The climate crisis resembles a huge planetary lockdown, trapping humanity within an ever-deteriorating environment ...

There is a moment when a never-ending crisis turns into a way of life ...

This seems to be the case with this Pandemic ...

If so, it’s wise to explore the permanent condition in which it has left us ...

• One obvious lesson is that societies have to learn once again to live with pathogens, just as they learned to when microbes were first made visible by the discoveries of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch ...

These discoveries were concerned with only one aspect of microbial life. When you also consider the various sciences of the earth system, another aspect of viruses and bacteria comes to the fore. 

During the long geochemical history of the earth, microbes, together with fungi and plants, have been essential, and are still essential, to the very composition of the environment in which we humans live. 

The pandemic has shown us that we will never escape the invasive presence of these living beings, entangled as we are with them. They react to our actions; if they mutate, we have to mutate as well.

This is why the many national lockdowns, imposed on citizens to help them survive the virus, are a powerful analogy for the situation in which humanity finds itself detained for good. 

Lockdown was painful enough, and yet many ways have been found, thanks in part to vaccination, to allow people to resume a semblance of normal life. 

But there is no possibility of such a resumption if you consider that all living forms are locked down for good inside the limits of the earth. 

And by “earth” I don’t mean the planet as it can be seen from space, but its very superficial pellicle, the shallow layer of earth in which we live, and which has been transformed into a habitable milieu by the aeons-long labour of evolution.

This thin matrix is what geochemists call the “Critical Zone”, the only layer of earth where terrestrial life can flourish. 

It’s in this finite space where everything we care for and everything we have ever encountered exists. 

There is no way of escaping our earth-bound existence; as young climate activists shout: 

“There is no planet B" 

Here is the connection between the Covid lockdowns we have experienced in the past two years, and the much larger, but definitive state of lockdown that we find ourselves in ...

we are ALL trapped in an environment ...

that we ALL have already altered irreversibly !!! ...

If we have been made aware of the agency of viruses in shaping our social relations, we must now reckon with the fact that they will also be moulded for ever by the climate crisis and the quick reactions of ecosystems to our actions. 

The feeling that we live in a new space appears again at the local as well as the global level. 

Why would all nations convene in Glasgow to keep global temperature rises below some agreed upon limit, if they did not have the sensation that a huge lid had been put over their territoryb? ...

When you look up at the blue sky, are you not aware that you are now under some sort of dome inside which you are locked? ...

Gone is the infinite space; now you are responsible for the safety of this overbearing dome as much as you are for your own health and wealth. It weighs on you, body and soul. 

To survive under these new conditions we have to undergo a sort of metamorphosis.

This is where politics enters. It is very difficult for most people used to the industrialised way of life, with its dream of infinite space and its insistence on emancipation and relentless growth and development, to suddenly sense that it is instead enveloped, confined, tucked inside a closed space where their concerns have to be shared with new entities: other people of course, but also viruses, soils, coal, oil, water, and, worst of all, this damned, constantly shifting climate.

This disorienting shift is unprecedented, even cosmological, and it is already a source of deep political divisions. Although the sentence “you and I don’t live on the same planet” used to be a joking expression of dissents. 

It has become true of our present reality. 

We do live on different planets ...

with rich people employing private fire fighters and scouting for climate bunkers ...

whilst their poorer counterparts are forced to migrate, suffer and die amid the worst consequences of the crisis ...

This is why it is important not to misconstrue the political conundrum of our present age. 

It is of the same magnitude as when, from the 17th century onward, westerners had to shift from the closed cosmos of the past to the infinite space of the modern period. 

As the cosmos seemed to open, political institutions had to be invented to work through the new and utopian possibilities offered by the Enlightenment.

Now, in reverse, the same task falls to present generations: what new political institutions could they invent to cope with people so divided that they belong to different planets ? ...

It would be a mistake to believe that the pandemic is a crisis that will end ... 

instead of the perfect warning for what is coming ...

the 'new climatic regime' ...

It appears that all the resources of science, humanities and the arts will have to be mobilised once again to shift attention to our shared terrestrial condition ...

Article Credits : Bruno Latour a philosopher and anthropologist, the author of 'After Lockdown' ... 

A Metamorphosis and the winner of the 2013 Holberg prize ...

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• Decisions were based on rational analysis, short shrift was given to employees who didn’t do their jobs in the same way, and there was little tolerance for emotion and intuition. This was the ‘autocratic’ management era, where the boss made the decisions and the employees jumped ...

• As the limitations of this insensitive style became evident, managers like myself began to realise the folly of their ways and listened a little more attentively to their staff ...

This was ‘participative’ management, which recognised that employees were not simply robots there to carry out your commands, but flesh-and-blood people with their own dreams, hopes and fears ...

• Next came the ‘collaborative’ style of management, where managers involved employees more fully in day-to-day decision-making and had far happier employees who delivered better results ...

Some years ago, I was asked to address a group of farmers. Having been through all of these management phases, I chose to talk about the evolution of management as a profession.

Books on management identify the traits and skills needed to make great managers, and in my address, I listed those I thought were the most important. 

I worked hard on that list, and thought I had pinpointed all of the main elements needed for achieving success as a manager.

But the COVID-19 pandemic showed me that I had left out one crucial quality ... a 'True Motivator'

On my original list I identified the following as the essential characteristics of any successful manager: ready to show trust; self-disciplined; good communication skills; a sense of humour; an entrepreneurial outlook; a stable temperament (never moody); loyal; humble; generous; energetic; calm under pressure; decisive; focused on issues, not people; and open and transparent ...

However, I admit that there is one critical trait I missed completely, and it’s one that managers should not only feel, but demonstrate too ... it’s 'Compassion'

'Compassionate Managers' devote time to stepping into someone else’s shoes and fully understanding their emotions and stresses. The word compassion means ‘to suffer together’, and that’s exactly the pain felt by compassionate people, triggering a desire to relieve the suffering of others ...

When you treat people with compassion, they never forget it. People will want to work with you not because of what you do, but because of who you are. COVID-19 has taught me that compassion may, after all, be the ultimate motivator. 

Indeed, there’s growing evidence that compassionate management has a direct impact on the bottom line, as it creates happier employees who are less stressed, more committed and more productive ...

Article Credits : Peter Hughes & Farmers Weekly

and 'tweeked' by Pete Moore of The GreenAgric Group, resulting from my personal experience 

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Through specially adapted farming techniques, farmers conserve a great variety of maize, also known as corn, and other biodiverse crops that could be key to food security, as global heating causes a more erratic climate. 

Maize has been grown in the Andes for thousands of years, in one of the highest farming systems in the world, specialising in more than 50 varieties of the cereal in a myriad of different sizes and colours.

