Sheet mulching suppresses weeds, retains soil moisture and keeps the soil warm. A blanket for the soil.
Tag Archives: Organic farming
Today John the farmer is sheet mulching his broad beans.
Posted in ORGANIC PRODUCE
Tagged Bio-degradable, Eco-friendly, Organic farming, Plants, Recycling, Sustainable, vegetables, water-wise
Today John the Farmer is sprouting alfalfa seeds.
Sprouting seeds is easy. Place seeds in a jar and cover with gauze.
Cover seeds with water and leave to soak overnight.
Drain water through the gauze and stand the jar in bright light. Not sun, as this will dry the seeds out.
Thereafter, simply rinse the seeds with water and drain, every 8-10 hours until the seeds germinate and sprout.
Then enjoy their nutritious goodness any way you like.
Today John the Farmer planted up Tomato + Sweet basil seedlings.
Plant a guild of tomatoes, basil and marigolds for a flavorful and pest-free crop.
Today John the farmer planted up winter seedlings.
Today I am planting up kale, wasabi mustard, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, parsley and spinach for sale at Towerkop Nursery.
Posted in ORGANIC PRODUCE
Tagged herbs, Organic farming, Plants, Sustainable, vegetables
Today John the farmer is sheet mulching !
A Good use for Bad news…Today john the farmer is using newspaper to sheet mulch an area of the allotment !
Sheet mulching prevents weeds from coming up and retains the moisture in the soil.
A layer of well rotted biomass from the compost heap holds the newsprint down and prevents the paper from drying out.
I intend planting a ground cover of Sour fig (Carpobrotus) by making small holes in the newspaper and sticking the cuttings into them.
Update on the mulching and subsequent planting..
The fig tree raised bed is planted with sunflowers, gazanias and gem squash.
The trellis contains Jasmine, Aloe ciliaris and an epiphyte cactus.
Below it rambles a butternut squash.
Posted in ORGANIC PRODUCE
Tagged Bio-degradable, Eco-friendly, Organic farming, Recycling, Sustainable, water-wise
Today John the farmer is doing Hugelkultur !
Hugelkultur or hill culture is simply growing what you want on hills or mounds created out of rough biomass to improve the soil, increase drainage and at the same time prevent the soil from drying out.
I added a galvanized wire mesh tube or cylinder which i plan to use as a trellis for climbing plants.
The middle of the tube will filled with garden clippings, kitchen waste and leaves to create a ‘wormhole’.
The wormhole will concentrate earthworm activity from where they will spread out to the rest of the mound.
I must say this Hugelkultur method really works ! Three months later and all the veggies I put into the mound are reaady for harvest..The beans that I sowed must still climb the trellis but I am ready to replace most of the veggies with the summer seedlings.
Posted in ORGANIC PRODUCE
Tagged Africa, Bio-degradable, Eco-friendly, organic, Organic farming, Organic produce, Sustainable
Seven new duckies on the allotment.
Seven new duckies on the allotment !
Appropriately named call ducks: So cute at this stage before they start quacking and tearing into the succulents…
Today John the Farmer is germinating an avo pit.
Remove and clean pit. Make sure the narrow end points up. Don’t remove the brown skin.
Insert 3-4 toothpicks into the pit around the equator at a slight angle so that the pit rests in the water of your cup/ bowl/ glass.
Remember to top up with water as required.
Your Avocado pit will first root then shoot will appear.
Wait till young sapling has a few sets of leaves before transplanting out so that the top of the pit just sticks above ground.
Avocado’s are monoecious so they have both male and female flowers which don’t open at the same time so one should plant at least two nearby.
Progress after two weeks !
Towerkop Nursery 