Mint herb in Kenya

Mint herb originated in the Mediterranean. The plant can grow upto 10 to 120cm tall. The leaves are green and grow crosswise on the stem. The leaves are oblong and egg-shaped. Mints contain the volatile oil menthol, which gives mint the characteristic cooling and cleansing feeling. Common varieties include spearmint and peppermint. The mint herb removes bad breath and may help teeth and gums deal with germs. Leaves are often used by campers to keep mosquitoes away.

Preparation

Fresh mint herb should be washed before adding it fresh or cooked to a dish.

Consumption

It can be added to drinks and dishes as a garnish. It also makes a refreshing tea. The flowers are edible and make salads and sweets come to life. It flavors ice cream, chocolates, and other deserts with making them delicious.

It helps to reduce the effects of tannin and caffeine in your tea when used fresh in the teapot with your favorite tea.

Shell life

When fresh it can be kept for a short time in the refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer. Dried product can be kept at room temperature.

Climatic requirements

This is a cool climate crop. However Exposure to Full sun to partial shade is necessary. 

Timing of planting

Direct sow in April and seeds should sprout in 10-16 days. Bottom heat will speed germination.

Propagation

Mint herb in Kenya is propagated using seeds.

Starting

Sow seeds no more than 5mm (¼") deep in moist soil. The spacing is plants 45-60cm (18-24") apart.

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Growing Stevia in Kenya:A leaf 30 times sweeter than sugar

Growing stevia in Kenya is a good backyard gardening activity for every household. This is a perfect way to reduce the household budget of sugar, as the sweetener is 30 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia herbal sugar offers sweetness minus the unhealthy effects and the sweetener is calorie free. The leaves can be used directly in tea fresh or dried. The natural leaves can also be cooked and eaten as vegetables. Stevia herbal sweetener is said to be good for all people including diabetics.

Stevia herb is native of Paraguay in South America which performs well locally. Growing Stevia in Kenya was given approval  just two years ago by the National Environment Management Authority. Stevia sweetener as an ingredient was approved by US Food and Drug Administration in 2008. Stevia herb is also nutritious and has been found to contain vitamins A and C as well as protein iron, calcium, zinc, fibre, potassium and sodium. Stevia herb contains 10-12 per cent stevioside, which can be extracted as liquid concentrate for use directly in soft drinks, beverages and in the manufacture of chewing gums.

Growing stevia in Kenya is a promising activity as the market may shoot up due increased demand for natural foods. Growing stevia in Kenya starts by planting on a raised bed at a spacing of 30cm from row to row and 20cm from plant to plant. Manure is applied at a rate of 20kg per square metre. Stevia herbal sweetener is harvested 3 months after planting, after which the crop is dried and ground into powder for use as a sweetener. Alternatively juice can be extracted and used in a similar way. Growing stevia in Kenya is likely to become a major economic activity in the near future  as more people embrace it.

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Earn a million in 6 months by growing an acre of garlic herb in Kenya

Garlic farming agribusiness is quite lucrative.Garlic herb is a relative of bulb onions. One acre of garlic will yield about 7 tons of garlic bulbs. At a farm gate price of 150/= per kg, the gross income per acre will be about 7,000×150=ksh1,050,000.The crop has a good and growing market in Kenya, due to it's culinary and medicinal value. This crop has pungent taste and smell and it’s used for flavouring food particularly soups, meat and fish. This medicinal plant has been used successfully for pimple and boils removal from the skin, relief of rheumatism, colds, coughs and sore throats, management of diabetes and HIV and AIDS complications. Garlic herb growing is suited for medium to high altitudes of 500-2000M. High temperatures of 30ºC are necessary for optimum bulb development. Cooler temperatures in the early stages are required as they favour vegetative growth required for plant establishment. Optimum temperatures for growing the crop are 12-24ºC. Excess rainfall and humidity are detrimental to the plant’s vegetative growth and bulb formation. Growing of garlic herb is carried out in low rainfall areas where irrigation can be used in the early stages when water requirement is highest.

The plant requires well drained fertile soils. Avoid clay soils as they may result in malformed bulbs. Soil Ph should be 5.5-6.8.flavour development of garlic herb is best in sunny weather. Deep land preparation is required to ensure adequate rooting depth. Individual cloves are used for growing of garlic herb which is carried out vegetatively. Bulbs for sowing from the previous crop should be stored at 10ºC and a relative humidity of 50-65%. Stored bulbs should be fumigated if mites are present and inspected periodically for storage rots.

Garlic herb growing is carried out on raised seed beds, on ridges at a spacing of 30cm between rows and 15-20cm between plants, giving a plant population of 150,000-200,000 per hectare. The cloves should be sown 2.5cm deep in well firmed soil. The seed clove requirement is about 300kg per acre or 750kg/ha.

