Onion Farming in Zambia: 2022 Update 8 (Aug 24): Nursery Sowing Growing & Transplanting our Hybrids

Another major event in our long and eventful 2022 onion season, sees us finally manage to transplant our last crop.
This is made up of hybrid onion varieties (Starke Ayres Irati and Syngenta Africa Red), which were sown in nursery beds on our Riverside1 field. This video shares how the crop was sown, grown and then transplanted to their final home, establishment beds at Dubai 3 Block D.

[@neilabraham9420]

Dear Mondo Farms, I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to express my admiration for the incredible work you do on your farm, as showcased in your KZbin channel. Your cutting-edge technology in farming is nothing short of remarkable, and it has been a significant source of inspiration for me. As a farming enthusiast from Guyana, I’ve been striving to establish my own farm with limited land resources. Your channel has provided invaluable insights into high-value crop cultivation, helping me make informed decisions for my own project. Your commitment to sustainability is truly commendable and sets a fantastic example for the farming community. I aspire to emulate what you’re doing, albeit on a smaller scale, and would be extremely grateful for the opportunity to visit your establishments when the circumstances permit. Thank you for being a guiding light in the world of modern farming. Warm regards, Neil Abraham

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks, Neil. Much appreciated. Messages like yours remind us that all our efforts to record and share our farming journey are positive to others. All the best with your farming endeavors.

[@changunkhoma8704]

Your videos are so practical and informative. Thank you for sharing. Love watching and learning from them.

[@mondofarms4343]

Glad you like them!

[@KalinTN]

What a great farm! Im from Europe and I´m really intrigued by african farming. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work.

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks Dude. 😊

[@CHISENGA]

Very proud of you big bro! Chilu put me onto this. Great work!

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks Ba Chisenga. Feeling honoured.

[@josiahkulwa34]

Congratulations

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks 😊

[@Tractorszm]

Thanks Mondo farms. Its really educative update

[@mondofarms4343]

You are welcome

[@fatimaliban3109]

thanks for your help

[@mondofarms4343]

Glad it helped

[@renematthys4646]

Great job sir

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks 😊

[@wenatahakwano3718]

this always surprises me when people practise applying compust or manuer and still further apply fertiliser, I haven't done either to justify any best way but hopefully will soon as we setup onions and alfalfa crop. alot to learn.

[@mondofarms4343]

Both manure/compost and fertilisers serve different purposes as we feed the plants throughout their lifetimein the field. It is common practice to use both. Simply put, manure/compost provide long term general nutrients which are released slowly as they dissolve. They also improve the organic content of the soil, which helps general nutrient absorption. The synthetic fertilisers are used for specific purposes and to target certain issues or responses we want. For example, basal fertiliser had more phosphorus, which aids root development in the early growth phases. Top dressing fertilisers contain more Nitrogen and Potassium which help vegetative growth and then flowerinf/fruiting respectively. There's a lot of science to the practice of plant nutrition. I am sure you will learn more for yourself when you actually start farming. All the best.

[@hamwaalamayaba6110]

You are the best. Keep up the good work. I am learning alot

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks so much

[@lusungutomokasangulukani7321]

Very educative watching your videos am always inspired

[@mondofarms4343]

Glad to hear that

[@lusungutomokasangulukani7321]

I always watch your videos and intending to do farming

[@timothymanjomo1922]

Great jobs

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks

[@marvinmunsaka7455]

amazing works sir..great motivation

[@mondofarms4343]

Yebbo.

[@wenatahakwano3718]

very nice your talked about your transition from sprinkler to drip. wish u may have more vidoes on your irrigation set up, that will be really helpful, btw, to the director i was a 2016 student from RPS great to see u. please make a vidoe on that thanks 👋

[@mondofarms4343]

It's always great to hear from former RPS students. I will keep in mind your request about for a video focusing on irrigation types.

[@mgove4052]

Please do a video on your 1million litre water resevoir. Do you need a pump to take water from the resevoir to drip lines or its set in a way where the water goes by gravity

[@mondofarms4343]

We try to have all our reservoirs at a higher elevation than the fields they supply. That way, gravity odes all the work. We only need pumps to take water up into the reservoirs from the source.

[@domnetrix]

Hello sir, i first want to say thank you for the amazing videos. I'm new and plan on starting with onions soon, I'm on the part of land prep i would like to know how about testing the soil if that's done or can onions grow on any soil type regardless?

[@mondofarms4343]

Best of luck!

[@lukekabansa5701]

Have learnt a lot sir, one thing in an hector. How many tones does one expect?

[@mondofarms4343]

It depends on many factors.

[@namibianpatriot9289]

Very informative videos, thanks a million!! How many liters of water supply do I need per day approximately per hectare under drip irrigation for your typical vegetable?

[@mondofarms4343]

Good question. I wish I knew how to answer more specifically. I'm sure there are experts who can help.

[@tendaifumbauta8942]

Did you try the Rain fed onions again? if yes, how did that go? were you successful?

[@mondofarms4343]

Hi Tendai. We have never grown onion again since 2022. We would have shown them in videos as we do our other crops.

