She quit lecture room to grow flowers

Ssali carrying out various activities in her flower farm. She started flower farming in 1990. PHOTOS BY RACHEL MABALA

What you need to know:

After at least three months of planting, the flowers have sprouted and it was time to harvest them

I am Harriet Ssali, 61, a horticulturalist by profession. While at Hebrew University in Israel, I majored in floriculture, and graduated in 1972 with a diploma in horticulture.
I have a two-acre flower farm in Kitegomba village, Kasangati in Wakiso District, where I grow tuba roses, gebras and chrysanthemums.
Before I went into flower farming in 1990, I was a lecturer at Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo from 1973 to 1980.
In addition to handling students, I was in charge of the flower farm at the institute. Before 1990, I managed a flower shop in Wandegeya.

Getting the idea
While at Kabanyolo, customers, especially foreigners who worked in the diplomatic service, came to buy flowers for their partners.
Others hired me to plant particular flower types at their homes. Those that had the flowers sought my advice on how to take care of them.
With this money coming through, I started thinking about quitting lecturing and going into private business.
A particular incident I recall is when President Idi Amin visited Kabanyolo in 1973, I designed a bouquet which I presented to him. People were amazed and it is from then that I realised the business potential of flowers. Over time, I believe they became trendy.

Quitting lecturing
In 1978, I joined hands with my friends and started a floral business, Bamuhalu Florists.
We delivered flowers to clients around Kampala and were also hired to decorate at weddings and such functions. These flowers came from our different gardens.
We each specialised in growing different types to ensure various options for our clientele. At first, I worked at florist shop part-time but in 1980, my partners requested me to take charge of the shop.
The market had expanded yet the five us were employed elsewhere. I suppose they chose me because of my horticulture background.
We mostly focused on flower arrangements and decoration. I did this for more than 10 years but I still felt the urge to do more.

Starting my own farm
I had always had a desire to have my own farm. In 1990, me and my husband bought the two-acre piece of land in Kitegomba village in Kasangati and started a flower farm.
We started with carnations and roses, then eventually expanded to include other kinds of flowers.
The other reason was that the same flowers was being grown by many people. This made them easily accessible and hence cheaper.
I needed to have an edge over competitors to make the business lucrative.
Roses normally last for six years so after that period, I changed to tuba roses, gebras and chrysanthemums commonly known as mums.

Initial investment
Tuba roses and gebra seeds were not available in the country. So I imported most of the initial seeds. But I bought the chrysanthemums from within the country.
I got gebra seeds from Netherlands and tuba roses from Kenya.
The beauty about gebras is that if well taken care of, they are permanent and keep growing.
This can be done through constant irrigation and spraying with pesticides and fungicides.

Planting and space pattern
I planted them separately because each of them requires different spacing and they take in nutrients separately. They are planted in three different ways. I timed the rainy season and because then I did not have to water them all the time.
I planted the gebras by bulbs, the mums by cuttings and the tuba roses by seeds.
Tuba roses were easiest to plant. I used a 30cm by 30cm spacing because their roots spread on the ground hence need for a relatively wider space.
To get bulbs from gebras, I sowed the seeds in a nursery bed. After germinating into seedlings, I transferred them into well-drained soil that had prepared prior. I used a 20cm by 25 cm spacing and constantly watered them during sunny days. I applied fertiliser during the transplanting and flowering stages.
An important aspect to note about gebras is that you have to keep the seeds covered before planting as they easily lose viability when exposed to light.
To plant the mums, I bought cuttings and cut off the tip of the stem. I then clipped off the leaves on the lower half of the shoot so as to have a bare stem to insert into the soil. I dug holes in a spacing of 20cm by 20cm, applied fertiliser and inserted the cuttings.
Before planting the cuttings, I kept them humid by loosely wrapping them in plastic containers.
The basic rule for managing cuttings is to plant them in the early mornings and to keep them moist by avoiding exposure to direct sunlight.
This is because the plant usually has the most moisture in the morning, which an important point to observe before planting.

Maintaining the flowers
I water the flowers early in the mornings and late in the evenings because watering prevents them from drying especially during the dry season.
Watering early in the morning before the temperatures begin to rise gives the plants a good supply of water to withstand the heat during the day.
Gebras are the most difficult ones because during the rainy season they rot and yet during the dry season, they get white flies that eat up the leaves and suck out the sap. To control the white flies, I spray with water and pesticides every three months. I also mulch which helps to retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.
Even the other flowers need constant watering as they may wither.
To prevent pests and diseases, I spray the mums and tuba roses with pesticides and fungicides regularly.

Harvesting
After at least three months of planting, the flowers have sprouted and it was time to harvest them. A practice I have observed is to always cut the flowers very early in the morning or late in the evenings.
Immediately after cutting the flowers, I put them in a container of cold water to keep them fresh.
Afterwards, I keep them in a cool dry place, which I call a charcoal cooler to maintain their freshness.
The charcoal cooler is my innovation that I built within the flower farm.
I constructed a shed with iron sheets at the top and wire mesh at the sides and then put pieces of charcoal around the mesh. I constantly pour water on the charcoal to keep the room cold. In here, flowers in this room for some days without them withering. I have 15 employees who help me at the farm.