A good nursery bed proves to be very efficient in managing of seedlings and also growing of crops. They are usually used to raise variety of crop seedlings before they can be transferred.
Some of the seedling crops are vegetables,trees,fruits and many other crops.
Vegetables raised on nursery beds
- sukumawiki or Kales
- African nightshade
- Cabbages
- Carrots
- Corriander
Trees
- Cypress
- Eucalyptus
- Pine
- Cedar
Fruits
- Oranges
- Lemon
The components of a good nursery bed
Soil
The soil to be used on a nursery bed should be of high fertility mostly loamy soil. loam soil contain properties like proper drainage and minerals.
Proper drainage helps the nursery to easily drain water and hence minimises water logging. Minerals helps the seedlings planted on the nursery bed to nourish properly.
The soil should also have nutrition which is available on fertilizers and also can be found by making farmyard manure.
Site/Area
A good nursery bed should always be found in an area which receives proper sunlight and also rainfall. Some mistakes people usually make when creating a nursery bed is laying it under trees or very close to buildings.
Trees produce shed which will hinder growth of seedlings on the nursery bed because seedlings requires enough moisture for growth. likewise, building produces shade which is also not good for laying the process.
Moisture
To make a good nursery bed moisture must be sufficient to the soil. In areas where there is little or minimal rainfall a farmer can purchase a good water tank of about 1000 litres depending on the size of the nursery he or she needs to create.
Water tanks can be bought on local hardwares in every town.
Note:in areas where the ground is sloppy, terraces are made to prevent soil from eroding. Alternatively, cover crops like grass can be grown around the nursery bed to protect its soil from eroding.
Soil erosion hinders good farming environment as the top soil, which is mostly fertile, is taken or moved away by water to other areas leaving the ground soil which requires so much fertilizer to be productive.
Steps on how to make a good nursery bed for your seedlings.
After you have considered all the components before making a nursery bed you are now ready by following these simple steps.
Plough the area with a jembe or a fork jembe to remove weeds ensure you dig deeper into the soil.
After ploughing, measure the area to raise the soil on to a rectangular shape. A rectangular shape is better because it will be navigable during nursery practices.
Now raise the soil in the area ploughed onto the measured rectangular shape. Raise the soil until you come up to a uniform top.
If your seedlings are ready use a string to measure even lines on the nursery to place the seedlings. Always consider 15 centimetres between rows of the lines in the nursery.
Plant your seedlings now on the lines and cover with soil, mulch the nursery with dry grass or sawdust to conserve moisture.
Nursery care tips
- Weeding
- Thinning
- Irrigation
- Mulching
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