By Ritah Mukasa
If you find challenges growing tomatoes in containers or directly in the ground, consider planting them in a greenhouse. You will enjoy the benefits including convenience and high yields.
For some time, Ronald Musisi, a farm manager at Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) in Nkozi, Mpigi district has been practising greenhouse gardening and he says, it works well for vegetables and spices.
He specialized in tomatoes and sweet peppers.
For tomatoes, he says, you must plant healthy seedlings and check for pests and diseases.
It’s also important to monitor and adjust the soil PH and calcium levels. In other words, if the soil is too acidic, he uses lime to neutralize it thus protecting the plants from rotting.
He also fertilizes the plants regularly; adding the fertilizer to the irrigation water inside the tank.
“We use fertilizer that is high in nitrogen and potassium,” he says.
In the same way, Alisen Nuwamanya, a gardener advises removing suckers or side shoots that emerge where a leaf meets the main stem.
This helps the plant to grow upwards and ensure to provide support by tying it with strings.
Also, monitor the heat in the greenhouse. If it’s too hot, open up the doors and windows.
Meanwhile, instead of soil, Musisi uses bags with coconut husks, imported from the Netherlands at sh20, 000 each.
He says, each bag holds three plants and can last for two seasons if handled well.
“The bags mitigate diseases since they are treated and plants are off the ground. Besides, the bags are soilless,” he says.
For this, Musisi takes long to spray. In fact, he uses less pesticides and more fertilizers.
Relatedly, in a greenhouse, you don’t worry about watering thanks to the irrigation system.
Aside from tomatoes and sweet pepper, Nuwamanya says, you can also grow carrots, spices and other vegetables.
