Growing my own food: Update on the bagged yam planting

2 weeks ago, and experienced personnel in the Agro farming was invited to come and show us how we can economise the little space we have especially for yam planting. He had earlier suggested to us that we can plant yam in bags and thus maximise the little space we have in our compound since we weren't able to get a planting farm land at the moment.

He had also earlier instructed that we buy chicken excrement that will serve as manure for the crops. Thankfully, we were able to get a local farmer, a woman who is experienced in water leaf business and who so makes use of the children excrement to help us buy 4 bags. That 4 bags cost NGN4000 (10.5 steem) each and we kept it and waited for this man to arrive.

	the 4bags of manure

On visiting, I was the one at home alone and he gave instructions on how it is going to be done.

First, he said that the chicken excrement needs to be poured out and be left for 2 weeks if there is no rain but if there is, it can take a shorter period. This will help it not to kill the crops but to give maximum nutrients to the crops. I quickly turned them out of the bag at a corner of the little space that we have.

	the exposed manure
	the man in as he was mapping out the area.

Then, he asked me how many yam tubers we will like to plant of which I told him 20 or more. Then then requested for a spade and mapped out the areas as well as the distance from each bad. He said that the distance between each bag will be one spade.

	the mapped areas

After mapping out the areas, he told me how we can mix the sand, the manure and then that we will need to get some firewood ash to add. The mixture will be 2 spades of chicken excrement and 1 spade of ash then mixed with considerable quality of sand in one bag. That means that we will need to get ash and keep.

He also advised that I nursed tomatos that I can add to the yam bag, 2 in each of them and as at now, i am already nursing them as you can see in the picture below

	the tomatos shooting out

I related all these to my husband when home and he got the ash ready.

On Monday this week, we decided to mix the sand as instructed and placed them at the mapped out region as you can see in the pictures below

	adding the ash to the sand during mixture
	making sure that they are well mixed
	after mixing
	after bagging them and placing them on the mapped areas

Purchasing the yam seedlings

We had waited patiently for the man to help us get suitable yam seedlings. Thankfully, he called my husband yesterday to come let them go and buy the seedlings from the market. Despite the rain, they were able to buy the seedlings. They bought 21 seedlings at 2 different prices. One part at NGN500 (1.3 steem each and the other batch was bought at NGN900 (2.4 steem) each.

	the yam tubers

According to my husband, it is not just anyhow tubers of yam that can be played and get good results. He helped him to select the suitable ones.

They also bought few water yam seedlings for planting too

	the water yam seedlings

The next thing is to plant them in the bags. But that will be next week Wednesday as that is when the man will come to show us how it's done.

This is actually my first time of witnessing this. I am learning and I am glad to share what I am learning with you all. Hope you can keep following up so as to try it out over there. Let's wait, watch and see how it goes!