Carnation in full bloom

Carnation unit really took a while to bloom what was  originally a month  schedule  got delayed to 6 months almost .. but the flush was  real good. Every one  in the market appreciated the flower quality and the aroma. one minor issue was that i delayed teh instalation of laying of 2nd and 3rd layer of mesh in time as a result of which   there was bending of stems in some colors  and i couldnt lay the meshes as  the buds were up by then and laying a new mesh over the buds were simply breaking them .. so i had to let go off this flush so that after pruning  i cud install the new  layers again .. for this season ..  i will have to somehow adjust with this flowers only .. nerverthless i was pretty much satisfied with the flower quality.   

Increasing Gerbera flower size, quality and quantity

Hey Everyone,  Its been long since the last post and there are a couple of issues  that i wanted to write about and this post is about one aspect that really manages the flower size quality and the quantity.

Like i mentioned earlier this one variety ..dark pink arrived late in the farm and was not along with the regular schedule of all other saplings. But becoz of  the wedding season there was a huge demand for the flowers and i started to harvest these flowers just after like 8-9 weeks after plantation and that has really effected the plants ..   No one was bothered about the flower size and quality as it was wedding season and each flower fetched as much as  8rs  and so until the season was over i have harvested flowers from these .. but i slowly started seeing the stress on the plants and there has been decrease in the flower quality in the strength wise and also with the length .. i was just not happy and another important thing  is that  the plants were not able to hold to soil while trying to pluck the flower and resulting in  plant uprooting or  loosening .. So, i planned to hold the flower development for another 5-6 weeks and   stress on the growth of the plant.  Removed all the buds  and cleaned up all  the dried up leaves and  raked up soil once and adjusted the plants and waited for them to grow ...  6 weeks  and   woooooww ... i just was soo happy to see the  happy plants  all  ready and  tight  to give a depression to other plants .. look at the last pic ..  see the flower bloom  it was  gushing like river !!     

End of the day lessons learnt --  Do not start  harvesting until the plant  is  firm and has atleast 16 leaves.

Dark Pink Gerbera-- One of the fav of the all buyers now !!

weak plants and dying leaves ... 5 weeks earlier .. with  weaker buds and smaller flower diametre

All the buds removed and drenched with growth stimulant

After  5 weeks of dormant growing ..  increased  Gerbera flower size , stem length and quantity

Senility of leaves-- Clean and green

Past few weeks i was  worried about one thing in the  farm, the older leaves started  drying off .. initially i thought it was leaf scorching  or may be it was some sort of disease i didn't know,  but apart from dying leaves, all the the  younger leaves which were coming up were healthy and fine and showed absolutely no issues.  That's when i learnt that its normal senility of leaves and that its  normal for a plant to shed the old leaves by drying up. But what is important is that  you should get rid of that old and dead leaves so as to avoid fungal  growth and bacterial infection. Make sure to pull off all the dead and rotten leaves and along with that pull off the leaves that are half dried and are pluckable. This will give the plant and the soil more breathing space. And more over cleaning  all these leaves will make the  farm look healthy and green.

Boy !! that was one tideous job to attend to each and every  plants and  check for the drying up leaves pull them out and clean up the plant.  It took loads of extra workers and couple of days to finish the 1st round of cleaning process ... and i got almost a tractor load  of dump i guess..  i have made arrangements to make use of this farm waste and convert it into compost and reuse in the farm. Vermicomposting is  totally new thing to me and i will have to experiment and learn the  trick of doing it

A dump of the dead and aged leaves of Gerbera Farm while clean up session.

Latest Pics from the farm

Wedding season is in full flow and so is my farm in its full bloom now ..Here are some of the latest pics..!!

News Article about our farm in hans india news paper

::The Hans India::

Floriculture fetching good returns

Warangal: Floriculture is fast spreading in the district giving an opportunity to the enthusiasts to make a big buck, besides giving an opportunity of doing something worthwhile.

A unique floriculture farm at Station Ghanpur on Warangal-Hyderabad road being raised by a practicing doctor T Kranti Raj is a symbol of the trend that is emerging in the sphere floriculture here.

Ornamental flowers like Gerbera and Carnation are being raised in one and half acres land covered by a poly-house that is constructed with the help of ultraviolet plastic sheets that provide a controlled atmosphere.

Finding time from his busy practice of medicine, Dr. Kranti Raj makes it a point to visit the farm and look after its affairs. “Though I am doctor by profession it is a different experience being a farmer” he noted.

Gerbera plants are being raised in one acre of land while the Carnation is being grown in half acre of land. “Initially we make lot of effort to change the entire soil as the soil here was found to be unsuitable for the floriculture,” he said.

An amount of Rs. 50 lakh needed to build the Poly-house and to replace the soil with red soil and to furnish other required things. The flowers are being brought from Pune in Maharashtra.

Each plant costs around Rs 30 and an acre of land accommodates about 25, 000 plants. Five varieties of Gerbera flowers, red, white, yellow, pink and orange, are being grown, informed the farm manager Thatikonda Anil. “Usually in acre of land 5, 000 flowers can be picked per day but now we are able to pick three to four thousand flowers,” he added.

Proud to be a Farmer !!

After struggling for 6 long months for this  Gerbera project from the intiation.. i am finally selling my produce and seeing  money !!  Damn.. it feels so good to see  some real good money  flowing into  your pocket each and every single day. All you have to do is  reap the harvest send it to market and boom!!!!
November December January and February are Supposed to be good season for flowers  especially Gerberas and i have entered the market in the right season. With an average daily income of about 15 thousands i have to say i  have hit the milestone i wanted to touch.

Finally i feel so proud to be a farmer !!  Now thats  what i call earning...

I chose to send the flowers to the local market only and i sell about 2000-2500 Gerberas  each day for now and  expected  production per day  is  about 3000-3500  which i might  touch in another couple of weeks. Here are  the latest  photos from  the farm and the production  packing and  dispatch !!

All the six colors of  blooming Gerberas in the  farm

Red  Gerberas- savannah  variety has almost 90cm- 1 metre stem.

A full view from the centre of  the farm.

Each  carton can hold about 350  gerberas in 35 bunches

Freshest Gerberas ever !!

All packs  ready for dispatch to the market.

Fogging is very important in regulating the  humidy and temparature in a Gerbera farm