If you have been dreaming of eating the fruits of your own labour then the idea of farming tree tomatoes (aka tamarillo or matunda ya damu) is a literal way to do just that.
The oval-shaped fruit is gradually taking over the market and supermarkets are scouting for farmers to help them meet growing demand.
One good thing about this crop is that once you plant a few seedlings you do not have to care of them everyday which means you can set-up a farm somewhere maybe near your current place of work and monitor it remotely as a side hustle.
The most interesting bit of it is that you can get started with your meagre savings and make as much as Ksh.133,000 per month out of a small chunk of land.
But before you rush to invest here are some steps you need to follow.
Step 1: Find Land
Obviously, in order to plant anything you need some land. But you don’t necessarily have to buy one. Nowadays, you can easily lease land from farmers across the nation.
The ideal piece of land is one that is fertile and well drained. Preferably located in a place with adequate supply of water and relatively calm winds.
This is to say you can plant your tree tomatoes in places like Central Kenya, Western, parts of Nyanza, Taita Taveta and even parts of Rift Valley.
The fruits can even grow in semi-arid areas provided there is adequate water to irrigate them (in addition to mulching).
Set aside Ksh.15,000 for leasing land if you do not have any available.
Step 2: Prepare The Land
Apart from tilling the land and preparing the holes you will need to buy a water tank. This will come in handy during dry seasons because tree tomatoes require adequate watering at least once a week. A good water tank with 1,000 litre capacity will cost you about Ksh.15,000.
Step 3: Find Good Seedlings
Not all tree tomato seedlings are good. Some take too long to grow and their fruits are bitter and unsightly.
So at this point you need to look for high quality seedlings that are grafted.
A good breed is the red otaria family that only takes 8 months to mature. The reason the red otaria type is popular is because 97% of it is edible and it has no seeds inside.
A seedling goes for Ksh.50 from HCDA and KARI recommended nurseries in the country. An acre of land will require 1,200 seedlings amounting to Ksh.60,000.
Remember, you can always start small e.g. on 1/8th acre which requires 300 seedlings and thus a smaller budget of Ksh.15,000.
Step 4: Plant and Wait
Plant the seedlings, keep caring for the farm and wait for about 8 months. Normally, that is the time it takes to see the first fruits. And one more thing… remember to set aside a small budget for insecticides because aphids can sometimes be a bother.
On the outskirts of Kapsabet town, I met John Kosgei.
Kosgei is farming tree tomatoes, a crop many in this part of Kenya have never seen before, the reason residents of Chebarbar village would not stop talking about him.
He is farming Tamarillo, a crop that resembles tomatoes and is also known as Tree Tomato.
“I started growing Tamarillo out of curiosity. I credit it to my wife because had she not bought the fruits in the supermarket and came with them home in 2010, I would not have ended up farming them,” says Kosgei, whose wife is a head teacher.
Out of curiosity, Kosgei dried the Tamarillo seeds, which he extracted from the juicy fruit.
He then planted the seeds in a nursery that he had been using to grow other crops. “I was excited when the over 20 seeds germinated. I transplanted them but only 11 trees survived. They did not do well thereafter.”
Kosgei attended a workshop on horticultural farming in Kapsabet town later where he took keen interest in cultivation of the crop.
He figured out where he had gone wrong. “I discovered that I had spaced them incorrectly besides failing to take care of them properly.”
In 2011, armed with the knowledge he had received from the workshop, he destroyed the 11 plants and planted 110 seedlings spacing them at the conventional two by two metres space.
He mulched them during the dry season and pruned them correctly.
“Transplanting is done when the seedlings are between 60 to 70 days old or when the seedling is 15 to 20cm long. Planting holes should be dug 30 to 45cm deep with a diameter of 60cm to accommodate sufficient volume of manure,” explains Kosgei.
When his crops started to flower in September 2012, they attracted several residents who came to his farm to inquire about them.
“It is a lucrative venture and since I am the only farmer in this region, the market is overwhelming. Customers even book them before they ripe. They come from as far as Eldoret,” says the farmer, who notes one of his biggest challenges is lack of enough water.
According to Kosgei, growing Tree Tomato is not labour intensive and requires little capital to start.
“The crops take about a year to mature. One then picks fruits twice a week for the whole year except when you spray them to kill pests.”
Each tree produces an average of 125kg of fruits annually. He, therefore, picks approximately 13.5 tonnes of fruits yearly and sells a kilo locally at Sh.30.
“I get buyers from surrounding areas and beyond. Some come here, others I supply to them.”
He says his production is steady except when the weather is cold.
In Kapsabet, July is chilly while March is the driest month. “Compared to maize, which other farmers grow, the proceeds from Tree Tomato are better. Here, maize farmers get on 0.2 acre like mine Sh.15,000,” says Kosgei, who is a Horticultural Corporation Development Authority licensed operator.
Other crops he grows include grafted avocados, bananas and passion fruits.
He also grows flowers like daisies, roses, lilies, dew and landers.
However, the most outstanding crops on his farm are the over 5,000 Tamarillo seedlings, which he sells at Sh.50 each.
“Nursery operators are normally adventurous. We try out different plants especially unique ones. Many people thought the crop could not grow because not a single farmer had ever attempted planting it before in this area,” says Kosgei who has used proceeds from the farming venture to pay for his children’s school fees and his education at Gretsa University, Kapsabet, where he is undertaking Bachelor of Arts in Developmental Studies.
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