Little-grown broccoli, cauliflower put good cash in farmer’s wallet
Samuel Muriithi explains a point on how broccoli and cauliflower are grown. He grows these among other vegetables in his farm in Ihwa village, Nyeri County. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
He grows the Heritage variety of broccoli, with the crop taking three months to mature. It develops best during cool seasons of the year.
A farmer can have two harvests a year for well-tended crops, after which they are supposed to be discarded and planted afresh.
Besides the diseases and pests, broccoli and cauliflower heads are attacked by birds and rodents.
Farmers should also know the variety of the vegetables desired by the market and these include whether small or big heads.
Clad in a green overcoat and black gumboots, Samuel Muriithi is busy harvesting vegetables on his farm at the foot of Karima Hills in Ihwa village, Nyeri County, when the Seeds of Gold team arrives
Cabbages, sukuma wiki (collard greens), capsicum, courgettes, cauliflower and broccoli grow neatly on his two acres. On this day, the farmer is harvesting cauliflower and broccoli.
