GROWING WATERMELONS IN SACKS

BY NOEL IYOMBWA

Watermelon is a fruit and a vegetable at the same time. It is a fruit because it grows from seed and it has a sweet flavor and refreshing qualities. It is a vegetable because it is harvested and cleared from the field like other vegetables and because it is a member of the same family as the cucumbers, pumpkin and squash.

Watermelon is a delicious and refreshing fruit that is also good for human health. It contains only 46 calories per cup but is high in vitamin C,A and many healthy plant compounds. Drinking water is important way to keep your body hydrated; however, eating food s that have high water content can also help. 92 % of watermelon is water and the combination of water fiber means you re eating a good volume of food without a lot of calories.

Most people wait until they have enough financial resources to buy a farm land to start farming. Some even reach an extent of getting a bank loan just own a piece of land. However, Victor Mpundu says if one waits to have all the resources to own a farm, he might wait forever. “It’s vital to ask ourselves what we have in hand to start a project. In May this year, I began exploring a new type of farming. Growing watermelons in sacks is a method any farmer should try out and get the best results in terms of yield.

He explains that it is a method that accords a farmer an opportunity to farm on a limited piece of land. He says that with a small space of 30m by 15m, one can accommodate about 1000 sacks and each sack can be used to plant two seeds with a total population of about 2000 plants. “Each watermelon plant has capacity to give about 1-4 fruits. The same typical program of spraying with insecticides and bactericides must be followed weekly. It’s vital to ensure the plants are foliar feed and scouting for diseases is done on time to prevent any loss.

He notes that this method can be practiced by any farmer interested in farming but has limited space to grow their produce. Mr. Mpundu adds that their need for farmers to be innovative and find many ways to improve their yields no matter how small they are in the business.

Mr. Mpundu narrates that its time young people engage in farming and contributes to the food basket of the country.“The first time I planted I harvested 800 melons; currently I have about 2000 plants at a small farm in Ngwerere.

I’m encouraging my fellow youths to engage in farming because agriculture should be for young people because there are still energetic and productive. I say this because most youths think only our fathers are the ones who are suppose to be farmers adding that youths are at advantage because they can invent new farming methods, “he said.Mr. Victor Mpundu is in formal employment and a part time farmer though he considers going into full time farming.

“My future plans are to go into watermelon farming in the next five years, “he said.