Bottle Gourd grown in Pits at the base of Hillock

Bottle Gourd grown in Pits on slope to facilitate greater vine length and movement at padval farms kinya mangalore



video and data by Pritham Dsouza

Yard Long Cowpea Runner Beans Using Pit method

Yard Long Cowpea Runner Beans Using Pit method at Padval Farms, Kinya, Mangalore, India

Yard Long Runner Beans are grown using the same pit method mentioned in Ladies Finger Okra cultivation. The results can be seen here.



Video and Data by Pritham Dsouza

Amaranthus Crop Video

Amaranthus Crop Video at Padval Farms, Kinya, Mangalore India

The lush green growth of Amaranthus (harive soppu, bhaji) is credited to weekly once application of Organic Gel made from Sea Weeds which contain Helpful Bacteria which breakdown the nutrients in the soil and make them more available to the plants.

to check the pest problem, pure neem oil @5ml per litre has to be used once a week.

the crop is ready to harvest in 21 days.



Video and Data by Pritham Dsouza

Spinach Grown on Soil without Support

Spinach Grown on Soil without Support

spinach also called valchhi bhajji in konkani grown on soil without using trellis or support at Padval farms,mangalore kinya. using organic inputs




Video and Data by Pritham D'Souza

Ladies Finger Okra Grown in Pits

Ladies Finger Okra Grown in Pits

the video shows flowering and fruiting stage of Ladies Finger (Okra, Bhindi) grown in pits and not in rows which is the traditional method followed.

Some salient features in this method

• size of pit is fixed and uniformity is maintained, pit size followed here is 2 feet X 1 feet
• only 2 plants are allowed per pit, the rest are removed by thinning out, hence plant density is also maintained
• each pit requires the same amount of water, hence flooding and over watering is not required, saving precious water
• The plant gets more than sufficient space, with plenty of room between pits and hence no plant suffers from want of light and nutrients
  

Video and Data by Pritham D'Souza

Pumpkin Plot grown on Terraced Hill

Pumpkin Plot grown on Terraced Hill at Padval Farms, Kinya Mangalore, India

Video below shows effective utilization of a terraced hillock, where creeper vines are made to grow all along the surface of the hill. Pumpkin' are ready for harvesting.




video and data by Pritham D'Souza

Type O Negative - October Rust (1996)

Type O Negative - October Rust album review by Pritham 'Metal Farmer' D'Souza

Lineup:

• Peter Steele
• Kenny Hickey
• Josh Silver
• Johnny Kelly

Track Listing:

1. Bad Ground
2. Love You to Death
3. Be My Druidess
4. Green Man
5. Red Water (Christmas Mourning)
6. My Girlfriend's Girlfriend
7. Die With Me
8. Burnt Flowers Fallen
9. In Praise of Bacchus
10. Cinnamon Girl
11. The Glorious Liberation of the People's Technocratic Republic of Vinnland by the Cimbined Forces of the United Territories of Europa
12. Wolf Moon (Including Zoanthropicn Paranoia)
13. Haunted

Its a long weekend and you decide to make the most of it in a decadent fashion by splurging on Cheap booze and Cheaper women. After having your fun, you finally wake up very late next morning, and realize that you are not even at your own home and slowly walk like a zombie back home which happens to be a few blocks away. Tired, drained out and with a splitting hangover the last thing your ears need is to listen to some good ol Heavy Metal blaring from your speaker system.

You manage to park your sorry butt on the EZ sofa and without knowing, you turn on the Cd player and the first track you hear is a buzzing feedback which lasts for 38 seconds followed almost immediately by mature men laughing and apologizing for their rude joke.

Finally the intro to Love You to Death calms your senses like getting a back massage by petite Thai girls in downtown Bangkok. The rest of the album flows seamlessly and almost flawless if one doesnt count the intro joke Bad Ground

This is the feeling one gets when listening to 1996 TYPE O NEGATIVE's masterpiece of an album OCTOBER RUST, which i consider one of the best albums to listen to, if not the best, when one is down in the dumps and wants to remain in the dumps.

I really cant even call this a metal album, even though it is, but unlike the rest, they have such a relaxed cool approach to everything here, from the soothing riffs in tracks like Love You to Death, Green Man, Die With Me and Cinnamon Girl to the morose setting of Red Water(Christmas Mourning), everything fits like pieces of a simple puzzle. Peter Steele has the deep baritone which will make any girl squirm in ecstasy while the music has this really great trippy feeling.
Even turning on the volume full on your system wont help much as the music, though heavy in parts, never distorts enough to call it noise. Gothic metal at its finest without sounding too pompous

This is truly a remarkable album and if i am not mistaken the best Type O Negative album ever! The fact that it was also a commercial success, was loathed by fans of Peter Steele' previous band CARNIVORE, and things were about to go downhill from here from a musical point of view as they never really managed to capture this magic in their future albums even though they came pretty close.

