I couldn't agree more! Gardening goes beyond just growing food ! It's a deeply rewarding practice that nurtures the mind, body, and soul. Tending to plants fosters patience, mindfulness, and a connection to nature that brings a sense of peace and fulfillment. Thanks for highlighting it! Keep on sowing and growing! 🌱✨
Hi Rueben, I use the square foot (32 by 32cm)gardening method a lot, my carrots are a continuous crop as well as swiss chard, baby spinach and lettuce spread out in my micro climates. Still expanding my veggie plots.
Hi Ettienne! That’s fantastic! The square foot gardening method is such an efficient way to maximize space, especially when you have microclimates to work with. It sounds like you’ve got a great system going with your carrots, Swiss chard, spinach, and lettuce-having a continuous supply of fresh veggies is always a win! Expanding your plots is exciting, and I’m sure your garden will keep thriving. Keep up the great work, and thanks for sharing your approach! 😊🌱
You're very welcome! Learning as we go is what gardening is all about. I'm so glad you're enjoying the channel. Thanks for the kind feedback and thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for the support! I’m really glad to hear the videos have been helpful. It’s awesome that you’re learning more about gardening! Keep up the great work on your end too! Happy sowing and growing! 🌱😊
I tried planting in pots last summer. I carried on with winter crops. Having no succes yet but will try again this season. Kept my 2 eggplants alive through our winter in Bloemfontein.
The soil in potted plants dries out much quicker and are more prone to heat stress. The trick with planting in pots is to prevent the soil to dry out quickly. I place deep trays underneath them to soak up water during heat spells or extremely warm summer days. You can also invest in palm peat, drip irrigation or water more regularly. I buy a round deep plastic basin to act as a water reservoir so that the plants doesn't get water stress. I take dump rock (or you can use any small rocks) and place a layer on the bottom of the basin to create air pockets, this prevents roots from standing directly in water. Remember to add a heavy layer of mulch around your veggies. This will not only keep the soil moist for longer but will slowly feed the plants as the mulch start to decompose. Lastly, plants in pots needs a good feed more regularly. A good liquid fertilizer or a water soluble fertilizer is the way to go. Something such as a monthly seaweed feed will keep your veggies in tip top shape. In South Africa we have a brand named Seagro. When you choose your pots try and avoid pots that draw heat, terracotta that dry out quickly and keep them as large as possible since small containers needs much more regular watering.
Bloemfontein gets very cold. I checked during the winter months and your night temperature dropped below zero. Keeping them alive is an amazing accomplishment. Respect.
It’s great to hear you managed to keep your eggplants alive through the winter in Bloemfontein-I agree with Kristel that’s impressive! Winter can be tough on plants, but it seems like you’ve learned a lot from your experiences. Don’t get discouraged if your winter crops didn’t thrive as you hoped. Gardening is all about trial and error, and each season brings new opportunities to refine your techniques. For the upcoming season, you might want to try adjusting your soil mix or pot placement to better suit your plants' needs. Best of luck with your next planting-Keep on sowing and growing 🌱
Absolutely! Empty bottles, containers, and even paint cans can be a great way to maximize small spaces for gardening. They’re perfect for upcycling and creating mini-planters for herbs or small veggies. It's amazing what can be repurposed to grow a productive garden! Thanks for sharing this awesome tip! 🌱♻
That was a great video on succession planting Rueben. Except for some bush beans and radishes, I am yet to master succession planting. You do have a lot going on in your garden and everything looking so good. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Bush beans and radishes are a great start for succession planting, I am sure with time and practice, we’ll get the hang of succession planting! I appreciate your kind words about the garden-there’s always something new happening! 😊 Keep up the great work! Happy sowing and growing! 🌱
