Are you aware that only 20% of commercial cabbage farmers make profits? Most cabbage farmers in Kenya thrive in losses with the lucky ones breaking even. Is it that they don’t know how to farm cabbages? Is it a lack of luck? Where do they get it wrong?
In this article, we shall explore in detail how farmers can grow cabbages in the shortest time possible. We shall also cover the secret to getting good market prices and profits.
We shall cover these topics; you can click any to jump right to it.
- The Best Month to Plant Cabbages in Kenya
- Best Soil for Cabbage Farming in Kenya
- The Best Cabbage Varieties to Plant in Kenya
- The Best Irrigation System for Cabbage Farming in Kenya
- How to Plant Cabbage
- The Best Fertilizer for Big and Better Cabbages
- How to Control the Worst Cabbage Diseases
- How to Control Cabbage Pests
- The Secret: How to Get Good Cabbage Prices.
The Best Month to Plant Cabbages in Kenya
Plant cabbages when market supply is high such that harvesting coincides with the driest months. In dry months vegetables such as kale, spinach, managu, and sagaa are scarce increasing the demand for cabbages. This is why cabbage prices are high in dry months.
You can also plant cabbages two months after high prices. This attracts high prices if there is heavy rainfall destroying vegetables. However, if the rains are standard, vegetables flood the market, lowering the demand and cabbages’ prices.
The best months to plant cabbages in Kenya are April and November to be harvested in July and January respectively.
Best Soil for Cabbage Farming in Kenya
Not all soils are good for cabbage farming. Clay and black cotton soil are the poorest soils for cabbage farming. Any soil that has poor drainage, cracks when dry and floods when wet are poor cabbage farming as well.
Check Out this: How to turn bad soil into a good arable one
The best soil for cabbage farming is loam fertile soil (Dark colour), which has good drainage and better water retention ability. Loam soils support the availability of water and nutrients to plants enhancing faster cabbage growth.
The Best Cabbage Varieties to Plant in Kenya
A good cabbage has the shortest maturity (below 90 days), uniform growth, and good weight on maturity (above 4kgs) tolerant to hot and cold weather with good resistance to diseases.
Kiboko F1 and Pretoria F1 are the best cabbage varieties to plant in Kenya. Kiboko F1 exhibits good tolerance to Black rot (Xanthomonas), and splitting & keeps long after harvesting. It Weighs between 6-8kgs, has bluish waxy leaves with good wrappers and Matures in 80-90 days.
Pretoria F1 has Excellent field holding capacity, Maturity 75 days from transplanting, Yield potential of 60 tonnes per acre, and Head weight of 4-5 Kg with Excellent Wrapper leaves and heat. It has a Dark green colour with good tolerance to fusarium yellow.
The Best Irrigation System for Cabbage Farming in Kenya
Most farmers plant cabbage in rainy seasons to avoid the cost of irrigation. The bad thing about this is that they all harvest at the same time, flooding the market with cheap cabbages. In the end, they make losses.
Drip irrigation is the best and most efficient. Water usage is easily controlled and there is minimal leaching. Canal, basin and flooding irrigation systems also work but have high leaching.
How to Plant Cabbage
Transplant-raised seedlings on holes filled with organic manure made on a spacing of 60cm by 50cm. 50cm by 50cm and 60cm by 45cm are other correct spacings for cabbage farming.
An acre holds 11,000 heads to 12,000 heads depending on spacing. After transplanting, drench with optimizer 20ml/20l and Thunder 10ml/20l to enhance establishment and kill cutworms.
The Best Fertilizer for Big and Better Cabbages
DI-Ammonium Phosphate D.A.P, N.P.K 17.17.17 and C.A.N is the best fertilizer for big cabbages. Apply 50gm (one tablespoon) of D.A.P fertilizer, N.P.K 17.17.17 and C.A.N on the 10th,30th, 45th day after transplanting respectively.
D.A.P. has high nitrogen and phosphorus that help in roots and shoot establishment, and N.P.K 17.17.17 has a balanced Nitrogen, Phosphorus and potassium that helps in uniform growth. C.A.N has calcium that finally helps head formation and compacting.
The fertilizers should be applied on wet soils and not the leaves.
How to Control the Worst Cabbage Diseases
Black Rot, Blight and Powdery mildew are the common diseases that affect cabbages, especially in cold foggy weather. Black rot infestation starts when older leaves turn brown; the tap root rots as well as the head. Infested cabbages cannot be sold nor eaten.
Spray copper-based fungicides such as Fungurun, Issacop or Greencop.
How to Control Cabbage Pests
The worst cabbage pests are aphids and Diamond Back Moth DBM. Aphids are sap-sacking pests that cause curling of the leaves. DBM feed on the leaves leaving holes.
To control DBM, Spray Emmaron 10/20l or Match 20ml/20l.Spray Pentagon 10ml/20l to control aphids.
The Secret: How to Get Good Cabbage Prices.
The secret to getting good prices in cabbage farming is having them when there is a market shortage. Farm large quantities above 5,000 heads weighing above 3kgs with a uniform maturity. Timing and good quality cabbages are the secret to getting good cabbage prices.
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