Page 108 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 7

FARMING GOD'S WAY

hair stage”, they are very easy fore full canopy stage. Keep on lings per 3 holes, so thin 1
to cut off and cannot re-grow. weeding backwards when the from the hole with 3 in it.
Weed by walking backwards, weeds are still tiny at 3 cm tall. Remove weakest/middle
simply hoeing them off at the soil YY YYY Y Y
surface and leaving them to add Thinning
to God’s Blanket. Pull out creep- We planted three seeds per Thinning example 3 – 6 seed-
ing grasses and carry them out hole, but we actually only want lings per 3 holes, so leave all.
of your field, but try to disturb as 2 seedlings per hole. It has been
little soil as possible. Repeat the shown that yields are best at 2 YY YY Y Y
weeding process every 10-14 seedlings per hole that will leave
days. 44,444 plants per hectare. Seed Full Canopy
Example: A Farming God's Way is only certified to have around One of the great advantages
farmer, weeding when the weeds 87 percent germination, so if we of the spacing of 60 by 75cm is
are just 3cm tall, will complete a had planted 44,444 seeds, only that the canopy (cover provided
hectare by working less than 5 about 38,000 would have come by the leaves of the maize plant}
hours a day for 7 days. up, excluding losses from rats, closes early on, capturing the
Waiting for the weeds to get chicken or Guinea fowl, leav- maximum amount of sunlight for
to 30 cm tall makes the job so ing probably 35,000 plants per good growth whilst also shading
much more difficult, it will take hectare. Because of this, it is im- out weeds. At about 6 weeks,
twice as long, 14 days to do the possible to get our optimal yield your plants are about waist high
same hectare. The weed cycle potential unless we plant three and they will close the canopy
is a 10-day cycle, so the weeds seeds per hole and thin down to completely giving you a rest
will be 4 days bigger than when two. It has been proven that for from weeding for quite a while.
one first starts. This means one every cent you spend on the 3rd
will always be behind with the seed you will get back 40 cents Removing Suckers
weeding and is likely to lose through the thinning process. Suckers sometimes branch off
their joy and have a significantly That is a 40 times cost to benefit the parent plant at ground level.
lower yield. Do not let weeds set ratio - it is worth it. Some advisors say they should
seed in your field, as they pro- be removed, but surprisingly this
duce hundreds of thousands of Thin at 2-3 weeks after emer- has not proven to make any dif-
seeds, which can remain dor- gence when seedlings are ference to the yield. If you want
mant in the soil for 20 years, around 20 to 30cm tall. You do to remove suckers for neatness
waiting for the right conditions this by uprooting the weakest sake, simply snap off the suckers
for germination. Sin and weeds plant or if they are all the same with a quick motion just before
have a lot in common. When you size then the middle plant of tassles start to form. Well-wa-
deal with them, they cannot bear each hole’s emerged seedlings. tered gardens look much neater
bad fruit, but just leave them un- Look at 3 holes at a time, not and more presentable after re-
attended for just a few moments one and thin to 6 seedlings per moving suckers, which should
and their fruit will leave you in 3 holes. be done at about 6 weeks.
disgrace. Just one year of poor Thinning example 1 – 9 seed-
control can result in 7 years of lings per 3 holes, so thin 1 Pollination and Seed Fill
weed problems. So be ON TIME from each hole In a maize plant, there is an
and keep your lands weed free interesting biological phenom-
throughout the year. Y Y Y enon. Every single ovule has an
Weeding must be done every 10 Remove middle. individual silk, the long golden
– 14 days when weeds are just 3 brown thread that comes through
cm tall, all the time continuing to YY Y the top of the cob. During the
build up the blanket coverage. It Remove weakest. pollination phase of the plant, a
is incredible to see the reduction single pollen grain lands on the
in weed growth when you have Y YY silk and grows down the silk un-
a good blanket (100% mulch) in Remove weakest til it comes into contact with the
place. You will most likely have ovule, where it fertilizes to form
to weed two or three times be- Thinning example 2 – 7 seed- a seed. The silks attached to the

108 | heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY