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Preparing for Fire Management

April 18, 2018

Now is the time for smallholders to begin to prepare for the fire season. When the dry season approaches there is one important piece of legislation which anybody who lives on a plot should know and understand and that’s the National Veld & Forest Fires Act of 1998 ), along with its amendments. That’s because […]

Eradication of Alien Vegetation

April 13, 2018

The sceptics among us might question why such a fuss is made about invasive alien plants. Perhaps we first need to define “problem plants” before we consider why they are regarded as a threat. A weed is a plant, especially a wild plant, growing where it is not wanted. A “declared weed” in South Africa […]

Taaipol

April 13, 2018

As autumn unfolds, smallholders look at their pastures to assess the condition of the grazing. Because our land is relatively limited, many of us will be confronted with a field that seems to have grass still thriving, although there are likely to be many patches where the sward has been grazed flat. On closer inspection […]

Channel and Save That Water

April 13, 2018

The recent rains might have resulted in areas of standing water on some smallholdings. Now would be a good time to consider setting up your own mini wetland, wildlife pond or marsh garden. If you already have water in your field that has not drained away or evaporated, you can design your pond next to […]

Take an Egg

April 13, 2018

Eggs are a symbol of this time of the year, arising out of the pagan celebration in the Northern Hemisphere of Spring and fertility. Those of us who keep hens on our smallholdings will be seeing a drop in egg production, as the days become shorter. Eggs have been described as nature’s piece de resistance. […]

Dogs on Smallholdings

April 13, 2018

Recently we wrote about how many cats we should keep on a smallholding. More than 85% of smallholders will have at least one dog on their property and most have three or four. You have to be really dedicated to cleaning, feeding and playing with a large number of pets. Under the Gauteng municipal by-laws, […]

DIY Balers

April 4, 2018

If you live on a couple of hectares and you don’t have horses, chances are you will finish up each year with a couple of paddocks of long grass which needs cutting and removing before each fire season. Once it’s cut and raked, what do you do with it? It’s hardly worth calling in a […]

Trees as protection of stock or crops

April 4, 2018

The planting of trees is an important aspect of the long and short term planning on a smallholding, as they play an important role as wind breaks and as shade givers. A windbreak is of course a barrier placed in the path of the wind to divert its flow upwards. Trees make the most effective […]

Cats on Smallholdings

April 4, 2018

The last Gauteng Smallholder reader survey revealed that about 42% of smallholders keep cats, but of those who do, the average is three cats per smallholding. According to the by-laws of most municipalities in Gauteng, owners are allowed to keep up to six cats on agricultural land. We’ve all seen the alarming television programmes where […]

Muscovy Ducks

April 4, 2018

If you are looking for poultry that is easy to care for, resists disease and controls flies at the same time, then Muscovy ducks have a number of advantages over other poultry. The ducks are resistant to most diseases, including Newcastle disease, they are hardy, they forage well for their own food, and reproduce easily. […]

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Our big problems

The land reform mess

Interesting times

Our water crisis

Citizen-driven environmental action project

Popular medicinal plant

Ins and outs of livestock auctioning

Blommetjie

My photographic career

In praise of my bakkie

Vegetarianism & fox hunting

How the Hatherley Hunt was named

Articles

Citizen-driven environmental action project

Popular medicinal plant

Ins and outs of livestock auctioning

Winter grass fires: how to prevent them, and how to fight them, and the law

Facebook

Preparing for Fire Management

Eradication of Alien Vegetation

Taaipol

Channel and Save That Water

Take an Egg

Dogs on Smallholdings

DIY Balers

Trees as protection of stock or crops

Cats on Smallholdings

Muscovy Ducks