Vegetables

Cold areas will soon get their first winter frosts. Minimise the damage by taking certain measures. Most often, a light frost will occur about a week into May in cold areas.

The concept of a farmers’ market is probably the oldest version of agricultural marketing we know and remains a popular choice for many all over the world.

You don’t fertilise cucurbits solely according to the plant’s requirements – you also have to take into account the soil’s fertility.

I’ve been devoting so much time to the spacing of Cucurbitaceae because this aspect is so little understood and has been a limiting factor for countless producers over the years.

Last week, I provided a ‘Market Agent’s Checklist’. But, as with most things in life, it turns out this checklist is far from one-sided.

In the last issue, the importance of spacing Cucurbitaceae was discussed. Aspects other than climate will influence the spacing.

The list that follows is by no means complete, but should serve as a guide to any producer who wants to check if they’re getting the best value for their money from their market agent.

Starting as a farm labourer at the age of 10, with no formal education, Ntuseni Nesane became a leading black commercial farmer and an award-winning tomato producer. The University of Venda has recently awarded him an honorary doctorate in agriculture. Peter Mashala visited him on his farm.

Market agents, by the very nature of their occupations – they represent producers in a financial capacity – have a law especially written to regulate their activities and protect the producer’s financial interests.

When planting any pumpkin, marrow, gem or other Cucurbitaceae, it’s important to get the spacing right. Get it wrong, and you could lose 50% or more of your yield.

I’m sure most readers find it perplexing if the management of a business spends precious money on ‘beautification’ when the basic infrastructure is crumbling into non-existence.

It’s extremely risky to plant tomatoes in the open in areas where hail and three-day spells of rain are common.

Bacterial diseases are extremely difficult to control and can be very destructive in tomatoes (and other crops).

One of the stipulations of Act 12 of the 1992 Agricultural Produce Agents Act is that a market agency must comply with the requirements of the Agricultural Produce Agents Council (APAC).

The other day, a market agent told me about a supposedly ‘loyal’ producer who had decided to bypass him and supply directly to an unnamed buyer in the same town, who had offered him a ‘better deal’.

We have already discussed bacterial wilt which sees the leaves and growing tip of an apparently healthy plant hanging due to lack of water.

‘VAC’ is my acronym. It stands for ‘visibility, availability and credibility’, and refers to the need for a market manager (MM) to be on the market floor as frequently as possible.

Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is a fungus in a hurry, and may already have done much damage if you’re not awake and watching out for the conditions which favour it.

Leaf miners need not be the threat they were when originally introduced.

Being a market manager (MM) on a fresh produce market is a hands-on business and not about skulking in sumptuous offices. Unfortunately, far too many of our current crop of MMs seem to prefer the latter option.