Melancholic, Dark, Melodic, Psychedelic, Powerful and Atmospheric are some of the words rightly associated with this album with a overdose of sexiness only Peter Steele can provide with his deep, masculine voice. His soulful singing and at times chanting compliments the melodies of the guitars and keyboards perfectly.

If you dont have this album yet, you dont have a life!

My Rating
10/10

Rapidshare Download Type O Negative - October Rust here

Listen to Sample track "Green Man" here

Type O Negative - 04 - Green Man.mp3

Monsoon Cultivation Of Cucumber

Monsoon Cultivation Of Cucumber by Pritham 'Metal Farmer' D'Souza

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is one of the most widely used salad crops grown both in North and South India. Fruits contain good amount of Iron and Vitamin C along with carbohydrates. It is highly recommended for people suffering from Jaundice, constipation and indigestion

LAND PREPARATION
since i am mentioning the monsoon cultivation techniques here, the land preparation is very similar to my other posts where i have mentioned monsoon cultivation. Some main points to begin with

• The land selected must have adequate drainage
• water logging areas should not be selected
• however if availability of land is a constraint, seeds have to be sown on elevated bunds as shown below
• Due to heavy rains, most of the seeds get drowned with too much moisture and they start to rot even before germination, hence more seeds have to be sowed.
• bunds or raised seed beds should have a minimum height of 10 to 15 inches and seeds once germinated must be thinned out and plant distance maintained

germination seen 7 to 10 days after sowing


close up of germinated seedling

seedling reaches 3 leaf stage in the 3rd week of sowing

the above pic shows water severely logged in the field. the raised seedling bed literally saved the seedlings from rot and drowing.

the photo above shows considerable growth and development of the plant when rainfall recedes and light intensity increases

excess plants must be thinned out and plant distance must be maintained as seen above

INTER CULTURE OPERATIONS AND IRRIGATION

• Since this is monsoon technique, irrigation is not given, however, due to erratic rainfall patterns, lite irrigation is a must at the time of sowing to moisten the field in case rains fail.
  
• while making the raised beds/bunds, decomposed Organic Manure must be added to the soil, and mixed thoroughly and seeds must be sowed on top of this. When the seeds germinate and grow, they will make use of the nutrients present in the soil
• DO NOT spray the crops during monsoons using pesticides or liquid fertilizers when there is not enough sunlight.
  
• Spraying of Liquid fertilizers should be done only when required and in the presence of sunlight. plants prepare their own food during photosynthesis and so sunlight is the most important factor.
• Soil aeration can be increased by loosening the soil around the root zone of the plants. this also helps in drainage.
  

the above figure shows rapid development of the plant and tendril stage

soil loosened to provide good aeration and also allow better drainage

MANURING, FLOWERING AND HARVESTING

• The plant receives the basal dose of decomposed farm yard manure at the time of preparation of the land and sowing.
  
• Spray 1 ml seed weed based algae Organic Manure in 1 litre of water at every 10 day intervals. addition of wetting agent like APSA or other sticking agents is recommended so as to increase the effectiveness of the sprays
• Flowering will be seen 40 to 45 days after sowing and the mature fruits can be harvested after 55 to 60 days after sowing.
• Timely harvesting the fruit is a must otherwise they over ripe and become unfit for consumption. for salads, the green color of the fruit must not turn brownish yellow.
• fruits must be plucked every alternate days to avoid over riping
• for seeds, yellow brown fruits , golden fruits (mature color) are harvested, seeds extracted, washed thoroughly in water and dried
  
• the seeds thhus obtained must be sowed again within 3 to 6 months or it looses its viability
  
• Cucumber yields up to 100 quintals per hectare

the above pic shows the same stretch of land with excellent growth and flowering



formation of tender fruit buds

growing tender fruit
mature fruit ready for harvest

PESTS , DISEASES AND CONTROL

• I only recommend the usage of pure neem oil @ 5 ml per litre of water to be sprayed only when insect attack is seen
• Imidochloprid systemic insecticide @2 ml in 5 litre water can be used every 10 days for the young seedlings since they are most vulnerable to sucking pests like aphids, thrips and plant minors. it is also effective in controlling red pumpkin beetle which damages the growing leaves and severely injures the plant
• Spraying must be done in sunny weather and not in gloomy weather
• spraying in the evenings from 4pm to 5 pm is recommended than spraying during day time as it will affect pollination
• adding 2 ml per litre sticking agents or wetting agents is required to increase the effectiveness of the sprays

all photos and data by Pritham D'Souza

Opeth - Still Life (1999)

Opeth - Still Life album review by Pritham 'Metal Farmer' D'Souza


Track Listing:

1. The Moor
2. Godheads Lament
3. Benighted
4. Moonlapse Vertigo
5. Face of Melinda
6. Serenity Painted Death
7. White Cluster

Lineup:

• Mikael Åkerfeldt
• Peter Lindgren
• Martin Mendez
• Martin Lopez

To simply call OPETH a death metal band is a total understatement. Not that Death Metal bands do not have any talent, something which i vehemently disagree, as it requires the highest degree of musical versatility but OPETH are a lot more than a simple death metal band.

