During the dry season, farmers may cultivate various vegetables for their families and sell by using only three buckets of water each day using the bucket drip irrigation system. Farmers may employ easily accessible materials on their homesteads, making this strategy both cheaper and more successful.
The bucket drip kit includes a bucket and two 15-meter drip tapes with 30-centimeter-spaced holes (emitters). One meter above the ground, the bucket is supported.
Double digging and planting on flat terrain are the two significant ways of preparing seedbeds. Practice double digging in arid places (agro-ecological zones 4 and 5). You can utilize traditional planting on flat ground in less arid places (agro-ecological zone 3).
Digging twice
A plot is measured. 15 m length, 1 m breadth (1 step by step 15 steps)
Excavate to a depth of 15 cm (length of the palm)
Remove the excavated dirt from the excavated area and place it to the side.
Cover the excavated area with green plant materials (banana leaves, young weeds, tree leaves, and green maize leaves, for example) to ensure that the ground is well covered.
One should be burry farmyard manure to a depth of 5 cm.
Mix the soil taken previously with a bucket (15 kilos) of well-decomposed animal manure and restore it to the top.
Flatten the seedbed and break up big dirt clods to provide a flat surface. The vegetable seedlings are now ready to be planted.
Kale crop production (Sukuma Wiki)
Thousand headed and Marrow stem is two types that are recommended. When the plants are three weeks old or have four genuine leaves, transplant them. They should stand approximately 10 centimeters tall.
Plant 30 cm apart in each drip hole and keep rows 2 feet apart. When the plants are 8 inches (20 cm) tall, apply one teaspoonful of CAN. Repeat the fertilizer treatment every three weeks. When double digging is not used, add two handfuls of manure to each planting hole.
Caterpillars (formed by the diamondback moth and cabbage sawfly) and aphids are the most harmful pests. When caterpillars are seen on leaves, use Karate and dimethoate to reduce aphids.
Black rot and leaf spot are the most dangerous illnesses. The stem is attacked by black rot, which turns it a moist grey color and slippery when handled. The rot has a distinct and unpleasant odor.
Rotation is essential for reducing the occurrence of black rot. Use plants that aren't linked to each other, such as onions, tomatoes, chilies, and capsicum. Dithane can be used to treat fungal illnesses such as leaf spots.
Farmers have reported weekly profits of KES. 80 to KES. 200 from the selling of sukuma wiki leaves. During the dry season, each onion crop might earn between KES. 3,000 and 4,000.
Production of Onions
Red creole and Tropicana hybrid are the best types for arid locations. When onion seedlings reach a height of 7-8 cm, they should be transferred (after about one and a half months after sowing in the nursery)
Seeds are being planted in the drip seedbed.
Leave 20 cm on either side of the seedbed to denote where the onion rows will begin on the drip bed.
Seedlings should be planted in two paired rows, with drip tape in between each pair.
The distance between paired rows is 8 cm.
Within the row, the spacing between onion plants should be 4-5 cm.
• One seedbed may hold 900-1000 onion plants • Plant seedlings shallowly, around 2 cm deep.
Insects
The onion thrips are the most dangerous pest. These are tiny insects that create silver spots and wilting on the leaves from the top down. During dry conditions, the bug becomes more prevalent. When insects are seen on the leaf sheaths, use dimethoate or folimat to control them. The most dangerous illnesses are those caused by fungi. Purple blotch is the most frequent, generating purple patches on leaves and leaf bending. The plants eventually perish. Bulb rot happens when onions are planted in the same field for a long time and in damp conditions. Crop rotation with non-related crops, such as kale, cabbage, and carrots, is used to manage it. You may also use Dithane or Mancozeb as a spray.