How to grow spinach the easy and profitable way

Dear farmer,

You can earn 250,000 shillings per month growing spinach on one acre. Yes! This is very possible. Here is a little story of a multinational company with interests in agriculture all over the world.

That company is Unilever. Spinach contributes 28% of Unilever key crops. Tea contributes 16%; peas 13% while tomatoes and palm oil contribute 7% respectively.

One thing I do know, the big boys like Unilever know where the money is. It is nowhere else other than the production and processing of spinach.

Growing spinach is a golden goose, often misunderstood. Once you discover its secret, it will lay golden eggs for you — FOR A LONG-LONG TIME.

IF you are searching for fresh ideas that will help you earn more…

THEN, read on. After reading this article, you will realize spinach production is VERY-VERY profitable.

Your bank account will overflow with money. Raising school fees will be easy like rowing downstream. In fact your neighbors will be green with envy as they see you drive the latest Toyota model.

They will wonder as you drive past them, the source of your new found wealth.

If only they knew your secret…

Here are experiences of organizations and people earning a living from spinach.

After retiring from service in 1985, I ventured into poultry farming. My 12,000 broilers died in 1997 and left me desolate. I pooled resources and planted spinach on an eighth of my land as spinach grows very fast. In a short time, I started selling the vegetables. In a month, I earn up to 60,000 shilling from 1/8 acre Major retired Francis Mutua Ndolo Landless estate, Kiambu County Spinach is one of the key crops that Unilever is testing under its sustainable agriculture initiative. Growing for the future Spinach: for a sustainable future, Unilever. One acre of spinach yields 6 tons#Kenyans4Kenya project in #Moyale 64 acres on drip irrigation A tweet by The Kenya red cross

Here are some basic facts why spinach is increasingly becoming popular.

According to Dutch scientists from the University of Leiden, spinach contains tyrosine an amino acid that stimulates the production of dopaline a hormone enhancing mental abilities. The basis of Steve Jobs success was he ate foods rich in tyrosine like spinach, bananas almonds and peaches.

Source: fresh plaza.com

Spinach is rich in calcium, phosphorus and vitamin A.

So, what is the key to successful spinach production?

Here is what John Navazio an agricultural consultant says:

“To appreciate why spinach misbehaves, one must recognize the plants humble origins. It is a cool season crop originally grown in fall and winter in the Middle East.”

To grow spinach profitably you must understand its likes and dislikes. Spinach is a cool season crop. Temperatures above 27 degrees can retard its growth.

Second, spinach does not like an acidic soil. It prefers a soil with a PH of 6-7.5

It also requires light showers accompanied by periods of sunlight. Heavy rains lead to attack of spinach by downy mildew disease.

That is why there is a shortage of spinach in the months of April through May and October through December in Kenya. This is because spinach is devastated by downy mildew, a disease prevalent during the rainy season.

Downy mildew disease is very difficult to control once your spinach is attacked. This results to a biting spinach shortage during the above said months.

So, how can you take advantage of the weakness of spinach and earn good money from it?

FACT: Selling the vegetable in the months of shortage earns more. Therefore, you must time production to match peak market and shortage. To do this, establish your nursery at MID March for long rains season and MID October for short rains season.

Doing that ensures that the spinach is at the nursery in the time of heaviest rainfall. The seedlings will be ready for transplanting when the rain is subsiding. And will reach maturity when the rain is almost ending.

The reason why it’s best to establish a nursery during the rainy season is “you can easily control diseases in the nursery”

At the nursery, you can easily monitor diseases and spray suitable fungicides regularly.

Cover the nursery with a plastic sheet to avoid the plants getting excessive rain and avoid an attack by downy mildew disease.

Further, the nursery acts as storehouse of your spinach plants. They await there for the opportune time for transplanting.

Avoid growing spinach in low lying areas that are prone to flooding as flooding increases the incidence of disease.

