Dealing with a small piece of land in your backyard is a very different experience. This become a little bit more pricey but it’s rewarding in the long term
Here are my tips !
1. Wear Gloves : Protect your precious hands and use sun screen for your face
2. Invest in the tools : A water pipe, with the right connections, you need a hoe , a fork and a shovel and a rake. Buy good ones at Build It or any local warehouse.
3. Study the sun rays in your garden. Plan where you will put the plants that require full sun and which area is good for the plants that require semi shade. With land you can invest a lot more vegetables, herbs , ferns and ever green plants
4. Buy plants that will last for years, and not just seasonal plants. Although, some flowers die completely in winter only to come back in the warmer seasons. Make provision for that ..
5. Visit the nursery. They sell seedling in packs of 6 for a good price, two of those and you should be on your way. Chose plants that align with the energy you are trying to project.
6. If you must use seeds, plant them separately first, indoors by the sun. This will save you from the birds. I added a few sunflower seeds to a pot plant before transferring them on to the ground and it really helps
Your favorite days will be when you can use your own veggies in your own kitchen ..
Noma, the Gardener
7. If you have grass in the patch then you have to cut the grass to get to the soil. That’s the tough part. I bought my friend some liquor in exchange for cheap labor and got the gig done.
7. You also need to buy a mat that prevents the grass from interfering with the patches. There’s also using ceramic tiles and I am yet to try this one but it works better. The mat digs into the soil after a few years. I initially added white rocks around my patches but something more permanent is required.
8. When traveling pick flowers from mountains, check if their conditions are aligned with your garden. I picked these from the mountains in Eastern Cape, Mount Fletcher during my first visit there and they are gorgeous !
(Please only pick where it is allowed, don’t mess with the flow of indigenous plants bro – not cool !)
We once bought this beauty above from a neighbor in Sosha for R30, its more than R250 at local nurseries.
Then you live happily ever after 🙂
We will work on unpacking each topic one by one.
