Vertical Gardening- Strawberry Farming Systems 

You should not worry about space. Vertically growing strawberries Will Optimize your Space Use.

Strawberry farming is one of the promising agribusiness ventures in Kenya and Africa in general. The higher chances of success in strawberry farming are because of the high demand compared to the current low supply. However, to make a killing out of strawberry agriculture, you require knowledge of the best varieties, systems, and experts to hold their hand. One approach would be to do Vertical Gardening Strawberry Farming guided by Jaick Agricultural Produce experts.

Why Vertical Strawberry Farming is Promising

Strawberries are a low-growing herbaceous plant with sweet edible fruits. The fruits have a strong, sweet flavor and thus are in high demand from fresh fruit eaters as well as companies processing and manufacturing end products like yogurt and jam. Even so, many farmers in Kenya lack awareness of the demand for these fruits, hence making it a lucrative venture for those willing to start. 

Learn to Grow strawberries vertically 

One of the main advantages of strawberries is that they do well in vertical gardens. With the right expertise, you can erect vertical strawberry gardens, plant crops, and harvest all year round. 

As noted in our Previous Article of Strawberry farming help, one of the experts helping farmers do strawberries vertically in multi-story gardens is the Jaick Agricultural Produce . 

Why is Vertical Gardening Strawberry Beneficial?

According to James, an expert from Jaick Agricultural Produce, vertical strawberry farming has numerous advantages, especially compared to planting in seedbeds, including:

• Carries more fruits than seedbed,
• Uses less water
• Takes less space, thus saving on land use
• Can go as high as grower wants
• Easy to add manure
• Easy to monitor- including weeding- because the farmer only needs to weed around the spaces where the plants are growing. 

Be sure to read our article next article on the Specific Requirements for Vertical Strawberry Gardening in Kenya [and Eastern Africa].

Vertical Strawberry Farming Promotes Climate-Smart Agriculture 

One of the most essential reasons why vertically farming strawberries is recommendable is that it promotes climate-smart agriculture. This approach to agriculture promotes increased resilience and productivity of land, a production resource, currently under huge impact from climate change.

Vertical strawberry farming using multi-story gardens, as used by Jaick Agricultural Produce, aligns with climate-smart farming approaches like conservation agriculture, where aspects like no (or minimal) tillage, mulching, and soil cover are encouraged. 

Multi-story strawberry gardens also help improve soil and water management through precision watering using drips and minimal soil disturbance. The gardens are also fertilized organically with a precise amount of animal manure. In addition, drip irrigation enhances water use, which is critical in promoting productivity and higher production.

Vertical Strawberry Gardening Promotes Regenerative Farming

Similar to climate-smart farming, regenerative farming aims to literally regenerate the soil as well as the planet’s ecosystems. While the two are indirectly related, their approaches vary in diverse ways.

The approaches aim explicitly at promoting soil health through practices like:

• Minimal soil disturbance
• Planting ground cover crops 
• Diversifying the crops in time and space
• Precision inputs application
• Livestock integration

Notably, vertical strawberry gardening using multi-story gardens allows for minimal soil disturbance as tilling, and general weeding is limited. Also, you can plant ground cover crops at the base of each story garden. Intercropping with other crops like lettuce and spinach is possible in the same spaces where strawberries are growing. 

As mentioned earlier, you can install drip systems in multi-layer vertical gardens, thus allowing for the precise application of water and nutrients.

Summary

Strawberry farming is a promising venture in Kenya and East Africa. Growing strawberries in vertical gardens is an important approach to increasing productivity and income while promoting sustainable farming at the same time. Vertical gardening strawberry farming helps ensure that resources like land and water are conserved and used optimally. As a commercial farmer, vertical strawberry farming is a feasible business project that you can consider.