HOW TO STORE POTATO TUBERS

Farmers experience challenges when storing their potatoes after harvests because of their perishable nature.

Secondly,they are sensitive to sunlight; they turn green when exposed to it, thus become unsuitable for planting or consumption.

The exposure leads to the production of toxins known as solanin.

For the farmer to avoid loses when the potatoes turn green, or when they rot,  he should take extra care.

A step by step process of avoiding such losses has been discussed here.

Every potato farmer has two storage objectives.

1. To store part of his harvest as seed for the next season.
2. To store the excess harvest for the market prices to improve.

Procedure of preparing potato seed for storage

The objective of seed storage is to have optimum development of sprouts prior to planting. This can only be achieved by the appropriate pre and post harvest treatment of the seed.

The first step harden potatoes, This is achieved by cutting off the stems at the base two weeks before harvest. This treatment reduces the loss moisture  from the potatoes after harvest.

After harvest sort out potatoes immediately; only egg sized potatoes are suitable for seed.

All bruised potatoes should be removed; they are easily affected by disease, rotting agents, tuber weevils and may infect the rest if stored together.

Potatoes meant for seed shouldn’t be washed as the water may be contaminated by bacteria or fungi.

After the aforesaid is done, put the potatoes in sisal bags and place them on  raised platforms or on a dry floor inside a rat proofed store.

Avoid synthetic bags to store potatoes; Sisal bags are better as they allow  circulation of air. Alternatively, store them in net bags that allow sunlight and ventilation.

Do not store potatoes in direct sunlight, they turn green and cannot be used as seed or even for consumption.

The store should face an East-West direction to reduce the amount of light getting into the stores.

If an ordinary store is used, the seed potatoes should be covered with grass to help them sprout and reduce the amount of light getting to potatoes.

Good seed potatoes should be well sprouted; they should have a uniform sprout in all eyes. Potato sprouts should be at least 2 cm in length before transplanting.

STORING POTATOES MEANT FOR CONSUMPTION/ware potatoes

Potatoes meant for consumption are also known as ware potatoes.

After tubers are dug out, they should be well dried [a process known as curing] while ensuring they aren’t exposed to the sun, rain or wind.

When two weeks are over, they’ll have thickened skins and any nicks will have healed.

Whether the potatoes are placed in bins, bags or boxes the main consideration is air circulation.

For this reason a slated box is the best. The atmosphere should have a high  relative humidity the preferably 90%, temperatures should be between 15-20 degrees to allow slow respiration of the tubers.

Exposing tubers to light hastens sprouting and produces a green color or sunburn hence potatoes should be covered or shaded from light.

As the storage season advances, potatoes should be examined from time to time, if sprouting is observed, remove the sprout and reject the damaged and diseased tubers.

USING SAWDUST DURING STORAGE OF POTATOES

Potatoes are sorted for storage by removing those that are bruised, those with tuber moth holes and rotting ones.

Farmers then spread a thick layer of sawdust across the clean floor on the store.

They then spread the potatoes on the sawdust to cover the potatoes. This method is able to extend shelf life for up to 5 months without any sign of damage.

Using this method may benefit farmers to store their surplus potatoes until the market prices are favorable.

HOW: TO PRODUCE ONION SEEDS.

Have you ever wondered how onion[allium cepa] seeds are produced? two approaches are used. My discussion will consist of production, harvesting, threshing, conditioning, storing, available varieties in Kenya and the yield per acre and the price of onion seed.

There are two ways of producing  onion seeds, namely;

• Bulb to seed
• Seed to seed

Onions can be open pollinated or hybrid seed. Hybrid seeds have greater uniformity, increased yield and disease resistance and also give greater seeding.  

BULB TO BULB METHOD

Bulb to seed method, is where onions seeds are produced  from previously harvested bulbs. Bulbs are harvested and stored and replanted the following season. Seeds are produced in the second season.

This method is said to expensive than seed to seed method, but it allows the grower to easily discard the off types, diseased or undesirable bulbs.

