Mini Nursery for Vegetables
Content Traditional nurseries, Mini nursery types: small, scaled up, modular kit Mini nursery construction and costs, Comparison of mini nursery and traditional nurseries, Examples: vegetable crops in mini nursery
Ready plant standards
Current Situation: Raised Bed Nurseries ďƒ˜The stimulant for the development of vegetable nursery solutions was the existing poor situation of vegetable nurseries of small holders in Ethiopia. ďƒ˜Raised bed nurseries suffers from soil-born pests and diseases and damage to roots on transplanting to the field.
ďƒ˜The adaptation percentage of plants transplanted to field from raised beds nurseries is low and the growth rate of the surviving plants is slow
Mini Nursery: Small Farmer’s Model A small scale model (invention: Avihai Ilan) can be built by a farmer with locally available sticks and with the supply of insect proof net and celled trays. Estimated cost: USD 20. Production capacity: 1500 plants per cycle
Mini Nursery – The Scaled Up Model A scaled up model was planned by Moti Nevo. This model can be built by metal workshop with the supply of insect proof net and celled trays. Production capacity: 5400 plants per cycle.
Estimated cost: USD 250.
Modular Mini Nursery Kit Mini nursery kit content: a. Galvanized metal skeleton 23 Metal bars of 1.10m long each 12 Connectors (marked yellow) 6 Feet b. Nets (50 mesh) & PE sheet One net 2.25X3.40m One net 1,15X4.60m Nets connected by Scotch tape Black polyethylene sheet 2.20x1.20m c. Celled trays (14) 50x30cm 135 holes d. Cocopeat 2 Coir blocks of 5Kg each d. Back sprayer (5L)
Production capacity: 1890 plants per cycle
Advantages of Mini Nurseries Over Raised Bed Nurseries
The nursery trays are detached from soil. Consequently, the risk and damage from soil-born pest and diseases is minimized. Protected from air born pests. The use of celled trays creates better plants each having a soil plug held by the plant roots that increase the plant's survival rate in the field Fertilizers and water saving. Modular and can be scaled up as per the needs. Easily transferred from one site to another. Affordable to small holders (small scale) or rural investors (scaled up model). Excellent management tool for timely planning of all agricultural activities.
How to Build a Mini Nursery? The facility is built from wooden sticks (eucalyptus, bamboo or other trees) 4 sticks of 1.80m each on four sides (20cm inside the ground), 4 sticks of 1.70m, 12 sticks of 1.30m
Connect the facility skeleton by ropes or nails Celled trays are mounted on the table. The facility is covered by insect proof net and (if protection from rain and cold is necessary) PE sheet.
How to Build a Scaled Up Mini Nursery? The structure should be built from galvanized metal bars (square 30X30mm profile or equivalent). Floors A and B should be covered with diamond mesh.
IP Net stitching Scotch tape stitching
Soil Preparation Coco-peat 1 block (5Kg) = 50 L separated. Pour water on coco-peat block, let it inflate and separate it, then wash it again 1-2 times (removal of sea salt)
Mix 60% washed and dried coco-peat to 40% washed sand and one handful of slow released fertilizer Apply into nursery celled trays
Sowing & Cultivation
Apply the exact number of seeds per each cell (1 for tomato, 2-3 for onion) at depth of 0.5cm. Following the sowing, irrigate with a sprayer. Along the cultivation, irrigation should be applied as per the needs No fertilizer application is needed Check for biotic and a-biotic stress and respond when needed
Irrigation
Plants Production in Mini Nursery Lettuce
Plants Production in Mini Nursery Pepper
Plants Production in Mini Nursery Tomato
Plants Production in Mini Nursery Onion
When MN Seedlings Are Ready for Sale? The leaves should be dark green without signs of any biotic or a-biotic stress The roots should fill the cell and hold a plug of soil The shoot to root proportion should be normal. Seedlings left for too long in the trays may develop larger shoots