Hello Hives,
Yesterday was one of those days that reminded me that farming is never an easy journey. My brother, my sister with her kid, my baby boy and I walked for more than an hour before we finally arrived at our maize farm. It was a tiring journey under the open sky, but every step felt worthwhile because we had an important task ahead of us.
**As you can see that the maize look scanty and this is what the farm looks like when we arrived there.
For months now, I have been trying to get this maize farm right, but the journey has been full of challenges. The first problem was the lack of rain, which delayed planting. On top of that, money was another major obstacle. My original plan was to hire people to make ridges before planting, but I simply couldn't afford it at the time. Instead, I planted the maize seeds directly on the land, hoping for the best.
Distance has also made things difficult. My village is far from where I currently live, so visiting the farm is not something I can do whenever I want. Sometimes I don't even have enough money for transportation, and other times work keeps me too busy to travel.
After the first planting, only a few maize seeds germinated. Since I couldn't leave work, my brother stepped in and helped with the first replanting. Even then, only a small number of the seeds sprouted. That was when he explained that the land was covered with stubborn grasses and that the maize would struggle unless ridges were made properly.
Fortunately, I managed to save a little money and hired some workers to make the ridges. They started the job, but the dry weather made the soil too hard to work on, forcing them to stop. After waiting nearly five days for rain, they returned and completed the work.
My brother advised me to wait until there was enough moisture in the soil before planting again. We patiently waited for about three days until the rain finally came.
Two days ago, I returned to my village with my baby boy, and yesterday we went back to the farm. This time, we successfully replanted the maize, and I left the farm feeling hopeful once again.
Today, we plan to spray the farm with herbicide to control the weeds and give the maize a better chance to grow healthy.
The long walk yesterday left me exhausted, but it also reminded me that farming is built on patience, persistence, and hope. There have been many setbacks along the way, but I'm choosing to believe that this planting will finally produce the healthy maize crop we have been working so hard for. One successful harvest will make every long walk, every delay, and every challenge worth it.
Thanks for Reading
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