Bulb to bulb method is done for the preservation of onion seed stock.

 

SEED TO SEED METHOD

In this case, seed is used as the initial planting material and has the following advantages;

• It results in a higher seed yield than bulb to seed method, because of the closer spacing achieved when seeds are sowed meaning that more bulbs will be produce and latter flower to produce seeds.
• Less time is invested in bulb establishment.
• Overall cost is less than bulb too seed method.

The above reasons,  make this method the most preferred  for seed production. The major disadvantage of this method is the production of off-types thus rouging is required.

 

IMPORTANT CULTURAL PRACTICES IN ONION SEED PRODUCTION

Some of the very important cultural practices have a role in ensuring the seeds produced are viable It’s to pay close attention to pest and disease management when using seed to seed method.   .

1. Tillage

Leave the field fallow for at least 4 years and ensure it’s free of perennial weeds and soil borne diseases.

The soil should be ploughed to a depth of 10-15 cm, worked until a firm seedbed is achieved ensure it’s friable, fertile and well supplied with humus.

2. Planting

Plant seeds at a depth of 1-3 cm in rows of a width of 50-70 cm at a rate of 4.5-6.7 kg per hectare. Higher seed rates and close spacing yield more plants, thus more seed production.

In some varieties, more than one stalk is produced. Where soil fertility allows, adequate and reliable irrigation or rain is present, the inter row spacing can be reduced to 30 cm.

3. Fertilizer application

Onions respond well to fertilizer application because rooting structure is shallow and limited to a depth of 5 cm.

It is important to add organic matter to improve soil moisture retention ability and soil structure. An equivalent of 56 kg/Ha of Nitrogen should be applied as farmyard manure.

Application of nitrogen and potassium is not recommended at flowering because flowers become unattractive to bees; that are so important in pollination.

When the onions experience a copper deficiency, they become thin, poorly colored and have a poor bulb storage life. This can be improved by application of 22 kg /ha of Cuso₄.

Manganese deficiency common in onions; it is seen as leaf chlorosis. This is often observed in alkaline soils thus adding an acid based fertilizer e.g. ammonium sulfate will solve the problem.

Maintain the soil PH at 6.0-6.5 which is slightly acidic to prevent the incidences of manganese deficiency through regular soil testing. Ameliorate the soil PH when it becomes unfavorable.

4. Irrigation

You need a permanent source of water to keep soil moisture above 65% field capacity because the crop is shallow rooted. When the bulbs initiate flowering; stop irrigation.

5. Weeding

Onions are poor competitors against weeds as they are shallow rooted. They have a poor canopy structure thus can be easily shaded by weeds.

Weeds also interfere with harvesting and become contaminants of crop seed. Effective weed control is achieved through proper cultivation, crop rotation or using selective herbicides.

6. Pest and disease control

Onions are subjected to many insect pests and fungal diseases.

a) Diseases

Umbel blight is caused by Botrytis alli that infects the onion seed stalk consequently reducing seed yield and quality.

Onion downy mildew is caused by Peronospara destructor that is common during cool season’s causes chlorotic lesions on leaves and root stalk.

Pink root disease caused by Pyrenocheata tertris is a soil borne pathogen that infects onions at any stage of development and causes the root to turn pink then brown then black then die.

Fusarium basal rot- caused by fusarium oxysporum showing yellowing, die back from the top of the leaves.

b) Pests

Onion thrips feed on leaf surfaces causing them to turn white or silvery. They also feed on flowers, thus affecting seed formation. Scales are also a major problem of onions.

HARVESTING AND THRESHING

Harvesting commences, when onion heads contain some capsules that have turned black and are opening; the black color indicates that the seeds have ripened.

Although all onion seeds heads do not mature simultaneously, most farmers do a once all harvesting when seed heads are about 30% mature.

The harvesting is done by hand, cutting the plant 10-15 cm below the umbel head. The cut umbel head is put in sacks and stored for 1-2 days.

