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Types of Beekeeper

June 18, 2018

Beekeeping can take many forms: From a one-hive hobbyist who merely puts a bit of honey on his own table, through a hobbyist with 50 or more hives who does it to make a bit of pin-money, to a semi-professional and professional with hundreds of hives and, hopefully, a reasonable income. But the fact is […]

Offences against the National Veld and Forest Fires Act 1998:

June 18, 2018

The Act clearly outlines what is considered an offence and divides such offences into categories. There are penalties listed where a person lights, uses or maintains a fire in the open air or in a road reserve, as well as concerning smokers. It is an offence where a person on whose land a veldfire may […]

Homemade liquid fertilisers

June 18, 2018

Homemade liquid fertilisers made from free, natural ingredients, such as grass clippings or chicken manure, can give your plants the quick boost of nutrients they need to grow stronger and be more productive. Liquid fertilisers are fast-acting, so they are your best choice for several purposes. As soon as seedlings have used up the nutrients […]

Winter Tasks on your Plot

June 6, 2018

Winter is the time to carry out maintenance and repair tasks that we don’t have time for during the other months of the year on your smallholding. Plan your jobs, so that there isn’t a mad rush to finish everything in time for spring. Also it helps to draw up a budget now for the […]

Reduce the size of your lawn

June 4, 2018

When most of us were growing up, it was a given that a large patch of lawn, probably consisting of kikuyu, in our gardens was most desirable, and indeed the sign of a successful gardener and homeowner. Nowadays though we recognise that maintaining a lawn is not ecologically sound in terms of biodiversity and is […]

Put Blackjacks to good use

May 30, 2018

Many of us regard Bidens pilosa L. or the Blackjack as a weed and a pretty bothersome one at that. However we could embrace it as a source of food or medicine or as an insecticide. Indeed, the department of agriculture has even published a brochure on the cultivation of Blackjacks. And there we were […]

Fire Fighting

May 28, 2018

Already the Gauteng skies are being smudged with smoke from veld fires. Smallholders need to make sure that we have adequate firefighting equipment. Note that the equipment used to prepare burnt firebreaks such as firebeaters and backpack sprayers will not be sufficient to fight runaway fires successfully unless you have very many of them available […]

Acquiring sheep for a plot

May 25, 2018

Sheep are ideally suited to being kept on a smallholding. They can use vegetation which is unsuitable for human consumption and many thrive on hardy grasses and shrubs. Sheep are cheaper to buy and feed than cattle and they have a higher reproduction rate and shorter pregnancy period. This means that animal numbers can be […]

Water storage

May 21, 2018

Unless you are lucky enough to have a permanent spring bubbling away on your property, giving you an endless supply of water, the average borehole will be insufficient to pump constantly and endlessly. So, to provide for your irrigation needs, you will need to pump and store. Your choices for storage are earth dams, lined […]

Gauteng Aloes

May 14, 2018

Aloes are becoming more and more popular, but despite their rugged looks, they are not all as hardy as one might expect. So if you want to plant aloes, it makes sense to consider the aloes that occur naturally on the Highveld. “Never underestimate frost!” warns Gretchen Grenville of Grow Wild nursery. “Many people think […]

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Types of Beekeeper

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Types of Beekeeper

Offences against the National Veld and Forest Fires Act 1998:

Homemade liquid fertilisers

Winter Tasks on your Plot

Reduce the size of your lawn

Put Blackjacks to good use

Fire Fighting

Acquiring sheep for a plot

Water storage

Gauteng Aloes