Great content. Many vegetables have early, mid and late maturing varieties from the same type. Sadly we don't have such a huge range of seed varieties available like countries such as the UK and the USA. I try to make the most of the different vegetable varieties that I can find. I intentionally choose varieties that produce all at once and others sporadic. A great example is tomatoes. My Roma tomatoes is a determined variety and with the narrow harvesting window period I pick most of my tomatoes within a few days, spending a entire day to make Napoletana pasta sauce for the winter months. This ensures that space opens up allowing me to plant another crop as soon as I am finished harvesting. Since my cherry tomatoes ( indeterminate) keeps on producing over time I pick them daily for snacking and if I have extra, I love to make tomato jam with it. ( I put a bit of ginger pieces in my tomato jam and it tastes amazing.) Planting different varieties ensure that I have a steady supply. If you buy glass jars and waterbath can your pasta sauce and jam you will have a steady supply of tomatoes throughout the winter months. There are a myriad of recipes in metric available on the internet with instructions. I buy my jars direct from Consol since they deliver and it is much cheaper. On another note, I see that on Wednesday 16 of October Mayford's Paul Vonk will be at Centurion Builders from 10 to 12am to talk about growing your own flowers, grass or vegetables from seed. Entrance is free and apparently they will be giving away free seed. He is an expert on growing vegetables successfully. I hope that I can find the time to attend, I would love to have more comprehensive knowledge on the diffrent characteristics of Mayford's vegetables varieties, their history and which ones are more productive. I love Mayford's seeds since their germination rate is very high even my old seed that carries over to the next years. As always I love the information and having a peak at your beautiful productive garden.
Hi Kristel! Thank you so much for the detailed and thoughtful comment! I completely agree-having access to a wider range of seed varieties would be a game-changer. It sounds like you’ve really made the most of the varieties you have, and your approach to choosing both determinate and indeterminate tomatoes is brilliant for ensuring a steady supply. Your Roma tomatoes plan for Napoletana sauce and cherry tomatoes for snacking and jam (with ginger, yum!) is inspiring! 🌿🍅 I am also planning to grow couple of determinate and indeterminate varieties this season! Canning pasta sauce and jam is a great way to preserve the harvest, and I appreciate the tip about Consol jars, I am thinking of investing in some jars! Thanks also for sharing the info about Paul Vonk’s talk at Centurion Builders-I’m sure it will be packed with useful insights. I read some of his advise in a magazine! I’m glad you enjoy the content, and I love hearing about your gardening journey as well! Keep up the great work, and happy sowing and planting! 🌱😊
@@veggiesandherbswithruebenm2065Paul Vonk is a legend, it's just a shame the talk is mid week and not on a weekend. A few years ago I was at the South African Nursery Association Trade Fair. I had the opportunity to peak inside Ball Straathof's seed cataloque . Seed the general public have no access to. They only sell to commercial growers and in very large quantities. It's disheartening to know that we cannot buy small quantities of specialized seed from them. I hope that soon we can also order a huge variety of new and different types of seed from a catalogue and have it delivered right at our doorstep. Hopefully more South African's will start growing veggies from their backyard gardens. In the 1940's up until the early 80's backyard vegetable gardens were very popular. I believe the trend will increase as food prices soar Remember to order a extra set of lids when you order the jars so that when you use the bottles again you have the right size of lids to replace. Also never buy jars that hasn't a uniform size otherwise you will have problems replacing the lids. Check how many people will eat from the sauce or jam and order the correct size jar. If they are too big the jar will stand in the fridge for too long and if they are too small you'll have to use more than one jar and that makes canning too time consuming and costly energy wise.
@@KristelViljoen Thanks for sharing your experience! Paul Vonk really is incredible, I usually see his tips in the Grow to Eat Magazine! ! I agree, with rising food prices, there’s definitely a shift towards backyard gardening, which is great to see. And thanks for the canning tips, that will make the whole process so much smoother. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge with the community!