After the 2 days, the seeds will be dry enough for threshing as the capsules become brittle and readily break releasing small onion seed.

Seeds are dried at a temperature of 32⁰ C until they achieve a moisture content of 10% then at a temperature of 43⁰ C until a storage moisture content of 6% is achieved.

CONDITIONING THE SEEDS

After threshing, the onion seeds are conditioned to eliminate weed seed and chaff; onion seed that is light is unviable thus it’s also eliminated.

Initial cleaning is done by an air screen cleaner and gravity table.  The cleaner and gravity table allows the  offloading of on account of weight differences, heavy seeds sink on the other hand light seeds float and are unviable.

Wash and treat them for not more than 3 minutes;  they dried and stored as long as seed moisture content is less than 10%.

STORAGE of onion seeds

Onions seed deteriorate so fast when stored under hot, humid conditions. They become unviable in less than a year; proper storage will result to higher viability.

It has been established that when onions seed is stored at a moisture content of 6%; the seed will have a viability of 3 years and when stored at a moisture content of 3%, the viability will be more than 3 years.

returns per acre of onion

In most cases seed yield range will be 550-800 kg per hectare for open pollinated lines and 300-1200 kg per hectare for hybrid lines.  

When one is aiming to produce bulbs, one hectare can produce about 12-20 tons of onion bulbs.

Most farmers prefer growing red creole variety because can grow over a wide range of altitude and is suitable for open field planting and planting in the greenhouse.

Other varieties available in Kenya are

1. Red tropicana produces red bulbs.
2. Red tropicana F1 hybrid produces large red thick flat onions with a firm pungent flesh. it is highly productive and therefore demands high levels oif managment. it keeps well in a dry aerated store.
3. Bombay red this variety is for dry warmer areas. It is small to medium sized, globe shaped, purplish red and pungent.
4. Yellow granex F1 hybrid is an early maturing and high yielding variety, that is thick, flat with thin yellow scales. The flesh is medium firm, crisp and mild in flavor.
5. Texas early grano is an early maturing variety that takes 100-120 days. However, it has a short shelf life. Its a heavy yielder for high altitudes and ideal for fish salads.
6. Green bunching is a spring onion that does not produce bulbs. It has dark green attractive leaves. Its an early and highly productive onion grown for stems rather than bulbs and tolerant to sun scotch. 

Role of Kale in Kenya’s Food security

When most people talk about food security, the emphasis is on a country’s productivity of cereals like maize, beans, rice, sorghum and millet.

Other food crops like potato, cassava, taro, tomatoes, sunflower, cabbages, kale are rarely mentioned as are important because of the role they play in making a diet balanced.

For instance, maize is the most important cereal in Kenya because over 80% of population consume it.

Furthermore, it is considered as a strategic crop; thus  the government reserves 8 million, 90 kg bags through the National Cereals and Produce board.

On the other hand, potato is a vegetable  whose consumption in terms of volume is second to maize yet it isn’t considered a strategic crop.

Any shortfall in production of potato will lead serious food shortage and economic problems just like maize;such is the fallacy of focusing food only on cereals 

Kale is the most consumed green leafy vegetable in Kenya as it is easy to prepare and affordable to the consumer. 

Our focus in this article is to examine the role of kale in Kenya’s food security. 

History of Kale in Kenya

This vegetable was introduced in Kenya by the European settlers in the Early 1900  mainly as a fodder crop for their animals with limited consumption for humans.

During those times Africans relied on indigenous vegetables such as Amaranths, and Spider Plant and Black nightshade which to date are often regarded as weeds.

The advent of Europeans heralded the settlement of people in towns and cities or concentration camps.

The land in cities, towns and concentration camps This brought it sets of challenges where vegetables and cereals were sourced from far off areas.

Cabbage could only grow successfully in  the highland areas which were under European control. The production in this areas was geared to producing crops like coffee and tea.

