In the festive season, which is characterized by eating, drinking and making merry, you may want to control at least part of the action by being at the centre of growing some of your most required vegetables.
While time is quickly running out and the practice of agriculture relies on time and effort, this quick guide will help you with five vegetables you can grow and harvest during the short December holiday.
The nature of these vegetables is that they take the shortest duration from planting to harvesting, and what a way to enjoy the holidays than to eat your home-grown food?
To start, you will need some space where the vegetable will be grown. In this regard, you do not need to have a significantly large portion of land to begin growing your vegetables.
The spaces could be as small as the top of your window sills or even an open space with a direct view of the sky and sunshine.
So, you will have to ready the land by tilling and mixing up the soil with organic manure that you could get your hands on. These could range from farm-yard manure, green plants or chicken droppings.
Additionally, you may need to prepare a small one-square metre nursery to plant your seedlings before transplanting them into your prepared garden. It is prudent to mx just as much farm-yard manure or compost into the nursery for quicker growth.
Also, you may want to raise the nursery just a bit to cushion it from flooding or damage from waterways. Additionally, during the planting of the seeds, a little mulch on top prevents the splashing effect during watering from throwing out your seeds.
Spring onions/Green onions
These are some of the easiest vegetables to grow during the holiday season. They take anywhere between 3-4 weeks to mature after transplanting and you could harvest them during the December holidays and the new year for your salad and daily cooking.
The spring onions, also known as scallions are rich in vitamins A, C and K and bring about numerous health benefits such as improved digestion, improved skin tone and boosts immunity.
The onions take 10 days to germinate and in four weeks, you could transplant them to the well-tended garden and begin harvesting 2-3 weeks later. The leaves are ready to eat when they are tall and succulent.
Kales/Sukumawiki
Kales are a favourite accompaniment on the tables of most Kenyans. For this purpose, it is equally an easy-to-grow vegetable with one of the shortest durations for harvesting.
For this one, you will need to buy seedlings from your local market of pre-grown kales with at least three vegetative leaves.
Transplant the kales into your well-manured and irrigated garden and within four weeks, you could be eating right from your kitchen garden. Watch out for weeds and pests as kales do not fare well with competition. Regular spraying of the crop will deliver better-looking veggies.
Dania/coriander
These aromatic vegetables are excellent in terms of taking one of the shortest times to go from planting to maturity.
Prepare the seedbed and drench it with pesticides to kill any pests in the soil. Plant your coriander seeds in the bed and cover with a small layer of soil and mulch.
With the right conditions, you can harvest your first batch of Dania in 25 days. Ensure you apply the right quantities of manure for root development and CAN for a more vegetative crop.
Dania is used to garnish most dishes and is a popular vegetable in kachumbari which accompanies nyamachoma, kukuchoma and grilled or fried fish.
Spinach
The spinach is a viable alternative for several people who cannot stomach kales/sukumawiki. It is very nutritious and takes just as little time to grow and harvest.
For this one, you will need to purchase healthy and vegetative seedlings from your local market or farmer and transplant them into a well-irrigated and treated garden.
The spacing should be anywhere between 10-15 centimetres and you will need to prune the leaves as soon as they grow several others.
After transplanting and with the right mix of fertilizer, weeding and pest control, you should be able to harvest and feast on your first harvest of spinach in 3-4 weeks.
Cucumbers
One of the most unique and vitamin C-dense vegetables you could try this holiday season is cucumber. Now for this, you would be lucky enough to get a seedling from a farmer or seller as transplanting it to your garden will ensure you significantly reduce the amount of time until harvesting.
With a spacing of up to one metre, you could transplant cucumber into your well-prepared garden and drench it with pesticides. With the right mix of tending and application of manure, you will be able to harvest your first crops in 6-8 weeks, just in time for the festivities.
