The Gardener December

The story of a Farmgarden

chillies &cinnamonTwo Tastesensations

R22.95OTHER COUNTRIESR20.13 Excl. TAXOn sale 22 November to 20 December 2010

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Build: patio tables & benches,water baubles & half moonsmake: table décor, lanterns, herb baskets, strawberry trees & more

PolygalasPoinsettias

Poppies

BeauTiFulgardenias &

african dog roses

DECEMBER 2010

SOUTH AFRICAfor everyone who loves gardeninggardener

YOUR FAVOURITE GARDENING MAGAZINE

PoT uP our

coverrecipe inside

The story of a Farmgarden

chillies &cinnamon

Two Tastesensations it’s

christmas!diY

Projects

galore

Publisher Lonehill Trading (Pty) LtdEditor Tanya VisserManaging Director Kevin BeaumontManaging Editor (Editorial enquiries)Wendy Moulton 031 764 0593 [email protected] Copy EditorDesiree Collett van RooyenArt DirectorRuth BrophyWeb and Graphic DesignTanya CampherPhotography Geoff Redman,David van den Bergh

AdvertisingJonathan Gouws 031 764 0593 [email protected]

Advertising and Classifieds Mokete Maepa 031 764 0593 [email protected]

Groundcover Advertising/ Advertising Production Controller Rusty Croft 031 764 0593 [email protected]

Office Administrator (Enquiries) Kim van Rooyen 031 764 0593 [email protected]

DIY ExpertGarth Demmer

SubscriptionsRNA 011 473 8700 [email protected]

Editorial contributors Alice Spenser-Higgs, Angela Beckx, Anna Celliers, Di-Di Hoffman, Gary English, Gerald Schofield, Graham Duncan, Glynne Anderson, Kevin Beaumont, Louis van Aswegen, Dr Hugh Glen, Ilona Thorndike, Jenny Dean, Ludwig Taschner, Margaret Roberts, Ruth Brophy, Tanya Visser, Wendy Moulton.

Editorial Head Office 3 Haygarth Road, Kloof PO Box 29244, Maytime 3624 Telephone (031) 764 0593 Telefax (031) 764 1148 e-mail: [email protected]

Copyright subsists in all work published in this magazine. Any reproduction or adaptation, in whole or part, without written permission is strictly prohibited. The Gardener will not be held responsible for any omissions or errors. Unsolicited material will not be accepted. The Gardener is available at leading nurseries and selected retail outlets nationally.

December 201006 Thank you!

A letter to Santa

32 The Merry Garden DIYer Things to make and seek out

40 The Story of a Farm Garden Janbasterskloof near Montagu

46 Polygala Fast growing and free-

flowering marvels

52 Festive Tropics The pot recipe you need

to plant up our cover

1 Welcome8 Garden Graft Ideas, tips and tasks for December14 Your letters16 Moon Gardening Following December’s Moon17 Lunar gardening Guide18 Plant profile EUPHORBIA pulcherrima21 In the Garden with Anna Plants to love, things to do50 Diary of a Cape garden Instant shade & screening54 Indigenous with Jenny Dean The Perfect Gift56 Rose Care Holiday Roses58 Growing Herbs Make Your Own Herbal Gifts60 Growing Vegetables Peppers – Sweet & Hot64 Bonsai Terminal buds66 Petpourri The Festive Season67 The Spice Collection Cinnamon68 Koi Thinking about taking the plunge?86 Tales from the Green Dragon Party Time104 The Day is Done Vermont Salt Pan

FEA

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CREATEDEFINE YOUR LIVING SPACE73 Making Waves Make a patio table with pizzazz

76 Back from the edge A garden makeover

80 Garden projects using cement A garden of many Moons Festive water Bauble

83 Glass in the garden Focus on reflections

MARKETPLACE91 New products

94 The Gardener DVD series

97 Groundcover advertisements

99 Classified Directory

COMPETITIONS PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS12 Happenings and events

13 Paint a Poppy Competition with Starke Ayres, Wizzard Worms and The Gardener Magazine

20 Elands Emerald Collection Astroemeria - Princess Lilies

36 Gift from Starke Ayres California Poppies

38 The Biggest Horticultural Show of the Year

88 Subscribe and win Aquaponic Barrel Planters from Home Organic

90 Reduce your Koi pond running costs with Waterfall Pumps

A typical family gathering, here we are celebrating Mom’s 73rd birthday in August 2010.

