A Maize Farmer's Journey: From Chemical Pesticides to Organic Solutions

Farming has been one of my favorite homesteading activities through the years because I was raised in it and grew up to also find it not only exciting but also fun, helpful, and an effective way to be self-reliant and sufficient and to escape the plague of inflation. One of the common crops I've planned most through the year was maize, and the reason for that isn't far-fetched; with the maize, I can plant and harvest it like three times a year, while others tend to last over six months to a year.

This year I've planted maize as usual, and this is the second phase of my plantation for this year. I planted the first set earlier on and harvested it, and now the second phrase is also nearly harvested, as you can see from the picture. Although I've grown to be fond of planting and farming generally, one of my drawbacks has been in terms of pests that attack my farm and, if not immediately curbed, could cause a lot of havoc to my crops.

I've been dealing with these for years, and the first method I tried towards getting rid of these pests, such as caterpillars and aphids who prey on my crops, was using chemical pesticides, which were recommended to me by a friend years ago. It did work and helped me combat these issues, which made me relieved and happy again, but deep down, I knew chemicals would definitely have side effects, and for this reason, I soon discovered their own.

Its side effects ranged from environmental to health because these are food items I'll still consume, so I stopped and wasn't able to discover another way out until now that I moved to a new apartment. My landlady in this new place picked interest in my farm, and after seeing the damage this pest causes to my maize, she taught me of an organic, water-effective way out.

Which is the introduction of bugs like ladybugs into the farm? At first, when he said this, I was like, How can I introduce another pest into my farm while I'm trying to chase out another? She said I'd understand, so she did introduce some, and before I knew it, within weeks, most of the caterpillars on my farm gradually disappeared one after the other. She said the ladybug is a natural prey to these pests that attacked my maize, and by introducing them, they'll help me do the job effectively.

Since that's been introduced, I've had fewer worries about my crops, especially this maize, and even though I've been away for some weeks, there hasn't been a breakdown of the crops like there would have been back then. I'm thrilled by this and decided to share the knowledge with anyone who might need it. Although I'm going back to the farm, I can't help but notice how the grass is overgrown around my maize.

I really need to find time, probably this weekend, to go weed out all these grasses and also clear new places to expand my farm and plant more crops, which I can then transform via different processes into various food items we eat here in my country.

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Thanks so much for your time, have a wonderful day.

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All photos are mine

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