Farming

All general notes related to farming either in Thenkodipakkam or in Tamaraikulam are kept here. My interest got piqued by reading certain Books .

Farm land clearing , tilling, soil type, nutrients, crop selection & management, cultivation techniques, weed management, irrigation harvesting and labor.

Crops considered are Casuarina , Coconut , Oil Palm Blackgram along with millets, groundnut, timber crops, fruit orchard etc.

Fruit orchard

An orchard with trees like fig, mosambi, neem, pomegranate and others to be planned

Timber crops

Choice here include vengai, teak, poovarasan, red sandal, nuna and other such varieties.

Tn forest dept

Need to follow up with vridhachalam forest nursery.

REGIONAL MANAGER Tamil Nadu Forest Plantation Corporation Limited, 110, Lucas Street, Vridhachalam, Cuddalore District. Tamil Nadu, South India. PIN– 606 001. Phone: (Off) 91-4143-260 322.

CUDDALORE DISTRICT FOREST OFFICER, Cuddalore Division, No.21, Deepan Nagar, Near Water Tank, Govt. ITI Backside, Nellikuppam Main Road, Semmandalam, Cuddalore-607001. Phone: 04142-291149 Email: dfo.cud@tn.gov.in / dfocud@yahoo.com

Teak

Thiruvamoor Jagannathan mentioned about Aranthangi between Sethiathope and Kaduvetti, where teak is available as sticks at ₹3 approximately. At vegaakollai, it is 10,20 & 30. For volume it can go down up to 7

Chloropyriphos

Chloropyriphos alternative from Bayer is premise for termite treatment

Why farming

Original or first reason

Wanted to do farming as a means of doing some physical labor and to live as community in a farm based on reading Gandhi’s writings.

Jatropha cultivation

At around 2003, jatropha and biodiesel were the buzzwords. So thought that jatropha plantation can be taken up even in infertile soils. So bought mostly land in mostly water scarce areas where soil was poor and Price was low.

I thought that by gaining theoretical knowledge and by applying it, I can restore the soil fertility.

Howard’s influence

On further reading of Howard from soil and health website and comparing it with ills of chemical agriculture, decided to go for organic or self-sufficient farming

Nammazhvar and zero cost farming

In india successfull practioners like Nammazhvar and zero cost farming by subash palekar were gaining popularity.

High-pressure stationary agricultural spraying system

System Layout:

Battery to Pump: Connect your car battery directly to the ZQ-7002 using a thick 2.5 sq mm copper wire to prevent any voltage drops over the 5–6A load.

Pump to Hose: The ZQ-7002 usually has a male threaded outlet or a barbed nipple. Securely attach it to your Shah Agro 30M/40M (13 mm threaded) hose using a tight hose clamp or a 1/4-inch BSP adapter.

Hose to Gun: Twist the remaining end of the hose straight into the 60 cm brass spray gun’s 13 mm threaded inlet.

Since this pump delivers a massive 12 Liters Per Minute, it will drain 200-liter water container in exactly 16 to 17 minutes of continuous spraying if left wide open. To maximize your water usage, an adjustable brass spray lance can fine-tune the output to a dense mist rather than a heavy jet stream.

Place a small rectangular piece of marine plywood or a flat metal plate (approx 6x6 inches) on the inside of the drum wall, and another matching plate on the outside. Sandwich the plastic drum wall between these plates, then bolt your pump through the entire stack. This spreads the weight and vibration across a larger surface area, preventing the plastic from cracking over time.

Pump

Earth Water Pump ZQ-7002 ₹515.00

220PSI
Weight 0.955Kg
Volt 12V DC
Ampere 4.5-6 A
Flow 12LPM
Presssure 250PSI

High-pressure Water Pump 12 Volt DC with 250 PSI output. Suitable for agriculture sprayers, car wash, pressure cleaning, and misting applications. Compact design with powerful performance and long service life.

Battery

Car Battery with 35Ah to 50Ah can easily run this pump continuously for 6 to 8 hours comfortably.

Spray Gun

Spray gun 50CM Brass ₹155.00

Weight 0.195kg
Length 60CM
Inlet Size Threded 13MM
Use For Spray with Petrol Pump

This sprayer gun is made of high quality material . It can be attached and used with power sprayer as well as battery sprayer. We can use this to spray liquids like water, insecticides, and pesticides in agriculture. It comes with 2 feet (60cm)size.

12LPM volume allows you to split the line at the end of the 40 meters to run a multi-nozzle boom or a heavy-duty long-range brass spray gun.

Hose

For a 40m hose, do not use standard, soft garden hose pipes or cheap single-layer crop pipes. At 250 PSI, standard hoses will balloon up and burst instantly. Use a 3-layer or 5-layer high-pressure PVC braided agricultural spray hose (typically yellow or dark blue, rated for 40 Bar / 600 PSI minimum).

Run a thicker 1/2-inch (or 10mm to 12mm ID) main delivery line for the first 30 meters to keep the water flowing freely. You can then reduce it to a standard 8mm agricultural pipe for the final 10 meters near your spray gun for easier handling.

Spray Hose Pipe 8.5MM 30 MTR ₹940.00

Weight 4 kg
One Side End Outer Threded 13MM
One Side Ended Inner Threded 13MM
Pressure 240 kg/Cm

Power Cable Thickness

If you place the pump directly next to the 200L container and the car battery, your power wires will be short, which is perfect and avoids Voltage Drop.

The Rule: Keep the wires connecting the car battery to the pump under 2 meters long. Use a thick 2.5 sq mm copper electrical wire. If you use thin wires, the 6-Amp draw will cause a voltage drop, making the pump run slowly and lose pressure.

Extend the pump’s factory wire tails using a heavy-duty 2.5 sq mm copper wire bundle equipped with sturdy copper alligator clips.

Foot-valve filter

Critical - Must install a weighted, fine-mesh sediment foot valve-filter or a dedicated inlet strainer onto the suction hose dropping into your 200L drum. The weight must ensure that the foot valve connected to the pump suction inlet hose sits flat at the bottom without sucking air.

Since a 200-liter drum is open to the air, dust, leaves, and debris will inevitably fall in. A 12 LPM diaphragm pump has highly sensitive internal rubber check valves. Even a tiny speck of dirt will lodge in the valve, causing the pump to permanently lose pressure or run non-stop without priming.

Battery Sprayer Inner Filter (₹9.00)

Weight 0.005 Kg
Use For Spray Pump
Outlet OD 12MM

The Suction Pipe

Spray Hose 10MM Cut (₹27.00 per meter).

Why it works: Do not buy their heavy-duty “Suction Hose Pipe” category, as those are 0.75-inch to 3-inch thick pipes meant for massive diesel water engines. Instead, select 2 meters of the 10mm Cut Spray Hose. The 10mm inner diameter slides perfectly onto the ribbed intake barb of your Earth pump.

Clamps

The Inlet Clamp (Mandatory)
A standard 1/2-inch (12mm–16mm adjustable range) Stainless Steel Hose Clip from a local hardware store.
Installation: Slide the 10mm suction pipe onto the pump’s ribbed inlet nozzle, place the clip over the hose where it overlaps A Wall Anchor/Cable Clip (Highly Recommended)
Because you are hanging the pump on the top edge of a 3-foot tall industrial drum, the weight of a water-filled suction pipe hanging downward can put constant pulling stress on the pump’s plastic inlet nozzle.
The Fix: Use a basic plastic cable tie to strap the suction hose firmly to the rim of the drum right before it connects to the pump. This ensures the drum takes the physical weight of the hanging pipe, keeping your pump’s plastic nozzles safe from cracking under strain.