A vital vegetable garden at the Tornado Park Old Age Centre has been severely battered by the huge thunderstorm that raged through Roodepoort on February 18.
According to resident Spencer Peterson, who started the vegetable garden at the old age centre seven years ago, the vegetable market is vital to the elderly residents, since the centre only provides food for them three times per week – these meals are sponsored by a local pastor who makes use of the centre’s facilities to hold a church service every Sunday.
“I started this vegetable garden out of my own pocket and I have been happily toiling in this ground ever since,” Peterson said. “I get a hired helper once a week to do some of the heavy lifting, but other than that, it is just me.”
According to Peterson, his crop generally consists of around 13 different vegetables, which he harvests, washes, cuts up, and sells for R10 per packet.
“I don’t make anything from it,” he said. “The money that it makes pays for the weekly helper and some basic gardening implements. I do it to keep busy and productive, and to help my friends and neighbours.”
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Sunday’s storm brought with it strong winds and heavy hail – so heavy that when the Roodepoort Record visited at 14:00 on Monday, there were still large piles of hailstones on the ground despite the more than 30-degree heat.
“The hail proved too heavy for the netting that I have installed to protect the vegetables,” said Peterson. “This resulted in the about 100mm gum poles that hold everything up simply snapping like twigs.”
The vegetable garden, a labour of love for Peterson but also an important lifeline for many residents, is going to take some doing to repair.
Peterson adds that he simply does not have the funds to replace the broken gum poles that hold the protective netting and the irrigation system up and has invited residents to go and see the work that has gone into the garden. “Luckily the netting itself seems to be intact, but we are going to need to replace nearly all the gum poles to get the netting back off the ground.”
If you would like to contribute toward the repair of this vital vegetable garden, contact Peterson at 082 770 6545.
