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Figure
WHY GROW VEGETABLES ?
Vegetables are mainly grown for 2 reasons:
-for home
consumption: they add minerals and vitamins to the diet and improve the health
of the farmer family.
-for the market to earn money. Surplus vegetables can
be sold on the market for a good
price.
7.1.1 WHAT VEGETABLES TO GROW
There are many different vegetables. Some are grown for their:
-leaves and stems, e.g. lettuce, onions, leeks, cabbage
-roots, e.g. carrots, turnips
-flower heads, e.g. cauliflower .
-fruits, e.g. tomatoes, green pepper, okra.
Depending on the market situation, you have to decide which vegetables to grow. If You live in a rural area, the traditional vegetables will have a better market. If you live near a town, the production of "modern" vegetables can be profitable.
For better marketing, you grow:
-different vegetables: if there is a poor market for one variety, the other one may have a ester market.
-vegetables of good quality: vegetables that are not fresh looking and of good quality are difficult to sell.
-regularly: you have to practice timing. It is a waste to grow a large quantity of one vegetable type at one time, if you are not sure of the market. It is easier to market smaller quantities regularly.
7.1.2 HOW TO CHOOSE THE SITE
The vegetable garden should be situated as near as possible:
-to the house: if you want to harvest a lot of vegetables of good quality, you will have to look after them very well.
-to a water source: vegetables need a lot of water to grow well. If your water source is far, you have a lot of work to carry the water.
The vegetable garden should be well protected against destruction by goats, etc. The site must not be exposed to wind, sun and rain. Choose a level place with loose, well drained and fertile soil. Improve your garden site with organic manure.
7.1.3 HOW DOES A VEGETABLE GARDEN LOOK
Like a field consists of plots, a vegetable garden consists of beds. A bed is the name for a small plot on which vegetables are grown.
Fig. 7.1: A vegetable bed should be
about I m. wide and 10 m. long. Leave a path of 60 cm between every two
vegetable beds.
Mix the soil of 1 bed with at least one wheel barrow of
manure or compost. Remove stones, break up the clods of earth and make the
surface of the bed flat.
Some of the vegetables you cannot plant directly, you need to nurse them and transplant them, e.g. lettuce, tomato, leek, cabbage. For these vegetables, you need a nursery bed.
Fig. 7.2: In the nursery bed, you
need very fertile soil to give a good start to the seeds. Build a shade to
protect the seedlings in your nursery against hot sun.
Most vegetables grow best on soils which are rich in organic matter. Before planting, you have to add manure or compost to your soil: Mix the manure or compost well with the soil, so that it does not come into direct contact with the roots of the vegetable crop.
Manure and compost must be properly rotten - this takes three to six months. Always use your oldest heap first.
7.1.4 WHICH TOOLS TO USE IN THE GARDEN
Fig. 7.3: Basic tools for your
garden are the:
-cutlass: to clear the garden and prepare mulch.
-hoe: to prepare the soil. .
-watering can: to water the vegetables.
An advanced vegetable farmer will have some additional tools like a:
-dibber: to transplant the seedlings
-rake: to break up clods, level the beds and cover seeds after sowing
-wheel barrow: to carry his manure/compost
-fork: to carry and spread the manure/compost
-pulling hoe: to weed and inter-cultivate between the rows
-wooden tamper: a wooden board to make the soil firm after sowing
-knapsack-sprayer: to spray chemicals against certain diseases
The knapsack-sprayer is very expensive and should be bought by a group of farmers.
Fig. 7.4: Additional gardening tools
Figure
Gardening includes some activities you may not know from your normal farming activities.
To make gardening successful you must have a basic idea of these activities.
1. Nursing of seedlings
Some vegetable seeds are nursed
before transplanting. You have to establish a seed nursery and provide shade for
the young plants.
2. Thinning Out
Some vegetable seeds are very small. You have
to broadcast or sow them in lines. Once the seedlings are a few centimetres tall
you may have to pull some of them out and throw them away to give the others
more room.
Fig. 7.5a: Remove week and surplus
seedlings.
3. Hardening of seedlings
Seedlings are ready for
transplanting, when they have 4 true leaves. About 1 week before transplanting,
give less water and shade to the seedlings than before. This will "harden" them
so that they can survive when transplanted.
Fig. 7.5b: Transplant seedlings at
the right stage
4. Transplanting
Transplant in the evening or on a cloudy day
so that the plants are not immediately exposed to hot sun.
The best way to transplant seedlings is to:
-thoroughly water the nursery bed, so that you can lift the seedlings more easily
-be very careful not to break the roots of the seedlings
-choose only those seedlings that have grown well
-prepare the seedlings by trimming off some roots and leaves
-transplant into well prepared holes
-pad the earth down well around the plant
-water the transplanted seedling thoroughly
Fig. 7.6: Seedlings must be
transplanted correctly.
Figure
5. Mulching
In the dry season, mulching is very important in
both the nursery and the vegetable beds, because it helps:
-to keen the moisture in the soil
-to add nutrients when the mulch rots
-to prevent the soil from getting too hot
Fig. 7.7: Chopped grass is useful as
mulch, but do not use grass that has flowered to avoid weed infestation.
Thin the mulch in the nursery as soon as the seedlings appear. Mulch should not touch the stem of your plants to reduce pest attach.
6. Watering
Vegetables need a lot of water to develop their
roots and leaves. They will only do well in moist soil. In the dry season, a bed
of 10 square metres needs about 6 to 7 watering cans full of water every day.
Water preferably in the morning and afternoon.
Watering can either be done
with a watering can or by irrigation.
7. Staking
Some vegetables with long and weak stems, e.g.
climbing beans, tomatoes, need stakes. A stake is a stick firmly put into the
earth. It is best to use hard wood, which does not rot and can stay for some
years.
Fig. 7.8: Vegetables which have weak
stems can be trained along stakes.
8. Pruning
Certain vegetables like tomatoes and eggplants
need pruning. Nip off surplus buds. After pruning, there will be more fruits and
they will be bigger.
Fig. 7.9: Pruned plants grow
stronger and produce more fruit.
9. Garden Care
The vegetables are frequently attacked by
diseases and insects. There are chemical and natural methods to control insect
and disease attacks.
Chemical control is easier but expensive and risky. The poison of the chemical remains in the vegetable time between treatment and harvest is not long enough. You will then eat the chemical with the vegetable. Natural methods are more tedious and need a lot of observation and experience The easiest natural methods to control diseases are:
-good seed/seedling selection
-disinfection of nursery bed ( 10 watering cans of boiling water for 10 m2)
-uprooting of infected plants and burning them
-practising mixed cropping; combine plants where the smell, etc. of one plant affects or protects against diseases of the other plant, e.g. tomato - cabbage, carrot - onion
In general, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, leeks are good partners to most of the other vegetables apart from pulses, e.g. beans, peas, groundnuts, etc.
-practising crop rotation
-putting sufficient manure to improve growth, because strong plants are more resistant to disease
-choosing resistant or tolerant varieties
The following table will give you summary information on planting/transplanting time and planting distances, etc. for most vegetables grown m your area:
NOTE: This is a scheme to guide you but a lot depends on
climate, altitude, rainfall, season, etc...
All vegetables are multiplied by
seeds, only challots, onions, by bulb and ginger by the roots
(rhizomes).
The planting distances depend on the varieties (e.g. cabbage), use your discretion.
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