Mahlohonolo a selemo se setjha Basotho. Let's plant our seeds today. #GYOF 
Planting Schedules for coastal regions and Northern Cape. #GYOF
A thread on Sesotho months and what they mean. #GYOF
Here follows all the monthly threads we have ever done since last year.
June 2017 #GYOF
January 2018 #GYOF
February 2018 #GYOF
March 2018 #GYOF
April 2018 #GYOF
May 2018 #GYOF
June 2018 #GYOF
July 2018 #GYOF
August 2018 #GYOF
IOL wrote an article about our #GYOF journey. Read here iol.co.za/lifestyle/food…
Just dug this out of my garden. It's an average size of my potatoes. #GYOF
There are a million and one reasons why we Grow Our Own Food. I can certainly tell you mine, and perhaps suggest a few for you. #GYOF
Cost. Have you seen the price of food lately? Vegetables are worse because you cannot buy them in bulk to save money. #GYOF
Vegetables are also volatile, so if you bought a lot and kept in a fridge most are gonna go bad before you could even eat them. #GYOF
So, #GYOF ensures that you have a steady supply of fruit and veggies and you pick only the ones you need.
Because of a high demand for food producers use chemical fertilisers to propagate vegetables and bring them to the market at half the time it takes normal fruit and veggies. #GYOF
Because commercial farmers specialise in one crop they use neither crop rotation nor organic pest control. Which leaves them with one option: chemical pesticides. #GYOF
And to weed out their fields they use chemical herbicides. #GYOF
And because you want fresh fruit and vegetables daily, they're sprayed with preservatives so they stay fresh for longer in the shelves. #GYOF
Vegetables that sprout like potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic and onions are sprayed with non-sprouting agents to prevent them growing roots while still in-store. #GYOF
As a result, the Spinach you buy from the shop has been fed Chemical Fertilisers, Carcinogenic Pesticides, Toxic Herbicides, Unhealthy Preservatives and Deadly Non-Sprout Agents. #GYOF
All these end up in your body. #GYOF
So, we grow our food organically so we can have all the nutrients vegetables provide without the harmful chemicals added to food that are known to cause cancer. #GYOF
These principles apply to meat products too. #GYOF
And although I will not be tweeting much about red meat, at least I will show you how to rear your own chickens organically for eggs and for meat. #GYOF
I will also show you how to breed pigs for commercial use. #GYOF
The chickens we eat are also propagated to grow fast. And eventually those fertilisers end up in our bodies. Hence kids grow so fast these days. #GYOF
Weight gain is also freakish in our society because of these meat products. #GYOF
And Cancer has risen in our communities because we have embraced rich, unnatural, processed foods. #GYOF
Basicallly, if you don't know what part of an animal a meat product is then you should not be eating it. #GYOF
#WhatToPlantInAugust in KZN - Pepper, Chilli, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Corn, Pumpkin, Potatoes, Garlic, Carrots, Beetroot, Radish, Parsnip, Cabbage, Spinach, Mustard, Lettuce, Runner and Bush Beans. #GYOF
#WhatToPlantInAugust in GP, FS, NW, MP and Limps - Pepper, Chilli, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Garlic, Beetroot, Radish, Carrot, Celery, Spinach, Mustard, Lettuce, Runner and Bush Beans. #GYOF
#WhatToPlantInAugust in Eastern Cape - Pepper, Chilli, Cucumber, Melons, Pumpkin, Corn, Potatoes, Garlic, Carrots, Radish, Cabbage, Runner and Bush Beans. #GYOF
#WhatToPlantInAugust in Western Cape - Chilli, Pepper, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Corn, Potatoes, Garlic, Beetroot, Radish, Parsnip, Celery, Lettuce and Peas. #GYOF
#WhatToPlantInAugust in Northern Cape - Pepper, Chilli, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Corn, Potatoes, Garlic, Carrots, Beetroot, Radish, Parsnip, Spinach, Mustard, Broad Beans and Peas. #GYOF
A few things to consider when starting a new garden... #GYOF
A considerable amount of vegetables require exposure to direct sunlight. And because we are in the Southern Hemisphere, it is beneficial to have a garden that is facing North. #GYOF
Our Planting Schedules hint that the Fruit Bearing crops require more sun than Leafy Greens. They also require higher temperatures. #GYOF
As a result, Fruit Bearing crops such as Melons, Tomatoes, Squashes, Chillies, Peppers, Okra, Brinjal etc grow in the Summer months. #GYOF
Whereas Leafy Greens such as Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Rape, Spinach, Kale, Beetroot etc grow well into the cold Winter months. #GYOF
In fact some of these are so hardy they survive beyond the frost. #GYOF
When planning your garden bear in mind the varying times that specific crops grow in. This helps ensure that you have always have something growing in your garden, regardless of the season. #GYOF
A lot of times I see people's gardens vacant in Winter. They tell me they're waiting for Spring because crops die in Winter. #GYOF
So, it helps to know which crops will survive the frost so you have those in your garden for the three Winter months. #GYOF
Everything that grows in Winter will grow in Summer, but not everything that grows in Summer will grow in Winter. #GYOF
Crops that will survive frost: Beetroot, Spinach, Kale, Mustard Greens, Rape, Baby Spinach, Turnip, Parsnips, Radish, etc #GYOF
And all these edible leaves. #GYOF
In fact, edible leaves have a sweeter taste in Winter than they do in Summer. #GYOF
Don't know if you've noticed that the Spinach that has spent a considerable time in the Summer's heat has a slightly bitter taste than the one you kept in your fridge. #GYOF
Edible Leaves require a lot of Nitrogen to grow well. All you need is dry, well rotted chicken manure to spread over your soil. #GYOF
