The World has come to a standstill due to the rapid spread of the Coronavirus. In this article, we will give strong arguments of polytunnel farming covid benefits. During a time of “no contact and no socialising, “polytunnel cultivation will help you to sustain your business motives while you do not directly establish a connection with your friends, relatives, and neighbours.
Meanwhile, you are working self-isolated in your UK polytunnel, producing massive produce, allowing you to earn a good amount of profits.
The pandemic has turned out so deadly that it is killing millions from all over the World. The medical field is working on vaccines and is yet to come up with a suitable antidote that will save the World.
No one in their wildest dream has ever imagined that the World will have to face such a fatal pandemic taking a toll on lives. People are not allowed to socialise nowadays owing to Covid19 situations; all offices remain closed.
As per the governments’ norms, all are staying back at home. People are asked not to socialise and be a part of any gathering due to the innate characteristics of the virus that can spread fast, leading to situations that go out of control.
For these reasons, schools, colleges, offices, malls remain closed for the time being. However, staying back at home is only possible when there is an adequate food supply at home.
Due to the global lockdown, the supply of food and daily necessities are getting affected on a large scale. Prices are reaching sky high as the supply is becoming limited.
Every nation faces the brunt of the situation; food supplies are affected everywhere; thus, the supply chain is heavily broken. As most of the markets are closed, farmers are not able to supply their yield.
Farmers are destroying their products out of disappointment as they can no longer supply such valuable yield to the market. Human beings face a serious threat as they fear that such a global pandemic will soon leave them with no choice but to die. Foods are running out of stock everywhere.
As per ZIPPY DUVALL, the American Farm President, “Empty shelves can be frightening, but empty fields and barns would be devastating.”
You can become self-dependent by setting up your small polytunnel, which will benefit you in several ways. Few benefits are as follows:
- If you set up your polytunnel, you can cultivate more or less of the necessary items required in your day-to-day life. For example, you can cultivate poultry items such as Eggs, hens, ducks, rabbits, turkey, etc. You can also cultivate different types of veggies and fruits.
- You can use your polytunnel not only to meet daily needs but also for commercial purposes. Polytunnel cultivation will lead to increased earnings in this lockdown as you can cultivate the food items in larger quantities and supply them to the market. Due to the pandemic, farmers are unable to cultivate essentials leading to disruption of the supply chain.
- You can derive fresh produce from polytunnel cultivation and not visit the market to buy food items. It makes you self-dependent too.
- You can keep yourself busy while you set up your polytunnel; thus, the leisure time can easily be killed, and there will be hardly any time left for socialising. Hence automatically, you will stay protected from the pandemic.
Things Which You Can Grow In Your Small Farmhouse During The Pandemic
Poultry Items
You can cultivate a wide range of poultry items in your little farmhouse like eggs; and also invest in poultry farming of birds like hens, cocks, ducks, turkey, etc., depending on your need.
Farming Eggs and Chicks
“Layer poultry farming” is considered the most widely practised method and is accepted throughout the World. If you want to practice poultry farming at a commercial level, you can adopt this highly based method.
Layer species of chicken require to be raised from day 1. As they become 19 to 20 weeks old, they start laying eggs commercially. These chickens continue to lay eggs till they reach the age bracket of 73 to 79 weeks. By consuming around 2kgs of food, they yield 1kg of eggs.
5 to 7% of chickens lay eggs when they reach the age bracket of 20 weeks. And 10 to 12% start laying eggs as they become 21 weeks old. Egg-laying reaches its peak when they reach the age bracket of 27 to 30 weeks. Egg sizes are at best when the chickens are 50 weeks old.
The eggs are stored at more or less 13°C; however, you will need to keep a tab on the coop’s temperature.
Approximately a hen needs 26 hours to lay an egg.
Keep your adult chickens at a temperature between 21 to 29°C to get the best result.
Example Of Polytunnel Farming Covid-19 Explained For Beginners!
Two types of layer hens available
Chickens laying white eggs
Lehman white, severely white, white, hi-line white are the few examples of chickens that lay white eggs. The shell of the egg is white. These chickens are smaller in size; also, they consume less food, but their productivity is always high.
Chickens laying brown eggs
Bablona tetro, gold line, Lehman Brown, is a brown are the few examples of chickens laying brown eggs. The shells are brown, and the chickens are more giant. These chickens consume more food.
Their productivity is not that high. However, demand is always high. Brown eggs are considered premium quality eggs. You can earn a good amount of money by farming brown eggs.
Selection method of layer chickens
Firstly, before selecting layer chickens, you should be well aware of their demand in your locality.
Secondly, if you are going for commercial production, you must select breeds that will lay maximum eggs.
Thirdly, you must buy healthy chicks, as healthy chicks can produce more eggs than weaker ones. Last but not least, you should purchase chicks from reputed and famous hatcheries.