You're absolutely right! Succession planting keeps the harvests coming and makes the most of your space. Glad the tips were helpful! Happy planting! 🌱😊
Wow Rueben ... succession planting.. THANK you.!! Space is such a challenge. Your videos have educated me. Teething pains there and there but hey, not complaining. So fulfilling to just go to the garden and pull out kale, mint etc for a meal... I bought non-gmo seeds for my plants... How do I know it's authentically non GMO ? Pls teach us how to prepare the soil... That would be a value add... I throw peels in the garden. Much gratitude for this education. Need to spread this awareness. God bless
In South Africa all seed for home gardeners are GMO free. It's only the farmers that have access to GMO. ( Genetically Modified Organism) Some GMO seeds are modified so that roundup and other pesticides do not kill the plant but only the weeds growing between the plants. Here it is against the law to sell GMO seed to home gardeners. If the seed packet says hybrid these plants are deliberately cross pollinated ( not open polinated) to make them genetically diverse. An F1 is the first generation from the parental cross. If it says heirloom it is seeds handed on for several generations and true to type. For instance a huge field of Texas grano onions ( grown from the the early 1940's) are planted in a range where there are no other types of onions planted. They are then left to be open pollinated by bees or other insects. The seeds from these onions are all heirloom onions. Finally you can dig a deep hole and dump all your garden waste in it and cover it with a thick layer of soil. Water and let the land sit for a week or two. Then you can just plant over it. The plant material will slowly start decaying. It is the living soil organisms that feed on the organic material that make the nutrients available for your growing plants. A common mistake that people make is thinking it is the organic matter that is responsible for feeding your plants. It is actually the living soil organisms that make the nutrients available for the plants. It is a symbiotic relationship between the organisms and the plants that keep your soil and plants healthy..Btw genetic diversity is vital for future generations since the plants develop characteristics that enable them to florish under different soil and weather conditions, so it is important to keep your own seeds or swop seeds to encourage genetic diversity.
Thank you, Kristel, for your informative response! You've shared valuable insights on GMO seeds, hybrids, and heirlooms, which will certainly help clarify things for many gardeners. I also appreciate your explanation of how living soil organisms play a crucial role in feeding plants-great advice on building healthy soil naturally. Your point about preserving genetic diversity through seed-saving is so important, especially for future generations. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge! 🌱
Thank you so much for your kind words and support! I'm really glad to hear that the videos have been helpful to you, and I completely understand the challenges that come with limited space-it’s something so many of us face. But it’s so rewarding to grow your own food, right? Kale and mint straight from the garden for a meal sounds amazing! I love that you’re already throwing peels into the garden-natural composting is a great start! Healthy soil is the foundation of a successful garden. Wishing you continued success in your garden journey! God bless you too 🙏🌱
Thank you so much! Glad you’re enjoying the content! 😊 My soil is a mix of well-rotted compost and I also add organic matter regularly, like kitchen scraps (bokashi composting) to keep it healthy and nutrient-rich. It’s all about building up that soil health over time! Thanks for watching!
I envy how well your brassicas grow, you always get massive harvests🤩. I can't grow brassicas in peace because of aphids, I only have one surviving cabbage & broccoli plant but they also don't look good. My strategy is that what I sow in one bed, I will sow it again in other beds after a month. It has worked well on everything except for brassicas. Beans don't seem to like my soil, corn as well doesn't germinate. I'm learning how to start seeds indoors for succession planting because I always direct sow. But I'm happy that everything else that I enjoy grows well, I won't give up on those that don't. We soldier on🥲
You can either softly rub off the aphids early morning or spray them off with a hosepipe. Plant your brassica's with enough space to allow good airflow. Do not use pesticides and encourage natural predators such as ladybugs, lacewings and praymantis. Know how these insect larvae looks like so that you don't mistake them for pests. You can also plant rosemary, lavendar or annual scented flowers between your brassica's to hide the smell of brassica's from the aphids. Or plant flowers to attract pollinators such as bees. Aphids dislike heave insect traffic.
