This sprouting Waxahachie farm is bringing North Texas Kenyans a taste of home

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Soon-to-be Waxahachie resident pioneers exotic crop production in Texas

Off of Highway 77 about five miles south of town on a few acres crisscrossed with drip irrigation tubing, a little taste of home for Kenyans who live in North Texas is growing into a full-scale farm.

There, a sprawling crop grows thick with hairy purplish stems, small oval leaves and flowers at the top in a wispy cluster that resembles cat whiskers or a spider’s legs.

“It’s called spider flower,” says Ronald Mayaka, an Arlington resident who plans to move to Waxahachie in a few months to be closer to the operation he’s been building for two years now.

Ronald is from Kenya but has lived in the U.S. since 2005. He started off as a trucker but planted out a few acres in Corsicana last year to get back to his roots as a farmer who’s grown crops since he was a child.

He moved the crops to Ellis County this year because he found better land, he says. Now he grows corn, black beans and a variety of nightshade, but it’s the spider flower that pays the bills.

Photo of Ronald Mayaka
Ronald Mayaka grows spider flower on a farm south of Waxahachie, Texas.

A common ingredient in stews and tasty as a sautéed dish, spider flower has a flavor described as a little like a radish with a touch of garlic. Ronald describes it as sweet, but you must eat it properly prepared at an African restaurant to truly savor this distant neighbor of mustard and broccoli.

Photo of spider flower
Spider flower tastes best when fresh,

Spider flower is a staple back in Africa, he says, but getting it in the U.S. is difficult because it’s not found in grocery stores or farmers markets. For immigrants from Kenya with a hankering for down-home flavor, spider flower is available mostly as a dried, imported herb. Ronald therefore paused his driving career and set out to bring this culinary curiosity as a fresh vegetable to the nearly 10,000 Dallas-area Kenyans who buy up all that he can harvest.

Aside from its flavor, spider flower is sought after because it’s packed full of vitamin E, iron, antioxidants and all the other nutrients you’d expect from kale, collard greens and broccoli. Ronald says people eat it to purify their blood, and it’s widely believed to aid nursing moms with milk production.

The plant grows well in the clay soil of Ellis County. In fact, Ronald says the local terrain looks very much like his homeland. Spider flower is mostly a pest-free crop, and to nourish the plants, Ronald uses only composted manures and organic soil amendments, locally available at Garden Variety Organics.

Photo of Ronald Mayaka's friends and family
Family and friends assist Ronald on Sundays.

Almost all farming in the area is accomplished through large tractors with air-conditioned cabins, but Ronald tends his farm every day by hand. On Sundays, his family and friends show up to help, but his goal is to have employees and rapidly grow the business into a large commercial operation with distribution throughout the state and eventually the entire U.S.

Photo of Ronald Mayaka and his family.
For Ronald, Sundays present a chance to get together with family and make his operation a success.

“I’ve been growing since I was a young kid. This is what we used to do. It’s not something new,” Ronald says. “Once I get people to work for me, then we can expand. In the future we plan to grow so many things — almost everything that’s grown.”

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29 thoughts on “This sprouting Waxahachie farm is bringing North Texas Kenyans a taste of home”

  2. I know Ronald on a personal level he is a man with a good heart, loving and hard working man , time and again we used to import this veggies from Kenya . they dry it up and honestly when it’s dry it doesn’t taste the same. It’s great when it’s fresh. Now that Ronald has brought it closer to us , fresh let’s support him this is a great move .

  6. Very inspiring. On my next visit yo the US, i shall visit you. Please send your contacts.
    I will help you to okhunyola (kudondoa), and even cook.
    I love this effort. Where do you find the seeds?

  7. Organically exported to the US, our major vegetable here in Keroka – Kenia! Let the world enjoy our delicacy!

  8. I saw that plant in south Gerorgia. Growing wild and to them its weed. Its unwanted in. Watermelon growing areas. We call it. Terere but i never attempted to take it as i feared its not the same like home. Its good but one has to mix with kale or else can. Diarrhea

  12. Ronald is my brother, I know him as a hardworking man even before moving to the USA. God bless and gift his hands. Continue shining bro…

  13. He is my best friend and hard working person we have around. I know he can do it to serve our community. His project brings us close to hom

  17. Very good job. The ground is everything for our survival . Keep up brother . May God bless the work of your hands .

  19. Waaaaauu!!! Very inspiring.
    Cuxo,I love yr commitment en yr hard working.may God bless the work of your hands.

  20. Owesome! Ronald keep the good work. Proud of you. Wish I could have some. I’m in MD. This is the Lord at work through His child. Praying for you.

  23. Great investment Mr. Ronald. You have a market already. Let’s know when they are ready this year.

  25. Excellent job Ndugu. We need to share notes. We have the same Passion!!!We grow some Tsisaga (Spider Plant)and mixture of Mboga Kienyeji in Bloomington/Normal IL. he Midwesterners Karibuni. We also grow on a large scale white Kenyan Maize ya kuchoma, boil and for Githeri. This fall we’re rolling out our first Organic Unga Ya Ugali. Contacts:773-979-1961 Facebook CHJ UMOJA Gardens

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