@Wendz. I meant that the design of the tunnel is modular so you can join two to make 8m X 30m. This size is big enough for take 1,200 tomato plants. It is not necessary to invest in the standard greenhouse for vegetable farming - the price is depressing.

@AlphDoti. My tunnel is located in my rural family farm and needs some 500 litres of water every 2 days. Source is rain harvested (from the last 'failed' rains!) and a local spring. Allow me to digress - if your water tap is not dry,1,000 litres of NWSC water costs 18/= right?


There are no accidents.

@simpson you're definately doing good educaiton here.
I know you can use rain (dam),borehole,river/pump,tap NWC water,lorry etc.

If I buy water from the lorry guys 'clean water'. And assuming Ksh3.00/20litre i.e. ksh75 for two day's 500litres of water. Will still give me good returns?

Litres Price/Litre Cost Days
20 0.15 3
250 0.15 38 1
500 0.15 75 2
1000 0.15 150 4
2000 0.15 300 8
3000 0.15 450 12
5000 0.15 750 20
6000 0.15 900 24
7000 0.15 1050 28
8000 0.15 1200 32

Of course depending on the lorry guy would be very unreliable.


AKS

@poigge. Try their site as given below by @excetra!

Crocodile tears: If you can't assist me when I'm alive en you attend my funeral.

Ati you can make 600k to 700k per year from this thing?

Is that really true?

Behind the gardens...Behind the wall...Under the tree (Including: Red...Dark Blue...Yellow)

@bird_man. It's still early days to confirm the payback but so far the following hold true for drip irrigation and growing under plastic.

- Water consumption is quite low. Will increase as the plants grow but since you direct water to the plant roots,wastage is minimal.

- Apart from the root area of the plant,all other soil is dry so weeding is minimal.

- The plant leaves are always dry. Less chances of disease causing organisms finding a home there. Since the plants are enclosed,insects and wind bourne pathogens are kept away. Savings on pesticides are significant.

- Growth under plastic is vigorous. Most plants thrive in the hot humid climate. Your harvest starts early. Also,you can grow and harvest all year round since you do not rely on the rain.

- If you plant the right hybrids,you can harvest for months while regular vegetable harvest season lasts only weeks - if they survive the rain and frost.

- You will need labour to stake and prune the plants. Once the watering system is installed,it takes one person some 30 minutes to turn on the valve and watch the drip system do its magic over thousands of plants.

@Poggie. Vegetable farming the traditional way is back breaking. Once you see the Israeli developed system at work,you will wonder why we do things the hard way. Visit Agro Irrigation up the road after the round-about next to Amiran - less professional but good to see. You may have to lay off some farm hands when the benefits of the system kick in though.

@AlphDoti. My point about the water is that,it is very cheap if you can access it. Problem is if you do not have your own source,it may simply run out - probably because it is too cheap! One other thing,you want to be able to keep an eye on things so be prepared to visit your investment at least twice a week as you train a reliable assistant. My take is that Kenya will have a food deficit for some years so make hay while the sun shines and employ some youth while at it.


There are no accidents.