This is the title if a comprehensive and unusual gardening book and an all-round treasure for the environmentally conscious gardener. The author, Irmela Reichardt, was a respected authority and advocate of natural and organic gardening in South Africa, dispensing her knowledge on this subject through countless magazine articles, books and lectures over a period of 25 years. … [Read more...]
The key to winter veggies
Easter weekend it was time to plant winter seedlings. However, I first had to pull up the last of my beautiful tomato harvest. So I found myself with an abundance of tomatoes. I decided to preserve the whole lot, even the green ones. I found recipes online, modified them according to what I had available and created yummy jars of atchar for the winter (see instructions … [Read more...]
Roofs of the future
“Everyone should have a green roof, it’s a no-brainer really,” says Tom Gray. A green roof is so much more than a roof garden, I discovered in Scarborough. It’s a living roof that’s attractive, insulates and benefits the environment. Tom Gray has been building these living roofs for many years now, and believes they are the roofs of the future. The first green roof … [Read more...]
Stoep Harvest part 9: Pest control
Pests come in all shapes and sizes. Large pests may include dogs, cats, birds, porcupines, monkeys, baboons, and even children and their sports equipment! Smaller pests include insects such as caterpillars and beetles. There are even microscopic pests such as nematodes and eelworm that cannot be seen by the naked eye but cause your carrots to twist and turn into some rather … [Read more...]
Stoep Harvest part 8: Planting for winter
Planting time is here again! This is a fun time of the year where we can dream of crops to come. It is hard work, however, and is a busy time of preparation before the actual seeds go into the ground. This article will look at preparing the ground and then at the winter plants that we can look forward to eating. In the March Garden – Preparing Before we plant the seeds and … [Read more...]
Stoep Harvest part 7: Intelligent Watering
So far in this series we have covered how to plan your organic vegetable garden, increase your soil health, plant your crops and make compost. We have also discussed the benefits of mulching and how to weed and prune in the small-scale vegetable garden. After a few months without an article, it’s time to begin the series again. In a prelude to next month's article on what to … [Read more...]
Boost your body with organic strawberries
Nothing says I love you more than a super healthy Raw Stawberry Mousse. With the month of love and romance upon us there’s no better time to treat yourself and your loved ones to this healthy and nutritious fruit. Strawberries come with important health benefits given the high and diverse phytonutrient and vitamin content, but when grown organically the rich antioxidant … [Read more...]
UK town’s self-grown veggies a lifesaver
When the small British mill town of Todmorden, tucked in between Yorkshire and Lancashire, first began installing fruit and vegetable gardens all around the area as part of the Incredible Edible program, it likely had no idea that the novel, yet simple, concept would make the town a foremost inspirational and self-sustaining model of the future. Fresh herbs, succulent … [Read more...]
Stoep Harvest part 6: Harvesting weeds
So far in this series we have covered how to plan your organic vegetable garden, increase your soil health, plant your crops and make compost. Last month we looked at the benefits of mulching. Today I am writing about weeding and pruning in the organic garden. Weeding and Pruning Your garden should now be in full swing, with food growing all over the place. In our (large) … [Read more...]
Common need for change joins communities
POLOKWANE: Drought, lack of funds and land ownership problems. This is but a few of the challengers the Blood River shack dweller community’s youth are facing. With unemployment, lack of resources, disease and gangsterism the odds seem stacked against them, however the A Re Direng Mmogo Community Project still chooses to believe that there is hope. Despite these poverty … [Read more...]
Beekeeping for dummies
Every house should have a beehive, it has been said. But how do we get started? It is advisable, but not essential, to have two hives. While you're busy with one, taking away honeycomb or just checking, the other one can be left alone to get on with its work. Here is a breakdown of your initial needs: Top Bar Hive: According to the fundis, this simple type of hive is best … [Read more...]
Beekeeping in the Western Cape
We in Southern Africa have had our honeybees since time immemorial. Among the !Kung clans, an old and well-managed hive was cared for as a family treasure and passed down to the next generation, and theft of honey was considered a capital crime. The San of the Outeniquas (a KhoiSan word meaning `honey mountains`) were well known as honey traders, bringing down buckskin bags of … [Read more...]
Time to start a compost heap
Nature sets the perfect example – she recycles all her waste. Every atom from dead plants or animals is recycled into nutrients, which feed new living things. It makes no sense to recycle your domestic waste and still send the most nutritious part, your organic waste, to landfill. Especially not if you understand that this is the stuff that creates the toxic leachate juices, … [Read more...]
