Onions require understanding
'Stick to what you know and make changes gradually over a few seasons,' writes Bill Kerr.
How the Brits do it
'Five buyers for an entire industry simply doesn't add up in a free market scenario,' writes Mike Cordes.
From farm worker to award-winning farmer
Koos Mthimkulu, Grain SA's 2011 Developing Farmer of the Year, started off as a farm worker and is today a successful grain producer. He ascribes his achievement to hard work,...
Turning to tulips
The mountainous district of Barkly East in Eastern Cape is best known for its livestock and lucerne, but as Mike Burgess discovered, farmer Piet Steyn has broken with tradition and...
Sugar mill breathes hope into Pongola
Since buying Pongola Mill in 2009, TSB Sugar Holdings has made considerable investments in the mill and its staff and is developing its relationship with growers. This strategy promises to...
Making monoculture work
To many farmers and home gardeners, crop rotation is a holy grail – they’ll never plant the same crop consecutively in the same ground.
Why cabbage should be your first choice
There’s nothing worse than not having success with your first crop, so choose one that is cheap and easy to grow. In other words, choose cabbage.
Blight can make a bean crop worthless
Last week I mentioned that halo blight thrives in cooler conditions and spreads very rapidly in wet ones.
Roses from the Karoo
Shortly after Lyell van Rensburg settled on the 3 000ha farm Rietvlei near Graaff-Reinet in the 1980s, Grootfontein Agricultural College recommended she produce aloes instead of roses. She wasn’t convinced. Armed...
Failing land reform programme threatens litchi industry growth
Numerous failings within South Africa's land reform programme, and the uncertainties this is causing, have resulted in no new investment taking place on existing litchi farms.
Types of mulches – part 2
We look at using pine needles, leaves, lawn clippings, straw, compost and straw manure as mulch.
All-year citrus for the customer
The Van der Merwes of ALG Estates recently received the National Agricultural Writers 2010 Farmer of the Year Award. After the deregulation of agriculture, brothers All and Gerrit started marketing...
