Save by utilising your backyard
Jul 23, 2010
VEGETABLES such as cabbages are some of the foods dieticians recommend for our daily menu. However, during off season times, vegetables become expensive.
BY GODWIN AYESIGA
VEGETABLES such as cabbages are some of the foods dieticians recommend for our daily menu. However, during off season times, vegetables become expensive.
To overcome expenses, you can utilise the little space in your compound through sack farming using organic farming skills. John Kiyuba, the head of science department at Greenhill Academy in the primary section, says sack gardening is a simple task and does not require a lot of money.
“It started as a school science project but now many children and parents have started sack gardening in their homes,†says Kiyuba. He says all you need are sacks, compost manure, and seedlings.
How to get started
Start by making a nursery bed of the vegetables you intend to plant. Then buy seeds. For example, a packet of cabbage seeds costs about sh500 and plant them in the nursery bed. After, make a thorough mix of loam soil (black soil) and compost manure.
Fix a pole in the centre of the sack and fill it with the mixture of loam soil and the manure. However, you have to put in fist-size stones to provide support to the sack as and aeration to the plants.
Make some spaced holes on the sack and then plant your seedlings from the nursery bed. During the dry season, you need to water your sacks every morning.
For instance, two litres of water are enough for a sack. Remember to keep the garden and its surrounding extremely clean to eliminate pests that may attack the vegetables.
However, when the vegetables are attacked by pests, remove the crops that are infected since you are not supposed to spray. Kiyuba says it takes over two months before one can start harvesting the cabbage.
He adds that after harvesting, you can use the same sacks to plant other crops such as onions since they require fewer nutrients. “You can also break the used soil into small particles, then place it back into the sack and plant fresh vegetables,†says Kayuba.
Making compost manure
Making compost manure is simple. Kayuba says compost manure is made when organic matter such as grass, leaves and kitchen waste like egg shells, vegetable scraps are broken down by bacteria and fungi. You can make it in either a pile or bin, depending on the amount of material for composting and the needs and size of your garden.
To get good manure, mix approximately equal proportions of green and brown matter. Remember to perforate the bottom of the bin and protect it from hot sun and heavy rain to prevent excess drying or moisture.
The top needs a tight fitting cover and the bottom (which is perforated) placed in contact with the soil to allow earthworms to enter the organic matter. Care should be taken to ensure that the decomposing mixture does not become waterlogged in order to avoid stinking and attracting flies.
In case the manure becomes water logged due to heavy rain, you can add absorbent materials such as sawdust, newspaper or dry manure to control the moisture. It is important that you turn the decomposing materials regularly.
The more frequently the material is turned, the faster it will decompose. The manure is ready to use when it produces a powdery appearance and when original matter cannot be identified.
As a result, Kayubi says the manure may be ready for use in a period after one month.
VEGETABLES such as cabbages are some of the foods dieticians recommend for our daily menu. However, during off season times, vegetables become expensive.
To overcome expenses, you can utilise the little space in your compound through sack farming using organic farming skills. John Kiyuba, the head of science department at Greenhill Academy in the primary section, says sack gardening is a simple task and does not require a lot of money.
“It started as a school science project but now many children and parents have started sack gardening in their homes,†says Kiyuba. He says all you need are sacks, compost manure, and seedlings.
How to get started
Start by making a nursery bed of the vegetables you intend to plant. Then buy seeds. For example, a packet of cabbage seeds costs about sh500 and plant them in the nursery bed. After, make a thorough mix of loam soil (black soil) and compost manure.
Fix a pole in the centre of the sack and fill it with the mixture of loam soil and the manure. However, you have to put in fist-size stones to provide support to the sack as and aeration to the plants.
Make some spaced holes on the sack and then plant your seedlings from the nursery bed. During the dry season, you need to water your sacks every morning.
For instance, two litres of water are enough for a sack. Remember to keep the garden and its surrounding extremely clean to eliminate pests that may attack the vegetables.
However, when the vegetables are attacked by pests, remove the crops that are infected since you are not supposed to spray. Kiyuba says it takes over two months before one can start harvesting the cabbage.
He adds that after harvesting, you can use the same sacks to plant other crops such as onions since they require fewer nutrients. “You can also break the used soil into small particles, then place it back into the sack and plant fresh vegetables,†says Kayuba.
Making compost manure
Making compost manure is simple. Kayuba says compost manure is made when organic matter such as grass, leaves and kitchen waste like egg shells, vegetable scraps are broken down by bacteria and fungi. You can make it in either a pile or bin, depending on the amount of material for composting and the needs and size of your garden.
To get good manure, mix approximately equal proportions of green and brown matter. Remember to perforate the bottom of the bin and protect it from hot sun and heavy rain to prevent excess drying or moisture.
The top needs a tight fitting cover and the bottom (which is perforated) placed in contact with the soil to allow earthworms to enter the organic matter. Care should be taken to ensure that the decomposing mixture does not become waterlogged in order to avoid stinking and attracting flies.
In case the manure becomes water logged due to heavy rain, you can add absorbent materials such as sawdust, newspaper or dry manure to control the moisture. It is important that you turn the decomposing materials regularly.
The more frequently the material is turned, the faster it will decompose. The manure is ready to use when it produces a powdery appearance and when original matter cannot be identified.
As a result, Kayubi says the manure may be ready for use in a period after one month.