By Nomatter Mubhawu (29)
When I started my kitchen garden, all I wanted was to do was have an affordable and reliable source of vegetables for my family. I enthusiastically set up my vegetable garden, bought and applied synthetic fertilisers and pesticides expecting high returns. However, I my efforts were fruitless.
My vegetables did not do well. My yields were always poor and they had purple-coloured leaves. I was baffled as to what the cause of this could be because I thought I was doing all the right things and spending a lot of money on fertilisers and pesticides. Yet it seemed the more I applied pesticides, the more pests and diseases would attack my crops.
It was only after I began interacting with and participating in activities hosted by Chinyika Community Development Trust, a local organisation that promotes agroecology that I began to understand why my vegetables were performing poorly. In August 2022 I participated in a workshop where I learned how to make biofertilisers and biopesticides and the advantages of using locally available organic materials to enhance soil fertility and deal with pests and diseases.
After the training, I decided to adopt the concepts. I managed to prepare bokashi (a biofertiliser) and ash brew (a biopesticide) using the methods I had learned from the training. I started applying bokashi to enrich the soils in my garden and I used the ash brew to control the pests.
The results that I obtained after a month were very impressive. The colour of my vegetable leaves improved, the pests were attacking less, and the taste of the vegetables also improved. Before I began using biofertilisers I used to harvest vegetables once a week but after applying the bokashi and the ash brew I started to harvest twice or thrice a week.
This system of farming transformed me to an extent that I prefer to eat my own produce than to eat vegetables from the markets. It also boosted my health and the health of my family members. I used to experience severe stomach aches but since resorting to organic vegetables, the problem subsided.
I am now able to generate income from my kitchen garden. Per week I can sell covo worth US$4 and king onions worth US$6.
Following my successes, I was invited to join Chinyika Community Development Trust as a volunteer. I obtained a Diploma in Agroecology and I am now well versed in the principles of agroecology. I now have a bigger and better kitchen garden where I produce adequate vegetables for my family and I sell excess vegetables.
I encourage other community members to grow their own vegetables organically, cook, and eat their own food because it is healthy than buying vegetables that may be contaminated by pesticides.
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