Seasonal Rainfall Update: 2021

Introduction It is that time of year again! I have 8 seasons worth (i.e., 8 years) of rainfall data for our analytic scrutinization LOL! The rainfall season for this season and last season has been an immense improvement on our drought years... so lets take a closer look at the numbers, shall we? The Data…

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Seasonal Rainfall Update: 2020

Introduction We have been diligently tallying our seasonal rainfall since 2013 throughout the El Nino drought years. Since 2014 South Africa has faced severe droughts, crippling the water supply, which treatened to leave Cape Town without water in 2018! The deepening of the drought years also meant that I had scaled down the vegetable garden…

Advise for the Beginner Vegetable Gardener

Here I am going to provide a collection of articles, which will present the essential information for the beginner vegetable gardener or homesteader. A Vegetable garden consists of 4 key systems: Soil, Water, Plants & Animals. These systems are connect and influence each other, which can be illustrated as follows: Integrative Organic Gardening IOG The…

Frugal Living: Electricity & Water Saving Tips

Water Saving Tips Here in the highveld, i.e., Gauteng region of South Africa, we don't receive much rain during winter. Luckily the colder months and lower plant activity means that plants aren't as thirsty either. However, let's look at how to lessen your watering requirements even more, because let's be honest now: Who wants to…

Lessons from Gardening in a Drought: Drought Angels SA, Farmers in Distress, Boere in Nood & Water Shortage SA

In South Africa: South Africa is suffering from a crippling drought brought on by the worst El Nino in decades, starting in 2014. Cape Town (south point of South Africa) and the surrounding areas are basically in a drought disaster area at the moment as many farmers and villages do not have enough water due…

Sustainable, Productive and Economical Vegetable Gardening (Part 3): Integrated Organic Gardening

My vegetable garden is entering its 8th year and it has been a long journey of trial and error, many a dead or diseased plant and lots of research into various facets of food production along the way. As I have mentioned many times, organic gardening principles are not properly integrated and do not provide…

South Africa steering towards a Water Disaster Area: 50 L of water pp/day – the new normal #DayZero #ThinkWater

South Africa is suffering from a crippling drought brought on by the worst El Nino in decades, starting in 2014.  Cape Town (south point of South Africa) and the surrounding areas have become drought disaster area at the moment as many farmers and villages do not have enough water due to poor planning of infrastructure,…