Stories of a farmer: Preparing the land for planting

Greetings friends, in my land the months of April and May are ideal for planting, the beginning of the rainy season makes special this time for which the seeds can germinate easily, these days it is usually done the planting of corn, beans, celery ... but before planting it is necessary to prepare the land, this preparation is carried out by means of the plow, as there is no machinery for the process (tractors) it is done in a traditional way, with a yoke of oxen. I will explain a little about this process and its importance in agriculture.

How to prepare the earth?

• The first thing that is done is the elimination of the forest or weeds, this process can be done manually or with the use of herbicides.

• Then the plowing or plowing is carried out, which consists in opening furrows and thus removing the soil, before proceeding to plant the seeds there. This tool has been used for many years and allows to improve soil conditions for planting.

Traditionally, the plow has been made with the help of plowing animals, thus plowing the land.

Importance of preparing the land for planting

The preparation of the land allows prosperity to increase, since the soft ground is the plants will grow more leafy and faster, although it must be taken into account that when the soil is removed there is also a loss of water and soil due to erosion and additionally, if there are occasional rains, the fertilizers and nutrients are taken, for which reason the humidity conditions must be considered and if it is necessary to apply fertilizer before planting.

When the soil is plowed it is desired that the soil conditions improve, so then if we have a totally flooded soil, the plow will help not to accumulate much water on the surface; If the soil is very dry, it will be sought to retain the water in a good way. In addition, we leave on the ground a guide to plant row crops.

With the plow keeps the soil in its best state, eliminating imperfections or weeds because they are eliminated by the roots, you get a better porosity, which will help to get more oxygen to the plants and thus grow more easily.

Arduous work of the farmer (person who guides the oxen) and his team to prepare line by line the land and so it is ready to plant.