Why grow Swiss Chard or Spinach in Botswana

Why grow Swiss Chard or Spinach in Botswana?

We often call it Spinach however the correct name is Swiss Chard this vegetable is a really great addition to any small farm and there are three good reasons 

1. Swiss Chard is very uncomplicated to grow and really does not need much attention, if you plant and water it, it will grow.

2. It is profitable, and the reason for this is not that the profit margin is high but rather that you can sell it every week, the market hardly gets flooded as Swiss Chard has a very short shelf life. this means that if you are supplying street vendors or even large main stream shops  they will need fresh produce every week.

3.Farm space. Unlike Tomato's or Cabbages, Swiss Chard does not need a lot of space. If you plant 10 sq. meters of Swiss Chard you will find your self harvesting without much problem 30 plus bundles of Swiss Chard per week.

So to sum it up basically, Swiss Chard is what helps you as the farmer pay the day to day bills while you wait for your main crops to mature eg. Cabbages or Green Peppers. Also any extra old stock could be fed to your pigs or Sheep!

So how do you grow Swiss Chard? Well I wrote about that in 2016 so here is a link to that: How to Grow Swiss Chard?

Best vegetables to grow in Botswana

So you have a small plot here in Botswana and you wish to grow a few vegetables to help feed your family or earn some extra cash.
What are the best vegetables to grow? Well we will look at this from two ways, first what is the easiest to grow and then what makes the most money.

What is the easiest vegetables to grow in Botswana?

On the top of this list we must put Rape. This hardy vegetable can cope with the heat of Botswana and also grows happily on a wide variety of different soils. It also grows very fast. If one takes the time to cultivate the soil first and put into the soil lots of cattle dung one will reap good crops in very little time. Another favorite is Swiss chard also growing very fast although not as popular as rape, you can read more on how to grow swiss chard. HERE

What is the most profitable vegetable to grow in Botswana?

We have two favorites on this list, first tomatoes. At around 10 pula per kg of tomatoes in Botswana you can earn a lot of money growing tomatoes. Learn more on Botswana tomato farming Here

Second on our list is cabbages. Not only can a farmer make up to 12 pula on a cabbage, cabbages are very hardy and easy vegetables to grow even here in sunny Botswana, learn more about cabbage farming in Botswana Here