ON THE COVERTurn to page 52 for the ‘recipe’ and details of all the plants that make up our festive pot.

Tanya dressed by:

Visit us on:

w w w. t h e g a r d e n e r . c o . z a

Green Champion

W e l c o m e

SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS?PLEASE CONTACT OUR HELPDESKIf you are a subscriber and have experienced poor service from our subscriptions agency, RNA, please accept our sincere apologies. RNA has recently installed a new IT system to improve its operations, but we have become aware that ‘teething problems’ have affected the service badly in some instances, causing some of our subscribers to suffer frustration and disappointment. If you are one of these subscribers, please send an e-mail to us at [email protected] or phone Daleen on 031 764 0593, so we can assist you.

My mother has been my biggest fan and supporter, my moral compass and my inspiration to garden. This issue of The Gardener is dedicated to her memory, so forgive me, please, for using this page to celebrate her life and share my

sadness at her passing. My Mom, Jenny, died on 19 October 2010, only three short months after a diagnosis of cancer. My family and I had the privilege of caring for Mom right to the end, so we got to spend almost every minute of those last precious months with her. Losing someone you love really hurts. The fact that Mom is now at peace and in no pain takes away none of the hurt and loss and emptiness.

My Mom grew up in and around Umzinto, where she spent much of her time with her best friend Dawn. Her best friend went on to become her sister-in-law because Rodney, my Dad, was Dawn’s brother. From those early days the Voster and the Visser family were linked, and they remain so today. The two families became one big, loud unit that spent almost every day together in some way. In later years my Mom was often central to the gatherings, many of them taking place at her home in Pennington.

Mom started work early and stuck with it! She started at the Standard Bank when she was just 19, and she retired after many, many years, still at the same branch. Later in life Mom had the opportunity to travel. I wasn’t able to accompany her and Aunty Dawn when they visited our family in Canada, but the photographs allowed me to feel that I had been there too. I was there on her other trips and I remember her relaxing under the palm trees on a beautiful beach in the Comores; sailing on a catamaran in Mauritius; eating baguettes on the balcony of a villa in Majorca, and wandering through parks and gardens in England. (Perhaps I should be more accurate about the trip to England – I dragged Mom, together with my Aunty Dawn and my Aunty Ria, through every possible botanical garden in the whole of England, and I think they were a little averse to gardens for a while after that.) Actually, Mom loved gardening and she loved her garden. She spent many happy hours in it, with azaleas, orchids and anthuriums taking pride of place. She enjoyed being a garden club member and won quite a few trophies – I think she was fairly competitive because she would often phone me to ask which plant in her

garden best matched the current competition’s requirements.In many ways Mom was quirky. She had a dry, sharp sense of

humour. She loved telling a story and sharing a good joke. My Mom was everyone’s mom, aunt, friend, sister or carer. She did so many kind things for so many people, most often without anyone else knowing. She loved life and she spent hers well. She was so brave in the face of loss and illness, and she dealt with her illness with more dignity than I knew any human being could muster, and through it all she retained her sharp sense of humour. We loved her so much, and we still do. With holidays and celebrations starting, or just around the corner, there cannot be a better time to make peace with enemies, to make contact with old friends and those you have neglected, and to tell those close to you how much you love them. And, of course, spend some holiday time in the garden – few things ease a gardener’s troubled heart better than a little time spent gardening.

Happy times! Mom and I on 12 June 2010 – a very special day.

8 l www.thegardener.co.za

DECEMBER DIARY

Garden

GraftPrime Planting

We dig this hot combination! In front is the humble STACHYS byzantina (lamb’s ears)with its velvety, silver-grey leaves that are so cooling in a summer garden and so soft tothe touch. In the back, grows the fiery LOTUS berthelotii, a very photogenic, spreadinggroundcover that is quite hardy in hot and windy areas. Both plants can be grown toperfection in containers as well. L. berthelotii on its own is magnificent in summerhanging baskets. The grey foliage of both is an indication of hardiness to heat, windand dry spells, but regular watering is needed to keep them lush.

Plant nowA new blue that can take the heat in hanging baskets and containers is Scaevola ‘BluePrint’, which has lavender blue, fan-shaped flowers. The mounded plant starts offcompact and then trails as it matures. It flowers from late spring to autumn. Scaevolaprefers a free-draining soil that should be allowed to dry out between watering.Monthly feeding encourages more flowers.

