Vegetables

Occasionally I deviate from the norm and try to give readers some insight into the wider world of fresh produce.

Blackleg is a fungal disease that can be highly destructive. Fortunately, although there are no resistant varieties, it can be managed or prevented if you know how it spreads.

We’re into 2015. Time to haul out my crystal ball, give it a good shine and peer deep inside to see what lies in store for the year ahead.

Black rot (Xanthomonas campestris) is the most important cabbage disease. Thriving in warm, wet conditions, it is most active at 25°C to 30°C and therefore more of a problem in...

Some farmers think they can achieve good results only by sending their fruit or vegetables to one of the big markets.

Before we start on cabbage diseases, there are still a few sporadic pests that we should look at. One is the cabbage webworm (Hellula undalis).

There’s a truism among market agents: ‘Product is power’. The more product and variety you have on your floor, the more buyers you can attract and the better you can...

Several cabbage pests may be sporadic or seasonal. One of these is thrips.

According to a 7 November Farmer’s Weekly news item, we throw away roughly one-third of all the food produced on the planet – about three billion tons – annually.

Aphids are a problem in two ways. Firstly, they cause physical damage when feeding on the crop.

Nearly everyone who has ever grown brassicas has had a problem with the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella). Small wonder it is also called the ‘cabbage moth’.

The traditional route for a person entering the market agency business has seen the youngster working alongside an older person, receiving on-the-job training.

As soon as you have planted your cabbage crop, you should apply herbicide with insecticide to eliminate cutworms.

In his excellent book ,In the Driving Seat – Lessons in Leadership, Brand Pretorius quotes Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric: “Before you become a leader, success is all...

Many factors play a role in the spacing of cabbage – the process is not quite as simple as you might imagine.

Some (but not all) market agents have been doing it for years, but that does not make it acceptable.

A shortage of nitrogen is the single most common reason for a cabbage crop not reaching its full yield potential. This applies equally to the quantity applied as to how...

Traditionally, the fresh produce sector has been lax in attracting youngsters into the fold. But this is changing, and it’s encouraging to see the developments in recruiting that have taken...

Cabbage can be planted by hand or mechanically. For hand planting, the best tool is a home-made miniature hoe. This can be constructed by cutting up an old implement disc...

Farmers have been selling their own produce for centuries, in fact since the dawn of time.