Mitchell’s Plain residents have another chance to learn the finer details of growing their own food garden in their backyards.
The 12-week course, which started last week, is offered by Soil For Life, a Constantia-based non-profit organisation that helps people to grow healthy, organic food using simple, low-cost, environmentally-friendly methods.
There are two groups – one meets every Monday at different participants’ homes in and around Colorado Park from 9am until 12.30pm. The other meets every Thursday in Westridge, from 10am until 1pm. After paying R20 to sign up, participants get step-by-step tuition, home visits and resources to grow their own food, rather than buying it.
On Thursday September 3, course participants were making their own seed boxes at Christopher Visagie’s garden in Weltevreden Valley.
Mr Visagie, who completed a course previously and has encouraged his daughters, Jesse and Jodi Williams to attend, has a passion for gardening.
“It is exciting to watch what you plant grow,” he said.
Since starting his own garden his knowledge had grown “little by little” allowing him to keep trying something new, he said.
Soil for Life trainer Joy Erasmus, from Westridge, said: “Just to see the seeds grow is amazing.”
Course participants learn how to use recyclables in their gardens, including the insides of longlife milk cartons to harness sunlight, toilet-paper holders to harvest seeds, tablet tubs to store seeds, egg trays to plant seedlings, and onion or orange net bags to create windbreakers.
For more information, call Sandi Lewis at 073 159 2128.