Hujambo Rafiki,
The farm has been drenched with rain. Unfortunately, there was a hailstorm and the hail damaged a lot of the crops. David says that the passion fruits and banana trees survived the storm, but the beans did not do well. He is looking forward to the end of this rainy season which is usually in November.
David and I have decided to purchase three trailers of manure. The clay soil on the farm is very rich in minerals but is very acidic. Mixed with the tithonia (see below) grown on our property, the manure will be a good fertilizer and will help balance the soil. David has also purchased 150 grams of tomato seed, 100 grams of spinach seed and 100 grams of sukuma wiki, a green leafy vegetable, similar to kale, often served with ugali (staple starch, cornmeal mush), or added to stewed meat dishes.
With the heavy rains comes weeds. David will have a tractor come in and cultivate the areas on the farm that are not housing crops. This will be in preparation of the new seeds that David wants to plant before the dry season comes. The tomatoes are already growing in the nursery on the farm. After the soil bed is prepared, they will be transplanted into the ground..
After the seeds are planted, there will be time to install the water tanks we purchased last May and fill them before the raining season ends.
Plans for Greenhouses
David has visited a friend who has a few greenhouses. He would like to build a greenhouse that measures 11 meters by 30 meters (36 ft X 98.5 feet). "The vegetables grown in the greenhouses have no spots and are very good for the marketplace. The greenhouse protect the plants from too much sun and from too much rain... and from hail." Other benefits of growing vegetables in a greenhouse include less need to weed and water retention, insect and disease control are improved.
There is a local company in Eldoret that sells the timber pre-cut for building a greenhouse and polyurethane is used as a cover.
When the Rainy Season Ends
After the work on the farm of planting is finished and the water tanks are in place, David hopes to plan more seminars. It is our hope to have a building eventually, but for now, we have to wait for funds. David wants to have HIV awareness and testing along with more agriculture workshops. There are many organizations that we can partner with to provide the content for workshops.
Tithonia
Tithonia is a common weed found to be a great source of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. The leaves can be soaked in water for a couple of days and then the tea can be used to fertilize the garden. According to research by Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, the concentration of nutrients in tithonia is highest in young plants and just before the plant flowers. Besides being used as a substitute for fertilizer, the tithonia plant can also be used as firewood or as animal feed. This weed is also common in the United States and is often called Wild sunflower, also known as the Mexican Sunflower.
David reports that "...the passion fruit and banana trees are growing well." Above is one of the banana trees planted last year. David replanted the banana trees along the the edge of the property. First fruits from the banana trees are expected to come next year.
David's wife Purity and three of their daughters, Vanessa, Winnie and Mercy prepare the bed for passion fruit seedlings and set stakes for support one evening after school in August. Winnie is holding the post and Mercy is behind her. Vanessa is holding the hoe and Purity is on the right.
Passion fruit seedlings with support poles. As the plants get larger, we will run wires from the poles and train the branches along the wires. We will prune the plants so that they only have two runners per plant. Additional branches will be cut back to improve the fruit production.
Because it decomposes quickly and is high in nitrogen and potassium, the tithonia plant is a great source to replenish soil fertility. This weed grows well on fences.