It would be difficult to produce one variety of one crop. In one year you have frosts, hail, droughts or torrential rain.

“In the old days, the Inca People grew these Ecotypes and now we continue the path set down by our ancestors” 

There are ears of corn, ranging in colour from faintly yellowed white to deep purple. All have thick kernels and evocative names. 

Yellowish corncobs with red tinted kernels are called 'blood crier' ...

White cobs flecked with grey, are called chuspi 'small corn' ...

Historians believe what is now the world’s most widely grown cereal crop was first domesticated by People in modern-day Mexico about 10,000 years ago and subsequently spread south down the spine of the Andes to reach Peru about 6,000 years ago ...

Long before the climate crisis, these farmers’ ancestors adapted to growing crops in different niche Ecosystems, from icy mountain peaks to sunny valleys, and which have been identified as one of a handful of globally important agricultural heritage systems.

“With a few varieties, you could not face a farming year, so the response is to have many varieties. The frosts and hailstorms have always occurred and their ancestors knew how to face them” 

With more than 180 native domesticated plant species and hundreds of varieties, Peru has one of the world’s richest diversity of crops.

Backed by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the project supports the farmers to preserve the native species ...

“Peru is one of eight places in the world which is considered a centre of origin for agriculture” 

“The first inhabitants and their descendants, the peasant farmers who are here, started their adaptation to this landscape more than 10,000 years ago”

“Diseases like stem rust or blight arrive, sometimes we get frost or hail. That’s why we have our seed bank in order not to lose our maize Ecotypes, so we can recover what we’ve lost and resow those varieties”

‘We continue the path set down by our ancestors'

“But many young people migrate to the city because this doesn’t generate much income” 

“What we do doesn’t bring enough income to sustain the family, so they move to the city”

“With the climate crisis, there’s less harvest, but we substitute our diet with potatoes,”  

“It’s important to work with the different varieties of maize for our food security. With global heating, there are varieties that are more resistant to illnesses and pests.”

“When I was little, the sun didn’t shine with such intensity, the temperature was mild” 

“It’s as if we live in an 'Eden' in terms of food products, we have everything to hand. This is in contrast to city life, where “everything is money”, and which became even harder during the Covid-19 pandemic ...

The custom of ayni, reciprocal communal work, remains in these remote villages, but a bartering form of exchange, known as trueque, has been hit by the pandemic’s economic impact.

Genara Cárdenas, a farmer in Ccachin, Cusco.

‘With the pandemic the people don’t want to barter, they want money,’ says Genara Cárdenas, a farmer in Ccachin, Cusco. Photograph: Jorge De La Quintana

“We go to the market and we trade with the fruit and coca from the farmers in the valley,” says Genara Cárdenas, 55, from Ccachin. “But now with the pandemic the people don’t want to barter, they want money"

Financial pressures have affected the village’s traditional way of life, but their crops have helped them remain self-sufficient despite the economic problems.

Even so, the climate crisis presents new challenges, says 55-year-old farmer Victor Morales.

“When I was young, the rains, the frost, all had their time. But today everything has changed. We had many types of potatoes and maize, now we have varieties which are more resistant to climate change.”

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Today's posting is dedicated to ...

• all those who will be alone today ...

• all those who's 'families' have 'deserted' them ...

• all those who will not be so fortunate, to eat a sustainable meal today ... 

• all those who are homeless ...

• to all the domestic pets that have been abandoned and are starving today ...

Very unfortunately there are millions of people ...

here in South Africa, in Africa, and the World ... 

will not be celebrating Christmas today ...

as there are, millions of domestic pets that will ...

be going hungry today ...

Yes, the past two plus years have been 'extreme challenging' to say the least ... 

but my observation and experience, has shown that those who are more fortunate, have been 'slow' in coming forward ...

'slow' meaning 'not prepared to help'

It's easy and doesn't necessarily 'cost a fortune' to be a Philanthropist ... 

the true meaning of Philanthropy is broad and includes ... 

• giving of your time to help others ... 

• giving the car guard some change for looking after your vehicle and making it safe for you to return to your parking ... 

• 'Paying It Forward' when you receive assistance from others .

• ensuring that you show your concern and love for others by asking 'How are You ?' and then waiting for an answer ... instead of 'I trust you are well' which is a meaningless statement ...

• worse is not even having the common decency and respect to use someone's name in all forms of communication, and then not being respectful to say 'Thank You' ... 'Kind regards' ... 'Lots of Love' at the end of your communication.

Symptoms of glyphosate contamination include poor growth, chlorosis and retarded growth in the apical reaches of trees. 

Glyphosate has recently become associated with a number of problems in crop production.

“Glyphosate was originally developed by Stauffer Chemical in the 1960's as a chelating agent, which means it can bond to metal elements such as iron, manganese, zinc, calcium, nickel and copper. Monsanto then patented it as a herbicide in 1974”

Glyphosate kills plants by blocking a critical enzyme pathway known as the shikimic acid pathway. The enzyme is essential for plant respiration, so a plant that receives a full dose of glyphosate cannot survive unless it is engineered or evolves to be resistant. Glyphosate also weakens a plant’s defences against infectious organisms.

Trials and Analysis ...

Apart from compromising a plant’s defences and increasing pathogen populations and virulence, glyphosate can have indirect effects on the plant’s predisposition to diseases. These include reducing its growth and vigour, altering its physiological efficiency, and modifying the soil microflora that affect the availability of nutrients involved in physiological disease resistance.

International research on the impact of glyphosate on orchard production, has been conducted by Dr Don Huber, a former professor of plant pathology at Purdue University in the US.

Contamination ...

Glyphosate enters soil via direct application and spray drift, as well as from root exudates of plants that have absorbed the herbicide.

Accumulation is exacerbated in acidic and clay soils. “The problem has been found to be more severe in heavy clay soils than in lighter soils, as glyphosate chelates with cations in the former. It’s also worse in acidic soils, as glyphosate is desorbed by phosphorus,” 

“Glyphosate contamination is associated with progressive loss of vigour, flower bud abortion, diminishing root volume, chlorosis and poor growth/budbreak in the apical reaches of the tree.

“The contamination may cause a range of problems stemming from the destruction and disturbance of important synergistic soil flora and other soil fertility processes, and/or the tying up of important minerals involved in triggering the tree’s immune system,” 

Deactivation ...

To prevent glyphosate contamination, avoid using the chemical.

When problems with budbreak, root and apical growth occur, have the affected orchards and soils analysed to identify whether the cause is glyphosate contamination. If it is, ensure that there are adequate levels of calcium, magnesium and micro-elements in the soil and trees to detoxify the glyphosate.

Humates can be used to counter this effect. 

Glyphosate has the greatest impact on the roots of the tree, severely restricting its ability to absorb nutrients, including phosphate. 

