Short of space? Why not try pipe gardening

Agronomist John Wambugu explains how to make a multi-storied kitchen garden using plastic pipes at Wambugu Agricultural Training Centre in Nyeri. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Not far from Nyeri town is what one might call an agricultural masterpiece; a kitchen garden made out of plastic pipes, which is a brainchild of John Wambugu, an agronomist.
  • In a single row the pipes can hold about eight to ten crops which he said if well-tended can sustain a whole family of four for several months until the end of the season.
  • According to Wambugu the kitchen garden is suitable for both urban and peri-urban dwellers who can either place them on top of their houses or inside open verandas where space is limited including hotels and offices.
  • Chances of pests and insects invasion are minimal while chances of getting a health crop is paramount.

When you think about being a successful farmer what comes to your mind is most likely a huge budget and a large swathe of land in order to see some lush and healthy crops.

But if you are John Wambugu you know that is not necessarily the case.

Not far from Nyeri town is what one might call an agricultural masterpiece — a kitchen garden made out of plastic pipes.

It is the work of Wambugu, an agronomist who uses it to train farmers.

The six inch pipes mounted on wooden frames have been cut in equal dimensions to hold assorted crops and vegetables that include spinach, collard green (sukuma wiki), strawberries, parsley (dania) and celery.

According to Wambugu the kitchen garden is suitable for both urban and peri-urban dwellers who can either place them on top of their houses or inside open verandas where space is limited including hotels and offices.

To make the garden, one can opt to purchase the pipes or better use materials that have been thrown away as waste.

The agronomist used two pipes which cost him Sh5,000 and Sh1, 000 for the acquisition of timber.

He recommends the use of used pipes which are free to acquire or alternatively use of bamboo trunks.

In a single row the pipes can hold about eight to ten crops which he said if well-tended can sustain a whole family of four for several months until the end of the season.

MINIMAL PEST AND INSECT INVASION

“This can only happen if the farmers keep the plants watered and scout for pests and destroys weeds,” he said, adding that the prevailing weather, warm and light showers, in the county is useful for his crops to germinate.

Alternatively, Wambugu said one can use bamboo trunks without cutting them to prepare a similar garden by hanging them on the wall depending of the farmer’s preference.

“This kind of garden can be used as a landscaping material to plant assorted crops but mostly preferred for crops that are self-sufficient such as vegetables and flowers,” he said.

One of the most popular thing with the pipe kitchen gardens is that the chances of pests and insects invasion are minimal while chances of getting a health crop is paramount.

“It is efficient because you are aware of what kind of pesticides you are using,” he said.

Wambugu said the rate of maturity depends on the kind of crop one has planted as crops can take up to eight months compared to those planted in open fields.

He said his aim was to show farmers it is possible to have and consume healthy vegetable even with scarcity of land.