SYAFIQAH KACAK: FPA100 REPORT: FARMING PLAN (MARCH-JULY 2023)

FPA100 REPORT: FARMING PLAN

SYAFIQAH SAHIRA BINTI SAIDI (2023103831)
M3AT110D

WEEK 6 (5 MEI 2023)
PLANTING AND MULCHING
VENUE: FIELD, UiTM JASIN
SUBMISSION DATE: 8 MEI 2023

Before I start my blog report, I would like to wish Eid Mubarak to everyone reading this blog post. For the last two weeks ago, I had so much fun while prepared the last week of Ramadhan and Eidul fitri with my family. Now I am ready to continue my farming journey. The day before we go home, we already do germination but fail because of erratic weather. In a day weather can be too hot then for the next 10 minutes, rain is pouring. So we cannot rely fully on the greenhouse.

As soon we get back to UiTM, KG Jep asked G16 to help him redo germination with seeds that we took in the seedling box. While waiting for the crop to grow, my friends and I proceed with plough the planting bed and make a drainage.

Drainage progress.

Drainage refers to the process and practices used to remove excess water from the soil surface and from the soil profile. For the purpose of preventing surface water ponding and controlling runoff without causing erosion, surface drainage is the cheapest and easiest option in some cases. In this system, excess water from the soil surface is removed by flowing over the naturally or artificially sloping ground toward surface inlets, shallow ditches and grassed waterways.

Drainage help water flow.

Planting bed progress.

Laterite soil.

It is a bit hard to fix the planting bed because the plot is laterite soil. Laterite soil contains high acid and to make it stable range for crop that is why we did liming process before this. In adittion, Malaysian peat is oligotrophic - low in mineral content and acid in reaction, pH in the natural state being less than 4, usually between 3.5 - 3.8. To support this deficiency, we have to apply chicken dung to our planting bed.

Chicken dung is one of poultry manure compost which is used as an organic fertilizer that will help growth rate of crop better. Especially for soil low in nitrogen. Of all animal manures, it has the highest amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Sadly, we have no much time left, group D in a exception to apply chicken dung but we still get to experience to soaking hand in pure chicken dung compos and I cannot stand with the smell. Tsk tsk... T_T

Next, we move to planting bed selection which mean, place for us by individual to plant those crops. Due to failure of germination, my class change the seed too. Some of us choose an Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and Cucumber (Cucumis sativus). I picked cucumber as my crop. Our plot have up to 209 planting bed, one planting bed for each person and 18 another planting beds to divide to share with 4 group of classes and we called it 'batas kongsi'. So my class have another 4 planting bed to take care of.

Cucumber.

Okra.

After that, we started to do transplanting and mulching. In agriculture and gardening, transplanting or replanting is the technique of moving a plant from one location to another. Two advantages is replant allows us to plant the seedlings at the right spacing and select only healthy seedlings for the plants and, it promotes better development of shoot system of plants and penetration of roots in the soil.

We have to take out baby plant carefully.

Watch and learn.

My classmates help me to do mulching.

Palm fronds.

Last but not least, we cover the plant with palm fronds which we call it as a mulch. The purpose of mulching is to avoid direct sun, damage due to heavy rain and protect crop from pesticides. Mulching is especially important for new plantings done in the fall that are still tender as temperatures begin to plummet. Mulch only have to do up to 3 days and let the crop begin to grow directly under the sun. Lastly, we have to water the plants twice a day.