Pensioner’s garden, his pride and joy
Retired teacher loves a challenge, specially when it has to do with nature.
Dunnottar resident Ratsie ‘Phaneul’ Pooe (76) is a retired teacher who loves a challenge.
After his retirement in 1997, he decided to pursue his passion for cultivation of crops and livestock.
Pooe converted part of his backyard into a vegetable garden and also raises chickens.
“Growing your own vegetables ensures fresh produce is available on a daily basis,” he says.
He uses only natural substances to help his food grow and is proud of his hundred per cent organic garden.
“I grew up in a rural area where your livelihood was solely dependent upon cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock for meat, milk and eggs,“ says Pooe.
This motivated him to start a new adventure to keep himself active and busy, instead of sitting around doing nothing.
“Retirement doesn’t mean total relaxation, it means keeping your mind active and to stay busy,” he says.
He grows anything, from onions to beetroot, pumpkin, green beans and onions, carrots, to green peppers, to green and red spinach.
“This garden made me love nature even more,” says Pooe.
He believes wholeheartedly that growing your own vegetables can help the poor.
“My advice to pensioners is to start small.
“The garden will not only provide veggies for your family, but might soon grow into a sustaining business by selling some of the produce to your friends,” he says.
Pooe’s motto is to keep busy and maintain a healthy lifestyle, as be believes, “The devil has work for idle hands and minds“.
This reminds him of when he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014.
He says positive thinking and “allowing God to take control of your life”, is still keeping him going.
Pooe not only grows and harvests his own produce, but also has chickens.
“I raise the chickens for egg production and meat.
“We live off the food we grow, and the chickens, by eating it or selling it to sustain ourselves,” says Pooe.
“I would like to encourage pensioners living off social grants to grow their own vegetables and to remember God has a pocketful of promises.
“You really don’t need a big space to make this happen,” says Pooe.
His wife Johanna (71) says seeing her husband doing something he loves and enjoys makes her happy.
