Vegetable Farming in Zambia: From sowing to harvest of our butternut crop on Riverside 2 D

Butternut is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine and is very popular fruiting vegetable in Zambia. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has tan-yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp with a compartment of seeds in the blossom end. When ripe, it turns increasingly deep orange, and becomes sweeter and richer. It is a good source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium; and it is a source of vitamin A.
It is relatively easy to grow and in this video, we share how a crop planted on our Riverside 2 Block D was sown on Sept 23, 2021 and then husbanded up to harvest on December 18.
Butternut squash varieties planted: Waltham by Hygrotech, Waltham by Nuvance

[@barbaramiyoba9122]

Thank you so much Mr Folotiya for your selflessness..

[@mondofarms4343]

You're most welcome ☺️

[@eyeandisinclair821]

My brother you deserve a lot more followers there is so much to learn from your videos. Keep up the good work .🇯🇲

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks

[@mablechanda8653]

Please continue learning so much

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks Ba Mable

[@ernestcsinyinza]

This is a beautiful video. Is very rare to find such video guide this detailed. Please continue with the good work.

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks a lot!

[@ivymwewa7415]

Ba Chisha, this is soooo inspiring. 🙏

[@mondofarms4343]

Thank you 🙌

[@oj7724]

Let their be light our rps motor.
Only realized once you said at the end your names C . Volunteer.
From educating us to making us good farmers
Thank you so much

[@mondofarms4343]

Greetings.

[@jeniferrickerts1733]

Love watching and following your videos one can actually see and feel the passion and love for farming, great inspiration. Thank you for sharing

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks for watching!

[@JeradChikanya-xd6rj]

Greetings Man of God Inspiring Thank you Sir lf you
managed like that already scaling up is not impossible l learnt a lot All the best

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks Ba Jerad

[@maguettecisse4578]

JAAJEUFF ndanane nga respect MashaAlla Yalla motalli...

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks

[@johnmureithi4688]

this is one of the most inspiring videos that can help our fellow africans to have a mindset change on farming. keep it up

[@mondofarms4343]

Much appreciated

[@mmanarelee4455]

SIR you are super and you are doing a wonderful work.

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks

[@charlesbrightonchibaala6720]

I now have a class to learn from. Kudos Mondo farms

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks 😊

[@annmalata-ononuju9564]

Great stuff Chisha!

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks 😊

[@GuardAgainstEvil]

Thank you for your inspiration. I am a building contractor who is moving also into farming

[@mondofarms4343]

Most welcome. All the best in your farming journey.

[@Mfzambia]

Amazing and interesting updates man thanks

[@mondofarms4343]

Glad you like them!

[@julietkaragu4606]

Great video! I'm really inspired. Thank you

[@mondofarms4343]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@wynettemukosera2680]

You are doing a great job!Learnt a lot !many thanks 👍

[@mondofarms4343]

Glad to hear that

[@adelalzentany3207]

You are awesome.. big regards FROM LIBYA 🇱🇾

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks and greetings

[@chiefmbewe531]

Hi Mr Folotiya. I love what you are doing my man

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks Chief 😊

[@ManamaneMaila-dy5ym]

Wonderful learning experience. As a new butternut farmer in Pretoria, south africa, we would like to invite you our farm to learn from your vast experience. We just started in late jan 2023 and are struggling with weeds

[@mondofarms4343]

Hi there. I appreciate your invitation and would like to take it up.
I will be in JBurg next week and had planned to check in my niece at the pilot school in Pretoria. I could also come visit you and share notes.
Please get in touch with me via our contacts as listed. Sorry, I can't share my number on social media.

[@mondofarms4343]

Hi Manamane Maila, I am in JBurg now and planning to come to Pretoria tomorrow.
Please contact me via [e-mail]

[@wizangambi5630]

very informative, thanks

[@mondofarms4343]

Most welcome

[@carolyneatugonza8504]

Great video...would you recommend this method of planting for pumpkins. By this i mean the spacing measurement for seeds and mounds

[@mondofarms4343]

It is hard to advise from afar, and we have never grown pumpkin before.
Pls consult the agronomists at your local seed companies or agricultural supply shop.
All the best.

[@tastyteddy3874]

i had to look at this for school lmao

[@mondofarms4343]

Okay

[@eyeandisinclair821]

Looking closely at your foilage covering ,I think you would benefit from increase spacing on any future crops to enable better ventilation which would in turn reduce the chance of mildew.

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks

[@munsanjemweene]

Thanks for this well composed and informative video. You mentioned pricing. Do you have any tips on marketing and sales in the Zambian context? Thanks.

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks, Ba Munsanje.
Marketing and sales take hard work and just get yourself out there.
We found that supermarkets can only get small quantities, which for us, soon turned out to be not worth the hassle.
So we stick to wholesale markets for the quantities we produce.

[@munsanjemweene]

@@mondofarms4343 zikomo boss. Appreciate the response.

[@ZibweJuliet-po2dx]

Good afternoon sir really i have loved what you're teaching us,it's my first time to see you,how can i reach you in terms of more discussion .thank you sir be blessed

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks Ba Juliet.

[@princekaponde577]

Can it be trellised like cucumbers ? And does trelising bring any advantage to butternut ? Also what is the expected fruit yield per plant ?

