Spiders: Biological Control – Garden Critter of the Month

Spiders at a glance Occupation: Predator Value to Gardener: 5/5 - Pest Controller! Danger to Humans: 4/5 – Some are very poisonous Availability: 5/5 – They’ll arrive in your garden Quick Intro Most people shriek at the sight of a spider and try their very best to stomp it out of existence. I believe that…

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Penny Royal: The Living Mulch

I can get really tired of weeding and become irritated when new ones pop up in the garden, especially in the areas that border my veg plots – AKA ‘The Weed Zones’! So I decided I would like to plant something there that would compete and displace the weeds, preferably something that is useful to…

Oregano: How To Grow – Herb of the Month

Oregano stats/requirements at a glance Ease of Raising: 5/5 – Very Easy, plant and leave Water: 1/5 – Minimal, weekly (especially in a container) Sun: 5/5 – Full sun Training: 3/5 – Moderate (keep in shape) Fertilise/Feeding: 1/5 – Minimal (at least once during the growing season) Time to Harvest: 1/5 – Immediate (purchased a…

Utilisation of Kitchen Scraps

  Due to the technological and financial advantages of our modern age a lot of food simply gets wasted. You would think that with the development of all our superior food production and storage capabilities food will not go to waste so easily. The average person today is more wealthy that many medieval kings, yet…

Solar Power in South Africa Part 4: Capacity, Design and Back-up Supply; Living with Solar in Gauteng, South Africa

Capacity, Design & Back-up Supply (Author: The Economist) A real life true journey of a South African family to go off-grid on sustainable energy supply and usage. Capacity: How big must my solar system be was probably the first question that we needed to answer back in 2014. Every family will have its own needs,…

Sustainable, Productive and Economical Vegetable Gardening (Part 4): Vegetable Garden Planting Guide & Management

When you consider an ideal vegetable garden I imagine that many of you (as well as myself at one point too) had the following image in mind: Vegetables arranged in neat regimented lines or blocks containing one type of vegetable, perfectly bordered by some type of hedging and clear weed free paths between the planted…

Natural (Bio)fertilisers & Living Mulches: The Edible Legumes

I have been running several posts on using plants as biofertilisers, living mulch and even chicken feed. This post is a follow up on the living mulches that I have been experimenting with. Several plants (which include many legumes) that can be used as green manures and green chicken forage. Previously, I have used Penny…