Cover Crops ...

While soil type, sand, silt or clay, in an orchard is important, another aspect that should be considered is fractal geometry, a potential new way of analysing the root architecture in soil.

“Roots, hyphae and humus have massive surface areas, and the greater the surface area, the more opportunity for biochemical reactions to occur. Also, the more diverse the biome, the more synergy and efficiency occur,” 

Some plant root systems produce protective compounds called plant secondary metabolites. If these plants are grown as cover crops, they could potentially offer incidental protection if grown in the immediate vicinity of the primary crop.

Planting a wide mixture of cover crops will maximise their beneficial impact on the soil, as each crop has its own advantages. Oats, for instance, exude allelopathic compounds that suppress diseases and weeds.

“You need diversity, as this will also help to create a diverse population of soil organisms that can keep each other in check,” 

Article Credits : Glenneis Kriel & Farmers Weekly

 

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Festive Season Special Offer ...

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Greenhouse Farming presents a lucrative opportunity for hands-on farmers with an eye for detail. Quicker turnaround means a shorter time before return on investment, despite questionably higher input costs.

On the other hand, Greenhouse Farming is an exact science: what you put in can make or break the operation.

In most farming operations, the soil or growing medium requires more attention than any other aspect. Tunnel Farmers have a number of options.

Whichever growing medium is selected, it should be of high quality and sourced from a reputable supplier.

Sterilised ...

“You’re setting yourself up for failure by using inferior products, or those that haven’t been sterilised properly,” cautions Mbali Nwoko, the owner of Green Terrace, which cultivates peppers in Greenhouses in Johannesburg.

“I have several suppliers I rely on whom I can trust to deliver clean products. You can’t just use any old growing medium; it has to be sterilised properly to ensure there are no pathogens or chemicals that can harm the crops.

“The growing medium needs to have the correct pH levels and the saline content mustn’t be too high or it’ll burn the roots of the plants.”

“You must have complete control of what goes into the plant. The crops grow faster because you’re controlling the whole environment and how many nutrients the plant gets. You can get between 90% and 100% of your expected yield because of this. None of the nutrients that are added to the growing medium are wasted; everything is absobed.

The right medium ...

Every crop has its own unique needs, and with the variety of growth mediums on the market, farmers need to balance cost and efficiency.

“A common problem with seedlings is overwatering, which ultimately leads to root rotting. While draining excess water, a good growing medium retains optimal moisture levels in the root zone of the plant, ensuring full root development. and assistsng with aeration and prevents compaction of the soil or growing medium”

Matching the Growing Medium to the plant, is very important ...

Article Credits : Lindi Botha & Farmers Weekly

'Grow Your Own' ...

Sustainable Organic Food Crops

in GreenAgric Greenhouse Tunnels ...

for Improved Health

for Food Security

Only GreenAgric Offers ...

* Free Delivery to most places on SA

* Free Assistance with your DIY Tunnel Installations ...

* Free Ongoing 'Best Help and Advice' for growing your own Food Crops ...

GreenAgric are the Very Best Value for Money Tunnels in Southern Africa ...

Contact The GreenAgric Group on .

+27 72 387 2293

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on +27 72 387 2293

We are also available on Twitter*, MeWe*, Facebook and Messenger ...

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We look forward to hearing from you soon ...

Green Bonds, which are fixed-income financial instruments that offer environmental and/or climate benefits, will give farmers the opportunity to lower their carbon footprints.

A Green Bond must be used for projects that benefit the environment, such as paying for the installation of renewable energy generators on a farm.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest climate report in August this year, and the picture it paints is grim. According to the report, there is now scientific consensus that climate change is linked to more frequent droughts and floods, and an increase in intensity of these climatic events.

However, the report also states that the situation can be turned around if we take swift action to drastically reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the atmosphere.

In May of this year, the International Energy Agency released its ‘Net Zero 2050’ report, which describes a pathway to achieve zero emissions by this date. 

The takeaway from the report is that in order to achieve emissions targets, no new coal-or gas-power-generation utilities can be developed. Aggressive phasing out of current coal and gas is also recommended.

The report sets ambitious milestones: by 2030, all old coal power stations should be decommissioned, and by 2040, the remaining coal and gas utilities must be retrofitted. 

By 2050, 90% of all energy should be generated through renewable sources.

Green Finance ...

Moving a country from carbon-based power generation to renewables comes at a considerable cost, but it seemds as though funds are not difficult to come by.

At a recent webinar on Green Finance, it was stated that the world was 'awash with money looking for green investment opportunities' and the US$100 trillion (about R1,43 quadrillion) global bond market was an excellent place to start.

South Africa, with its dependence on coal for power, was at risk as the world moved towards Greener Power. 

This was because carbon border tariffs from traditional trading partners were rising and would continue to do so. 

South African agricultural exporters would thus find it increasingly difficult to compete if the country’s emission profile did not improve.

However, South Africa was also in a unique situation amongst developing countries in that it could issue bonds in rands, due to its strong and well-developed financial markets. 

This would enable the country to mitigate the currency risks that came with issuing bonds in global currencies.

“South Africa has the potential to fund a Green transition and be a world leader at the same time’’ 

What is a Green Bond ? ...

The key feature of a Green Bond is that the bond issuer has an obligation to apply the proceeds of the bond to projects and activities that have predetermined environmental benefits.

The bond issuer also has to report back to investors on what their capital has achieved.

Green standards for the agriculture sector are in the process of being established.

They include the first draft of the South African Green Finance Taxonomy, which is currently under development, and the Agricultural Criteria launched by the CBI in August this year. These standards may be used by financiers and investors to decide whether an agricultural project, asset or activity would provide an environmentally sound investment.

Agriculture has an important role to play in the larger project of funding a greener future, as it is both a source of and a sink for emissions. 

Agriculture and associated land-use change are responsible for 16% to 27% of global emissions, but the land-use sector receives only about 2,5% of public mitigation finance. 

In the private sector, Green Bonds are focused overwhelmingly on power generation and transport, with 86% being allocated there, and only 0,9% going to land-use sectors such as agriculture.

Agriculture is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with global agricultural yields in danger of declining by between 10% and 50% by 2030 as a result.

Criteria for Green Bonds ...

The latest announcement on agricultural criteria for Green Bonds is an attempt to stimulate financial flow towards agricultural projects that will either mitigate emissions, or stimulate adaptation and resilience in food systems.

More clarity can now be gained on Green Bonds and opportunities that exist for the farming sector. The report describes qualifying, as well as non-qualifying, crops and activities for agricultural green bonds.

Qualifying crops and activities include perennial and non-perennial crop production. 

Examples are lucerne, fruit trees, oil palm, coffee, tea, cocoa, rubber, oilseeds, grains, paddy rice, sugar cane, soya bean and cotton. 

