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[Food Stockpile Ultimate] Grains from Scratch: A Beginner Farmer's Challenge Part 3 - How do you sow seeds? I don't know when, what, or where.

綺麗道【生きるを愉しむ新潟クリエイター】

2023年5月9日 11:26

They say May is the perfect season for sowing seeds.

Did you know?

Oh, I'm Kireido, and I've started farming from scratch to try growing grains.

What I am producing this time is "grains".

Specifically, Takakibi (sorghum) and Amaranth.

The time has finally come for them to make their long-awaited debut.

The third installment of an amateur's journey into grain farming from scratch is the [Sowing Edition].

You can find the previous stories here ↓

I am sending you a hands-on practical record that clearly shows where a complete beginner stumbles when starting agriculture.

Titled "Grain Quest," let's have fun again today.

How do you sow grain seeds?

Well, I bought the grain seeds, but once they arrived in my hands,

"I want to plant them now! Plant them! Muay Thai!" (Wait, one of those doesn't belong.)

It's human nature to want to plant them immediately no matter what.

But I am an adult, after all. I wouldn't just plant them without thinking.

There is a perfect timing for planting!

I at least know that much. But there's no way I'd know when the best time is.

Because it's my first time, after all.

In times like these...

Ta-da-da-da-da! (Doraemon style)

The Magic Book!

I read through this book,
which contains the basics of grain cultivation.

Hmm, so when is the time to sow grain seeds...?
*Flip, flip* (sound of turning pages)

1. When is the best season for sowing?

Of course, the best season
varies depending on the type of crop.

The stars of this project are the grains:
- Sorghum
- Amaranth

When is the right time to plant them?

The Magic Book said this:

[Best season for sowing Sorghum]
Cold regions: Late May to early June
General regions: Early May to mid-June
Warm regions: Early April to late June

[Best season for sowing Amaranth]
Cold regions: Late May to early June
General regions: Early May to mid-June
Warm regions: Early May to mid-June

Enjoying Growing Grains: Cultivation, Processing, and Use

To summarize, it looks like this ↓

And, this is Niigata.

It's a unique prefecture that is sometimes called Tohoku,
sometimes Hokuriku,
and also part of Kanto-Koshinetsu,

so is it a cold region? A general region?

I'm confused.

Well, I'll just assume it's a general region.

I want to plant them soon, anyway.
(I'm impatient after all)

So,
I decided to sow the seeds during Golden Week.

2. Even if you say 'sow seeds,' where do you sow them?

Assuming I plant them in soil, what kind of soil?
How should I do it?

I don't understand anything at all.

The magic book said this.

【Types of Sowing】
① Direct sowing: Sowing directly into the field
② Seedling raising: Growing into seedlings first before planting in the field

Wow, there are different ways to plant! I never knew that.

Which one is better?
Let's compare them.

▶ Direct Sowing Method

▶ In the case of direct sowing
【Pros】
・The soil is less likely to dry out
・No need for the trouble of transplanting to the field

【Cons】
・If birds or others find them, they will be pecked at
・Weeding is necessary
・It's hard to distinguish from weeds during weeding (don't pull them out by mistake)

▶ Seedling Raising Method

▶ In the case of seedling raising
【Pros】
・Growth is easier to keep uniform
・One round of weeding can be skipped

【Cons】
・Space is needed to grow them into seedlings
・Materials are needed for sowing seeds
・They dry out easily
・Frequent watering is required
・It takes effort to transplant them to the field

So, what I chose this time is...

the seedling raising method.

Because I have a strong ally.

Now, here I will
summon a veteran home gardening grandma.

Come forth! Field Grandma!!

Rumble rumble rumble

I will try it with guidance from a great senior in the field.

3. Even if you say sowing seeds, what about the soil?

By the way, according to the magic book,
it said this regarding the soil.

Dig up soil from the mountain,
dry it in the sun, sift it...
add Bokashi fertilizer... and so on

Growing and Enjoying Grains: Cultivation, Processing, and Use

No, in the first place, I don't have any mountain soil.

So, I heard that something called "seed-starting soil" is sold in stores,
so I decided to use that this time.
I decided to use that this time.

Next is what to plant them in.

This is where the
cell tray comes in.

I'll use a container made of thin plastic
that is divided into small sections.

Since I'll be removing the seedlings to transplant them later,
this shape is apparently best for taking them out.

The size of each individual cell
varies from small to large.

This time, I chose a smaller one
from the cell trays
that I found on Grandma's shelf.

By the way, according to the magic book,

fill a 128-cell tray with soil until it's level

so it seems the standard is 128 cells.
so it seems the standard is 128 cells.

By the way,
a cell tray on its own is too flimsy to carry around.

So, the seedling-raising style is to place
a tray underneath it like a base.

[Field Trivia]
・The cell tray and the tray underneath are a set
・There is soil for sowing seeds sold in stores called seed-starting soil

Now, everything is ready.

Let's sow.

4. Let's practice sowing seeds

Alright, Takakibi-chan,
Amaranth-chan, it's your turn!

The brown one in the back is Takakibi.
It's about 3mm, so it's reasonably large.

The light brown one in the front is Amaranth.
It's a tiny seed about 1mm in size.

It's smaller than millet.

Please be careful, as it might blow away in the wind.

Now, it's time to sow.

1. Fill the cell tray with soil

The kind meant for seed starting, that is.

2. Make holes with your finger

3. Put about 4 seeds in

Grandma sowed them quite roughly for me.
So, it's way more than 4 seeds, haha.

4. Cover with soil from above

Sowing complete!

5. Drying out is the greatest enemy.

The biggest enemy until the sprouts appear is... drying out.

Especially at the beginning,
it seems sufficient moisture is necessary.

They say watering 1-2 times a day is essential.

...What should I do if I forget?

In that case,
Ta-da-da-da-da! (Doraemon style again)

The Pool Strategy!

Let me explain.

The Pool Strategy is

a slightly sneaky tactic where
you soak the tray in a place filled with water like a pool,
allowing it to constantly absorb water.

However, the downsides are that you need a container and it takes up space.

As for a container,
it seems you can use things like a children's pool,
but I wonder if there's anything else... I'll search the warehouse.

Then, I discovered a huge plastic box,
the kind where you wonder why on earth it's even there.

This is the kind of thing restaurants use to carry food!

Put it in here.