My colleagues will also weigh in on this one. The challenge with the Lowveld in summer is the heat which excludes a lot of vegetables even under irrigation. However, we would need to look at the specific temperatures and put in place a crop pest and disease control programme that is robust. 

On 50ha of land, I would recommend that you mix your crops as having vegetables on such large land, at your first try will definatley present you with challenges. I would therefore advise that you have a major crop (most probably grain) occupying over 50% of your land, and then the rest to a mix of 3-4 vegetable crops. 

Currently, farmers in the Lowveld are engaged in pepper production (green pepper, cayenne, birds eye), sweet potatoes, tomatoes (lots of work, but rewarding in summer as few farmers plant tomoatoes during this period), butternuts, pumpkins, melons. 

I would also recommend that you start thinking about baby vegetables which include: baby marrow, patty pans, and fine beans. This should be started on a small scale as it requires a lot of work and high degree of mastery.

Remember, at this point you are already preparing for winter production as it is already the end of November. 

If you need more any information, please do not hesitate to contact any Minsitry of Agriculture Extension Officer, NAMBoard Marketing Officer and you will get more assistance. The Ministry and partners have prepared material such as Gross Margin Analysis for all crops to assist farmers make these important decisions. 

Vegetables and Soils Requirements

In November 2017 Queeneth asked: which summer crops are good for the Lowveld? Tammy Dlamini responded by looking in particular the climatic requirement of major vegetables crops. In addition he also considered the market demand of vegetables.

I wish to extend the question by incorporating the soil component. It is equally important to grow vegetables in the optimum soils types to enhance one’s yields. Horticultural crops require optimum soils for maximum yields. I therefore present a very simplified answer to the question of vegetables and soil requirements. As a general rule, avoid growing vegetables on clay soils (vertisols). It is possible to produce between 50-60 % of yields in vertisols as compared to the optimum soil for vegetables. This is a common occurrence in the Lowveld as a matter of necessity: the soils lie near river streams and the river water is needed for irrigation. This is a matter that needs serious discussion. Sadly even technically people sometimes commit such mistakes.

Some horticultural crops have a wide range of soil requirements. But it is important to bear in mind that the highest yield response is around sandy loam to loams soils which are freely draining. The following summarises the soil requirements for selected horticulture crops

Beetroot                 Sandy to loamy soils are the best.

Eggplant                  Well-drained loamy soils

Cabbage                   Loamy soils

Carrot                        Sandy to loamy soils

Hot pepper                     Loamy soils

Cucurbits            Well-drained loamy soils

Green beans          Sandy to loamy soils

Green pea               Medium to heavy loams are preferred,

Lettuce                    Light sandy to heavy clay

Onion                      Sandy to clayey soils suitable

Potatoes                 Sandy loam to loamy soils

Sweet pepper          Fairly adaptable, provided drainage is good

Sweet potato              Sandy to loamy soils are preferred

Swiss chard/spinach    Highly adaptable, provided soils are well drained

Table tomato                Fairly adaptable to texture, with 15 to 35% clay being idea

Banana                        Deep, well drained, friable red loamy soils to black soils

Paw-paws                    Most soil types are suitable but avoid heavy clay soils

Ovacados                    Sandy loam