Hello from South Africa

Hey all, my name is Morné and I am from South Africa. I started my own vegetable garden about 1 year ago and enjoying it. I am sure I'll get a lot of advice from this community. I hope to share my experience with everyone else too

 

Welcome to Garden Stew Morne...it looks like you have already been around for awhile but probably busy getting your garden going. I suppose we have similar climates and can grow similar things. What vegetables have been successful for you this year? Are you growing Moringa tree? Do you know Arhat (aka Monk) Fruit (Momordica grosvenorii)? I have a small garden that is dedicated to nectar and host plants for butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. I can and do grow plants native to South Africa but most of my plants are native to Mexico. If this is your first garden you must have lots of questions and things to talk about.

 

Hello vitrsna! Yes I have been here since last year, but got quite busy in the meantime, my garden did not get much of my attention unfortunately I see you are from Mexico? Yes we should then have similar climates You should tell me how the winters there are? I know it's also a big country, so the weather will differ in certain places, just like here.
This year so far, I have only harvested Capsicum Cayenne chilies. I make my own chili spice from it, which I really like and love to share. I know Mexicans like their chilies and hot food, am I correct? I should visit one day then. I have not has much success with broccoli and cauliflower, due to the grasshoppers. But I make a garlic and water spray which seems to keep them partially away.
The nectar garden sounds lovely and interesting. I grow Acacia trees (thorn trees) which are from Africa, and it is really nice, because you get many different types, and the other thing what I'm now trying to do, is to make bonsai trees from them, since they looks really nice in bonsai from. And yes, I have so much to talk about, is there a way to become friends with people on Gardenstew? Then we can further our discussions and questions?

 

Hello Eileen! Somebody from the northern hemisphere to talk to I am sure we share the same vegetables (I might be completely wrong). I recently got a book from a friend as a gift, which had a nice calendar inside it, showing when to plant certain veggies and fruit trees, but then I saw the book is from the UK. So I had to convert the months of sowing so that it is relevant to our seasons here, since it's the complete opposite. I'm glad I realized that So I ask you, since it is summer there now, what veggies did you plant? Or any other summer veggies that is grown there, maybe I have not yet heard of it. Over here I can tell you of winter veggies that I am planting now. In my vegetable garden, I planted cauliflower, beetroot, peas and also broccoli. I will also soon plant onions, since I have heard that they can withstand cold weather, and I also have celery and lettuce growing inside my greenhouse, to protect from the cold and insects
As I mentioned to vitrsna, the grasshoppers noticed my winter veggies
In the spring I will plant some gem squash, pumpkins, zucchini and butternut, along with tomatoes, green peppers and Swiss chard.

I would love to talk more, especially because of the different seasons.

 

Hi Morne, i suppose the best way to make friends here is to join some forum threads and participate in the ones that are interesting to you and from that you will get an idea of who you have things in common with and who you would like to talk to more. You can continue to have conversations on the forums and also by way of "conversations" which is Garden Stew email. You can have conversations between 2 people or more. But i would start by participating in the forums and get to know some folks that way. I am not "from" Mexico", i am a US citizen but i love the tropical climates and have retired here in a small but growing city in south central western Mexico near the Pacific Ocean. I am located between an active volcano and the Pacific Ocean. We have 2 seasons, dry and wet...both are warm. The last time i checked the average annual temperature is about 79 deg. F (26 deg. C) with no extremes of temperatures. Some Mexicans like their food spicy hot and some Mexicans like to use the milder chilies (like Poblanos) in their cooking. On the Garden Stew home page you will find a list of on-going forum threads, recent posts, and you can also start your own thread. There are experienced gardeners here and fairly new gardeners here and we like to share information and experiences...so jump in and have some fun

 

Thank you so much for the helpful message, Beverly. How do I go about, starting a "conversation" with somebody? Is that like a private message, so to speak? Sorry if my questions are silly, but still kind of new to this website Oh that sounds interesting, so you have moved from a northern country to a southern country where the seasons are opposite, that must have been something to get used to, especially for gardening? Wow the volcano sounds scary, but thrill-seeking I suppose? Best to have plans in place in case something happens, right? Over here we have dry weather in the winter, except for the Western Cape province where they have rain during winter, and that's why they get a lot more snow than more north in the country where I'm from. The Cape region is where all the wine farms are and also where they grow many apple trees which like the weather over there. I cannot wait to plant hooter chilies and try them out for my spices! I will have a look on the forums for things that interest me, thank you so much for the help thus far!

 

Go back to the home page, in the upper right corner you will see "your avatar, name, inbox, alerts"...select "inbox" to start a conversation. I going to have to turn off the computer now. We have a tropical storm coming off the Pacific with thunder, lightning, wind, and rain...i can hear the booming in the background. Not a good idea to use the computer when there is lightning. Talk to you later

 

Thank you for the help! Oh yes, I have lost a computer, router and my camera system due to lightning Better turn it off. I will also say goodnight, since the time zones are different too. Speak soon!

 

Well, the storm took a left and it seems to be by-passing us, but somebody is getting soaked. Here is a thread i started a month or so ago about where i live. The volcano had been erupting from late November 2014 to April 2015 and there are some good videos of it:
http://www.gardenstew.com/threads/i...ng-photos-and-info-about-where-we-live.35618/

 

Hi Caveman
Welcome to GardenStew from southern Ontario!

 

Vitrsna, I am sure your plants aren't very happy with all the water Best of luck, and luckily it did not do too much damage, right?
Hi Netty, wow so far away. It must be really cold up there in the winters, right? What vegetables grow there in the cold? I would love to know
Thank you so much Frank, yes I haven't been active for some time, but now I am finally getting back on GardenStew and can't wait to share some of my own interests, especially with my new mini greenhouse The winter is almost past, so I am thinking of getting a head start with some of my Texas onions and watermelons, since they took quite long last time. And the sad part is, I did not even get one watermelon last summer Maybe luck is on my side this time around Will keep updated!

 

Oh Morne, my plants are delighted with the rains combined with the warm weather, this is when the garden turns into a jungle. They just grow and grow and grow. Sometimes a branch or two are "pruned" by the heavy rains...saves me the trouble. Most tropical plants need really good drainage and each year i try to improve on that but each year there is a possibility that one or two are going to "drown" and drop dead after the rains stop. You have winter? So you are not in a tropical climate, i guess?

 

Welcome Caveman from Virginia. The stew is a great place to be.