North West success with conservation agriculture
When Farmer's Weekly last reported on Hannes Otto (19 October 2007), he was about to adopt no-till on a quarter of his farm's arable land, after trials conducted the season...
Solving pineapple’s problem
James and Brett Domleo are providing pineapple farmers with an alternative outlet in a prickly market. Robyn Joubert spoke to them about their pioneering idea.
What do you get for your 5%?
Professional farmers have ACCURATE data on what it costs them to market their fresh fruit and vegetables, locally and overseas.
Nitrogen procedure for a cabbage crop
Last week I mentioned how important it is to have sufficient nitrogen in the seedling and growing medium. The procedure needs to be maintained from here on - the early...
Historic farming community under threat
The Cape Flats Agricultural Association is one of the oldest agricultural associations in South Africa, celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. Descendants of German immigrant farmers still farm in Philippi,...
Persevering with biological pineapples
Making the transition from conventional farming to organic farming, and then to biological farming, hasn't been easy for this Hluhluwe pineapple farmer. But achieving a higher yield in extremely dry...
Who should get the credit?
The recent tendency among SOME senior market officials to create the impression that they are solely responsible for the successes of a market hasn't abated.
Cabbage basics: nitrogen & soil balance
Many VEGETABLE FARMERS ask what fertiliser to use when planting cabbages. The question assumes each crop has a specific requirement, regardless of what's already in the soil.
Spacing cabbages for the correct size
I'm often asked what the correct spacing should be when planting cabbages, as though there was only one answer. There's more to spacing than just setting out dimensions.
When state help worked
I've been going on recently about the Ministerial Interim Committee Report (MICR) on restructuring fresh-produce markets. I've not been too complimentary, because I see the whole thing as a political...
Adding value with frozen vegetables
Angelo De Andrade has earned Agri Gauteng's Young Farmer of the Year award by processing his own produce on the farm while still supplying fresh produce markets. His family partnership...
What your cabbage seedlings should look like
FARMERS TEND TO ACCEPT THE seedlings they're given and don't pay much attention to what sort of condition they're in.