If you have a tiny garden perhaps all you should consider planting are Leafy Greens that survive the frost. #GYOF
That way you plant them once and harvest them for as long as you want because leaves keep growing back. #GYOF
This strategy also works if you're not too keen on spending too much time tending for your garden. #GYOF
But if you love fruiting veggies and have a bit of space for it, then try and have one section for the frost-resistant Leafy Greens that will carry you during the Winter months... #GYOF
...And have a few sections on which you can rotate your Fruit, Legumes, Squashes and Tubers as and when seasons change. #GYOF
Fruit, Legumes, Squashes and Tubers require more work in the garden than your Leafy Greens. Some require trellises, some support structures such as arches, some require space. #GYOF
If you're planting Pumpkin, for instance, you need to have adequate space for it to spread. #GYOF
If you're planting Tomatoes you need to erect a support structure for it to stand upright on. #GYOF
Peas, Runner Beans, Cucumber, Brinjal also need something to climb on. #GYOF
Fruiting vegetables require soil rich in carbon. I have seen people put ash in their gardens to give it a carbon boost. #GYOF
I will always advocate for homemade compost. But if you haven't learned how to make your own yet, it's okay to buy it from the store. Just know it is not the real thing. #GYOF
To avoid an infestation of diseases, parasites, fungal infections and insects in your garden, try not to plant rows of the same crop close to each other. Mix and match your vegetables. #GYOF
And plant them in traingles as opposed to the eye sore straight lines we see on commercial farms. #GYOF
Vegetables planted in triangles tend to resemble the how plants grow naturally in the wild. Nature doesn't reproduce straight lines. #GYOF
Add onions, garlic and marigolds in between your crops, these repel pests in your garden. #GYOF
Also, everyone seems to plant more Spinach than they ever require. #GYOF
Spinach leaves grow back after being picked, so you don't have to plant twenty Spinach plants if you're just planting for subsistence. #GYOF
Plant one for every person in the house. If there are four of you then you need just four Spinach plants. You're not eating it everyday akere?! #GYOF
Plant Beetroot the same way you plant Spinach and onky pick the leaves, leaving the tuber in tact. #GYOF
Plant Spinach and Beetroot 15cms apart. #GYOF
Let me eat and then tweet about organic ways to get rid of pests in your garden. #GYOF
Rape is a great-tasting leafy vegetable with a name that offends many people, we will then be using Rapa instead. Thanks. #GYOF
One most important gardening practice is crop rotation; planting varied plants from one season to another. #GYOF
I use four patches, and have differentiated them by shape. And that is how I keep rotating my crops. #GYOF
You do not necessarily need all four, two can do just as well. I will show you how after I have bashed large-scale commercial farmers. #GYOF
Commercial farms plant one crop on the same soil year-in, year-out. That system depletes the soil of its nutrients and creates an infestation of soilbourne parasites, diseases and pests. #GYOF
To combat this, commercial farmers have to use toxic fertilisers, inorganic pesticides and herbicides. Because there is no other way to get rid of pests if you plant the same crops in that large a scale. #GYOF
With crop rotation and companion planting you can keep parasites, diseases and pests out of your garden without spraying toxic pesticides. #GYOF
I have already mentioned the use of marigolds to repel pests. I use it here as a border around my frontyard garden. #GYOF
I also use domestic and wild garlic together with bulb and spring onions in and among my crops to keep pests away. #GYOF
At the end of each harvest, a crop leaves behind parasites, diseases and pests in the soil. But if you plant a different kind of a plant on the same soil these pests won't attack it because pests are crop specific. #GYOF
Pests that attack tomatoes for instance do not attack an unrelated crop like spinach. #GYOF
But some crops like Cabbage, Kale, Broccoli and Cauliflower belong in the same family and have the same parasites, diseases and pests. Do not plant them close or one after the other. #GYOF
Say, you can only manage two patches; this means you can grow a variety of four crops in a year; two in Winter and two in Summer. #GYOF
So, if you planted spinach on one patch and beetroot on the other this Winter, make a note which was which so you alternate the crops next Winter. #GYOF
Can't be planting Spinach on the same patch this Winter that you did last Winter. #GYOF
Similarly, if you had Squash on one patch last Summer plant it on a different patch this Summer. #GYOF
This helps to keep the soil relatively pest-free and continually fertile. #GYOF
Because when one crop takes a specific nutrient from the soil this season a different one will give it back the next season. #GYOF
When one crop leaves specific parasites, diseases and pests on the soil this season those will die of starvation when the next crop is planted next season. #GYOF.
If you're Christian you will obey the Book of Leviticus and observe the Sabbath of the Land; that is every seventh year you will not till, prune or even control insects. #GYOF
Read here why I started growing my own food and how I made my first batch of compost. #GYOF popula.com/2018/08/05/bla…
My article got published eMelika bakithi, Please Retweet this here link so people can learn why I got into growing my own food and how I made my first batch of compost. #GYOF
Today Qwa-Qwa woke up like this. Frost is still upon us. #GYOF
