The garden is situated in Kiti village, few meters from the Nakuru-Nyahururu road, Nakuru County. Mr. Nderitu and his family of five established the garden late 2015 to practice sustainable agriculture and produce food that is good, clean and fair. The 1/8 acre plot of land is right in front of the house cwith quite a number of crops varieties such as broccholi, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, onions, kale, amaranth, spider weed and black nightshade. The garden has some aromatic herbs like lemon grass and rosemary. Avocado is the only fruit tree present, but the family plans to introduce fruits like bananas and strawberries to diversify the garden to make it look beautiful and to increase biodiversity. The family is always keen when it comes to fertilizing the soil. Animal manure bought from farmers rearing animals is used as well as using compost that is usually prepared at home using the manure, kitchen remains and garden waste. Intercropping and crop rotating the garden with crops that improve the soil is yet another technique they use to improve the fertility of the soil. They deal with pests and diseases using methods such as intercropping the garden with crops that repel pests such as onions. Crop rotation also helps to break the pests’ lifecycle, thereby eliminating the pests and diseases that could have continued if the same kind of crop was planted in the same place. Crops are usually rain fed without any supplemental irrigation due to water inadequacy. Over the years, the Nderitu family has involved more and more friends, neighbours and relatives, becoming a very active community garden run by 11 families in 2022.
Area
Kiti Village, Nakuru county
Coordinator
Joy Ruguru