SUPPLEMENTAL IRRIGATION FOR GARDENS
BY SAMUEL MUHUNYU, NECOFA-KENYA
Background
The Western region of Kenya receives short rains in the months of October to December. It is for these rains that NECOFA planned and established a 0.1 Ha demonstration plot. The project was to demonstrate on the effects of liquid manures in cabbage/tomato production.
A month into the growing season; the rainfall unexpectedly failed. It therefore became necessary to look into cheap possibilities of irrigating the crop to maturation. A number of approaches were employed but most of them were either too expensive and/or too labour demanding. Eventually the system below was developed:
Requirement/Materials:
- "Waste" plastic bags
- Support sticks
- Nylon twine/wooden rail/rope
- Rubber bands (car tube slits)
- "Waste" sponge
- Needle and thread
- Watering can
Methodology
- Thread was tied around a small piece of sponge. The thread was passed through the eye of a needle and passed through the bottom of waste plastic bags (that would otherwise have been wasted)
- The plastic bags were fasted onto waste plastic bottles whose bottom had been cut off.
- The plastic bottles were fastened onto nylon twine (rope or wooden rail can be used) that was tightly fastened on support sticks. Each plastic bag hangs above each cabbage/tomato plant.
- The thread was left hanging from the bottom of the plastic bags.
- The bags were filled with water which trickled down through the sponge onto the thread and down to the crop.
Observations
- Without the piece of sponge, the plastic bags were refilled every after three days.
- With the pieces of sponge refill was after two weeks.
- The crop was successful while the neighbourhood experienced crop failure.
Conclussion
The technology needs further exploration with the aim of making it drip to reduce evaporation loses.
