Unlike some years back when mostly subsistence farmers grew garden egg for their family consumption, the present farmers have started cultivating garden eggs in large quantities for sales.
Garden eggs are consumed in almost every Nigerian region and even beyond. The green variety is widely loved in many parts of the world because of its so many amazing health benefits.
Garden eggs aid digestion, promote healthy bones and weight loss and also helps in the prevention of ailments like anaemia, diabetes and heart diseases.
Before we proceed, in this article, you will get information regarding the following:
• Profitability• Guidelines
• Garden egg seeds
• Species of garden eggs
• Cultural practices of garden egg
How Profitable Is Garden Egg Farming Business In Nigeria
Unlike some vegetables, garden eggs are consumed by all the ethnic groups in Nigeria. In Igbo land, it's even used as a form of kola with the peanut butter (ose oji).
Venturing into garden egg farming as a farmer will be a nice decision as the crop has a very short maturity period.Moreover, if you need any kind of farming tips then must pay a visit to visit hayfarmguy.com.
Guidelines To Starting Your Garden Egg Farming Business In Nigeria
• Business plan
Like I earlier said, gone are the days when garden egg cultivation was only limited to subsistence farming, nowadays, it's gone commercial.One of the first things you need to have to excel in garden egg farming business is a business plan. Your business plan will serve as a roadmap that will aid your in achieving your goals.
A business plan is also necessary if you intend collecting loans from the government or any other financial institution in the later run.
• Site selection/preparation
The next step after the business plan is the site selection and preparation stage. The best type of soil for garden egg cultivation is the sandy loam soil.After selecting the land, you'd proceed to the clearing stage which involves removing all tree stumps and debris.
You can use a tractor for commercial garden egg production but ensure that you don't till the ground lower than 20 cm to avoid displacing the top soil.
• Start planting
At this stage, the soil should be ready for planting. Try as much as possible to select good species of garden eggs as it'll greatly impact your harvest. You can either decide to plant the seeds directly or you can nurture them in a nursery.It is advisable to plant the seeds during the morning period. Two garden egg seeds should be planted in a hole or you can also spread them on the farmland and thin later on.
In the case of nursery, you can still plant two garden eggs in a hole on the nursery tray. The seedlings should have developed 2-3 seed leaves before you transplant from the nursery to the farm site.
On the farmland, you should make use of 90cm by 90cm spacing between the ridge beds.
• Fertiliser application
Fertiliser will help in supplying the basic nutrients that are required for the growth and development of the garden egg. Please ensure that you only use quality fertilisers on the farmland. You can apply 400g of potassium nitrate on one hectare of land.• Mulching/weeding
Ensure that you take care while weeding the farmland to avoid damages, especially if you're using herbicides. You need to carry out proper weeding of the garden egg farm in order to allow good and proper development of the garden eggs.Mulching helps in the conservation of soil moisture, improving fertility and health of the soil, reducing weed growth and enhancing the visual appeal of the area.
• Pests and diseases
The most common diseases that attack the garden eggs are the bacteria wilt and fruit rot. There are also many types of fungus diseases caused by water and wind.Phytophthora also have some effects on the crops but can be controlled by removal of the affected plants.
Different examples of garden eggs pests include caterpillars, bugs, spider mutes, flea beetle and fruits borer. They can be removed with the aid of insecticides.
• Harvesting
Flowering in the garden eggs starts withing 6-8 weeks after transplanting. Depending on the specie of the garden egg, you can harvest after about 2-3 months.Harvesting can be done in the morning, once they have reached marketable size. Also, avoid pulling the garden eggs with your hands while harvesting as it can damage the stems. In addition to this, be careful not to damage the garden eggs by abrasion, compression or puncturing.
How To Market Your Garden Eggs In Nigeria
Since it is consumed by all the Nigerian ethnic groups, you might not have to spend much in transporting it. You can sell it in wholesale to the traders in the local markets close to you.What do you think? If this article helped you, don't forget to share it with your friends and drop us a comment. Also check out our next article on how to start fruit selling business in Nigeria.
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