- “Organically grown vegetables are tastier and uncontaminated, they are popular among people with lifestyle diseases and healthy living fanatics,” Njoka said.
- Without using pesticides and fertilisers, the farmer relies on crop rotation to control pests and to improve soil texture and fertility.
Demand for organically grown food has risen, with many customers preferring the same, breaking the reliance on pesticide-grown crops.
You can pick the vegetables and eat them raw, Jeremiah Njoka said, chewing freshly picked rucola leaves (rocket salad) growing on his farm.
Njoka organically grows vegetables on his one-acre farm in the Nyangati area of Mwea East.
He has been practising organic farming for the past 10 years and has a long list of clients who either buy on order or during a weekly sale at Wanguru farmers’ market.
Demand for organically grown crops is rising, with his approach to farming influencing his neighbours to break their reliance on pesticides.
“Organically grown vegetables are tastier and uncontaminated, they are popular among people with lifestyle diseases like hypertension, diabetes and healthy living fanatics,” Njoka said.
Without using pesticides and fertilisers, the farmer relies on multiple methods to control pests and to improve soil texture and fertility.
Njoka's farm is divided into small plots each hosting a different crop.
Through a carefully planned rotational farming system, he has significantly reduced pests on his farm.
“Crop rotation also reduces pest population in the soil, planting the same crop on the same spot regularly leads to a build-up of pests in the soil,” Njoka said.
He said herbs such as basil, parsley and rosemary act as repellants and by planting them strategically on the farm, they keep pests away.
“Onions are also effective in repelling insects when planted near crops such as carrots, lettuce, cabbage and beetroots," he added.
Planting climbing plants along the edges of the farm reduces the movement of flying pests within the farm.
When planted along the edges, passion fruits, and climbing beans act as a barrier that frustrates pests.
Njoka battled with snails for a long time but said he recently found a remedy.
“Snails are attracted to alcohol, if you put a small container of beer at different points on the farm, snails can smell it from 15 feet away and so slither in for a sip, but fall in and drown," he said.
This he claims has reduced snails on the farm by over 95 per cent.
Njoka said he also uses cow and rabbit urine mixed with ash to make manure and ward off aphids.
The urine has a foul smell of ammonia-tinged odour that repels aphids and eliminates the need for fertilisers.
“But relying on natural pest control methods are not 100 percent effective in killing pests, getting just a portion of the yields is better than using harmful chemicals,” Njoka said.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)