Treatment and care
While transporting chickens from one place to the other, they are likely to become dehydrated. Make sure you keep them hydrated throughout by training them to have water.
You can add a certain amount of glucose to the water, which will keep their glucose level high. You can also use electrolyte and multivitamins, which will keep them healthy.
Vaccines should be given at proper intervals to keep the chickens free from diseases. Timely vaccination increases the disease-resistant power in chickens.
As a result, these chickens become healthy, adding to the overall productivity of your farming initiative. With such good products, you will earn more and derive a greater level of profits, which much needed during the pandemic.
Feeding
It would help if you spoon-fed the growing chicks until they reach the age of 5 weeks. Also, make sure you feed them with proper Pellets after you done with the brooding.
The more you expend on quality pellets, the better results you get down the line. Good pellets will make them strong and healthy, which will result in better yields.
Protein, vitamin, minerals, and a certain percentage of calcium should be mixed with the main fodder.
The Fruits and Vegetables Which You Can Grow
Due to the lockdown, the entire supply chain has been interrupted. The farmers can no longer supply their produce to supermarkets or the wholesaler.
Hence to become self-sufficient, you can grow essential fruits and vegetables which will cater to your daily needs. Once you gather knowledge on farming concepts and become experienced, you can even go on to commercialise it. You can also supply your products to the local market or the end user and earn a good profit during the pandemic.
Tomatoes/Cucumber/Chillies: Daily essential veggies like tomatoes, cucumber, and chillies are in high demand in the market; every household needs them. Growing these types of vegetables is easy; you don’t require giving too much effort. The only thing is that you need to water them regularly and keep a tab so that there is no fungal attack. You can cultivate these vegetables throughout the year.
Beat/ Radish/Peas: Many people love having snacks and salads; these three veggies are especially in high demand because of their usage in making delicious snacks and salads. You can quickly grow them in your polytunnel during the pandemic, supply them to end-users, and earn handsome profits.
Lemon/Oranges/ Melons/ Strawberries: These fruits can be quickly grown in your polytunnel. They can survive the coldest of weathers. Hence they can be grown well without much hassle. Strawberries have great demand during the winter season, especially during Christmas. You can directly sell them to the bakeries and earn a good amount.
Warmth Loving Fruits: Fruits such as peaches, pears, oranges & bananas grow healthy when exposed to warmth; they can accumulate quickly in the polytunnel with proper care.
Growing pear trees in your polytunnel are fun. These can be grown as a semi-dwarf or dwarf tree, especially when cultivating them in your polytunnel. Plant your pear tree in such a place to get six to seven hours of sunshine for its best yields.
You can harvest peach during late summers or during the onset of spring as it starts to bloom. The best part is that you can grow it in any soil; however, make sure the soil remains well-drained.
Its market value is relatively high as it offers lots of health benefits. You can also earn a good amount of money by selling it to end-users.
Growing banana plants in your polytunnel will be an excellent idea if you want to earn extras. You can earn a considerable amount of money from it as each, and every part of the tree consumed. From the leaves to its stem, every aspect of the plant consumed.
Leaves are in great demand as they can be used as an alternative to ceramic or metal plates. Banana flower is also in high order; it used as a critical ingredient for preparing delicious dishes.
The banana plant’s trunk is also high in demand as it offers a wide range of health benefits. Bananas are too are popular among fruits. So, grow banana plants in your polytunnel and sell them to the end-user.
You can also grow oranges in your polytunnel very quickly. Oranges are in great demand during the winter season. It would help if you watered the orange trees regularly.
Proper fertilisation and pruning yield the best results. You can earn a good amount of money during the winter season.
Flower Cultivation
Orchids, Roses, and Lilies are the most popular flowers to grow in the polytunnel quickly. Lily grows well in spring-summer and autumn.
Orchids grow well in the summer months; the flower buds start appearing during late autumn. The plants continue to bloom till the time spring arrives. Roses grow well during the springtime.
Moreover, with a bit of care, the above-mentioned flowering plants can be grown very quickly. You can supply them to the local market or sell them to the end-user to earn a good profit.
Finding the potential market over the web
As we all know, online business is trending everywhere across the globe. It acts as a blessing during this outbreak since you can run your business online without leaving your premises for good reasons.
If you are willing to sell your products to people in your community, collect their contact numbers and email ids so that you can promote your products from time to time and allow people to enjoy such rich produce. The internet is a primary medium for you to gain access to a wide customer base to take up orders and sell items of necessity.
In this way, you can earn a good amount of money during the pandemic because regular markets are likely to remain closed, and demands will also be high.
Later on, if you want to take your business to the next level, you need to tie up with the leading online brands to get hold of a more extensive base.
During a time of “no contact and no socialising, “polytunnel cultivation will help you to sustain your business motives while you do not directly establish a connection with your friends, relatives, and neighbours.
Meanwhile, you are working self-isolated in your polytunnel, producing massive produce, allowing you to earn a good amount of profits.
