From Growing to Harvesting: A Farmers Challenge

Hello, Good Day, Hivers! I hope that everyone is doing well. I mentioned in my introduction blog that farming is one of my hobbies and our way of associating with my family. I acquired farming skills from my parents since they were farm workers and cultivated their small farms before and even at present. If not for our small farm planted with corn and other root crops, we may experience famine and hunger during drought. I already experienced it when I was still a child. Because of the crops harvested, we survived that time. For today's blog, I'd like to share how we grew peanuts on our small farm and the challenge we experienced from planting to harvesting time.

Our small farm is within our municipality. It is just more or less 3 kilometers away from our house. When we don't have any work on Saturday, or Sunday, we frequently visit there with my whole family. We do the farm work such as; clearing the land, pulling weeds, and harvesting the crops available. We usually cultivate corn and mangoes, and this season we planted peanuts. We choose to grow this since it does not require commercial fertilizer to nourish the plant and to grow healthy and vigorously. Aside from that, a peanut is also in demand in our locality. Almost all people are peanut consumers.

Peanut is a leguminous plant whose roots contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It nourishes and promotes the growth of plants by providing nutrients. It can be eaten both raw and cooked. Aside from eating uncooked, numerous recipes include peanuts as an essential ingredient. As a result, it is currently in demand. Because of its nutritional value, many people enjoy and love eating it. It contains calcium, vitamin C, iron, vitamin B6, and vitamin D. Peanuts are easy to grow only when there is enough rain and sunlight within the planting period. It takes 4 to 5 months to be fully mature and ready to harvest.

Last June, we decided to plant peanuts on our little farm instead of growing mangoes. I selected a good variety of peanut seeds so that one hundred percent of these seeds will germinate. I prepared six gantas of peanut seeds for almost 1000 square meters of farmland. Before sowing the seeds, be sure that the field is clean, will plowed, and harrowed. We rushed to the field to sow the seeds after having rain. We dug a small hole about 2 inches deep with a distance of 2 steps from each pit and sowed the seeds. It started in the morning and finished in the afternoon. We felt so tired of sowing the peanut seeds, but we always kept in mind that after four to five months, we will harvest the fruit of our labor.

We examined the field after two weeks of sowing the seeds and discovered that not all seeds had grown due to the lack of rain. From the time we sow the seeds, no rain has come. And we all know how vital rain is in crop production. But that's okay because there were seeds that have sprouted. We just wished for the rain to fall continuously till the peanut bloomed. It will bear flowers when it is 30 to 40 days old. It indicates that the peanuts will begin to develop their new pods or kernels.

Last week of October, we harvested our peanuts. My husband, together with my three kids, went to the farm to harvest the peanut. They enjoyed pulling and collecting peanuts and ensuring no pods would go into the soil after harvesting. Even if not all of the seeds germinated and grew successfully, we harvested at least twenty-five gantas of peanut seeds. We sold the twenty gantas and kept the five gantas for family consumption. We could not harvest if we did not plant this on our little farm.

The life of a farmer is so challenging. The amount of harvest will be affected by so many factors. Land preparation, planting season, plant variety, and applying fertilizer are the factors to consider in growing crops until harvesting season comes. The happiness and fulfillment of farmers are during harvesting. As a farmer, there are things to consider; type of soil, preparation, variety, application of fertilizer, amount of rainfall, and others. Lastly, you must love what you are doing because if you love your work, less pressure you will feel. Growing crops is not easy, and it is a challenge for every farmer to have a good harvest. When a farmer plants, there must be hope, the hope of a good yield of crops.