Your lawn� Continue to feed, water and mow regularly. However, if you are going away onholiday, then do not feed now, just give the lawn a last mow and a deep watering theday before you leave.� Damp weather can cause fungal diseases, which can be treated with a suitablefungicide – your local nursery will recommend the correct product. Look out for thefollowing symptoms:Dollar spot is characterised by bleached patches that merge and darken, leaving visiblefungal cobwebs in dew.Brown patch shows up as irregular dead or brown patches and causes grass cover tobecome quite sparse. This problem is exacerbated if the lawn is compacted.Fairy rings are dark green rings, ever increasing in diameter. Clusters of slender toad-stools can also make an appearance.

Bugs, pests and problemsThe two-spotted mite, also known as the red spider mite, is a bad pest in hot and dryweather. Affected leaves show light mottling then eventually turn yellow and fall off. Onclose inspection fine silk webbing is visible on the underside of leaves. Infestations ofthis mite are worst when air circulation is bad and there is a lack of humidity. To preventthis, mist the foliage of plants frequently in dry weather, particularly on the underside ofthe leaves. Strong smelling herbal sprays and organic remedies containing pyrethrumcan be used to combat this pest.

Scaevola ‘Blue Print’

STACHYS byzantina

www.thegardener.co.za l 9

Hints when going on holiday� Postpone delicate tasks like seed sowing, division, potting up and the taking ofcuttings until you are home again.� Rid all flowerbeds of weeds and then mulch thoroughly. Trim all hedges beforeleaving – a very neat, well-kept garden might fool prospective burglars into thinkingyou are at home.� Remove old blooms and disbud repeat-flowering plants just before leaving toencourage new flowers for when you return.� If you do not have an automatic irrigation system, ask a friendly neighbour to wateryour garden in your absence. To make it easier on them, attach time switches andhosepipes to all taps, and group potted plants together in the shade of a tree wherethey will be easier to water and will dry out more slowly.� Add water retention granules to the potting soil in all your outdoor pots. This can goa long way to preventing precious plants from drying out and dying. Top up every potwith fresh compost, this helps keep the soil moist and cool.� Remember to cancel newspaper deliveries and ask somebody to empty your postbox otherwise both will be a dead give-away that you are not in residence.� To give your indoor plants a fighting chance do the following: place an old blanketin the bath, wet it thoroughly and place all your pot plants on it after watering themwell. Leave curtains or blinds open to allow the most light to reach the plants.� Pack away all garden tools, the wheelbarrow, small pieces of garden furniture andornaments that can be carried off. Make sure that the garden shed is locked up securely.� Fix any outdoor security lights that are not working and remember to let yourneighbourhood watch and/or security firm know that you are going to be away.� Give a neighbour or family member a key to your house, in case your alarm goes off.The sound of a siren blasting away, non-stop, is unpleasant for the whole neighbour-hood. Make sure that all security ‘eyes’ and alarms are clear of debris and insect nestsbefore you leave. It is sometimes only an innocent spider crawling over a watchful ‘eye’that sets off the racket!

Kitchen gardening

If your vegetable garden is in full production and you are planning to go away, thenharvest as much of the ripe fruit, vegetables and herbs as you can. Dry, can, bottle andfreeze the excess for when you return. Invite your neighbours and friends to pick freshproduce while you are away. Put down a thick layer of organic mulch to keep the soilmoist and suppress weeds.

10 l www.thegardener.co.za

DECEMBER DIARY

In yourregion

Summer rainfalltemperate� Get the look of tempered steelfrom silver lamb’s ears and add atouch of pink from a ‘My Granny’rose. This is a great combination fora narrow but sunny bed next to ahouse. When asked about watering,the gardener who planted thecombination photographed heresaid she irrigates as needed.Although the rose needs morewater than the more drought-tolerant lamb’s ears, she has foundthat the lamb’s ears function asliving mulch, keeping the rose rootsin the shade and the soil cool andmoist for much longer.

Winter rainfall� Keep your greenery in topshape. According to all the garden-ing books SYZYGIUM paniculatum’Globulum’ grows slowly, but itseems to pick up speed in summerand frequent clippings are neededto preserve topiaries created withthis plant. Would these lovelyspecimens not make fantasticChristmas trees?� One can never prune enough insummer. This goes for all ever-greens, whether they are togetherin hedge form, acting as wind-breaks or just screening off a nasty-looking corner in the garden. Themore you prune (although gently)in summer, the denser the growth.This means good pruning tools areessential, so add them to the ‘mostwanted’ column on the Christmasgift list.