Reasons for popularity of Kale in Kenya

1. The best  vegetable for urban population in Kenya is  kale because it is affordable.
2. Its growth under tropical conditions is very vigorous.
3. It could be grown in every agro-ecological zone in Kenya and at all attitudes
4. Kale has a preferential taste when compared to cabbage and many exotic vegetables

market survey on popularity of kale

A market survey was conducted over a period of 3 months in 15 vegetable/Fresh produce markets in 3 cities and 7 towns in Kenya.

The cities in the survey were Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa. The number of vehicles i.e. lories and pick-ups that were carrying kale to be sold in the markets was recorded. 

It was assumed that since the markets were far from the residential areas or places where farming is likely to take place, the preferred way that kale could make it to the market is through transportation in a lorry or pick-up.

Counting the number of vehicles carrying kale when compared with other green vegetables would be a fairly accurate way of knowing which vegetable is popular.

Another assumption was that since the markets were free markets, The law of supply and demand would apply.

The volumes [lories or pickups] with produce will indicate the popularity of the vegetable.

Observations

85% of those vehicles that delivered vegetables in the markets were carrying kale with spinach occupying 8%.

This result indicates that kale takes the pole position of vegetables are delivered in various markets in Kenya.

A number of traders who were selling amaranths, Black nightshade, spider-plant, Cowpea. It was established that these traders bought the vegetables from farmers located in the outskirts of the towns/cities.

After buying the vegetables, they packed them in gunny bags and transported them to the markets very early in the morning at around 0400Hrs using public transport. The time was suitable for them since its not rush hour.

I sought to establish why the lorry and pickup traders do not deal in indigenous vegetables despite the fact that they were of high value.

They said “dealing in this vegetables is difficult they go bad very quickly! i can’t risk my capital on those vegetables says Mwema” “that area is the specialty of women traders who bring about 1or 2 bags of vegetables” quips Mutembei!

Luckily, the nutrition value of this indigenous vegetables has been established and at certain instances they have been proved to contain more vitamins and minerals compared to exotic vegetables.

The ministry of Agriculture recognizes the economic benefit these vegetables and has drafted a policy of emerging crops where such are handled.

Because of the above characteristics of kale, it is an important vegetable, especially for the urban poor those whole live in slums for their daily nutritional requirements. The vegetable can be grown throughout the year in every part of the country.

Because of the versatility of this crop, there is need for the government and stakeholders to fund more research initiatives so as to find ways of value addition of the vegetable.

During peak production times i.e. rainy season, the vegetable floods the market. I believe if more research is done, a useful industrial product may be discovered in the crop.

That will go a long way in improving the earnings of farmers and providing a year round market for them.

 

  

Kenyan French bean production-A Success story.

Mr.. Mwangi started French bean farming 10 years ago after being frustrated by coffee millers^___for a long time, earnings from coffee placed bread and butter on the table; but, not anymore!

In the 1990’s the international prices of coffee had gone down, there was also rampant corruption leading to losses to farmers; furthermore they were never paid in time!

Some farmers had to divorce themselves from coffee production; a crop reputed as the black gold of Kenya^__ oh its luster had faded!

“I now earn a better income. Previously, I used to deliver my coffee berries to one of the millers, I don’t remember being paid on time; paying school fees for my children was a dream"

“I can now afford to pay school fees for my six children, feed them and buy some property^__thanks to French-bean farming.” He says.

“I was able to diversify my farming to include, 5 dairy cows that give me an average of 80 litres per day earning me Ksh 2,400 which is an equivalent of $ 28.” “I am now out of the poverty bracket.” he quips!

This story of success is similar to that of many farmers- learn how this crop can transform your life by reading this article and sharing it with your friends!

Why french beans farming?

There is a  high demand for crop in Europe throughout the year, this means that farmers can grow it year round and get market for the crop.

In fact it is the leading vegetable export from Kenya and it’s said that our french beans are the finest.

