We arrived at the farm Klein Rivertjie, before the sun had set, which was very interesting as we got to see just how close we are to the SA/Zimbabwe border, only 800m. The Nel’s farm a wide variety of veggies, smart – not to have your eggs in one basket and now even I am looking forward to the delicious vegetarian eats that are to come out of this episode.
Jeanie and Flip, despite all sorts of adversities were incredibly welcoming hosts. We arrived, unpacked and took over their household (just like we did at Jp’s farm in the Karoo).
A few weeks earlier the temperature had dropped so low that a large portion of their crop was totally obliterated by ‘black frost’ – basically what happens is that it gets so cold that it freezes the water in the plants, which gives them a black discoloring and they have to be tossed!
The farm itself is beautiful; surrounding the house there are huge trees, fruit trees and a bunch of dams. We knew that we were in the company of our kind of people when Flip told us his house was designed to fit in with the trees that were already there and not the other way around.
This is an approach that can be seen in the way the Nel’s farm too. They believe in enriching the soil naturally, by giving it life through compost, the way nature intended, well sort of, they give nature a bit of a hand and keep it natural. Instead of concentrating on using insecticides and pesticides to enhance their crop, they use compost and it works, the proof is in the peppers.
At the end of a great few days (the Boks put 50+ points on the Italians) we celebrated like we always do, this time however we did it in Vegetarian style, Justin and Ray made Baby marrow fritters with Parmesan, Trio of capsicums with stuffed spicy basmati rice, Green bean, feta and red onion salad and Oven roasted root veggies in a balsamic glaze.
This is the kind of spread that could turn even the most devout meat eater (me) happily into a tree hugging vegetarian but don’t tell anyone I said that.
Till next time
Smartmart
1 Response
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Rowan
December 5, 2010
I enjoy all your programs very much. Especially the program at the Nel’s Farm. Because of my interrest in farming, it was interresting to see how they make there own compost and the impact it has on the quality of their produce. I would love to visit them and learn from them some of the basics of agriculture. I loved the prayer at the end of the pragram before the meal. I am a Capetonian and has a 17 hectare smallholding in Stutterheim, Eastern Cape. I use to plant cabbage, beetroot, spinach, onions, patatoes, pumkins, greenbeans and mielies. I had some dairy cows, bees for honey, chicken, pigs and a few sheep. Whatever extra i planted, I would supply to the local shops, including Fruit & Veg and Spar and the locals in the area. Thanks for an excellent program. God Bless.
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Rowan
December 5, 2010
I enjoy all your programs very much. Especially the program at the Nel’s Farm. Because of my interrest in farming, it was interresting to see how they make there own compost and the impact it has on the quality of their produce. I would love to visit them and learn from them some of the basics of agriculture. I loved the prayer at the end of the pragram before the meal. I am a Capetonian and has a 17 hectare smallholding in Stutterheim, Eastern Cape. I use to plant cabbage, beetroot, spinach, onions, patatoes, pumkins, greenbeans and mielies. I had some dairy cows, bees for honey, chicken, pigs and a few sheep. Whatever extra i planted, I would supply to the local shops, including Fruit & Veg and Spar and the locals in the area. Thanks for an excellent program. God Bless.