Dry continental� It’s time for colourful portulaca!Plant lots of them in your rockgarden and they will supply youwith heart-lifting colour over manymonths. You can sow seeds or buythem as seedlings in punnets.� Do you need to cool thingsdown a bit? Plant pots full of thestately KALANCHOE thyrsifolia.Complement its large, nearly sea-green leaves edged in maroon withHELICHRYSUM petiolare, plantedaround the edges of the pots.Together they look extremely smart.�

Summer rainfallsubtropical� Feed hibiscus and take tip cuttings.� Plant brightly coloured annuals inpots for the patio and around the poolarea.� Plant some of the ‘Bambino’ range ofbougainvilleas in large containers and dotthem around the garden. When in flower,they are colourful and very tropical-looking.� Try some ‘oddball’ plants in pots – thebeautiful AEONIUM ‘Sunburst’ springs tomind. Although it hails from Mediterra-nean climes, it will fare well here ifwatered regularly and kept in light shade.

AEONIUM ‘Sunburst’

5 YEAR

WARRANTY

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Making Wavesdiy

The striking pattern on this patio table and benches makes them

especially appealing. it’s easier than you would think to make these

‘waves’, so pop down to your closest Builders and get

set to start sawing.

www.thegardener.co.za i 73

MaterialsMeranti pieces, measurements in mm

6 @ 1800 x 144 x 22 – tabletop

4 @ 1552 x 144 x 22 – bench tops

2 @ 1760 x 144 x 22 – bench legs

4 @ 720 x 44 x 44 – table legs

2 @ 1370 x 69 x 22 – table framework

3 @ 745 x 69 x 22 – table framework

4 @ 1320 x 68 x 20 – bench braces

4 @ 292 x 68 x 20 – bench braces

2 @ 251 x 52 x 20 – bench braces

2 @ 1360 x 44 x 44 – bench braces

Other materialsLengths of 20 x 20 mm pine for cleats (approx. 7 metres)

Wood glue

50 full thread screws (40 x 35 mm)

20 oval wire nails

Meranti wood filler

1 litre Woodoc Penetrating Polywax Sealer

tOOlsJigsaw, belt sander with sandpaper, brush, cordless drill with screw attachment, countersink bit, hammer, pencil and tape measure

Some products may not be available at Builders Trade Depot.

step 1To create the curves in the Meranti for the tabletop

and the bench tops and legs, draw a curving line down the centre of each of the 12 Meranti pieces that are 144 mm wide, allowing at least a 40 mm margin from either edge. Cut along the lines using a jigsaw. Label each of the matching pieces so it will be easy to match them up later.

step 2Mark a wavy pattern on the edges of each of the 4 table

legs, tapering off 100 mm from the top of each. Using the jigsaw, shape the legs.

step 3Using the belt sander, sand every shaped piece,

softening all the edges slightly. Finish the sanding by hand.

step 4Make the tabletop frame, using the following pieces:

2 @ 1370 x 69 x 22 and 2 @ 745 x 69 x 22. Screw the long pieces into the ends of the short pieces creating a rectangle, reinforcing the joins with wood glue. To stabilise the frame, screw in and glue the last 745 x 69 x 22 piece midway between the two ends. Next, cut 8 sections from the pine for use as cleats: 2 @ 657 mm, 2 @ 705 mm, and 4 @ 630 mm. Screw and glue these pieces to the upper inside edges of all sections of the frame. Now attach the legs to the frame.

step 5Lay the 1800 x 144 x 22 Meranti planks on top

of the table frame, in their matching pairs, leaving a 5 mm gap between each

‘wave’. Secure them to the table by gluing them to the frame and putting

screws into them from underneath, through all the cleats. (See Figure 1

for a view of the underside of the completed table.)

step 6To make up the bench-

es begin by cutting each of the ‘wavy’ 1760 mm-length

pieces into 4 sections (of 440 mm each), mak-

ing 8 pieces. Each leg consists of 2 of these

sections. Use the 292 mm planks as

crossbars (2 for each leg) –

attach one across one end

and the other

What yOu need frOM

74 I www.thegardener.co.za

1800 mm

figure 1.

figure 2.