I think you should check your night tempreture. Beans and corn needs much more heat to germinate than your other crops. Also the harder the seed the longer it need to stay moist to germinate. That means it takes longer in soil that dries out to germinate. If your night temperature is still low the germination will be delayed. After sowing, cover with a layer of mulch such as grass clippings or dry leaves. This will keep the seeds moist and warm. I drill a small 15cm deep (not wide) -hole, add some compost inside the hole, and place the seed on top of the compost and then cover with soil. The added compost keep the soil warm and moist for longer. Resilience is key when you grow food. Wishing you a successful growing season.
Ur garden is making me jealous Sir 🫣 i hav a very small space dt i dnt have a clue how to structure it for raised beds..jst yesteday i tried to make 1 bed bt im not sure i did a great job
Thank you so much for your kind words! 😊 Don’t worry about having a small space-you can absolutely make it work for raised beds! When I started, I also had my doubts, but with time and a bit of trial and error, things started coming together. Here are a few tips that might help: Start small - One or two raised beds are perfect to begin with. It’s easier to manage, and you can always add more later. Plan your layout - Make sure you have enough room to walk between the beds comfortably. Around 30-40 cm of space between each bed is usually good. Materials - You don’t need anything fancy. Wood, bricks! Just make sure they drain well. Soil - Focus on filling your bed with good-quality compost and soil mix. This is key to making your plants thrive! Don’t stress-every step you take is progress. Keep on sowing and growing!
Besides harvest, gardening brings many spiritual gifts to your home.
I couldn't agree more! Gardening goes beyond just growing food ! It's a deeply rewarding practice that nurtures the mind, body, and soul. Tending to plants fosters patience, mindfulness, and a connection to nature that brings a sense of peace and fulfillment. Thanks for highlighting it! Keep on sowing and growing! 🌱✨
Improves your mental health as well
Hi Rueben, I use the square foot (32 by 32cm)gardening method a lot, my carrots are a continuous crop as well as swiss chard, baby spinach and lettuce spread out in my micro climates. Still expanding my veggie plots.
Hi Ettienne! That’s fantastic! The square foot gardening method is such an efficient way to maximize space, especially when you have microclimates to work with. It sounds like you’ve got a great system going with your carrots, Swiss chard, spinach, and lettuce-having a continuous supply of fresh veggies is always a win! Expanding your plots is exciting, and I’m sure your garden will keep thriving. Keep up the great work, and thanks for sharing your approach! 😊🌱
Well done, thanks for the inspiration. Baie dankie.
Thank you so much for watching and kind feedback. Ek waardeer dit baie!
Thanks Reuben. Learning as we go. Love your channel
You're very welcome! Learning as we go is what gardening is all about. I'm so glad you're enjoying the channel. Thanks for the kind feedback and thanks for watching!
Hi Rueben . Thank you for the videos , I've been learning a lot about gardening and keep up the good work!❤
Thank you so much for the support! I’m really glad to hear the videos have been helpful. It’s awesome that you’re learning more about gardening! Keep up the great work on your end too! Happy sowing and growing! 🌱😊
I tried planting in pots last summer. I carried on with winter crops. Having no succes yet but will try again this season. Kept my 2 eggplants alive through our winter in Bloemfontein.
The soil in potted plants dries out much quicker and are more prone to heat stress. The trick with planting in pots is to prevent the soil to dry out quickly. I place deep trays underneath them to soak up water during heat spells or extremely warm summer days. You can also invest in palm peat, drip irrigation or water more regularly. I buy a round deep plastic basin to act as a water reservoir so that the plants doesn't get water stress. I take dump rock (or you can use any small rocks) and place a layer on the bottom of the basin to create air pockets, this prevents roots from standing directly in water. Remember to add a heavy layer of mulch around your veggies. This will not only keep the soil moist for longer but will slowly feed the plants as the mulch start to decompose. Lastly, plants in pots needs a good feed more regularly. A good liquid fertilizer or a water soluble fertilizer is the way to go. Something such as a monthly seaweed feed will keep your veggies in tip top shape. In South Africa we have a brand named Seagro. When you choose your pots try and avoid pots that draw heat, terracotta that dry out quickly and keep them as large as possible since small containers needs much more regular watering.
