Climate, soil and potatoes

Potatoes have to be ridged and lifted. These two operations can be troublesome with certain clay soil, especially when the weather doesn’t play along.

Potato pieces

Sports medicine expert Dr Tim Noakes caused a minor flurry recently when he referred to the exclusion of carbohydrates, which includes potatoes, in an athlete’s diet.

Herbs – a beginner’s success story

While many emerging farmers usually battle to survive, being thrown in the deep end helped organic farmer Jimmy Ka-Botha to succeed. Today he supplies Woolworths and Pick n Pay. Peter Mashala visted him.

Starting off with potatoes

Potatoes are an amazing crop. The amount of nutrients produced on a hectare of potatoes is staggering. It’s virtually a complete food, with a high nutritional content and a good balance of these nutrients.

Doing their job?

Some market agents believe BEE agencies operating on markets are solely responsible for assisting and promoting small-scale farmers.

Use your herbicides more effectively

If you want lands free of weeds, herbicides must be used properly. The first principle is timing.

It’s happening!

I regularly attack politicians and their bedfellows, and highlight the damage they’re causing to SA’s fresh produce markets.

Other weeds to watch out for

There are a number of particularly bad weed species which can be tough and costly to deal with once established.

Success at Last?

Many role players have for years lamented the lack of commitment by municipalities when it comes to their fresh produce markets.

Follow me!

Many of my colleagues are worried about the future of commission markets in this country.

Coping with nutsedge

Officially, the world’s number one weed is nutgrass, more correctly called ‘nutsedge’, as it’s not a grass but a sedge. (Sedges don’t have nodes as do true grasses.)

Watch out for weeds

The appearance of one or two unknown weeds on my land has reminded me of the danger of leaving them unattended just because they appear to pose no threat due to their low numbers.

Adding value

Marketing fresh produce is a competitive and frequently expensive business as producers seek ways to improve margins.

Getting rid of paspalum

A type of kweek grass, called couch paspalum (Paspalum distichum), is gaining a foothold on many vegetable farms. Also known as ‘kweek paspalum’, many farmers confuse it with common kweek (Cynodon spp.).

Commitment is all

Since I seem to be lambasting politicians and bureaucrats all the time, permit me to illustrate the sort of situation I come across almost without exception in markets.

Making a point

Recently, I wrote about the necessity of ensuring vegetable transplants have enough nitrogen in the plug or in the plant to stimulate root growth and ensure an early start as well as uniform growth.

Growing Brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts is a luxury item not part of our daily cuisine and usually reserved for special treats. It is generally well known that this crop is a dedicated winter crop requiring cold for good performance.

Leave it to business

“It is the height of conceit for the government to believe it can devise a system that will work better than an unimpeded market.”

Understanding spray mixtures

With spray adjuvants, many farmers think that mixing a sticker and a wetter/spreader into the water are the same thing. This is certainly not true.

It takes passion

During a recent early morning walk through the massive sales halls of the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market I was yet again struck by the uniqueness of such a market.

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Vegetables