1370 mm

705

mm

720

mm

657 mm

1360 mm

1552 mm

440 mm

745 mm

1320 mm

745

mm

a

a

B

290 mm from the end. Use two of the ‘wavy’ 1552 mm pieces for each bench top: attach the legs to them at each end, using glue and wire nails. Next, attach the following, all of which act as braces to strengthen the bench: two 1320 mm pieces along the length of the bench (underneath, along each side), the 251 mm piece crosswise in the centre, and the 1360 mm piece lengthwise, attached to the lower crossbars on either side. Repeat for the other bench. (See Figure 2 for a view of the underside of a completed bench.)

step 7Use the wood filler to fill the indentations

made by the nails and to neaten any other imperfections. Give the table and benches a good sanding, then seal with Woodoc Penetrating Polywax Sealer.

1

2

3

292 mm

251 mm

VOUCHER

Builders Warehouse is the leader in home improvement. You will find everything you might need for home improvement, under one roof, plus each store has a dedicated builder’s counter and quotations department.

Builders Express is the family garden and DIY centre,and caters for all gardening and DIY enthusiasts.

Builders Trade Depot stocks a full range of building materials supplying contractors across a broad spectrum of the building industry.

For more information on the products supplied by Builders, and great advice on almost any garden DIY project, go to www.builders.co.za or phone the customer care line: 0860 BUILDERS/284533.

HELPING BUILD AFRICA

3b

4b

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6b

6c


Thank you! A letter to Santaby Anna Celliers

Dear Santa To publish our magazines, The Gardener and Die Tuinier, requires a very special team of people – hardy workers with steel in their veins – that have, over the years, become more family than colleagues to one another, sharing each other’s ups and downs. Maybe it was you Santa, who gave us as gifts to each other, maybe not, but, I thank you in any event, just in case you forget some new gifts this year.

• Thank you for Tanya, a real bullterrier (not a yorkie!) who never relents when it comes to fighting for and protecting her product and her employees. Her energy and her love of gardening is an inspiration. Granted, she sometimes has a short attention span and when the rest of us indulge ourselves with too-long editorial meetings, arguing about gardening articles, she simply wanders off to divide some agapanthus, leaving us engaged in our serious think-tank. But anybody who thinks that she’s not listening is a fool – and she can hear even while riding on a lawnmower – and beware if she does not agree…

• Thank you for Kevin, the cool, calm and collected head boy, bean-counter and disciplined Capricorn. He seldom raises his voice, is prepared to listen to long sob stories, does not judge and after a bit of haggling even approves those expenses that were not budgeted for. Kevin is like an oak tree in Stellenbosch – sturdy and forever!

• Thank you for Wendy, our managing editor. She is fond of cracking the whip but without her, the magazines will never hit the streets. The rest of us will just say: “tomorrow is another day” and walk off to go gardening. This woman can do anything, from cooking, planting, designing, styling, DIY-ing and flower-arranging, to dealing with the guilty party when things go wrong. But she’s great fun and always ”n bokkie vir sports!”.

• Thank you for Gerald, our walking gardening encyclopaedia, with his awesome knowledge of plants and all their secrets. Gerald is deadly serious one minute and frivolous the next. If you are tired of working, bored or just feeling down, he takes you to one of his favourite botanical gardens and spends hours telling you all about the plants, which he seems to know on a personal basis. He is just so special!

• Thank you for Desiree, our English copy editor. Des is a soft soul who will never hurt a living thing, although I always try to drive her up the wall with all my snail-murdering ideas! Des is like a huge safety net. Every word we write is scrutinised by her for factuality and correctness. You cannot fool Des and she knows how to germinate veggie seeds on her computer box!

• Thank you for Henriette, our Afrikaans translator, living dictionary and ghost worker (we never see her!), who leaves no stone unturned when she is looking for the correct Afrikaans terms for any screw, glue or flower – not an easy job! She is like a warm ray of sunshine and never looses her cool, even when we cover her with last-minute technical stuff to translate and demand immediate attention because we have to go to print in a hurry. • Thank you for Eunia, our Afrikaans text editor (another ghost worker) who has to edit every story and gets Die Tuinier’s pages print-ready every month. She puts on her glasses, sharpens her red pen and waves her magic wand.

• Thank you for Ruth, our elegant art director who loves her stiletto heels. We are always wondering how she manages to stay on them all day! She has a tough attitude about long-winded titles and the ability to turn an average garden into an earthly paradise while designing the pages. Her head is full of great ideas that we will turn into features in the future.