Bloemfontein gets very cold. I checked during the winter months and your night temperature dropped below zero. Keeping them alive is an amazing accomplishment. Respect.
@@KristelViljoen 😅
It’s great to hear you managed to keep your eggplants alive through the winter in Bloemfontein-I agree with Kristel that’s impressive! Winter can be tough on plants, but it seems like you’ve learned a lot from your experiences.
Don’t get discouraged if your winter crops didn’t thrive as you hoped. Gardening is all about trial and error, and each season brings new opportunities to refine your techniques. For the upcoming season, you might want to try adjusting your soil mix or pot placement to better suit your plants' needs. Best of luck with your next planting-Keep on sowing and growing 🌱
Empty bottles and used containers, paint cans very handy for small places
Absolutely! Empty bottles, containers, and even paint cans can be a great way to maximize small spaces for gardening. They’re perfect for upcycling and creating mini-planters for herbs or small veggies. It's amazing what can be repurposed to grow a productive garden! Thanks for sharing this awesome tip! 🌱♻
agreed agreed Reuben, thanks for the tips
Thank you so much Zandi! You are much appreciated!
That was a great video on succession planting Rueben. Except for some bush beans and radishes, I am yet to master succession planting. You do have a lot going on in your garden and everything looking so good. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Bush beans and radishes are a great start for succession planting, I am sure with time and practice, we’ll get the hang of succession planting! I appreciate your kind words about the garden-there’s always something new happening! 😊 Keep up the great work! Happy sowing and growing! 🌱
Wow ❤️
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! 😊
Thank you for the video
You’re very welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful! 😊
Great content. Many vegetables have early, mid and late maturing varieties from the same type. Sadly we don't have such a huge range of seed varieties available like countries such as the UK and the USA. I try to make the most of the different vegetable varieties that I can find. I intentionally choose varieties that produce all at once and others sporadic. A great example is tomatoes. My Roma tomatoes is a determined variety and with the narrow harvesting window period I pick most of my tomatoes within a few days, spending a entire day to make Napoletana pasta sauce for the winter months. This ensures that space opens up allowing me to plant another crop as soon as I am finished harvesting. Since my cherry tomatoes ( indeterminate) keeps on producing over time I pick them daily for snacking and if I have extra, I love to make tomato jam with it. ( I put a bit of ginger pieces in my tomato jam and it tastes amazing.) Planting different varieties ensure that I have a steady supply. If you buy glass jars and waterbath can your pasta sauce and jam you will have a steady supply of tomatoes throughout the winter months. There are a myriad of recipes in metric available on the internet with instructions. I buy my jars direct from Consol since they deliver and it is much cheaper. On another note, I see that on Wednesday 16 of October Mayford's Paul Vonk will be at Centurion Builders from 10 to 12am to talk about growing your own flowers, grass or vegetables from seed. Entrance is free and apparently they will be giving away free seed. He is an expert on growing vegetables successfully. I hope that I can find the time to attend, I would love to have more comprehensive knowledge on the diffrent characteristics of Mayford's vegetables varieties, their history and which ones are more productive. I love Mayford's seeds since their germination rate is very high even my old seed that carries over to the next years. As always I love the information and having a peak at your beautiful productive garden.
Hi Kristel! Thank you so much for the detailed and thoughtful comment! I completely agree-having access to a wider range of seed varieties would be a game-changer. It sounds like you’ve really made the most of the varieties you have, and your approach to choosing both determinate and indeterminate tomatoes is brilliant for ensuring a steady supply. Your Roma tomatoes plan for Napoletana sauce and cherry tomatoes for snacking and jam (with ginger, yum!) is inspiring! 🌿🍅 I am also planning to grow couple of determinate and indeterminate varieties this season!
