kts farmerscheck episode 18 2017 ONIONS

Onion Farming in Kenya – How to Plant:

To get the best results with onions you need to start them in a Nusery. Here is how to do this;

-Make a raised nursery bed 1 metre wide and any desired length.
Apply well decomposed manure at a rate of 15kg per square metre.
Mix and Apply DAP fertilizer at a rate of 20 grams per metre square
Make shallow furrows 15 cm apart. Mix the seeds with dry ash, sand or soil at a ratio of 1:3 to help spread the small seeds.
Plant the seeds and cover lightly with soil and apply mulches ( Grass or Polythene cover spread over the soil on the nursery bed)
After planting irrigate the nursery bed liberally for the first 10 days and continue watering regularly.
Germination of seeds will take about 7-10 days after which the mulches are removed and used to make a shade above the tender plants which have not fully developed.
Transplanting of the seedlings takes place 6 weeks after planting seeds in the nursery. Transplant when the seedlings have pencil thick base and a height of approximately 15cm.
Seedlings should have 3 to 5 well formed leaves at transplanting time. Two weeks before transplanting reduce the shade to improve seedling survival rate in the field.
It takes about 4 months for onions to mature

NB:

Before you begin onion farming you need to check and confirm Market availability, Price of the onions and the variety of the plant.