Tiny space to grow? Here are a few pointers from man who has made it

Any vegetable that grows in the ground can be grown in a container

Are you interested in growing crops but face space constraints? Think potted plant technology. One farmer Daniel Muguko of Oljoro-Orok, Nyandarua County, has fully embraced this system in his backyard and is reaping from it. The farmer was introduced to the technology by Success in Agriculture, a firm that develops homegrown solutions for agricultural production.

“I grow my pepino melon fruits on these pots. I chose this mode of farming because I have limited space and the crops are easy to grow,” says Muguko. The farmer started growing pepino, a wonder fruit of sorts, a few years ago after his wife suffered a stroke and he was told that the fruit could manage the problem.

“My wife suffered a stroke in 2009 and her health deteriorated. A friend told me to give her these fruits to restore her health. That is how I started my journey of with pepinos. I remember it was a challenge finding the fruits because few farmers stocked the seedlings. I saw a business opportunity there,” says Muguko.

Before he went full throttle with pepino melon growing, given that he has no horticulture farming background, he did intense online research about the potted plant technology.

“I went online and learnt a lot. I learnt everything needed when growing crops on pots from the soil to watering and maximising on sunlight,” says Muguko.

And there are numerous possibilities with this gardening containers. Muguko says with a plot as small as 10m by 10m, one can accommodate up to 40 pots.

“In a 10m by 10m piece of land, one can make good returns. For large pieces of land, one can realise higher returns,” Muguko says.

For those who want to go pots, Muguko says one can either buy the ready made planting containers or they can improvise buckets and make the necessary adjustments to allow the plants grow healthy and strong. For those interested in buying these pots, they can go to any farming Facebook site and search.

Keep soil moisturised

“I would look forward to seeing this technology rolled out to our farmyards so that we can have a steady supply of some valuable crops like pepino melons from the rural and even urban settings,” he says.

Muguko has established a neat pepino melon nursery that is thriving. He sells the potted pepino plants. He has clients from the county, Nairobi and as far as Tanzania.

However, Muguko’s venture has not been devoid of challenges. “The differences in crop management practices has at times brought him losses. The challenge is that many people are claiming to be horticulturalists thereby selling fake seedlings which lead to massive losses,” he says.

Once a farmer embraces container gardening, there are some aspects they need to get right. First is the watering and testing of the soil moisture. The trick is to ensure the soil is not too dry or wet. To hack it, a farmer can choose to water the plants in the morning. To ensure the crops are not flooded, the pots need to have drainage holes. If you are using improvised buckets, you need to make holes at the bottom using nails.

To test the amount of water the crops have, you can place saucers under pots to tap extra water. To prevent root rot and excessive sogginess in the soil, remove any excess water left after about an hour.

Before watering, always check soil moisture by poking your finger into the soil. Only water if the soil feels dry.