Canning pasta sauce and jam is a great way to preserve the harvest, and I appreciate the tip about Consol jars, I am thinking of investing in some jars! Thanks also for sharing the info about Paul Vonk’s talk at Centurion Builders-I’m sure it will be packed with useful insights. I read some of his advise in a magazine!
I’m glad you enjoy the content, and I love hearing about your gardening journey as well! Keep up the great work, and happy sowing and planting! 🌱😊
@@veggiesandherbswithruebenm2065Paul Vonk is a legend, it's just a shame the talk is mid week and not on a weekend. A few years ago I was at the South African Nursery Association Trade Fair. I had the opportunity to peak inside Ball Straathof's seed cataloque . Seed the general public have no access to. They only sell to commercial growers and in very large quantities. It's disheartening to know that we cannot buy small quantities of specialized seed from them. I hope that soon we can also order a huge variety of new and different types of seed from a catalogue and have it delivered right at our doorstep. Hopefully more South African's will start growing veggies from their backyard gardens. In the 1940's up until the early 80's backyard vegetable gardens were very popular. I believe the trend will increase as food prices soar Remember to order a extra set of lids when you order the jars so that when you use the bottles again you have the right size of lids to replace. Also never buy jars that hasn't a uniform size otherwise you will have problems replacing the lids. Check how many people will eat from the sauce or jam and order the correct size jar. If they are too big the jar will stand in the fridge for too long and if they are too small you'll have to use more than one jar and that makes canning too time consuming and costly energy wise.
@@KristelViljoen Thanks for sharing your experience! Paul Vonk really is incredible, I usually see his tips in the Grow to Eat Magazine! ! I agree, with rising food prices, there’s definitely a shift towards backyard gardening, which is great to see.
And thanks for the canning tips, that will make the whole process so much smoother. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge with the community!
Good show sir, did you find any issues with the extreme weather/rainfall we had this winter in the Cape? I noted an increase in certain pests....
Thanks for the tips 👍 Succession planting is the way to go ❤
You're absolutely right! Succession planting keeps the harvests coming and makes the most of your space. Glad the tips were helpful! Happy planting! 🌱😊
Good video Reuben
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I appreciate your support! Happy gardening! 🌱
Hello my new friend your garden very nice and beautiful I am one hwo love to eat vegetables 👍👌
Thank you so much, my friend! I'm really glad you like the garden. Vegetables are so rewarding to grow and enjoy! Thanks for watching!
Wow Rueben ... succession planting.. THANK you.!! Space is such a challenge. Your videos have educated me. Teething pains there and there but hey, not complaining. So fulfilling to just go to the garden and pull out kale, mint etc for a meal... I bought non-gmo seeds for my plants... How do I know it's authentically non GMO ? Pls teach us how to prepare the soil... That would be a value add... I throw peels in the garden. Much gratitude for this education. Need to spread this awareness. God bless
In South Africa all seed for home gardeners are GMO free. It's only the farmers that have access to GMO. ( Genetically Modified Organism) Some GMO seeds are modified so that roundup and other pesticides do not kill the plant but only the weeds growing between the plants. Here it is against the law to sell GMO seed to home gardeners. If the seed packet says hybrid these plants are deliberately cross pollinated ( not open polinated) to make them genetically diverse. An F1 is the first generation from the parental cross. If it says heirloom it is seeds handed on for several generations and true to type. For instance a huge field of Texas grano onions ( grown from the the early 1940's) are planted in a range where there are no other types of onions planted. They are then left to be open pollinated by bees or other insects. The seeds from these onions are all heirloom onions. Finally you can dig a deep hole and dump all your garden waste in it and cover it with a thick layer of soil. Water and let the land sit for a week or two. Then you can just plant over it. The plant material will slowly start decaying. It is the living soil organisms that feed on the organic material that make the nutrients available for your growing plants. A common mistake that people make is thinking it is the organic matter that is responsible for feeding your plants. It is actually the living soil organisms that make the nutrients available for the plants. It is a symbiotic relationship between the organisms and the plants that keep your soil and plants healthy..Btw genetic diversity is vital for future generations since the plants develop characteristics that enable them to florish under different soil and weather conditions, so it is important to keep your own seeds or swop seeds to encourage genetic diversity.