[@mondofarms4343]

I'm sure someone somewhere has trellised butternut. It's not commonly done, though.
Pls google it and learn more

[@bideuchreproject5366]

Thank you for your great video. I am growing Butternut squash in Guelph Ontario and had planned to try to grow them vertically but maybe I should grow them as you do. The mildew is a problem in the garden next to me but I will know what to do if I also get it.

[@mondofarms4343]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mwampolematenguhelloeveryo51]

Thank you so for inspiring many people. How often do you irrigate after sowing?

[@mondofarms4343]

Good question. The irrigation interval is dependent on soil characteristics.
If the soils are well drained (sandy loamy soils) after two days. If the soils holds a lot.of moisture (clay), the interval can be after 3 or 4 days.
Pls search on the internet for more guides on vegetable farming. There are plenty of resources to download.

[@korirsammy8743]

You said Seronic fruitfly trap? In need of one in Kenya.

[@mondofarms4343]

It's been a few years since that video was done (2021). Wr found the products themselves to be a bit underwhelming compared to how they were marketed to us.
And the supplier we bought them from hasnt stocked that product since then.
But if memory serves me correctly, it was something like "Serenoc"
Im sure you can google it and track down a local supplier, or find other alternatives available.
All the best.

[@alenajoseph6182]

How many days from plant to harvest

[@mondofarms4343]

Hi there. That can be calculated using the "Farmdates" that we indicate in our videos.

[@KM-fh4wt]

I would like to ask did you use fruit fly traps only to control pests

[@mondofarms4343]

Yes. Please google them to learn more.

[@anthonystewart8327]

How Long do carnage take after plan😢

[@mondofarms4343]

Sorry, Anthony, I don't understand the question.
Could you pls rephrase?

[@barringtonsmith9147]

Are they hand pollenated?
Will you be growing some sweet potatoes 🍠

[@mondofarms4343]

No, not hand pollinated.
Sweet potato? Maybe. But it's not in our plans at present.

[@tungamiraimusorowegomo9727]

How big is that space and what was your yield

[@mondofarms4343]

Great questions. Sadly, as Mondo Farms Limited is a business and going concern, details like that are kept proprietary and not shared publicly. Video channels like ours will share the agronomic practices, successes and challenges. But you will rarely find numbers and amounts given out.

[@michozulu9201]

Wow so motivating 👏 👌 kindly help with the Saling praise and quantity just incase I my consider doing it to have an idea on the profit

[@mondofarms4343]

Channels like ours are not ones that will never reveal such numbers. Our channel is just here to guide and inspire as we share our journey.
Yes, there are other channels that may give business numbers, but that is a choice they have made. We will never mention such.

[@user-cp1wd7em4e]

I am interested we can I find your farm , I want to plant butternut 🙏🙏

[@mondofarms4343]

Great to hear. We are not big on welcoming visitors our farms. It is disruptive to our work productivity.
That is why we put a lot of effort into helping others with these videos. That is all we can offer for now. Good news is that we held our first field day last year, which was very well attended.
Pls keep watching as we share and look out for our next farmers' field day

[@porchechimutu2245]

himhow do you control weeds
any herbicide

[@mondofarms4343]

The process is pretty much what we shared in the video, including the constant manual weeding.

[@sonkhendlovu8299]

How big is the land? The one used in these video

[@mondofarms4343]

Not very big. I think its is about 0.2Ha

[@lisab9836]

Powdery mildew not downy mildew. Think downy would be on underside of leave.

[@mondofarms4343]

Thanks. Any mildew is a problem. We recently got hit again when the rains came.

[@orangemoonglows2692]

have you ever considered using certain mustard greens and/or marigolds to eradicate or control soil nematodes? in the end, you're killing the soil with those chemicals.

[@mondofarms4343]

Yes, we considered that.
But it not always possible to locate the right seeds and then plant them in the right way, and then wait for the beneficial effects to be felt, etc. Especially as we scale up production in order to break even.
On a positive note, we have opted for biological agents to deal with nematodes, which are getting more and more available each year.

[@mohammedihsan1669]

How much days are pre harvest interval??

[@mondofarms4343]

Sorry, I am not sure I get your question. Could you please try to rephrase it?

[@kuyonza94]

@@mondofarms4343 He means how many days from spraying fungicide where you able to start harvesting

[@korirsammy8743]

Hello. I kindlyy request your spray program.

[@mondofarms4343]

Sorry, we don't stick to formal spray programs. We scout our crops regularly and protect them as needed.
A lot of agrochem companies produce spray programs to guide farmers and gardeners. Over the years, we have learned that spray programs tend to push customers to apply as much of the company's products as possible.

[@Isack_Leo]

Where do i get the market for this crop??

[@mondofarms4343]

Sorry Mr Video Clips, I am not sure I understand what you are asking?

[@JesusisLord78]

Nice brother is this farming business your main income

[@mondofarms4343]

I have other businesses in Lusaka that I have led for the past 30 years. That's why in videos I refer to 'my day job'.
Hoping to build up the farms over the next years and have them commercially viable by the time I retire.

[@kwakuopare-yeboah5486]

From Ghana how can l get one mondo

[@mondofarms4343]

Sorry, get what?
Your question wasn't clear.

[@kwakuopare-yeboah5486]

The yellow plastic squared hang close to the plants