COMMENT, by Pete Bower
GAUTENG
MAGAZINE
HOW TO MAKE YOUR PLOT PROFITABLE
Vol 17 No 10 October 2016 PUBLISHED BY Bowford Publications( Pty) Ltd Established 1985
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FRONT COVER
Preparing a patch of ground for planting. It doesn’ t matter what one uses to get the job done, so long as it gets done in time for the rains.
COMMENT, by Pete Bower
A multifarious skill-set
There ' s an ancient Chinese curse that goes“ may you live in interesting times. For us who live on smallholdings there are times when it could just as well be“ May you live on a plot.” For there are times in every maplotter ' s life when everything seems to go wrong at once, and one finds oneself wondering why the hell one embarked on life on a smallholding in the first place: the borehole dries up, the water tank is leaking, the tractor won ' t start, there are aphids on the cabbages, a sheep is sick, and the child ' s pony has gone lame the day before an important horse show. Oh, and then the neighbour decides to choose that day to burn a firebreak, which burns out of control and into your only remaining grazing. Sound familiar? Seriously, this smallholder life does mean that, in time, one acquires an incredibly broad skill-set, and an equally broad knowledge base of often quite obscure stuff. And, actually, as one takes stock of one ' s life this Spring, I think we can pat ourselves on the back at what we ' ve learnt as smallholders. For, if you keep livestock, you will have learnt about feeding, nutrition, procreation and basic first aid. You will, hopefully, have learnt to recognise the symptoms of the most common ailments your animals suffer, and how to treat them. And all of this for each different species you keep, such as poultry, ponies for the kids, sheep or cattle. To keep them from straying you will have learnt how to build a fence, hang a gate and repair the wire when it breaks. Hanging gates and erecting fences will have taught you about concrete and you will have learnt the hard way that the equivalent of a wheelbarrow of cement is two pockets of cement, not one. Your forays into the wonderful world of concrete may have emboldened you to attempt other building projects such as construction of tractor sheds, stables and cement reservoirs and possibly laying of concrete driveways. Thus you will have learnt why a good spirit level is a necessary tool in your kit, unless you don ' t mind your plot constructions resembling the Zimbabwe Ruins. Because your animals require water in the paddocks you will have learnt about boreholes, tanks and tank stands, windmills and booster pumps, not to mention the difference between thick and thin water pipe( and why it is necessary to bury it at a depth that cannot be reached by a garden fork, pick-axe or spade), and how to join an irrigation system up so that it delivers an adequate amount of water to the required spot, without pipes bursting or joints leaking. And because your animals require grazing you will have learnt about pasture grasses, increaser and decreaser species, and you will have recognised palatable versus unpalatable species as you observe the grasses that are eaten by your animals, and those that are left behind. Not to mention that you will hopefully have more than a passing knowledge of fire management and the laws surrounding firebreaks, and firefighting equipment( which you will also have learnt to operate efficiently). If your animals are kept to provide you with food you will have learnt how to milk a cow, and possibly also how to make your own butter, yoghurt and cheese. You might also have tried your hand at slaughtering, hopefully under the watchful eye and advice of somebody experienced in this gruesome art. Or, at the very least you will have learnt where the nearest small abattoir is located. Growing your own fruit and vegetables will have taught you about fertilization, manuring and composting, not to mention about pruning and spraying, companion planting, succession planting, pest and disease control. And you will probably have rummaged around to your grandmother ' s old cookbooks for recipes and methods of bottling, pickling and freezing to preserve the harvest you reap. Your large garden will have meant you are, after a decade or so, on your third or fourth lawnmower, having FINALLY learnt that“ goedkoop is duurkoop” when choosing machines not up to the task you ask of them. And, of course, you will have become an expert in the arcane science of the septic tank. You will have learnt, probably the hard way, that caustic soda as a drain cleaner, and the disgusting habit of discarding cigarette stompies down the loo, are instant recipes for your septic system to turn into a bubbling stinky fly pit. Yes, there is a lot to learn when you become a smallholder, no less important being how to pass your new-found knowledge on to your staff and family.
SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE GAUTENG SMALLHOLDER