Zsigmond Májai runs a farm next to the Nirajul Mic River, a tributary to the Niraj River where he grows vegetables on 4 hectares of fertile land. All the vegetables are grown in soil and he uses manure, which he receives from other farms, as fertiliser. Besides, he uses no pesticides . He uses a manual seed planter made from a bicycle wheel and some mechanical parts in order to obtain a fixed distance between each seed when planting. He also exchanges information with other farmers how to grow vegetables successfully. He has been running this farm for 18 years, but now he’s thinking about starting crop rotation in order to take better care of the soil. Another description of crop rotation can be found here.
Tomatoes and beans were cultivated in greenhouses and everything looked tidy and orderly. The tomatoes looked like they would mature soon, but Mr. Májai wasn’t satisfied with growing hybrid ones because they were susceptible to weather changes. Instead, he wanted to grow local varieties again.
Outside, he was cultivating eggplants, strawberries, raspberries and paprika and the ground around the plants was covered with plastic sheets in order to prevent weeds from growing. All the plants, both inside and outside, were irrigated from the nearby river and in order to conserve water, by means of drip irrigation.
More information on how to grow strawberries can be found here.
Some workers living nearby were cutting the lower leaves of the eggplants during our visit.
Mr. Májai sells tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries direct to markets in small towns, while the rest is sold to the food industry.
