Growing Tomatoes

Chiyanjano House in Mthunzi is now the residence of the Mthunzi young Men that have finished secondary school and are attending different colleges. Together they have started food production so that they contribute to their upkeep and the upkeep of the Mthunzi boys and children.

They started this year, and so far they have tested the growing of different vegetables, like carrots, rape, egg plants, cabbages and tomatoes. They have also planted comfrey, a wonder plant whose leaves contain high levels of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous and that is utilized to produce a powerful organic fertilizer.

The young men have experienced that with a comfrey fertilizer, tomatoes are growing very well. They have become very tasty and you do not need to spend money to buy chemical fertilizer. They are now focused on planting a big tomato field.

Tomatoes are in very high demand in the Zambian market. The seedlings are ready to be transplanted and the work is done with the tools the boys bought using the income from their first harvest.

The tomato field has been prepared and well watered, with an addition of compost fertilizers and chicken droppings. Wilted comfrey leaves have been dug in, since their slow release into the soil leaves a lot of nutrients, while other comfrey leave have been put in drums full of water. They will produce a liquid fertilizer that will be used as the tomatoes grow and ripen.

The boys go in the field to weed and water in the early morning and late afternoon for four days a week, before and after attending their college.

This work is done in consultation with expert local farmers. Now, they need some financial aid to produce enough tomatoes to have an income of some million kwacha, something like around six to eight hundred euro.

By Mike Mwenda