Livestock production also qualifies, with cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, dairy, pigs and poultry, their waste and related grassland or pasture management all being included.

Excluded, or non-qualifying, from the agricultural criteria are controlled-environment agriculture, aquaculture and the farming of fish, and supply chain activities such as production and transport of purchased farm inputs, secondary processing or storage, distribution, packaging, handling and other logistics, and wholesale and retail markets.

The CBI also lists the agricultural activities that are eligible for the usage of the proceeds earned through a Green Bond. 

These may include capital- and operating-expenditure-related inputs such as land, seed, fertiliser, energy or information; capital goods such as land, equipment or housing; crop-based transformation processes such as crop cultivation and planted trees; agricultural outputs such as grains, vegetables, fibre, meat and dairy products; waste management such as composting, crop residue processing and recycling; and primary processing and storage before point of sale.

Many Benefits for Farmers ...

Individual farmers might not directly engage the debt capital markets, however they need to ready themselves to be part of green portfolios and green investment opportunities.

“This could be done through inclusion in Green Bond portfolios and helping to grow interest in Green Loans and the burgeoning carbon offsets market, sustainable certification programmes, and opportunities for investment in ‘greened’ value chains’’ 

The potential benefits of making these shifts include better cost of capital, as well as gaining access to new forms of capital and types of investors. 

Being part of green portfolios or green transactions could also bring reputational benefits, enhance relationships with financiers, and open opportunities for co-operation and growth.

Underpinning all of this, would be the operational resilience and marketing opportunities that farmers could achieve. 

Their operations would be better able to weather future crises and have the potential to sell green products and commodities.

Practical Steps to Take ...

On a practical level, farmers must prioritise measures such as sustainable and climate-resilient practices for the operational benefits these measures are likely to bring.

Farmers should make an effort to communicate their adopted practices to potential investors and presenters of green finance opportunities and, importantly, monitor these green initiatives to prove their worth.

“Financiers and customers want to understand what you’re doing on your farm”

It is no less important for farmers to measure non-financial performance, such as water usage and carbon emissions, as well as the results of improvement projects.

Farmers should also engage in sectoral networks and developments such as the Sustainable Landscape Finance Coalition (SLFC), an initiative that brings together experts from the private and public sectors to find innovative financial solutions to support sustainable conservation across South Africa.

“In addition, keep track of what’s happening in the finance arena, such as the National Green Finance Taxonomy Development. There might be opportunities depending on your situation”

There is an abundance of global capital for Green Investments. But the challenge lies in connecting the money through the correct instrument to the correct project.

“Financial products can be seen as toolboxes filled with different tools. You need to use the right tool for the specific need. The same applies to Green Bonds, you need to match the financial instrument with the financial and sustainability needs of the project’’

Green bonds should not be seen as a tool that fits all needs. In addition, they may not be cheaper than regular bonds, and could therefore cancel out their main purpose, which is to promote green investments over traditional options.

That being said, there are many opportunities for the sector to invest in a greener future.

“Think about the opportunity to re-engineer the dairy industry for more efficient water and waste management, or an initiative to do energy transition projects that encompass an entire industry, such as citrus. All agriculture industries will benefit from more efficient water usage’’

Farmers should think of Green Bonds as one of many opportunities to gain access to finance for green projects.

“The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s position that positive tax incentives are the most effective tool to stimulate behavioural change. An example would be the new provision in our tax regime that allows for renewable energy projects to be deducted much sooner than the normal lifespan provision. Also consider the tax benefits that a farmer can access if portions of land are declared protected areas.”

The CBI criteria for agriculture allow Green Bonds to be used for funding an activity outside of a production system that enables the production system to help mitigate climate change or enhance its climate resilience.

“This is a critical link to carbon payments and an integrated approach to green finance solutions in a sustainable agricultural landscape’’

Article Credits : Wouter Kriel & Farmers Weekly

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A companion planting guide such as this one will show you which vegetables and flowers support or inhibit the growth of other plants and/or which pests they deter.

Basil ...

Plant near: most garden crops

Keep away from: rue

Comments: improves the flavor and growth of garden crops, especially tomatoes and lettuce. Repels mosquitoes.

Beans, Bush ...

Plant near: beets, cabbage, carrots, catnip, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, marigolds, potatoes, savory, strawberries

Keep away from: fennel, garlic, leeks, onions, shallots

Comments: potatoes and marigolds repel Mexican bean beetles. Catnip repels flea beetles.

Beans, Pole ...

Plant near: corn, marigolds, potatoes, radishes

Keep away from: beets, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, shallots

Comments: same as for bush beans.

Beets ...

Plant near: broccoli, brussels sprouts, bush beans, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kohlrabi, onions

Keep away from: charlock, field mustard, pole beans

Comments:

Borage ...

Plant near: squash, strawberries, tomatoes

Keep away from:

Comments: repels tomato worms. Improves flavor and growth of companions.

Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts ...

Plant near: beets, buckwheat, calendula, carrots, chamomile, dill, hyssop, marigolds, mints, nasturtiums, onions, rosemary, sage, thyme, wormwood.

Keep away from: strawberries

Comments: marigolds repel cabbage moths. Nasturtiums repel aphids.

Cabbage and Cauliflower ...

Plant near: broccoli, brussels sprouts, celery, chard, spinach, tomatoes.

Keep away from: strawberries

Comments: tomatoes and celery repel cabbage worms.

Cantaloupe ...

Plant near: corn

Keep away from:

Comments:

Carrots ...

Plant near: cabbage, chives, early potatoes, leeks, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, rosemary, sage, salsify, wormwood.

Keep away from:

Comments: onions, leeks, and wormwood repel carrot flies

Chives ...

Plant near: apples, berries, carrots, grapes, peas, roses, tomatoes.

Keep away from:

Comments: Improves flavor and growth of companions. Deters aphids and Japanese beetles.

Corn ...

Plant near: beans, cucumbers, early potatoes, melons, peas, pumpkins, soybeans, squash.

Keep away from:

Comments: soybeans deter chinch bugs.

Cucumbers ...

Plant near: beans, cabbage, corn, early potatoes, radishes, sunflowers.

Keep away from: late potatoes

Comments: Radishes deter cucumber beetles. Cucumbers encourage blight in late potatoes.

Dill ...

Plant near: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, onions

Keep away from: carrots

Comments: Improves flavor and growth of cabbage family plants.

Eggplant ...

Plant near: green beans, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes

Keep away from:

Comments: green beans deter Colorado potato beetles.

Garlic ...

Plant near: cabbage, cane fruits, fruit trees, roses, tomatoes

Keep away from: peas, beans

Comments: deters Japanese beetles and aphids. A garlic oil spray deters onion flies, aphids, and ermine moths. A garlic tea helps repel late potato blight.

