Vegetables

I last visited the Kei Fresh Produce Market (KFPM) in January and vowed not to return until they had cleaned up the place and it could sell fresh fruit and vegetables with proper hygiene and food safety.

it gives me no pleasure TO REMIND South African market agents that "I told them so" a few years ago, but it must be said.

There are hundreds of cabbage varieties on the world market, each filling a slot for some climatic condition or purpose, and quite a few are sold in South Africa.

First, let's tackle the pasta. Bring a 4l“ pot of water to the boil. Add the 500g of fettuccine and let it boil for the time suggested on the packet.

I've borrowed the information in this week's column from the New York Times newspaper of 17 August 2010 - I thought you might find it interesting.

With careful planning you can make sure you don't end up with far too much of certain vegetables and not enough of others, writes Bill Kerr.

You can lose a lot of money if your crop goes to seed when you don't want it to. You need to know why and when this happens to take precautions.

'I see three previously disadvantaged farmers, but not one commercial farmer, market agent or buyer on the panel. They account for most of a turnover exceeding R8 billion and they don't even have a say!'

Most farmers don't pay enough attention to what's happening in the soil. We usually take our soils for granted - we only monitor the chemical composition, if that, and often leave that up to the fertiliser supplier.

Depending on which side of the fence you are on, 13 August proved to be a watershed day in the fresh-produce market sector.

Leafy greens like lettuce is an important part of most people's diets, especially as we approach the warmer months and salads return to our menus.

The answer is yes and no. IT depends. A prime benefit of organic produce is that it's free of pesticide residue, which is blamed for the progressive increase in cancer.

Something quite significant has happened on the Durban market. I recently contributed to a week's training session there for prospective salespeople. The significance is that this was a joint venture between the Durban Market Authority and the Durban Market Agents, the first of its kind on markets in South Africa.

Studies have found that marigolds increase the populations of nematode-trapping fungi, and other fungi that attack and destroy eelworm eggs.

Last week I gave A broad view of the issues surrounding credit sales on fresh-produce markets.

Moving from 600ha in Underberg to a 2ha tunnel farm in Margate involved a major leap of faith for Lewis and Charmaine Alcock. Today, they have reach peak production with tunnel farming with cucumbers.

Reading about using marigolds to suppress eelworms piqued my curiosity, so when the opportunity arose, I tried it for myself.

Different vegetables require a "push" at different stages, which is why it is important to understand how nitrogen works in the soil, and its subsequent availability.

The debate about which is more desirable, commission- or wholesale-selling of fresh produce, has bounced around the industry for years.

Many farmers apply nitrogen in the form of ammonia and can’t figure out why the crop doesn’t respond. It’s important to understand that, while plants can take up ammonia, most ammonia will be unavailable because of its position in the soil.