Vegetables

When a farmer decides to buy a new tractor, does he choose the shiniest, most expensive model?

Last week, I mentioned how humus formation depended on nitrogen (N). Even when a large quantity of organic matter is present, very little humus can be created if the nitrogen...

A highly experienced market man recently told me he reckoned fresh markets would be gone within 10 years. That comment got me thinking.

Chemical fertilisers came into their own after the Second World War. They were convenient to use and food production became much easier, relatively speaking.

An agent on the Durban Market recently made an interesting remark to me.

Usually, a soil analysis gives the percentage of each cation as a measure of the total cations in the soil.

Winter came late this year and the impact on the markets has been almost disastrous for many products.

Continuing with our discussion of the soil analysis, we now come to phosphorous (P).

South Africa’s fresh produce commission markets have a number of unique features that set them apart from other markets around the world.

This article deals with interpreting a soil analysis.

As a soil’s fertility and condition improve, so the value of the soil increases dramatically. Generally, the price per hectare of farmland does not vary much across a region, but...

Shortly after the Second World War, a ‘Banana War’ erupted between the small producer countries in the Caribbean and the supermarkets, which were starting to flex their buying muscle.

If you have a proper understanding of the soil on your farm, you will be able to farm more efficiently – and get more enjoyment from farming.

I recently visited Harare with Prof Charles Whitehead from the University of Johannesburg for a two-day Banana Ripening and Post-harvest Physiology workshop for the employees of a large Zimbabwe-based farming...

In the 6 June issue of FreshPlaza.com, I came across an article entitled ‘The rise of Africa’s super vegetables’. “Indigenous vegetables are in vogue,” it said. “As people throughout East...

I wrote a column on powdery mildew in peppers some months ago, but would now like to address this important subject more fully.

Apart from reducing cyst eelworm, planting trap crops has other advantages.

I’ve always defended the producer’s right to market his produce as he sees fit. If this includes supplying direct to a supermarket, that’s fine. For a large producer, not having...

An integrated approach to controlling cyst eelworm usually produces the best results, but using a trap crop is perhaps the single most important method.

Over the years, I’ve listened to market people bemoaning the fact that producers supply direct to supermarkets.