A nursery is a place where seedlings are grown and taken care of before being transplanted In the garden or in the field In the pits. A good harvest of vegetables and fruits will depend a lot on the good care of seedlings starting from the nursery stage because the nursery is the mother part in the production of seedlings. The farmer should be careful in choosing the right place to put the nursery. As well as being careful in choosing the right location, the farmer should also know the methods of preparing and taking care of the seedlings in the nursery.
Important Points to Consider
- The nursery area should not be free of resistant weeds such as ndago and kwewe.
- Do not start a nursery in a place with insects or diseases or pests such as rats, monkeys, monkeys etc
- The area of the nursery should have fertile soil, which retains water but does not soak water and the soil should not be salty.
- The area of the nursery should be flat, if it is a mountainous area, then it is important to make the ridges of the nursery by following the ridges of the ridge.
- The nursery should not be too far from the actual vegetable garden to facilitate transportation and transplanting operations.
- Make sure the nursery is near the path to make it easier to bring fertilizer, manure or compost and other inputs.
- The nursery area should have easy access to enough water for watering the seedlings. There should be a well or pond for storing water.
- The area should have trees along the windbreak to prevent strong winds in the nursery.
- The nursery area should have enough sunlight.
Vegetable nursery preparation
Important things to consider
- .Do a thorough cleaning of the area you have chosen by removing all bushes and weeds.
- .Ensure access to water by installing canals or ways to bring water or store water by making wells or canals.
- It is good to set aside a special area for storing and mixing fertilizers.
- . Make sure you have plowed and plowed the area set aside for planting seedlings.
- .Don't forget to destroy insects and diseases caused by the soil before preparing the nursery ridges by using pesticides in the soil, burning the soil or covering the area of the nursery ridge using translucent plastic for two to four weeks to kill insects and worms in the soil.
Types of nursery beds
1. A raised embankment that tapers in the middle
This is used during the dry season in places with heavy clay type soil that soaks up water to help conserve water.
2. A raised embankment
This is used in wet areas with heavy rains or areas with heavy clay type soil that soaks up water to allow the water to disperse and go underground.
3. Experience
Jaruba is used in dry places or during summer to preserve enough moisture in the soil for seedlings.
Planting seeds
There are two ways to plant seeds in the nursery as follows.
1. Scattered planting in ridges.
Sowing seeds by scattering, is done with very small seeds like spinach. Where it is usually recommended to mix these seeds with sand (in a ratio of 1:4) before planting to help have a good dispersion of the seeds throughout the ridge. After planting, pass a rake to cover them or pour some sand over the embankment to cover them.
2. Planting in a line
Planting seeds in a line is required to make trenches that span the width of the embankment using a stick. This trench should be no more than 2 cm to 3 cm deep. To plant small seeds such as onions, tomatoes and cabbage, use 2 cm deep trenches to prevent the seeds from rotting if they are planted too low. Keep a distance of 15 to 20 cm between the lines. After planting the seeds in a row, return the soil and then press the soil so that it can adhere to the seeds well.
Once the seeds are covered with soil, spread grass over the nursery mound to prevent water loss into the air and drying of the mound and seeds before and after germination. Then water some water and after that the embankment should be watered in the morning and evening depending on the weather and the type of soil. You can water up to three times a day for areas with full sun or sandy soil.
Nursery care
Remove the grass from the nursery after the seeds have germinated. Build a cover spread with grass or bushes or anything to reduce the penetration of sunlight because these seedlings are still very young so they are susceptible to the strong sun that can burn them or make them not grow well. The transplanter should be one meter long to enable weeding and reduce seedlings without any problem. The vaccine slows down heavy raindrops that can injure young seedlings. The nursery vaccine can last for two weeks. Reduce the amount of shade of the grass mulch gradually and you can remove it completely after two or three weeks.
Plants with broad leaves, such as cabbage and tomatoes, need to be thinned to give them room to grow properly. The seedlings should be moved early because it is more difficult to move large seedlings because their roots are long and can break easily.
Preparation of seedlings to plant in the field
. Remove the shade after two or three weeks from the germination of the seedlings to help the seedlings start to get used to the real conditions in the garden, especially the sun and strong wind. One week before sending seedlings to the garden, i.e. after
four weeks for most vegetable crops (minus onion 5 weeks)
.reduce the amount of watering water so that the seedlings get used to the harsh conditions of drought after being transplanted into the garden. Seedlings should be planted with a little soil around their roots so that they can hold well immediately after planting.