Kale ...

Plant near: aromatic herbs, buckwheat, cabbage family, marigolds, nasturtiums

Keep away from: pole beans, strawberries

Comments:

Kohlrabi ...

Plant near: cabbage/cauliflower companions (except tomatoes)

Keep away from: fennel, pole beans, tomatoes

Comments: kohlrabi stunts tomatoes

Lettuce ...

Plant near: beets, carrotsparsnips, radishes, strawberries

Keep away from: cabbage family

Comments: lettuce tenderizes summer radishes.

Marigolds ...

Plant near: all garden crops

Keep away from:

Comments: stimulates vegetable growth and deters bean beetles, aphids, potato bugs, squash bugs, nematodes, and maggots.

Marjoram ...

Plant near: all garden crops

Keep away from:

Comments: stimulates vegetable growth.

Mustard ...

Plant near: alfalfa cover crops, fruit trees, grapes, legumes

Keep away from:

Comments: stimulates growth of companion plants.

Nasturtiums ...

Plant near: apples, beans, cabbage family, greenhouse crops, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, squash

Keep away from:

Comments: repels aphids, potato bugs, squash bugs, striped pumpkin beetles, and Mexican bean beetles and destroys white flies in greenhouses.

Onions ...

Plant near: beets, cabbage family, carrots, chamomile, lettuce, parsnips

Keep away from: beans, peas

Comments: deters most pests, especially maggots.

Oregano ...

Plant near: all garden crops

Keep away from:

Comments: deters many insect pests.

Parsley ...

Plant near: corn, roses, tomatoes

Keep away from:

Comments:

Parsnips ...

Plant near: onions, radishes, wormwood

Keep away from:

Comments: onions and wormwood help keep root maggots from parsnips.

Peas ...

Plant near: beans, carrots, corn, cucumbers, early potatoes, radishes, turnips

Keep away from: garlic leeks, onions, shallots

Comments:

Peppers ...

Plant near: basil, carrots, eggplant, onions, parsley, tomatoes

Keep away from: fennel, kohlrabi

Comments:

Potatoes ...

Plant near: basil, beans, cabbage family, corn, eggplant, flax, hemp, marigolds, peas, squash

Keep away from: apples, birch, cherries, cucumbers, pumpkins, raspberries, sunflowers, tomatoes, walnuts

Comments: hemp deters phytophthora infestans. Basil deters potato beetles. Marigolds (dug into crop soil) deter nematodes.

Radishes ...

Plant near: chervil, cucumbers, lettuce, melons, peas, nasturtiums, root crops

Keep away from: hyssop

Comments: radishes deter cucumber beetles. Chervil makes radishes hot. Lettuce helps make radishes tender. Nasturtiums improve radishes' flavor.

Rosemary ...

Plant near: beans, cabbage, carrots

Keep away from:

Comments: repels bean beetles, cabbage moths, and carrot flies.

Sage ...

Plant near: cabbage family, carrots, tomatoes

Keep away from: cucumbers

Comments: deters cabbage moths and carrot flies. Invigorates tomato plants.

Soybeans ...

Plant near: corn, potatoes

Keep away from:

Comments: chokes weeds and enriches soil.

Spinach ...

Plant near: celery, cauliflower, eggplant, strawberries

Keep away from:

Comments:

Strawberries ...

Plant near: borage, bush beans, lettuce, pyrethrum, spinach

Keep away from: cabbage family

Comments:

Sunflowers ...

Plant near: cucumbers

Keep away from: potatoes

Comments: can provide a trellis and shelter for shade-loving cucumbers.

Swiss Chard ...

Plant near: bush beans, kohlrabi, onions

Keep away from: pole beans

Comments:

Tarragon ...

Plant near: all garden crops

Keep away from:

Comments: improves vegetables' flavor and growth.

Thyme ...

Plant near: all garden crops

Keep away from:

Comments: deters cabbage moths.

Tomatoes ...

Plant near: asparagus, basil, cabbage family, carrots, gooseberries, mustard, parsley, onions, rosemary, sage, stinging nettles

Keep away from: cucumbers, fennel, kohlrabi, potatoes, walnuts

Comments:

Turnips and Rutabagas ...

Plant near: peas

Keep away from: knotweed, mustard

Comments: mustard and knotweed inhibit the growth of turnips and rutabagas.

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• HelloChoice is a digital marketplace that connects fresh fruit and fresh vegetables direct from farm to buyer. Their dynamic platform displays fresh produce market prices in the convenience of your personal device. By digitising the sale of fresh bulk fresh produce,

HelloChoice is your best place to buy fresh vegetables and fruit.

They market sustainable produce for the convenience of both Seller and Buyer. The wide range of produce includes:

• Fresh produce: fruits and vegetables

• Wholesale dry beans bulk

• Grains such as: bulk sugar , maize, samp .

• Frozen products

• OneFarm Share is a digital platform that multiplies food donations and streamlines procurement directly from farmers and food producers to registered charity organisations.

OneFarm Share facilitates the smooth delivery of the right produce, to the right place, at the lowest possible cost through an online marketplace collaborating with audited and established food distribution partners

HelloChoice® and OneFarm Share® were founded to build a thriving trading community of Buyers and Sellers and address broader Food Security and Socio-Economic needs.

 

Following weeks of heavy rainfall, prices for staple fresh produce, tomatoes and potatoes, have skyrocketed.

The wet weather has wreaked havoc on harvests, with fewer tomatoes and potatoes arriving at fresh produce markets.

If the rain persists, that may bode badly for prices going into 2022.

Tomato prices in South Africa have skyrocketed once again after major producing regions experienced heavy rainfall over the past two months.

The price of the fruit surged 21% to R5,40 per kilogram in one week, following wet weather that affected harvests. The supply shock resulted in fresh produce markets around the country receiving significantly fewer tomatoes.

“The latest tomato price increased by 21% to R5,40 per kilogram last week, which was due to a 19% decrease in supply levels” 

If we continue to have a wetter climate, tomato prices will likely continue to increase next year.

Tomato volumes in the country's six largest markets halved from 1,800 pallets on 26 November to 928 pallets by 2 December.

During October and November, major producing region Limpopo experienced more rainfall than usual for the time of year.

“There will be other producing regions like the Western Cape coming into production shortly, so it is difficult to predict what will happen with prices”

Given that tomatoes are a staple food in the country, any drop in supply is usually immediately felt as prices spike while demand remains constant.

Tomatoes are not the only staple food that has seen a significant price spike. Potatoes also saw a massive increase in prices.

For a 10 kilogram bag of potatoes, consumers are now paying R41,29, a surge of 39%.