Thank you, Kristel, for your informative response! You've shared valuable insights on GMO seeds, hybrids, and heirlooms, which will certainly help clarify things for many gardeners. I also appreciate your explanation of how living soil organisms play a crucial role in feeding plants-great advice on building healthy soil naturally. Your point about preserving genetic diversity through seed-saving is so important, especially for future generations. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge! 🌱
Thank you so much for your kind words and support! I'm really glad to hear that the videos have been helpful to you, and I completely understand the challenges that come with limited space-it’s something so many of us face. But it’s so rewarding to grow your own food, right? Kale and mint straight from the garden for a meal sounds amazing!
I love that you’re already throwing peels into the garden-natural composting is a great start! Healthy soil is the foundation of a successful garden. Wishing you continued success in your garden journey! God bless you too 🙏🌱
Wow what is in your soil?
Totally love your content
Thank you so much! Glad you’re enjoying the content! 😊 My soil is a mix of well-rotted compost and I also add organic matter regularly, like kitchen scraps (bokashi composting) to keep it healthy and nutrient-rich. It’s all about building up that soil health over time! Thanks for watching!
7:57 first time seeing this thankyou
You are most welcome! Thank u so much for watching!
I envy how well your brassicas grow, you always get massive harvests🤩. I can't grow brassicas in peace because of aphids, I only have one surviving cabbage & broccoli plant but they also don't look good. My strategy is that what I sow in one bed, I will sow it again in other beds after a month. It has worked well on everything except for brassicas. Beans don't seem to like my soil, corn as well doesn't germinate. I'm learning how to start seeds indoors for succession planting because I always direct sow. But I'm happy that everything else that I enjoy grows well, I won't give up on those that don't. We soldier on🥲
You can either softly rub off the aphids early morning or spray them off with a hosepipe. Plant your brassica's with enough space to allow good airflow. Do not use pesticides and encourage natural predators such as ladybugs, lacewings and praymantis. Know how these insect larvae looks like so that you don't mistake them for pests. You can also plant rosemary, lavendar or annual scented flowers between your brassica's to hide the smell of brassica's from the aphids. Or plant flowers to attract pollinators such as bees. Aphids dislike heave insect traffic.
I think you should check your night tempreture. Beans and corn needs much more heat to germinate than your other crops. Also the harder the seed the longer it need to stay moist to germinate. That means it takes longer in soil that dries out to germinate. If your night temperature is still low the germination will be delayed. After sowing, cover with a layer of mulch such as grass clippings or dry leaves. This will keep the seeds moist and warm. I drill a small 15cm deep (not wide) -hole, add some compost inside the hole, and place the seed on top of the compost and then cover with soil. The added compost keep the soil warm and moist for longer. Resilience is key when you grow food. Wishing you a successful growing season.
@@KristelViljoen Thanks so much for the advice, I'll sow them again tomorrow morning following your method.
Ur garden is making me jealous Sir 🫣 i hav a very small space dt i dnt have a clue how to structure it for raised beds..jst yesteday i tried to make 1 bed bt im not sure i did a great job
Thank you so much for your kind words! 😊 Don’t worry about having a small space-you can absolutely make it work for raised beds! When I started, I also had my doubts, but with time and a bit of trial and error, things started coming together.
Here are a few tips that might help:
Start small - One or two raised beds are perfect to begin with. It’s easier to manage, and you can always add more later.
Plan your layout - Make sure you have enough room to walk between the beds comfortably. Around 30-40 cm of space between each bed is usually good.
Materials - You don’t need anything fancy. Wood, bricks! Just make sure they drain well.
Soil - Focus on filling your bed with good-quality compost and soil mix. This is key to making your plants thrive!
Don’t stress-every step you take is progress. Keep on sowing and growing!