Tips for Farming Forum Newbies

[Jotham79]

I hope it is time to get this thread moving again. If you are new to this forum here are a few things to consider:

If you need to post, consider which forum you should be on. Are you farming or gardening? Do you have a sick plant? Are you having problems with your lawn? The more misplaced posts, the more difficult it will for future Newbies to find what they want. By all means post, but be considerate. Here is an example: Lets say that I to find some Betong chickens. I would bet that searching the southern forum would be more productive because you are looking for someone who may know someone 99% of the Betong chickens in Thailand are down there. If you need something in a specific area, consider that areas forum.

1. Figure out how serious you are about farming in Thailand. If you are serious (willing to invest large sums of money, then you should be willing to put in a lot of effort to prepare your self.

2. A lot has been said about the difficulty in searching this forum. Go to the top left of the page and you will see that as of to day there were 106 pages of posts going back to around 2005. Consider these your search results. Click on the double right arrows and go to the last page. So start there. If you know exactly what you want, go forward and check page by page for topics that may relate. Save those that look promising. If you are know really sure what you want "what can I do with X rai?" then start on the back page and read any topic that catches you eye going forward. You should find most of these posts very interesting and they will give you a sense of what is happening in farming here. If you can't be bothered or don't find them interesting, then you may want to reconsider going forward.

3. For sources of equipment and materials get to know your local shops, not just the big suppliers. Try asking a Thai to do a search in Thai or find an appropriate Ag magazine and look for adds. Thousand of sources out there that you won't find otherwise.

4 For "How to" information is hard to beat u-tube. It is even better if you can have a search done in Thai.

5. Get out and visit other farms and see what is going on.

6. Understand that something that may work in one part of Thailand may not worn in another. You have to consider the market. "Grow it and they will buy" is not a good business model. Do not look to Big-C, Lotus.....ect to figure whole sale prices. The more perishable the product the bigger the difference between farm-gate and retail prices. Also, the lower the price per kg the higher the relative difference in price. An example would be tomatoes at 10 baht in the market and 15 baht in Lotus may only be 5 baht farm-gate.

None if this is meant to prevent questions, it is meant to promote success. There is a lot more, but this is a start.

[Jotham79]

I am sorry for the formatting above. I can't edit it. If anyone has suggestions or possible a moderator and delete and I will start over.

[aussieinthailand]

So why not have a PLEASE READ THIS BEFOFE POSTING in the pinned topics, same as Thai Visas forum, something like,,,

Please enter your query in the SEARCH box at bottom left of page.

If you find your answer here but want to clarify something, try to give as much infomation as possible about your situation.

EG where you live or intend or do farm, is it flatland,hillside, is it farmed now, what is growing, is there water and electricty, what are the neighbours growing,is the land secure [fenced] do you live on or near the land, is it for family,will you be there 24/7, what you would like to grow, pest control ect ect ect,

Just an idea, but it might help to interest the full-time farmers into giving a good honest reply, thanks, Lickey..

Very good idea Lickey!....topics entitled 'what should I grow' etc always give a giggle & the impulse to reply 'how long is a piece of string'

Q. How long is a piece of string" A. exactly twice the distance from the center too the end.

[Paphi1234]

Hello Ozzydom,

I am I newbie a newbie in Chiang Mai my wife and I have 3.5 rai currently under rice. I was interested in your comments regarding iceberg lettuce failure.

where are you located in Thailand? are there any other growers in the same area that suffer the same failure? (that is if they are attempting to grow the iceberg lettuce) Ozzydom, have you successfully grown any variety of lettuce on you available land?

Once we have built our home on part of our land it is my intention to grow some basic crops like lettuce, toms, beans. spuds, beets, initially in a family type garden not commercially. Long snake beans and basil, eggplant coriander and fruit trees all grow well where I live but I don't seem to see much else being grown, never the less, I would like to have some success at growing the stuff I plant, so I ask, where I can find information in the forum links that advises what to grow where in Chiang Mai and the month of the year that it is planted; ie spring, early summer, late summer, and of course some winter crops --- is such information available please?

Again; I am living in Chiang Mai in the San Sai area

Regards

[zaphod reborn]

Hello everyone. Not sure where to post this. I'm just starting out and want to learn as much as I can. My girlfriend has a farm near Udon Thani, in Phen. It's very small. She has about 12 smaller pigs, 3 large pigs, some chickens and some crops (tomatoes, chilies, papaya, long bean and limes). Our goal is to make it a retirement home in 10 years or so. I'd like to build up the farm, and construct a house. Her family is there to work the land while we work in BKK. Right now, I'd like to read up and learn what I can do to improve the farm, rather than just throw money blindly at it. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.