Have you ever bought tomatoes from the memory and discover that , just a few little day afterwards , they ’ve start to rot and turn waterlogged ? bear on tomato is a slick business , especially when you ’ve grown or buy more than you really needed . But one Burundi Fannie Merritt Farmer has notice an ingenious way to maintain tomatoes .
Vital Nduwimana , a James Leonard Farmer from Kabuenge hill , Burundi , had a problem . He grew tomatoes each growing season but was frustrated by how quickly they moulder . Just a few forgetful days after harvest , he ’d see his prized tomatoes begin to molder and strike apart , causing him to lose out on precious income .
Preserving tomatoes is of vital importance
“ I was not able-bodied to sell all my tomatoes , ” Nduwimana told Farm Radio . “ I miss almost half of my production . Worse still , I would sell at a blue price in the market . So in 2015 , I thought that maybe I should find a tomato preservation proficiency . ”
Nduwimana ’s experience is thwarting , but it ’s not unique . This area of eastern Burundi is perfect for arise tomatoes , and many farmers do . The issue of fruit rotting before it can be sold is nearly universal . Nduwimana and other tomato farmers had tried everything , but then he had a luckly break .
Nduwimana , through a combination of capital of Rhode Island and brilliance , set some of his tomato next to his banana tree tree and remarkably , these tomatoes did n’t rot . He light upon that ash tree found at the base of his banana tree tree may have been the culprit . So he began keeping his tomatoes in ash tree to see if it would preserve them .
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An ashy solution
The ash itself is n’t particular – it ’s just ash from his lamp chimney . He sifts it to remove junk then places the ash tree into composition carton where he stores his tomatoes . Nduwimana say that this method save tomatoes for month .
“ I keep my tomatoes in the ash for a menstruation of five to six months , so I can trade them in December , January , or February when the price has develop — since tomatoes are rare and become expensive during this period . “
He says he has n’t observed any negative consequences for storing tomato this way . He hopes that the Institute of Agronomic Sciences of Burundi will study and formalize his proficiency for preserve tomatoes .
“ There is no risk of infection of tomato perniciousness after storage in ash . ”
Judhith Bizmana , another farmer in the area , says that before , she ’d lose nearly one-half of her tomatoes to rot before they could be betray .
“ I can ordinarily glean between 550 and 600 kilogram of Lycopersicon esculentum per season , ” she said . “ But … I would turn a loss about half of my production . Today , I rub my hired man and smile all the clock time . Thanks to Mr. Nduwimana ’s technique , I can keep my tomatoes [ and ] wait for the damage to rise in the mart , knowing that very few of them will moulder . ”
Nduwimana says that the discovery of this Lycopersicon esculentum preservation proficiency has change his aliveness for the better .
“ With the income from the sale of Lycopersicon esculentum , I opened a pocket-sized restaurant and I am a lasting supplier of tomatoes to eating house in the provincial capital . I supply the whole marketplace , and I have produce jobs , too . My whole life has changed . In the futurity , I plan to buy a hand truck to channelise my Lycopersicon esculentum . ”
It go to show just what a little luck , observance , and persistence can accomplish for you !
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