Hello from South Africa

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Adams on August 13, 2008 at 5:41pm

Sharron,

I have some contacts in Cape Town, would that help? Let me know and we can communicate in private.
www.barbaraberstadams.com

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Permalink Reply by Ron on August 15, 2008 at 9:15am

Hi South Africa.

Small world this, isnt it. I live in the Eastern Cape where the climate is close to yours but just not so humid. Our winters are very hot and dry whereas yours becomes more human!

You will find that most vegies will do well in your area as they will germinate very fast. A bean will probably sprout within 4 days or so but the humidity will more than likely affect tamatoe plants who do not enjoy wet leaves.

Your green vegies would have to be sprayed or sprinkled with carbadust from day one to avoid investation by the dreadded moth that lays its eggs in them.

I would recommend legumes, onion varieties, peppers, etc as these will do very well in an open garded. Don't go for ranking plants if you do not have plenty of space but you could train the odd pumpkin to climb a wall - they are very adaptable on condition the root is embedded in a good, compost and nutrient rich soil. I dont eat pumpkin so dont bother much!

I would be inclined to chance my arm with anything and just see what happens - after all, thats part of the joy, now isnt it?

If stuck, drop me a line and I will gladly help. Otherwise simply be friendly and chat.

Good luck hey!

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Permalink Reply by Ron on August 27, 2008 at 3:00am

Things have become very quiet and it seems as if my fellow members are hibernating? I do wish we could get a larger group together.

I started planting last weekend as we had a bit of rain that cut the drought that we have been experiencing. I was mortified on arriving home on Monday evening to find that my hen had " helped" with the digging and had gone and rearranged the entire bed!
My seeds are now probably under a 6 inch layer of soil and will germinate in the next century!

So, away with planting untill a cage has been built.

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on August 27, 2008 at 12:03pm

Chickens do indeed rearrange seed plantings, and they eat seedlings too, but they're good at eating lots of bugs if they are fenced out of the garden proper. In my garden, tree squirrels rearrange plantings, eat pitted fruit and are just general nuisances. This year I lay chicken wire over my raised beds to discourage them until the plants were big enough to fend for themselves a bit. Cats are another nuisance in a freshly planted bed.

How exciting that you got some rain! From the news, places are either drying up or flooding. An age of excesses, I guess.

What's in season in your area now?

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Permalink Reply by Ron on September 10, 2008 at 3:29am

Hi again.

Sorry for not responding sooner but I have been out of town.

As seasons go, nows the time to plant about anything that can grow - even weeds! The problem is that we have had no more rain and the burg-winds keep at it all the time, retarding the usual springtime conditions severely.
Not even the grass patch has recovered from the drought but the aurum lillies came up and actually flowered. All the rest remains doormant and ugly and the only weeds grow on the pavement area where the municipality only cleans once a quarter or when a dignitory comes to visit.

Seasons have changed and we have not kept abreast with the developments - only time will tell!

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on September 10, 2008 at 8:54am

It seems these are conditions that have caused huge populations to migrate in the past. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next 20-50 years. It may teach us many lessons, including why huge populations disappeared from many ancient sites. And cause us to look at the earth and things like property ownership and national boundaries very differently.

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Permalink Reply by Toni B Walters on January 7, 2009 at 5:33am

You're very welcome to contact me. Send an email to tonibw@eastcoast.co.za. I'd be glad to share ideas and tips with you. You can also google my book Cultivating Flavour, which was inspired by my garden in Kloof. It is possible to grow a kitchen garden full of delicious vegetables, even in our climate.

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