Preparing seedlings for the season and your conditions
Seedlings should vary according to the season. Bill Kerr shares how he learnt this vital lesson, and offers tips on how to harden seedlings.
Viruses that can attack a bean crop
Bill Kerr explains how bean common mosaic virus and bean yellow mosaic virus can infect a field and spread, leading to major crop losses.
What growers gain by having a seedling germination room
A germination chamber set at about 25°C leads to a high germination percentage and shortens the time span before seedlings are placed out in the nursery, saving the grower money.
New farmers’ seedling pitfalls
Inexperienced farmers may be tempted to grow seedlings from seed themselves, but they have much to gain by trusting a seedling grower at a nursery to perform this task for...
Use the correct growing medium for safe seedling production
Instead of buying expensive growing mediums for seedlings, farmers can make their own mixtures from local resources, such as manure, which are economical and produce excellent results.
Learn to solve your own crop problems
So-called experts often tell farmers what the problems are with their crops without being sure and just hoping for the best when suggesting solutions. Rather use your own experience to...
The pitfalls of gambling with vegetables on the market
The decision of what to plant should be based on average market prices in the long term, which enables vegetable growers to calculate what the market price fluctuations will be,...
How quality and marketing drive success for small farms
It is one thing to have a good product, but we need to bring its outstanding features to the attention of the purchaser, writes Bill Kerr.
How to build up humus in your vegetable crop
The importance of building up humus in vegetable fields cannot be overstated. Without achieving this, the soil will not become self-sustainable, writes Bill Kerr.
Bacterial diseases in beans are your crop’s biggest threat
Bill Kerr says he can’t overemphasise the importance of making sure that the bean seed you purchase is disease free.
Ways in which soil microbes and plants interact
A very important part of the success of this project is an understanding of the soil food web, in other words, how organisms that live in the soil interact with...
Boost soil health and yields by increasing organic matter
Bill Kerr says that increasing the organic and microbe content of your soil is the first step to ensuring healthier crops and greater yields.