Secondly, the crop matures and is ready for harvest after 3 months from the sowing of the seeds.

The short maturity period allows farmers to recoup their investment after a short period.

Thirdly, the crop is harvested 3 times a week, for three to four months. Every time farmers harvest the crop, it is bought in cash by various brokers and traders.

This enables a farmer to have a healthy cash flow that allows him to undertake other activities like feeding his children, taking them to school and other home expenses; thus have a peace of mind.

lastly, one acre yields 4 tons of french beans; at a selling price Ksh 60 per kilo, farmer will  earn Ksh 240,000 by the end of the harvest.

After deducting all his expenses, it has been reported,farmers make an average profit of 80,000 shillings per acre after three months of growing french beans.

Some enterprising farmers lease several farms from neighbors or friends who live in towns and are not able to farm; such farmers earn hundreds of thousands from french beans.

role FRENCH BEAN FARMING IN KENYA

French beans constitutes 40% of the vegetable exported from Kenya. In the export chain; we have farmers who grow the crop, middle men and exporters who contract farmers, airlines and logistics companies who are involved in shipping the product, the government as a regulator and the supermarkets in Europe where the crop is sold.

Over 100,000 farmers in The country are involved in the cultivation of the crop and over 200,000 have been employed in industries related to the crops production and marketing.

The export of the vegetable plays a key role in bolstering the foreign exchange the country earns from horticulture.

reasons of success of Kenya in french bean production

The country is successful in the production of the crops because we have suitable environmental conditions, a better human resource, better marketing strategy and good infrastructure.

With regard to the environment, the country lies astride the equator and has varying altitude ranging from 0-5199 Meters above sea level; a factor that enables year round production.

Most Kenyan farmers are fairly young, they are aged 40 and below, majority of who, have completed secondary education; therefore they can understand and comply to the quality requirements for export to the EU a principal market of Kenyan French beans.

This cannot be said of other African countries that are trying to compete with Kenya’s French bean industry.

The country’s geographical position is also suitable; one can fly to any African county from Nairobi- the capital city within four hours.

This geographical advantage has made Nairobi to be an international airline hub thus increasing the availability of airfreight-a paramount factor in export horticulture.

Large exporters also enter into joint ventures with Airlines to assured availability of airfreight space in cargo cabins.

The horticultural development authority,the private sector and ministry of agriculture have aggressively marketed the country for many years as a hub of horticulture.

Finally preferential trade agreement with the European union and other economic regional blocks have made Kenyan exports to gain access to such markets.

REGIONS WHERE FRENCH BEANS ARE PRODUCED

Production is concentrated around central Kenya; in areas of Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Mwea, and Meru because of the numerous rivers in the region that make year round production possible.

Many of agri-input companies operate within the region; drip lines, irrigation pumps, fertilizers, pesticides and technical information are always available to farmers.

The region’s proximity to Jomo Kenyatta international airport also makes it possible for the produce to arrive in Europe within 48 hours after harvest-when fresh condition.

Finally, the bean is adaptable to wide geographical altitudes and a variety of soils; from light sands to heavy clays, although, experts say it does better in well-drained loam soils rich in organic matter.

Ecological requirements

1. Altitude 0-1800 Meters above sea level.
2. Warm temperatures between 12-34 degrees; temperatures below 12⁰ C encourage frost that is harmful to the crop on the other hand, temperatures above 34⁰ C result to flower abortion.
3. A well distributed rainfall throughout the year, 600-1500 mm.
4. The soil should be well drained; a waterlogged soil will increase risk of root and collar rot, seed asphyxia during seed germination.
5. French beans are very sensitive to salinity; saline soils must be avoided. 
6. Fertilizer applications must be split up and applied in several installments to avoid excess doses of salts.

Considerations before planting

Before planting French bean on your farm, it is important to consider which preceding crops were on the field.

Some crops share the same diseases and pests with French beans; planting French beans areas where such crops were results to a build-up of pests and diseases.