“When we look into the latest price movements in the vegetable industry, we saw the potato prices increasing by 39%, as was expected last week, to R41,29 per 10 kilogram bag. This was mostly due to higher rainfall and lower volumes available on the markets last week"

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Many types of irrigation are available; it will pay you to explore all the options carefully before making a commitment.

It is well known, for example, that drip irrigation uses less water than other systems. Some farmers choose it based on this fact alone, and end up paying the price for not doing their homework.

A farmer told me recently that he planned to use this system on his broccoli and cauliflower.

I pointed out to him that, although he would indeed save water, he needed to keep his brassicas cool during heatwaves for these crops to perform, and drip irrigation did not perform this vital function.

Spray irrigation, by contrast, wets the leaves and soil surface, and evaporation of this water has a dramatic cooling effect. Some farmers apply a light irrigation daily during a heatwave to prevent stress.

I told the farmer there was another good reason to avoid drip irrigation: he would lose out at the market. A heatwave causes yields to drop, resulting in shortages and hence higher prices. If the farmer used drip irrigation, he would not only compromise his crop, but also lose out on higher prices!

Advantages ...

Of course, when used on the correct crop, drip irrigation has a number of key advantages:

It can operate at a lower pressure ...

If you are growing a crop like pumpkin and watermelon with a wide spacing, you don’t waste water on areas where there is no root system to take it up;

It is ideal for crops where wetting the leaves can cause disease. This makes it the favoured system for tomatoes and crops grown in GreenAgric Greenhouse Tunnel ...

Dripper tubes come in various forms ...

Round dripper lines, come in various wall thicknesses; the thicker the wall, the better it resists damage, and the longer the lifespan of the line. Lines like these can last for many years.

A word of caution ...

Drip Irrigation is susceptible to blockages and therefore requires clean water. And if you farm in an area supplied by water with a high mineral content, calcium can build up in the tubes. In this case, you will need to flush the tubes when necessary.

Flow rates ...

Drip irrigation systems have different flow rates and opening positions. Ideally, the drippers should be aligned with the plants in the row; this makes it easier to keep them moist after transplanting.

As the root system expands, it becomes less of an issue.

When starting off with a dripper, it’s not easy to determine the degree of wetting by merely glancing at the soil surface. An onion-shaped wet area develops in the soil profile under the dripper.

In sandy soils, this takes the shape of a long onion; in clay soils, it is shaped like a flat onion. This is due to capillary action; with clay soil, the soil particles are close together, allowing the water to move much further sideways through capillary action than in the case of sandy soil.

Take careful note of how the soil is wetted after irrigation. All too often, beginners want to see more evidence of wetting on the soil surface and can easily over-irrigate, causing leaching of nutrients. Rather under-irrigate the first time and adjust as needed.

Article Credits : Bill Kerr & Farmers Weekly ...

Bill Kerr is a Vegetable Specialist 

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in GreenAgric Greenhouse Tunnels ...

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Confirm & Pay for your GreenAgric Greenhouse Tunnels by latest 15th December 2021 and ... 

Receive a 20% Discount on our published prices ...

Click on the link below to get more information ...

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If the world is to meet the ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century as outlined in the Paris Agreement on climate change, the food industry is going to have to play its part. How might the food we eat change as 2050 draws near?

Raising livestock contributes a significant proportion of the food industry's climate emissions.

Livestock alone makes up around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

By reducing the need for dairy cows, it is hoped such solutions might also reduce the amount of methane – a potent greenhouse gas which traps up to 25 times more heat than CO2 during its first 100 years in the atmosphere – produced by the millions of cows worldwide as they digest their food.

The food industry as a whole accounts for a third of our carbon emissions. 

Putting food into the mouths of billions of people every day is a monumental task and one that is likely to get even greater as human populations increase. 

From deforestation to transport, waste management to food storage, each step of the food chain brings with it a high carbon footprint.

There are innovations being developed by researchers that could also help to reduce emissions from the food we eat.

Regenerative Agriculture, which aims to improve the health of soil by using practices that disturb the soil less, allowing soil's organic matter to regenerate, and rotating crops so the soil retains a diverse range of nutrients. Soil can act as a carbon sink as plant matter decomposes and becomes locked away in the earth. But if the soil is disturbed by excessive tilling, for example, that carbon can be released back into the atmosphere.

The UK-based project, AgriCaptureCO2, is also developing a way to measure the carbon captured in soil, using satellite images, farmers' data and soil samples. The aim is for farmers to be able to track their efforts to put more carbon in the ground.

Another major innovation in farming in recent years has been vertical farming. Vertical farms can grow crops much faster than fields can.

There are cost-effective in areas of the world where climates are so extreme that it's difficult to grow crops with traditional farming methods, or so remote it's difficult to get food to people.

Vertical farming will also need to find its place in the global supply chain to supply the right kind of food that needs growing, Burnett says.

"You have a lot of innovator companies in this space who are competing. At the moment they're separate from traditional farmers, but there's a lot of potential to join up and be better linked into the food supply. This will have to happen."

But while high-tech solutions could help to reduce the carbon footprint of farming, it may also require some changes in consumer behaviour.

We must change what we eat to change the food system.

An estimated 17% of food grown around the world in 2019 was wasted at various points in the food chain, amounting to 931 million tonnes

"At the turn of the century, we were growing enough calories to feed 10 to 12 billion people, but we only had seven billion people on the planet.

At least 61% came from households, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, while the rest occurring during harvesting, transport, processing and retail. Not only does this mean the carbon released while producing the food is also essentially wasted, but as the food rots, it releases more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 

"If we reduce demand enough, we don't have to have very intensive farming, we don't have to use a lot of chemicals, we don't have to destroy biodiversity,"

Ultimately, the whole food system needs to change, including how we think about, package and transport food, how we regulate it and trade it.

"It's not a silver bullet. The whole innovation architecture and the innovation of governance systems is really important to get the whole food system to transform into a low carbon emissions system," 

If the world is to meet the ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century as outlined in the Paris Agreement on climate change, the food industry is going to have to play its part. How might the food we eat change as 2050 draws near?

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Plant breeders, seed companies, professional farmers and veteran gardeners possess specialized knowledge that would greatly benefit the average home gardener. I’ve spent countless hours working with such specialists during my more than 30 years as a landscape designer, and I have grown numerous edibles in my trial garden. Thanks to this research, I’ve come up with my Top 10 List of edible-plant facts that will increase your plant-growing expertise. Some cover plant basics, some touch on scientific technicalities, and some are crop-specific, but all will help you grow an even better garden next season.

