Despite technological advances, many Kenyans still use traditional gardening forms to grow their crops. The challenge with traditional gardening is that it requires a lot of hard work and attention. For example, you must clear, feed and have strict plant schedules to get better yields. Also, seasonality is a challenge since you must allow beds to rest before the planting season. Some gardeners have understood this challenge and are embracing innovative gardening in Kenya.
Innovative gardening is all about using clever and creative methods to cultivate crops in a garden. It is also about using the small resources around and limited space to grow food and get better yields. So, how is innovative gardening in Kenya done?
What is an innovative garden in agriculture?
An innovative garden uses new and creative ideas to cultivate crops and maintain a garden. The garden is designed in a way that it can fertilise itself and minimise the workload required to grow crops. The design continuously uses compost as a fertility driver throughout the growing cycle.
Another importance of innovative gardening is that a gardener can produce different types of crops regardless of the season. Innovation also helps reduce water wastage, increase crop yields, and use better fertiliser.
What is an example of innovative gardening in Kenya?
You do not have to use traditional forms of gardening to grow crops. You can still achieve great results with innovative gardening. Here are some great examples of innovative gardening in Kenya:
Vertical gardening
Vertical gardening is an innovative example of gardening whereby you grow crops vertically. The idea is to utilise walls, trellises, and other structures to maximise space.
Vertical gardening is excellent for people in urban areas who have small spaces. You can use it to decorate walls and roofs in different styles. However, you can use it to grow various crops, including herbs and vegetables.
Horizontal gardening
Horizontal gardening is one of the many examples of innovative gardening in Kenya. Although it refers to the traditional method of growing plants in a flat or horizontal space, its innovation may involve growing crops on horizontally raised beds.
Horizontal gardening typically uses the available group space to plant and cultivate crops. You can grow plants directly in the soil or raised beds at ground level, allowing easy access to plants for watering, maintenance, and harvesting.
In a horizontal garden, you space out plants horizontally, with enough space between each crop. That allows for proper airflow, growth, watering, weeding, and harvesting. Also, the garden layout can vary depending on the type of plant you want to grow.
Finally, modern forms of horizontal gardening allow for better crop rotation. In other words, you can plant different crops in different areas of your horizontal garden each other. It will help manage pests and diseases and maintain soil fertility.
Aeroponic gardening
Aeroponic gardening is growing plants without soil but only water. It is whereby the roots of plants are suspended in the air and periodically sprayed with a nutrient-rich solution. In this case, you must fill the water with nutrients, providing everything the plants need to grow.
Hydroponic gardening
This is whereby you grow plants without soil and only use water. However, you must suspend the plant roots in a nutrient-rich water solution. Hydroponic gardening water solution must be oxygenated to ensure proper root health.
What are the types of innovative gardening?
Gardeners can implement different types of innovative gardening to grow crops. In Kenya, types of innovative gardening include:
Wall planters
Wall planters are containers or pockets attached to walls or fences. These units bring innovation into vertical gardening. Gardeners can use wall planters to add greenery to a small space to grow things like herbs, flowers, or trailing plants.
Wall planters can be in the form of metal, plastic, wood, or ceramic. An advantage of wall planters is that they maximise space. Thus, they are the best to implement in small gardens or urban areas with limited space.
Also, gardeners can use them to create green or living walls to give insulation to their homes. Wall planters can help reduce noise pollution and improve air quality when used as walls.
Garden towers
Garden towers are vertical structures for cultivating multiple plants in small spaces. They comprise stacked shelves or containers to provide a space-saving solution for growing crops. Homeowners can use them to grow vegetables and herbs.
An advantage of garden towers is that you can design them in many ways, depending on your needs and preferences. For example, you can use the hydroponic system to ensure that the garden uses nutrient-rich water instead of soil to grow crops.
Succession planting
Succession planting is whereby you plant crops in a staggered manner. The goal is to ensure that when you harvest one crop, another crop is ready to replace the harvested one. As a result, your garden will always have a continuous supply of fresh produce regardless of the season.
Intercropping
Intercropping is whereby you grow different crops together in the same garden space. The purpose is to maximise the use of available resources to cultivate different crops. Intercropping also ensures all crops get enough sunlight and nutrients. It also helps provide natural pest control.
Difference between horizontal and vertical innovative gardening
One difference between horizontal and vertical innovative gardening is that horizontal gardening involves growing plants on the ground or in raised beds at ground level. In contrast, vertical gardening involves growing plants vertically by utilising walls or other structures to maximise space.
How do you make an innovative garden?
You can make an innovative garden by considering several factors:
- Start planning and designing your garden by considering the available space, sunlight exposure, soil conditions, and gardening tools.
- Select the best plants suited for your climate and soil type.
- Use vertical space to maximise space utilisation. You can install wall planters or garden towers to vertically grow plants.
- Experiment with different types of containers to grow your plants. For example, you can use recycled plastic bottles or plant pots to grow crops.
- Ensure you have a better system of watering your crops. You can consider drip irrigation, self-watering containers, or harvesting rainwater.
- Use sustainable gardening practices like composting and pest management.
- Maintain your garden by eliminating weeds, pruning vegetables, and fertilising the soil.
- Making an innovative garden is all about being creative. Experiment with different types of innovative gardens to determine the most suitable for your space and crops.
Innovative gardening in Kenya - Final word
Innovative gardening uses clever and creative methods to cultivate crops in a garden by using small resources and limited space to grow food and get better yields. An example of innovative gardening in Kenya is vertical gardening, whereby you grow crops vertically. It can also be horizontal gardening, whereby you grow crops on horizontally raised beds.
Tuko.co.ke shared an article about chamomile farming in Kenya requirements and profitability. Many Kenyans are unaware of the importance of chamomile farming. The plant has received little attention compared to other crops, such as garlic, yellow beans, and groundnuts.
The few farmers in Kenya plant chamomile for the export market. Chamomile grows in various habitats and soil types, making cultivation easier in different parts of Kenya. Planting chamomile is labour-consuming because it requires a lot of attention.
