Divisi
When to plant Bambara groundnut in Kenema
Eastern, Sierra Leone
Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) is one of Africa's own beans — a tough, low, bushy plant, often grown by the women of the household on the poorest, sandiest land where maize would fail.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 4 Mar 2027 – 15 Sep 2027 opens in 22 weeks | 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 1.4 t/ha | same |
| Harvest | From 2 Jun 2027 to 3 Mar 2028, depending on the planting date | |
| Ready to harvest | 90–170 days after planting | |
| Work it takes | 77–157 days per hectare, by hand | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 17 Mar 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Kenema is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.
Planting after 15 Sep 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Kenema
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 45% |
For bambara groundnut in Kenema, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 45%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.
The 2026 season in Kenema
| When the rains are expected | February 2026 to December 2026 |
|---|---|
| Rain in a typical year | About 2,535 mm |
| This season's rain | Rain close to usual — plan around about 2,535 mm falling roughly when it always does |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +0.8 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | One kind of ground throughout. |
last updated 17 September 2026
Sloping ground holds back about 35% of yield here.
What bambara groundnut needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sand or sandy loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 5.0 and 6.5 |
| Spacing | 40 cm between rows, 15 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | phosphorus and calcium |
What it takes to grow bambara groundnut in Kenema
| Planting material | About 125,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 70 kg per hectare — the crop fixes most of this itself; inoculated seed matters more than a bag |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 14 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 35 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. Skip the nitrogen top dressing; inoculated seed does that job. |
| Hand work | 77–157 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a bambara groundnut crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Bambara groundnut with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Kenema as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Bambara groundnut in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will bambara groundnut grow well in Kenema?
Kenema rates as favourable for bambara groundnut.
When should I plant bambara groundnut in Kenema?
Typically 4 Mar 2027 to 15 Sep 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Kenema, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