1. Watch Out for Nitrogen Deficiency in Plants ...

Nitrogen is as important to plants as protein is to animals. Nitrogen-starved plants look paler than normal, and their lower leaves start to yellow, which is especially evident on squash, peppers, broccoli and other heavy-feeding annuals. When I mention that a plant needs nitrogen to a gardener, I often hear, “But I followed the directions on the fertilizer package!” The dosage suggested on the package is only an average, however; many factors influence how much nitrogen you should actually apply. Your soil may be sandy and allow nutrients to quickly leach away, in which case you should be diligent about building soil quality by adding organic matter. Or, perhaps the bag of chicken manure you applied was sitting at the nursery too long and the nitrogen volatilized into the air before you bought it. Or, maybe a particular plant variety is an especially heavy feeder.

That said, some gardeners over-fertilize, which can be just as damaging as not applying enough. Use your eyes as your guide to judge the health of your crops, and regard the directions on any fertilizer package as a starting point, but not a set rule.

2. Which Crops to Start from Seed vs. When to Use Transplants ...

The plants at any garden center entice growers to head home with a full load of transplants. But, just because one can buy peas, dill and cucumbers as transplants, or start them indoors at home, doesn’t mean it’s necessary — seeds of most plants can be sown directly in the garden. The $3 you’d spend on one dill seedling, for example, would be better spent on a packet of 50 dill seeds.

Cabbage and Lettuce ...

Cabbage and lettuce prefer the cooler temperatures and shorter days of spring and fall, which makes them well-suited to be eye-catching companions for spring’s yellow daffodil blooms.

I recommend shelling out money for transplants — or spending time to start seeds early indoors — only when you need to give certain crops a head start on the weather or to make plant spacing easier. In most regions, the only plants that really need the extra growing time are the longer-season crops, including tomatoes. You may also choose to transplant brassicas, such as broccoli, to take advantage of windows of cool weather. Most other crops will grow successfully if you sow seed directly outdoors. Many crops will actually produce better when direct-sown — particularly root crops. Follow the timing directions on your seed packets for best results.

When you do decide to purchase transplants, choose strong plants that aren’t too much bigger than the pot they’re in. Garden centers like to sell bigger plants at higher prices, but these plants are often stressed and root-bound, and they usually won’t grow as well after transplanting as smaller, younger plants would.

3. Success with Short-Day Plants ...

Some edible plants are referred to as “day-length sensitive,” although day length is a misnomer because these plants are actually sensitive to the number of hours of darkness. Some crops are short-day plants, typically those grown in spring and fall, and some crops are long-day plants, which require more than 12 hours of light to flower. Day-neutral plants flower regardless of day length. For general information on how day length affects many different plants, and to determine the number of sunny hours at your garden’s latitude, refer to Johnny's Selected Seeds.

A good example: Most gardeners plant cilantro in spring, and are frustrated when it goes to seed just six weeks later. Cilantro is a short-day plant that needs cool weather. Instead of trying to keep it going through longer summer days (unless you’re growing it for coriander seeds), plant it in late summer and it will grow until struck down by a hard frost. For a cilantro-flavored summer herb, try papalo, which is a Mexican warm-season annual with a related flavor.

4. Basic Botany Vocabulary ...

Some key edible-plant facts that cause confusion among many gardeners are the definitions of common plant and seed terms, such as genetically modified (GM), hybrid and open-pollinated — and the media often gets these wrong, too. So, let’s review.

The two main seed types are hybrids and open-pollinated. The open-pollinated varieties are either self-pollinating or cross-pollinating; in reality, many plants do a little of both. The flowers on self-pollinating plants, such as tomatoes, each contain male and female parts and can pollinate themselves. Other plants, including squash and cucumbers, produce male and female flowers that cross-pollinate. To produce a crop, insect pollinators, wind or gardeners must transfer pollen from a male flower to the pistil of a female flower.

To save seed, you’ll want to grow open-pollinated varieties, which can duplicate themselves “true to type” (the offspring will be similar to the parent). Often noted as “OP” in seed catalogs, they offer a long-term advantage: If you save seed for a number of years, the variety will become more acclimated to your garden’s conditions. Except for a few edibles, such as potatoes and apples, heirloom varieties are open-pollinated.

If you grow multiple open-pollinated varieties of a cross-pollinating crop, you’ll need to separate the varieties by distance or barriers; otherwise, the pollen will mix and the resulting seed will produce a combination of the varieties. Say you have two OP zucchini varieties planted next to one another. You’ll need to cover them separately and hand-pollinate the flowers for the seed to produce true-to-type offspring. If you don’t plan to save seed, then don’t worry about this detail.

Hybrid varieties are crosses between two closely related plants or animals (think of breeding a horse with a donkey to get a mule). Seed breeders select special lines and then purposely cross them to combine the best traits of the two lines. Identified in catalogs as “Hybrid” or “F1,” these varieties can offer valuable characteristics, including disease resistance, high yields or uniform ripening. Seeds from hybrids will not grow true to type, so you can’t save seed from these plants.

Genetically modified (GM) varieties are created in a lab via a complex process wherein selected genes from any organism with desirable traits are inserted into a plant, whether related or not. For example, scientists take genes from the bacteria Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) and incorporate them into corn plants to make these varieties toxic to common corn pests. The plant’s DNA is altered in ways that couldn’t naturally occur, and the Bt pesticide is produced in every cell of the plant, which means that humans consume it when they eat the corn. The cost of development has limited GM plants mainly to large-scale agriculture. Most processed foods contain GM soy, corn or sugar. GM sweet corn, papaya and summer squash are in supermarkets, and the USDA has approved GM potatoes and apples.

5. Warm-Weather Crops vs. Cool-Weather Crops ...

Edible plants are generally classified as either warm- or cool-season crops. How can you know which crops are which? Here are two simplified rules to help: If you eat the tuber, root, leaf or flower bud, the vegetable usually prefers cool conditions. If you eat the fruit or the seeds, the vegetable needs warm conditions to produce well. So, carrots (roots), spinach (leaves), and broccoli (buds) are all cool-season crops. Tomatoes (fruit), and beans (seeds) are warm-season vegetables. Of course, there are exceptions: Peas (seeds) are cool-weather plants, and sweet potatoes (tubers) need heat. These two rules can still be a guide, though, especially when names are deceiving — for example, winter squash (fruit) needs a long summer growing season.

6. Climate Considerations When Growing Tomatoes ...

Garden-catalog writers, chefs and home growers rave about the flavor of many large heirloom tomatoes, such as ‘Brandywine.’ Most of these large tomatoes have many sections, or “ovaries” (often eight to 12 per fruit). For the tomato to properly develop, each ovary needs to be fertilized. Temperature plays a major role — daytime temps need to be between 65 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with humid nights hovering between 60 and 70 degrees. At temperatures outside of this range, pollen may be less vigorous and blossoms could abort (known as “blossom drop”).

