunger in their country. Youths can also be encouraged to adopt this kind of farming in other to be self employed. This method of growing crop is economical as one do not need to start buying fresh land for vegetable cultivation which is a whole lot of of capital intensive. It also stress free as all you need do is to bore a hole and plant.
I also recommend this because it is highly lucrative especially to those who already have a banana plantation because after bananas has been harvested, tree can be turned back into use for growing vegetables giving the farmer more profit and avenue to practice multiple cropping without stress.
sources
https://celac.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/how-to-use-banana-stems-in-an-inovative-way/
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