• Thank you for ‘TC’ – Tanya Campher – our graphic and web designer. TC is responsible for Die Tuinier’s pretty covers and our good-looking websites. TC is our ‘fun girl’; she’s very quiet at the office but a frolicking filly when we go outside to play!

• Thank you for Geoff our senior photographer. Geoff and I have a special bond. When he comes to Cape Town on a working trip, we get up at sparrow’s whistle to get into the pretty gardens before the sun spoils the pictures. Geoff can bring out the best in every garden, and make it look like a million dollars! We often get lost on our travels, but we always see things that bring great enjoyment to both of us.

• Thank you for David our photographer. He is a soft-hearted, willowy young man with a great smile and lots of patience with temperamental, loud ladies. If you want something, he gives it to you. If you don’t, he leaves you in peace. My type of guy!

• Thank you for Garth, our handyman. His rough hands covered in golden hairs and small flecks of sunshine are always ready to tackle any project we might dream up. Our readers of the fairer sex all want this patient and long-suffering man in their Christmas box, but we cannot let him go. What would we do without him? So, tough cookies for them, I’m sorry to say!

• A special thank you for Jonathan, our advertising man, who has a demanding job marketing our products and keeping our clients happy. Jonathan always has to reach his deadline and goals. If not, we are very harsh, even to the point of pulling out some toenails... He is as charming as Omar Sharif, fully bilingual and seldom at home – just like you Santa, when you are busy on a round of Xmas deliveries.

• Thank you for Mokete, our classified marketer with the warm telephone voice. Mokete does not like making tea (we are too full of orders!), but his mojo is always intact, his karma is cool and he has a soothing influence on the rest of us. When he looks at you enquiringly while you are ‘shooting your mouth off’, you shut up!

• Thank you for the very special Rusty, our advertising production controller and top scone baker. She often surprises a jaded lot in the office with a fresh batch when coming back from a lunch break. To be coddled by Rusty with the sympathetic words: “how are you, my precious heart?” is to feel at peace. Rusty is a child of a gracious era, when humankind was still well-mannered and caring.

• Thank you for Kim, our office administrator. Without her we would all be stranded. She is always busy trying to get somebody out of trouble – like finding new flights for those that were missed, or talking to readers that are looking for some elusive plant. Kim is the glue that keeps our office together, and she keeps the milk in the fridge and the coffee on the boil.

My deepest thanks dear Santa, I keep for last, and they are for all the readers that you have given us. It is such a privilege to be in their homes and hearts and to share our love for gardening with them!

Love and regards, as always,Anna

PS: Santa, do you have my new address? The house is small and the chimney narrow so have you lost a bit of weight already? Perhaps rather come via the front door. I do not want my new grandson to get scared and dirty and, with respect, please see that he is warm and cosy, his grandmother does not want to kiss cold hands and feet.

Kevin

Tanya

Anna

Geoff

DesireeWendy

Ruth

TC

DavidRusty

Jonathan

Mokete

Garth

Henriette

Eunia

Kim

Gerald

www.thegardener.co.za I 7


SUBS

CRI

BE &

WIN

If you subscribe or renew your subscription before 20 December 2010 your name will go into the draw for one of three Aquaponic Barrel Planter Kits from Home Organic. With an Aquaponic Barrel Planter Kit all you need to do is to put in the plants and feed the fish because the aquaponics ecosystem takes care of everything else.

More about aquaponic barrel PlantersWith Home organic’s new range of aquaponic barrel Planters, growing vegetables and herbs is an easy, exciting and fun activity for the whole family – you feed your fish and your vegetables and herbs flourish.

the barrel Planters contain a small pond with growing bed above it. the nutrient-rich fish waste water is fed from the pond to the gravel bed, the plants absorb the nutrients (and flourish), and the clean water returns to the fish below. the system is a basic eco-cycle that is 100% organic.

the aquaponic barrel Planter Kit comes complete with barrel, pond, pump, timer, grow bed and simple step-by-step instructions to get the system up and running. It makes an attractive feature in any garden or on any sunny veranda.

Visit the Home organic website to see the other aquaponic units available. For more information contact Dayle on 084 501 6152, e-mail: [email protected] or go to the website: www.homeorganic.co.za.

Call (011) 473 8700 with your credit card details

or SMS ‘Subs TG’ to 41939 (R2/sms) and we’ll call you!

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The Gardener December

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Transcript of The Gardener December