Greenhouse green beans grow in Mdantsane

Follow up report on the hydroponic projects that were initiated by the Buffalo City Municipality in June 2009 at Nu 6 (Sakhisizwe), NU12 (Gqala CO-Operation) and NU 18 (Buffalo Organic producers).  The hydroponic projects are  part of  the Mdantsane Urban Agricultural program, that is part of the Urban Rural programme through the EU Farms funded by the Department of Economic Development and Economic Affairs.

All three projects have gone through a growing, picking and planting cycle. We are happy to report that all is still going well and fruit of a very high quality is being delivered for sale to the public. Due to the successes of NU 18 Buffalo Organic producers as well as the fact that their irrigation system allows it, FE Investments, the appointed project mentors together with the officials from BCM that oversee this project, have encouraged the members of NU 18 Buffalo Organic producers to acquire the knowledge and experience of growing a new type of crop. The greenhouse at NU 18 is divided into four irrigation blocks and their fertigation controller is completely automatic which makes this  new crop very easy to manage. On 1 July 2010 a runner green bean cultivar called “Matilda” was planted. The bean has been provided by Stark Ayres and is an experimental green bean for greenhouses.

When one thinks of Greenhouses in the Eastern Cape area, one thinks of tomatoes, green peppers or cucumbers. In reality however nearly any crop can be planted inside a greenhouse as long as it is financially viable.  F E Investments have experimented with various crops before, such as, lettuce, watermelon, pumpkin, bush beans, runner beans, cantaloupe, egg fruit and of course tomatoes and green peppers. Not all were financially viable and most of them were experimental. One of these was a runner bean called Salamanca that was provided by HYGROTECH. The viability of planting green beans was investigated by FE Investments as a ready market for green beans was identified within the Eastern Cape in the winter months. During winter a farmer can receive up to R25-R28 per kilogram for quality green beans. Green beans must be firm, about 200mm long, thick, juicy with a lot of “flesh”, no strings and pips must be as small and soft as possible. This was achieved with the new varietal.

The following important lessons were learned. If you plant Green beans in a greenhouse they must be planted during winter. These plants are very brittle and break easily; leaves are thin and can easily be “burned” by wind or cold air. The plants does not take a lot of space in relation to tomatoes. Tomatoes are planted at three per square meter whilst green beans can be planted at nine plants per square meter.

This planting densityallows the farmers to obtain the same yield in weight per square meter as they would from a crop like tomatoes or peppers. Green beans are planted six seeds in a two liter planting bag, three seeds per hole. Germination is normally within 4-5 days. From there the plants will grow quickly and the first flowers will appear around the 45th day. Picking will start from around the 70th day. Picking should last about three months, but will be guided by price and demand.

We are happy to say that NU 18 have successfully grown their beans till date and will be on 60 days on the 1st August 2010. The plants are low maintenance which leaves the farmers with more time to do the other work in the greenhouse. The aim of growing green beans was to give the people of this project the knowledge to diversify  their products during winter and to provide a product of high quality to the open market with a continuous turnover and to enrich the community and to ensure sustainability. At the end of this growing term these cooperative farmers will have gained the knowledge to grow tomatoes and green beans in a sustainable fashion.

Text by FE Investments