[@polemanist]

Sir, transplanting is so laborious. Is there a reason why you prefer transplanting rather than simply making permanent beds and thinning out to create extra beds? More so that you use a planter to plant the seeds!

[@mondofarms4343]

Hi there. This is update 8 of the year and we have shared seven more before this that answer some of your questions. I hope you find time to have a look at some of them. As I say often in many videos, this channel us about our farming journey. From the we started the farm in 2020 and some of our successes and failures along the way, including the lessons learnt. I'm certainly not an expert, but enjoying this phase of my life and hoping to get better as we progress. Hope you keep watching. Take care.

[@polemanist]

@@mondofarms4343 Thanks for the response. I will search for the video on this.

[@shephardhlanguyo4707]

When transplanting your onion do you trim the leaves or you just leave as they are

[@mondofarms4343]

Yes we trim the leaves. It is shown in this video.

[@JesusisLord78]

Are those frost proof? Can I plant them in winter?

[@mondofarms4343]

Onion is grown during our winter season and does well.

[@steviehenry2176]

hi what day length do you plant and what's the length hours in your area? based on the varieties u mentioned I am guessing it's short day

[@mondofarms4343]

Yes indeed the Starke Ayres Irati and Syngenta's Africa Red are both short day varieties We are just moving out of winter here in Southern Africa. Funny enough, we planted them around the solstice in June 22-24.

[@steviehenry2176]

@@mondofarms4343 doesn't the day length affect the bulbing and do u transition to intermediate day onions?

[@daniavieiravieira1287]

I would like to know if se can grow onion all year round

[@mondofarms4343]

The simple answer is "Yes". The real answer is "it depends when, where and how".

[@hamwaalamayaba6110]

I will be transplanting mine African Red 1 5th September 😂🤗😂

[@mondofarms4343]

All the best. Like us, you are also a bit late. So we are both praying that the rains are delayed again this year.

[@ernestcsinyinza]

What spacing and size of the disc did you use to plant at Riverside 1 ?

[@mondofarms4343]

You can find our contacts on Facebook and our website at www.mondofarms.zo.zm.

[@zeesagrianimals7177]

Hi, when can I come and work on your farm??

[@mondofarms4343]

LOL

[@zeesagrianimals7177]

I'm from South Africa, im sure you could use my help😁

[@mondofarms4343]

Hi There. Sorry that my earlier response may have seemed rude or dismissive. It was not my intention. My challenge is that I don't always know how to address all the comments. Some social awkwardness issues. Of course, we apprentice the offer of help. It would just be a matter of how. Please get in touch with us. Our contacts are fund on google and our Facebook page. Take care.

[@zeesagrianimals7177]

@@mondofarms4343 Hi there, I understand, thank you. I will get in touch via your Facebook page.

[@jonspeed111]

Why don't you direct sow your onions ?, the seeder seems capable of delivering the correct spacing, we never transplant onions in our country labor cost would be extremely high.

[@mondofarms4343]

I hope you have found some answers to your questions in some of our other videos in the onion series. We did quite a lot of them, trying to comprehensively cover the topic. Sorry to hear about your high labour costs. In Zambia, it is quite reasonable. Also, there is an unwritten understanding with the Chief, local villagers that we invest in their area and create employment in exchange for the access to their land. I know that several people in our local area have had their lives transformed by regular wages, medical insurance cover and care, as well as the training and development that we provide. For many it is their first formal job.

[@jonspeed111]

@@mondofarms4343 That is amazing, I would have never considered this as a possibility, in my area most businesses do not consider the impact of mechanisation on citizens I commend you on a job well done and will try to emulate that practice in my operation. Thank you

[@claudinemujinga5725]

Hi Mr Tisha how are you I am in Australia I want to do farming in Zambia. My problem is I want to now how much is tractors like the one I saw in your farm. I can buy here but shipping is a big problem, would you do me a favour to find out of the price please, thank you, shlenipo have a good day

[@mondofarms4343]

Hi Claudine, I have been thinking a lot about how best to answer you. Let me say that buying a tractor should not be your priority at this stage. You need to first have the farm established, with a good team that you trust and work well with, and that you have good lines of communications. You and your team on the ground need to know how to farm whatever crops you want to go into it. You need to have good markets for your produce. And importantly, You need structures and facilities like water pumps and pipes, building to store equipment and house staff, security fencing, etc. By the time you achieve all of these, then you will be getting ready to start thinking about looking at tractors. You will know who will drive and look after it, s well all the attachments that a tractor needs (ploughs, trailers, etc). In short, a tractor might feel like something nice to have, but you really don't need to have it to start a farm. So many people in the diaspora have rushed into such investments, only to end up in challenges. Farming is hard enough for those of us here in the Zed. Farming from the other side of the world would be really, really hard. All the best.

[@Archiemuoki90]

what type of soil is that?

[@mondofarms4343]

All the soils at Winterthorn are sandy loam, with some being very, very sandy.

[@SufiyanPatel-xb5uw]

U don't speak nyanja?

[@mondofarms4343]

Yes, I do as a Lusaka born and bred person. Especially with the workers.