Gauteng Smallholder December 2015-January 2016 | Page 7
MAILBAG
He helps others with veg gardens
S
ir ~ I am in Springs and
always have a vegetable
garden and help others
with establishing them if
interest is shown and I find
your magazine excellent.
I have only found one before
in a tractor spares outlet in
Benoni. The November
edition I got at Garden World
in Muldersdrift.
I especially liked the Editor's
Comment “Teach Your Kids to
grow vegetables, as I read
endlessly for years about food
insecurity in South Africa
while the unemployed in
shack settlements do nothing
with the vast amounts of
fertile ground next to them.
Quite often there is a dam
nearby too.
If khakibos and blackjacks will
grow so will beans and
tomatoes etc.
While in Rotary for 21 years I
tried numerous times to
establish veg gardens with the
local men but with no
success. The will to work,
without pay, for their own
good for future times is just
not there. Seeds are in
abundance in South Africa
and substantial amounts of
veg can be grown from a
single packet which can even
be shared between gardeners.
Water may be the problem in
some areas and from time to
time but when there is rain
there is no effort to capture
any of it with simple gadgets!
If I get 4mm of rain on my 38
2
m garage roof my 140 litre
wheelie bin connected to the
gutter is filled and I then use
that water to start seedlings
and water young plants
The Editor welcomes your letters, comments and
opinions, but reserves the right to edit
and shorten as necessary.
Senders’ names and addresses must
be included.
Afrikaans letters will be translated.
Post mail to: Letters, PO Box 14648,
Bredell 1623 or fax 086 602-3882
or e-mail [email protected]
5
www.sasmallholder.co.za
before having to use municipal water that might have had
the chlorine dumped in it
the day before.
I shred all my garden cuttings
as I sell the Bosch range of
shredders and I collect
manure from the area I go
fishing in and this is milled
and added to the soil
regularly to enhance moisture
holding especially in periods
of dry weather, and it works
well.
I really valued the rainfall
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