​HIMALAYAN
FARM PROJECT
Seasonal Farm Activities
Life on the farm changes completely with the seasons, and so do the crops that grow, the trees that fruit, the pollinators that fly, the birds that sing. We learn to live with the cycles of Nature. Here is a small account of farm activities in different seasons.
Spring-Summer: February to June
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Planting summer vegetables in the garden: Varieties of brinjal, tomato, chillies, capsicum, raddish, squash, pumpkin, cucumber, lettuce, and many more.
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Harvesting winter crop of varieties of masoor dal, garlic, onion, and green vegetables like spinach, peas, radish, carrot etc.
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Sowing spring crop of maize
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Making fire lines for managing summer forest fires
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Making lots of compost
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Taking care of mud buildings: Plastering, flooring with clay.
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Planting turmeric, ginger, taro gaderi
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Preparing fields for sowing monsoon crops
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Preparing for the rains
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Harvesting the spring maize crop
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Saving wood stock for monsoon season.
Monsoon: July to September
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Sowing of Monsoon crops: Diverse varieties of dals, pulses, and millet. Mixed farming and baranaja system.
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Planting and transplanting of fruit, flower and trees: Mango, litchi, guava, banana, avocado, jack fruit on selected fields
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Planting oak, bamboo and broad-leaf trees on farm periphery and in the forest
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Lots of indoor time: reading and research
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Cutting lots of grass for fodder use
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Planting coriander, mustard, fenugreek, radish
Autumn-Winter: October to January
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Planting seasonal vegetables-Varieties of peas, raddish, carrots, spinach paalak and many more
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Building maintainance after monsoon: plastering and flooring of clay buildings
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Harvesting turmeric, ginger, taro gaderi
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Harvesting monsoon crops of dals, pulses and millets
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Preparing fields for sowing winter crops
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Sowing winter crops of wheat, barley, masoor dal, etc
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Winter planting of trees: Apples, peach, plum and more