Guides
Field Notes
Problems we have had on our own farms, and what we did about them. Written for growers dealing with something in the field today, not for people researching agriculture in general.
Coming soon
New field notes
We are writing these up as we go, starting with the problems growers ask us about most. Dealing with something that is not here yet? Tell us and we will write about it.
Why this exists
Most farming content in Malaysia is either translated from somewhere with a different climate, or written by people selling something who have never had the problem they are describing. Neither is much use at nine at night when something is wrong in the field and you need to decide what to do in the morning.
These notes are the opposite. They are problems we have actually had at Sendayan and Gambang, what we tried, and what worked. Where something did not work, we say so — that is usually the more useful half.
What you will find here
Disease and pest pressure on the crops we grow: chilli, cucumber, eggplant, bitter gourd and grey oyster mushroom. Anthracnose, leafminer, downy mildew and the rest. Not textbook descriptions, but what the early stage actually looks like on the plant and how long you have before it stops being recoverable.
Irrigation and fertigation problems: blocked emitters, uneven distribution down a run, dosing that drifts. Most of these trace back to a decision made at design stage rather than anything that happened this week.
Structures and shade: choosing netting percentage, what goes wrong when you go too dark, and why galvanising matters more here than in a drier climate.
Handling and grading: the things that turn a good pick into a downgraded load between the field and the buyer.
A caveat worth stating
What worked for us worked on our sites, our water and our varieties. Malaysian growing conditions vary enough between states, and between a hillside and a flat plot in the same district, that none of this should be taken as a prescription. Treat it as one grower telling another what happened, not as agronomic advice.
Where a problem needs a registered product, check the label and the registration yourself. We are not a substitute for that.
Something we have missed
If you are dealing with something and cannot find it here, tell us. We are more likely to write about a problem when we know someone is actually hitting it, and we would rather answer a real question than guess at what growers want to read.
Tell us your volume, we will quote
Every price here is quoted, so wholesale and single-farm buyers get terms that fit rather than a shelf price.