Seed garlic is harvested while more mature since it is allowed to stay in the fields for a atleast six months consumption bulbs for consumption are harvested as early as four months. Planting garlic intended for consumption  results to poor germination. There is need to take extra care to get seed garlic from reliable sources only. Some imported garlic bulbs are treated with growth inhibitors to prevent sprouting on the grocery helves and they cannot germinate. 

It is advisable for starters to start with about 100kg of bulbs and do bulking for one season to get adequate high quality bulb seed. The crop responds well to organic manure and 20tons/ha can be ploughed into the soil before planting
Fertilizer requirements for growing the crop vary with soil fertility .The standard fertilizer rate of application is NPK is 150:55:40kg/ha applied as 1/3N:1P:1/5K. N and K topdressing should be applied 6-8 weeks after sowing and final N application at the beginning of bulb formation. The most common pests and diseases in growing garlic herb include purple blotch, downy mildew, rust, bulb rot, nematodes and onion thrips. Control measures include long crop rotations (4 years), Field hygiene, good drainage, removal and destruction of infected and crop debris, spraying suitable insecticides and fungicides. The crop matures 6-8 months after sowing, when leaf tops turn yellow or brown, then the leaves bend over and dries out. Dig the bulbs carefully to avoid damage. Light and sprouting bulbs should be discarded. Cure the bulbs in open air under shade for 8-10 days until the plants are thoroughly dry. Market or store the garlic herb bulbs. Dry storage of the bulbs for two months is sufficient to break dormancy. The length of crop growing period before garlic herb plants starts bulb formation determines yields which ranges between 12-15 tons/ha-more.Read also

Exporters of Garlic from Kenya | Sellers of Garlic from Kenya | 

http://www.globalsuppliersonline.com/Kenya/Garlic

 

Garlic/Bulb onion Farming e-manual

We sell detailed Garlic/Bulb Onions e- Manual.The document is a good source of information and covers details about Garlic/Onion Farming including: -

1.     Varieties suitable for growing in Kenya

2.     Capital investment &Returns per acre

3.     Nursery Establishment

4.     planting onions

5.     Planting Garlic

6.     Pests and their Control

7.     Diseases and their control

8.     Post-planting field management

9.     Plant vigour maintenance for high yields

10.  Yields of onions

11.  Yields of Garlic

12.  Post-harvest handling

13.  Business plan preparation

14.  Farming Records and accounts.

15.  Farm salaries and wages Records

16.  Farm Cash register

Email-yagrein@gmail.com   NOW TO ORDER YOUR COPY.

Our Products and Services

We offer the following products and services at affordable fees.

1. Agribusiness plans preparation
2. Agribusiness information e-manuals

AGRIBUSINESS PLANS PREPARATION

An Agribusiness Plan is the road-map to success in any farming business. An Agribusiness Plan preparation is therefore crucial for success of any farming business. This is the document which will support your agribusiness to grow, seek funding from financial institutions and/or donors, and monitor performance over a period of time for continuous improvement. Agribusiness plan is a management tool which will help you to avoid expensive mistakes in your farming business. FAILURE TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL. MAKE SURE YOU PREPARE AN AGRIBUSINESS PLAN BEFORE STARTING YOUR FARMING BUSINESS.The second important milestone is to get the right technical information.
 

AGRIBUSINESS INFORMATION E-MANUALS

a)       Watermelon farming e-manual 

b)       Dairy Farming e-manual

c)       Passion fruit farming e-manual

d)      Strawberry farming e-manual

g)      Tomatoes farming e-manual

h)      Capsicum farming e-manual

i)       Greenhouse farming e-manual

j)       Oyster mushroom Farming e-manual

k)      Tissue culture Bananas farming e-manual

l)       Upland arrowroot, Cassava, Sweet potatoes and yams e-manual

m)    Poultry Broilers, layers and improved indigenous/ Kienyeji e-manual

n)    Value addition and Agro-processing e-manual:The e-manual contains Manufacture of Fruit juices, yogurt, Fruit Jam, Small scale ice-cream making ,Tomato sauce processing, bread baking & cakes baking, cake decoration, vegetable solar drying,  Banana crisps and flour processing, cassava fermenting and flour processing, Soya milk and peanut butter processing.    

Email yagrein@gmail.com for more information

SOYA YOGHURT DELIVERY TO OUR NAIROBI CLIENTS

We are now delivering our freshly prepared, hygienically packed Soya yoghurt to our Nairobi clients on Thursdays between 9.30am to 10.00am, at Ngara stage. We have three fine flavours of our soy yoghurt namely strawberry, vanilla and passion fruit. We deliver a minimum of 5 litres. Some clients send motorbike couriers to collect their package and it has worked well.If interested, kindly Email yagrein@gmail.com.

https://yagrein.blogspot.co.ke/p/plant-spacing.html

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