A tomato farmer has increased his tomato yield by 20 per cent by creating new soils from banana stem-filled beds.
Chao Mkulima as he is fondly known in farming circles, dug 45cm wide and 15cm deep beds that were filled with cut banana stems, manure, and compost, before they were covered with the fertile topsoil and mulch.
These trenches improve the quality of the soil farmers grow on by raising its fertility, ability to take in and hold onto water, especially during dry months, and reduce soil erosion. Studies have shown that farmers growing in these banana trenches can increase their yield by over 300 per cent.
“The weatherman had predicted that the short rain would be limited so I opted to try out this new method of farming I had seen a neighbour adopt successfully that held the little water he got for longer. So far they have halved the amount of water I use to grow tomatoes last year,” he said.
According to the young farmer, the magic of the chopped-up banana trunks is that as they rot they release nutrients, especially potassium and phosphorus, which are heavily used by tomatoes.
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Tomatoes eat 300–400 kilograms of potassium to get the best yields. As the plant grows, it takes in potassium from the banana stems underneath it throughout. 10 tons of fresh banana stems provide up to 20 per cent of all the potassium tomatoes need and up to 15 percent of their phosphorus needs.
Tomatoes which are shallow-rooted crops also find it easier to drink soil water when grown in organic matter-filled trenches.
Chao informs that the trenches hold water much better than traditional planting. “My soil stays moist for longer, which is crucial during dry spells,” he said.
Mulch is also used to cover the trenches because it prevents water loss through evaporation.
“So far, the tomatoes are thriving, and I’m far less water. Plus, I’m happy to be using a readily available resource like banana trunks which minimises my environmental impact,” he concluded.
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