Farmer Escapade in Tree Tomato, ‘Matunda ya damu’ cultivation

Farmer Escapade in Tree Tomato, ‘Matunda ya damu’ cultivation

Deep in the heart of  a miniature calm village of Njambini; South Kinangop, Joseph Gichiria is reaping big from the proceeds he makes from his farm where he has devoted two acres for cultivation of tree tomato.

 

His journey to tree tomato cultivation is fascinating; he narrates that his brother- in- law David Ndirangu while working as a taxi driver in Nyeri, ferried a customer who had a sack full of red oval shaped fruits. Upon inquiry the passenger revealed to him that they were fruits which are very nutritious and he had gotten them from a certain farmer in the outskirts of Nyeri town.

 

A different client sent him to collect fruit seedlings for him from a farm. On delivering the seedlings, he discovered they are of the same fruits which he had ferried for the other passenger.

 

Upon returning home Ndirangu shared his experience of the two occasions with Gichiria. They embarked on a journey to Nyeri to get more insight on this wonder fruit, and since then the fruit has been a blessing to him and his family.

 

“I bought several tree tomato seedlings of the Red Oratia variety from the farm and planted them on a small portion to see their viability here in Njambini. The seedlings were being sold at 50 shillings each. The fruit to my expectation did well and from then i planted more seedlings by extracting seeds from the fruits and drying them, though the seedlings can also be propagated from cuttings of branches. The variety is high yielding, very sweet and has a striking red colour,” Gichiria said.

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Read the full article in Hortfresh Journal January-February 2017 edition
Email:info@hortfreshjournal.com or call 0723308725 to get a copy

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