Growing Onions!

Half percent of the red onions in Kenya are imported from our neighboring country, Tanzania, as indicated by Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) 2014 report. Kenyan Farmers have been doing their best to address the demand and close the gap, but there is still more supply to be achieved. This makes the Red Bulb Onion a very attractive commercial investment for the Kenyan market at the moment, since local production is not enough.

Major types of onions farmed in Kenya are bulb onions and spring onions. Bulb onions take 3 to 4 months to reach maturity. Spring onions are easy to plant. You can even plant them at your kitchen garden. They are commonly used in vegetable salads or as seasoning in soups. Some of the health benefits of spring onions include lower blood sugar and decreasing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Of the two types, bulb onions are more popular than the spring ones due to their long shelf life and sweet taste. Currently, there are two different varieties of bulb onions in the market. There is the small, thin and firmly layered onion that has a strong pungent smell from Tanzania. The second one is the big loosely held variety that is grown locally, in Kenya.

The best areas suited for farming being Karatina, Oloitoktok, Naivasha, Kieni, Emali and Mai Mahiu.

Conditions for Onion Farming

Onions perform well in well drained, fertile, sandy loam, non-compacted soils. The ideal pH is 5.8 to 6.8. Onion farming is a worthy venture since it’s possible to grow onions throughout the year via Drip irrigation. Soil test with accredited laboratories is advised. The ideal temperatures onions need to grow are between 13-35 degrees centigrade. This means that onions can grow in most parts of Kenya. However, to maximize production in dry areas, one needs to invest in a greenhouse and drip irrigation. This is because greenhouses will optimize the temperatures since these areas are hot and irrigation will provide the much needed water.

In terms of requirements, apart from land that is an obvious fact, other requirements are DAP Fertilizer and seedlings. 1 kg of seedlings can be used in 1 acre while 20 grams of DAP Fertilizer is applied per square meter. You should note that there are different seed varieties and they perform differently under different conditions. Common hybrid varieties available in Kenya include Red Creole, Red Pinnoy, Jambar 1 and Red Bombay. The most popular seed variety in Kenya is the Jambar F1 since it produces high yield and the size of its onions are bigger. On our next article we shall be talking about challenges facing Onion growers,


Contact us through sales@dripsol.com

Growing Cabbages with Dripsol

1. GETTING LAND READY.

The first take to any crop growing farmer before planting is doing a soil test and getting the nutrient content right, this is one of the key factors mostly to farmers who intend to grow Cabbages. Soil analysis is often done 'charge free' by your fertilizer supplier or at small fee.  Cabbage can be grown in slightly acidic soil, but it’s always better to try to get as close to a water pH level of 6,5 to 6,8 as possible. If your soil analysis calculates pH on the potassium chloride (KCl) basis, add one point to get the approximate water pH. In other words, a KCl pH of 5,5 would be close to a water pH of 6,5. A pH on the low side is likely to produce a molybdenum deficiency, which makes phosphate less available to the plant. In this case, work very finely ground lime into the soil. Do this well in advance of planting the crop, as the soil takes time to stabilize. Most soils are high in magnesium which should preferably be in balance with calcium. So, like most of our farmers, you will probably need calcite lime. 
If you are in an area with a low level of soil magnesium, you should use dolomite lime
(Kindly consult agronomists or fertilizer adviser on limes). Cattle and poultry manure benefit microbial life and soil structure, and are excellent for stimulating plant growth.

2.HOW TO WORK THE SOIL

After the soil testing, follows the land preparation, the more land is tilled, the faster its structure and organic content breaks down. Rule is to till only as much as necessary to get the job done. Small clods and crumbly soil improve water penetration and be less likely to crust after heavy rain. For the highest yield, space the rows about 60cm apart, leaving the odd row out for the tractor operating the spray rig. This rows can be in form of shallow ridges or on flat ground. We advice use raised beds 1,6m to 1,8m apart (from center to center) if there is a drainage problem; these reduce the chance of standing water damaging the roots. The beds should be angled to remove excess water from the land after heavy rain. Where the soil is well drained, raised beds will reduce yield. This is because the furrows between beds take up too much room, reducing the plant population.

3.IRRIGATION METHOD

Furrow irrigation is suitable where there is sufficient water. Although this method may seem rather primitive, it requires a great deal of skill. Getting the correct fall and distance between feeder furrows to suit the soil type takes experience. Nevertheless, you can get excellent results with lower input costs, that's through modern Drip Irrigation method. The easiest irrigation method, which is very effective and precise, is the Drip irrigation. we welcome all to our trusted company, for designed drip installation. If you are using pipes and sprinklers, opt for the solid set system, where you simply open valves as you need to. All farmers need to cut down on labor as much as possible. 

For customized drip irrigation, don't hesitate to get in touch with us through; +254746300055 / +254738690937 / sales@dripsol.com.