It’s possible that previously sowed crops may have depleted the mineral resources in the soil thus making it necessary to supply additional nutrients to the soil.

The table below indicates the crops to avoid, those that have no effect on the soil condition and those that are beneficial if they had preceded French bean.

To be avoided as preceding crops	Not useful as preceding crop	Recommended as preceding crop
Peas, Beans Potato eggplant Melon Cucumber zucchini, Watermelon Lettuce Okra	Groundnut Pepper, Celery, Lettuce Carrot Onion, Garlic, Shallot	Cereals like (Maize, Sorghum and Millet) Fodder grass Cabbage,Kale,turnip Beetroot Cassava Sweet potato Strawberry

The Growth Cycle of french beans

During sowing   the most important thing to consider  the is seed depth.

Research has demonstrated that the most optimal depth is 3-5 cm in sandy soils, while for heavy soils a depth of 2 cm is sufficient.

Period/timeline	Observation/activity
0-10 days	Seedling emergence
11-25 days	Vegetative phase
35th day	Commencement of flowering
50th day	Harvesting commences
55-80 days	Harvest period

The table above shows what a farmer should expect after sowing french beans.

Timing of the market is important; plant when the best prices are expected and in times of shortages. Flooding the market is disastrous to a farmer because the crop does not have local demand.

To insure yourself from total loss in seasons of overproduction, grow a variety of crops to diversify your source of income.

MANAGING DISEASES in french beans

The major disease of French beans is rust. It is caused by a fungus known as uromyces appendiculatus; fortunately it is effectively controlled two fungicides, Dithane M45 or Anvil.

To reduce the prevalence of this disease, avoid sprinkler irrigation; such irrigation wets the leaves thus providing a suitable condition for rust.

Where furrow irrigation is practiced, there is a high incidence of wilt and nematode attacks. The wilt is caused by a fungus known as fusarium oxysporum.

The best method of irrigation is drip irrigation; it allows direct application of water to the root zone.

Frequency of Harvesting

The date of seedling emergence depends on the variety of bean, the soil condition, and the altitude; factors that determine the commencement of harvesting.

It is expected that emergence will occur within 4-10 days. Flowering will commence after 28-35 days.

Farmers harvest French beans every Monday, Wednesday and Friday; days when they employ pickers to do the work for them.

On the days of harvest, buyers come and before the end of the day the produce is in a cold room in Nairobi awaiting export to Europe.

Harvesting lasts for 3-5 weeks and by the end of the harvest season, the farmer would have harvested 4-5 tons for every Hectare planted.

Application of Fertilizers

The table below gives an example of fertilizer regime that can be used to increase production.

Examples of fertilizer application (per Hectare) The figures are for quantity of input per hectare of actual crop

Fertilization	Example 1 (Classic fertilization)	Example 2 (Alternative fertilization)	Example 3 Fertilization coupled with irrigation)
Basal dressing	10-20 tons organic matter	10-20  tons organic matter	10-15 tons organic matter 100 Kg K2SO4 100 kg 18-46-0
Correct application 1 (1st hoeing)	200-400 kg 10:10:20	200 Kg K2SO4 150 Kg DAP	100Kg K2SO4 100Kg 18-46-0 25 Kg Urea 40 Kg/week of 16-9-26 (soluble fertilizers) 20 Kg/week of 0-52-32 (soluble fertilizers)
Correct application 2 (2nd hoeing)	150-300 kg 10:10:20	150 Kg KNO3 50 Kg DAP	100Kg K2SO4 25 Kg Urea 40 Kg/week of 16-9-26 (soluble fertilizers) 20 Kg/week of 0-52-32 (soluble fertilizers)
Flowering to harvest	Foliar spray	Foliar spray	40 Kg of KNO3 (soluble fertilizers)
Inputs N:P:K	50-100/50-100/100-200	76/92/232	100/137/200
N/K2O balance	1/2	1/3	1/32