The reason why i love this album is because of the amazing musical variations in almost every song, from bone crushing brutality to lullabies that will put a baby to sleep, this album has it all.

Mikael Åkerfeldt has one of the best vocals in the extreme metal industry and one listen to his vocal range on The Moor and Serenity Painted Death will convince even the most die hard metal fans. He effortlessly shifts from sounding like a man possessed by several demons to a soulful clean voice that can calm a terrorist. For a progressive metal buff, OPETH offers a lot more in their intricate guitar work again , from crushing riffs to beautiful acoustic guitar passages

Godheads Lament is a perfect example of a song with amazing acoustic guitar structures. and the soulful clean vocals of Mikael Åkerfeldt just compliments it perfectly.

The songs are very long, and Godheads Lament is the shortest at just over 5 minutes!

Bands like OPETH must be heard with a open mind, coz many times the music wont be easily digested. If there ever was a category in music called 'strange beautiful music' , OPETH would sit there comfortably.

Like someone told me the other day, OPETH's music is like giving music to a PICASSO painting.
In other words, you either like OPETH or you dont. If you dont, its your loss..

my rating
9/10

Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane (1995)

Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane (1995) - Review by Pritham 'Metal Farmer' D'Souza

Track Listing:

1. At the Fathomless Depths
2. Night's Blood
3. Unhallowed
4. Where Dead Angels Lie
5. Retribution -Storm of the Light's Bane
6. Thorns of Crimson Death
7. Soulreaper
8. No Dreams Breed in Breathless Sleep

Lineup:

• Jon Nödtveidt
• Johan Norman
• Peter Palmdahl
• Ole Öhman

Dissection's 1995 masterpiece Storm Of The Light's Bane is a classic for several reasons, but i want to list the first two that immediately come to mind. First, for the sheer sonic intensity which is a musical equivalent of getting ones skin peeled off using a screw driver and second, for inspiring several dissection clones along the way.

Dissection was the brain child of Jon Nödtveidt, a musical genius and guitar extraordinaire who formed the band way back in 1989.

The album starts with a Black Atmospheric instrumental track At the Fathomless Depths which keeps the listener spell bound with the amazing twin guitar harmonies and the build up finally explodes with the drum roll thunder of the second track Night's Blood. From there, its a constant hell ride which will take you to the icy cold regions of Sweden courtesy the Grim Reaper himself acting as a tour guide.

Musically Dissection sound like Iron Maiden on speed with lots of Slayer, Morbid Angel riffage and complex technical passages that are bound to make most cynics nod in appreciation. Night's Blood, a perfect track in every sense, sounds like 3 tracks in one. it borderlines with thrash and death metal yet has the icy cold atmospherics of Black metal. Wait, there's even a ultra cool acoustic classical guitar part right in the middle of the song! and this is just the second track in an album of 8 superb songs.

Every track seems to tell a different tale and there are no short songs here except the first and last tracks which can be treated as an 'intro' and 'outro'. The remaining 6 tracks are pretty long in Metal standards, just showcasing the musical brilliance of Dissection particularly Jon Nödtveidt. His acoustic guitar parts blend perfectly with the heavy parts , and his vocal shrieks just spew venom. The last track No Dreams Breed in Breathless Sleep has one of the most grim sounding piano pieces i have heard in extreme metal

Even though every track is a flawless, my favorites are Night's Blood, Unhallowed and Where Dead Angels Lie

Sadly all good things must come to an end, and this was Dissections last full length release before Jon Nödtveidt was convicted in 1997 of being an accessory to murder in the killing a 38 year old Homosexual man of Algerian descent. And even sadder news of his ritualistic suicide shocked all his fans on August 16, 2006 where his bloody body was found in his apartment with a self inflicted gun shot wound inside a circle of lit candles.

This album has to easily be one of the most influential metal albums in the extreme music scene and one has to be really ignorant to not buy this album. Heavy, Fast, Brutal and melodic without sounding like sellouts. That's Dissection for you.

My Rating
10/10

Rapidshare Download here

Listen to Sample Track "Night's Blood" here

Bed Pan Boy

In Desolation

Mob Fury

Morbid Pitbull

Sticky Frog