Growing with her veggies
Garden guru tells how to farm at home
NO WONDER Jane Griffiths keeps churning out books on food gardening. She never stops learning about her passion, so there’s always more to write about.
“I have been lucky enough through my books to meet some incredible gardeners around Southern Africa and they all have something to teach me,” said Griffiths, who has just produced her fifth book, Jane’s Delicious A-Z of Vegetables. A Guide to Growing Organic Vegetables in South Africa.
“I also learn from my own garden as I am always observing and questioning what is happening. I also read – a lot!”
Griffiths, who now lives in Johannesburg but was born in KwaZulu-Natal and is a product of Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High, said so much had changed in South Africa since she wrote her first book Jane’s Delicious Garden, in 2008.
“Back then I hardly knew anyone who had their own vegetable garden. But I have seen a green tidal wave of change happening across South Africa as more and more people are realising how simple and easy it is – and also how beneficial it is, both for your health and for your budget.”
Griffiths said the internet had contributed hugely to the development of food growing.
“As far as information goes, you have to be careful as there can be some rather wild and unsubstantiated claims and information on the web,” she cautioned. “So it is worth double and triple checking.”
However, the web also creates an environment where small companies can supply heirloom seeds throughout South Africa.
“When I wrote my first book there were no heirloom seed companies – now there are half a dozen or more. And the more heirloom seeds we grow, save and share, the more we build up our own seed bank.” Focusing on the province of her birth, Jane Griffiths advises: KZN is mostly hotter and more humid than most other provinces so one of the dangers is mildew. Don’t crowd your plants and be vigilant – at the first sign of mildew, begin spraying regularly with diluted (5:1) milk solution. As far as monkeys are concerned, the only way to prevent them eating your edibles is to grow them inside a strong cage. This might be an expense but it is a once off and the rewards will be well worth it. Most summer vegetables can be planted, such as eggplant, tomatoes and peppers, but December in KZN is a hot month so make sure you protect seedlings until they are established.
Heirloom seeds, unlike hybrids, are seeds that one collects and will produce plants with most of the characteristics of the parent plant.
Her latest book is a guidebook written in a quirky, practical style and illustrated lavishly with full-colour photographs for easy reference.
In addition to a comprehensive section on “the growing basics” Jane’s Delicious A-Z of Vegetables highlights one vegetable after the next in alphabetical order, offering a quick glance growing guide; anecdotes; information on its varieties, its feeding and watering needs, the pests and diseases it falls prey to and how best to harvest and eat it.
Griffiths then “completes the cycle” with advice on saving seed.
“I selected the most commonly grown vegetables, such as eggplants, tomatoes and maize, and I included unusual varieties of these vegetables, such as black tomatoes and glass gem maize,” she said.
“And I chose more unusual varieties such as turmeric, tomatillos and okra, as these are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people start experimenting beyond the range of the more regular vegetables.
“I also included information on plenty of companion plants and other edibles, even ones that are known as weeds.”
To Griffiths, growing food the way nature intended is the only way it should be done.
“Otherwise we harm not only ourselves, but the planet.”
She also believes that an increase in food gardening will alleviate poverty.
“It is starting to happen. There are many urban food gardening projects that are successfully run by universities, businesses and public-private partnerships. We have a surprising amount of land available in our cities – from rooftops to pavements and other public spaces. The more these are used to grow food, the better off we will all be.”
To anyone wanting to start off food gardening, Griffiths’s advice is to start small with one bed or a container and learn how to manage that and how to get the maximum harvest from that one bed before expanding. “Start with easy vegetables such as Swiss chard, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and spring onions. And begin by building your soil so that it is as fertile and full of life as possible.”
Griffiths said she started off small. also
“I spent a year travelling in the US and fell in love with spicy Mexican food. However, I knew I wouldn’t be able to find such a wide variety of chillies back home.
“So I collected as many seeds as I could, dug up a sunny corner of lawn in my garden, threw in some compost and sowed them.
“I had 25 varieties of chillies growing that summer and was very quickly hooked on the seemingly simple process of sowing the seeds, nurturing the plants and then making the most of the harvest.
“So every year I dug up more lawn and the chillies were soon joined by lettuces, eggplants, tomatoes and more. And, as my garden expanded, so did my knowledge.
“There was no Google back then and I learned from trial and error. I also read plenty of British and American magazines and books and adapted the information to our climate.”
Griffiths noted that the climate has definitely altered since she began growing in 1995.
“Particularly as far as water is concerned. We all need to start harvesting rain water and using water-wise methods of growing, such as drip or sub irrigation and mulching.
“And get to know your own microclimate by observing the weather patterns and recording them in a diary,” she advised.
Jane’s Delicious A-Z of Vegetables is published by Sunbird Publishers and retails for R280.