A Joburg couple is urging South Africans to resort to gardening in order to beat the looming food shortage in the country.
The couple came up with a garden project known as Little Green Fingers after they found themselves unemployed following the loss of their business.
Hellen Pick of Little Green Fingers said they have now traded at the Fourways Farmers’ Market for a number of weeks and have experienced phenomenal acceptance by both children and adults.
“It is our intention to develop, not only a love of gardening, but an understanding of where and how food gets onto a dinner plate. This is especially important in the times we find ourselves in right now, with escalating food prices and the potential of commodity shortages looming. While the activity of growing your own food can be very rewarding, there are many other facets that are experienced by this activity, such as patience, dedication, care and respect,” said Pick.
Pick said they provide a starter kit packaged in an egg carton, which is biodegradable. She said this egg carton contains a germination medium, seeds as per theme and marker sticks to mark which seed is where. She said this is further provided with full instructions on how to go about growing your own food, together with germination charts and useful information.
“We further do a ‘grow-your-own’ version, which offers the choice of six packs of seeds from our range, so the individual can choose what they want to grow and not have to follow a pre-determined theme,” she said.
“When the seeds have germinated and grown to sufficient size, the entire pod of the egg carton is cut away, and the seedlings can then be planted into the garden or into one of the planters we have available. The planters are supplied with a ‘magic’ growing medium, which is 100 percent organic. The larger planter is supplied on casters for easy manoeuvrability.
