A great organic product for the Contract Farming Project – Red Pepper and Garlic Spray

For the last several months I’ve been experimenting with various organic products that are easy and cheap to make for use by farmers participating in the Contract Farming Project in the village.  After various experiments, a concoction consisting of red peppers, onion and garlic is the ‘winner’.

boiled red peppers, garlic and onion ('just add water...')

Red Pepper, Onion and Garlic Spray

• Cut up one unpeeled onion and one unpeeled head of garlic.
• Add one heaping tablespoon of red pepper (here we also use local red peppers – cheaper for the farmers) to three pints water in a saucepan.
• Cook about 20 minutes on low heat.
• Let the spray cool.
• Pour it in jars and cover
• It will keep several weeks.
• When you are ready to use the herbal spray, use one tablespoon per pint of water – or adjust according to prevailing conditions.

Adapted from:   Sally Odum

In our field  trials this mixture lasts for about two weeks.  Also, using just the red pepper (with no onion or garlic) also works – an advantage for some of our poorer farmers.

This spray meets one important criteria of the project, which is to introduce technologies that can be continued by participating farmers long after the project is over – and will work with their other crops.

In fact, Chef Richard at the Hotel is so pleased with it, that he intends to introduce it back to his Shamba (farm) in the Rift Valley of Kenya, when he returns for a vacation later this month.

Making the spray with red pepper powder - 'remains of the day' are in other pots

This is a really inexpensive and easy organic spray for central Africa.