While nearly all tomato varieties will suffer outside of this optimal range, certain varieties, which are generally smaller and produce faster, can handle weather fluctuations better than larger, multi-ovaried heirlooms. If your climate doesn’t fall in the preferred range, you may have more success with heirlooms that have a simple, round shape, which indicates that the fruits have only one ovary and pollination will be more reliable. Consider any cherry types, or these varieties: ‘Black from Tula,’ ‘Black Plum,’ ‘Black Prince,’ ‘Emmy,’ ‘Siberian,’ ‘Stupice’ and ‘Vorlon.’

7. Indeterminate Tomato Varieties Have Better Tomato Flavor ...

“Determinate” and “indeterminate” are terms used to describe a tomato variety’s growth habit — but many gardeners don’t realize these categories relate to flavor, too. Most determinate tomato plants have fewer leaves per fruit than their sprawling indeterminate cousins. These compact determinate plants have the advantage of growing better in containers and producing all of their harvest at once, which makes them great for processing. But, don’t expect them to be as flavorful as the vining indeterminate varieties that have more leaves to convert sunlight into sugars and, thus, develop more intense, complex flavors.

8. When to Use Grafted Vegetables ...

Grafted edible plants start with a vigorous, disease-resistant rootstock to which a named variety is grafted, as is the case with most fruit trees. The latest research and my experience indicate that grafted vegetables are most advantageous if you want to grow certain edible plants, such as tomatoes or eggplants, but your garden provides stressful conditions, such as limited water, poor soil or disease pressure. If that’s the case for you, locate the best grafted plant for your conditions using MOTHER’s Seed and Plant Finder. Grafted plants are expensive, but you can research the subject, buy seeds of vigorous rootstocks, and try grafting your own — learn how by reading How to Graft Tomatoes. Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Harris Seeds and Territorial Seed Co. all offer seeds of tomatoes that make good rootstock. Varieties that are good candidates for grafting onto rootstock are ‘Brandywine,’ ‘Cherokee Purple,’ ‘Mortgage Lifter’ and ‘San Marzano.’

9. Grow Blueberries in Acidic Soil ...

Blueberries are a delicious and colorful addition to any garden, but you can’t plant them just anywhere and expect them to thrive. Start by choosing the right variety for your climate, and then consider your soil. Blueberries need acidic soil (pH 4.5 to 5.5). After planting, you must keep the soil acidic, because blueberry roots don’t absorb nutrients well in neutral or alkaline (also known as “basic”) soil.

Test your soil often with litmus paper from a nursery or aquarium shop, and adjust it as needed using sulfur. A successful blueberry farmer told me that if you use drip irrigation, avoid ooze emitters; instead, use small spray emitters to keep the soil evenly damp, which makes it easier to keep the soil acidic. His advice has worked well for me. If you live in an area with alkaline soil, your irrigation water may be alkaline, too — all the more reason to continue to monitor your soil’s pH level.

10. Herb Flavor Families ...

Most folks think of an herb, such as oregano, as a specific plant. Yet some, such as Mexican oregano and Cuban oregano, are in entirely different plant families but taste quite similar to the familiar Italian herb. What we call “herbs” are really flavors and, more specifically, the myriad oils that produce those flavors.

While we can’t assign a specific herb’s flavor to any single oil, the same oils show up in a number of herbs and give the plants similar flavor overtones. For example, geraniol, which lends a citrus flavor to lemon thyme, is also a component of lemon balm. The licorice-flavored oil estragole is found in both French tarragon and anise hyssop. If you want to unearth potential flavor matches, browse this graphic representation of the organic compounds in several herbs and spices at Compound Interest.

With these 10 facts about edible plants in your repertoire, may your gardening be even more productive, beautiful and fun. Bon appétit!

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For instance, one farmer may follow a cabbage crop with beetroot, which are totally unrelated crops. This sounds like good procedure and certainly can be. However, this farmer’s neighbour may follow the same programme and experience problems if there is cyst eelworm in the soil, which infects both crops.

The bottom line is that working out a crop rotation programme involves a lot more than alternating different crops. Pests and diseases also need to be considered.

You could, for instance, have a carrot crop and follow it with beans, then Swiss chard, which amounts to a root crop followed by a legume and then a leaf crop.

All are completely unrelated, but all host root knot eelworm (Meloidogyne spp). By the time the Swiss chard is planted, the eelworm population could have built up to the point where the Swiss chard is a failure.

Diseases ...

Diseases should also be a consideration. With plants of the cabbage family, if you’ve had a problem with blackleg fungus, for example, it is safer to wait two years before planting a Brassica again. If there was no blackleg, you could follow much sooner.

Certain diseases that could be a problem for a follow-up crop can be countered by the season. My boss once requested that I plant an out-of-season crop of cabbages. Although the crop was a success, there was quite a lot of black rot on the outer leaves.

I had to follow up immediately with another crop of cabbages, and there were some residual leaves with black rot lesions still in the land when the next cabbages were planted.

However, I did this knowing that the season the new crop was to grow in would not allow the black rot to become a problem.

Ramifications ...

You have to consider all the ramifications when planning a crop rotation programme. In some cases, you can practise monoculture if the soil conditions are very favourable. I have built up the soil in my tomato tunnels and have been planting tomatoes in the same soil for about two decades.

Initially, before the soil was improved, the plants would die from eelworm. A friend once told me he had a client who only produced lettuce, and used the same soil for this crop every time. He had built up his organic content and used vermicompost.

I am not advocating monoculture, but you should consider the potential hazards of rotation and not lose out just because it does not fit in with your perception of crop rotation requirements.

Eelworm is one of the major reasons for crop rotation, and you should always examine the roots of a crop after harvest to determine if there is eelworm and, if so, ascertain the extent of the infestation; this will help you decide which follow-up crops to plant.

Article Credits : Bill Kerr & Farmers Weekly

'Grow Your Own' ...

Sustainable Organic Food Crops

in GreenAgric Greenhouse Tunnels ...

for Improved Health

for Food Security

Only GreenAgric Offers ...

* Free Delivery to most places on SA

* Free Assistance with your DIY Tunnel Installations ...

* Free Ongoing 'Best Help and Advice' for growing your own Food Crops ...

GreenAgric are the Very Best Value for Money Tunnels in Southern Africa ...

Contact The GreenAgric Group on .

+27 72 387 2293

or via Telegram*, Signal* or WhatsApp ...

on +27 72 387 2293

We are also available on Twitter*, MeWe*, Facebook and Messenger ...

Twitter : @GreenAgricThe

Email : Sales@GreenAgric.com

Please visit GreenAgric's Website ...

https://GreenAgric.com

Open 7 to 7 - 7 days a week ...

We look forward to hearing from you soon ...