Random Harvest Newsletter Archive

Dear indigenous Enthusiast,

I am so excited that spring is in the air and the plants are starting to bud and bloom.  Normally at this time of year the Dombeya rotundifolia (Wild Pear) start opening their flowers which tells me that spring is here.  

This year they have totally let me down and are not flowering at all.  Luckily the Celtis africana (White Stinkwood) are announcing spring with their wonderful, lacework of delicate young green leaves.  There is no colour like this in spring and it is always a joy to see.

IN THE NURSERY

Electricity is still costing us a fortune despite the solar system, so we decided to invest in another 2 batteries and another row of panels.  Hopefully over time this will relieve the cost burden.  It is always exciting when working on this type of project.

The pond in the retail nursery started leaking (it lasted 28 years) and it was time to fix it.  I got my nephew from Waterbrothers to come along and refurbish it.  

It surprised me at what a huge job it was.  But now, WOW, it is beautiful and perfectly clear.  I could not believe what a great job his men did – we are thrilled.

The water is so clear, and the fish are happy, but we are going to have to add lots of plants to give them places to hide from predators.

We have started preparing our new bulb beds, which have had to be raised above ground level to prevent the moles getting in and feasting  on the bulbs.  We were lucky enough to get some second-hand precast walling to construct the beds, which works perfectly.

Of course, with the coming of warmer weather I have got the gardening bug.  We are busy pruning and composting the garden.  This makes me realise just how big this garden is and what a lot of work it is, but the rewards of a beautiful, healthy garden are huge and well worth the effort.

We are open on Heritage Day Tuesday 24th September

FOOD PARCEL DONATIONS

David and Jeffreys commitment to our outreach program is heartwarming.    Besides the distribution of food parcels, they are making a significant contribution to making a difference in people's lives with their willingness to help and advise them.  I am really proud of them and grateful for the amount of their personal time they spend on this.

Please could I ask you to continue with your generous donations without which we would be unable to continue assisting those in genuine need.

I also want to assure you that the full amount of your donations goes directly to those in need and not peripheral expenses.

If you prefer, we are always happy to receive nonperishable food stuff.  Please put us on your shopping list if it is your intention to come along for a visit and drop your donations off.

Our banking details are:

Random Harvest Nursery, FNB 51441129818 Cheque account: code 25 07 41, Reference: Food Parcels 

BIRDING BASICS COURSE – BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND 

This course will be held on 21 September  2024 at Random Harvest Nursery in Muldersdrift, which includes a bird walk before the course and a light meal.

If you are interested in birds and want to learn more about birding as a hobby or need a refresher, then the Birding Basics Course is perfect for you. Join Lance Robinson and Chris Hines who will help you learn about bird identification through plumage patterns, the diversity of beaks and feet, and using habitat and distribution to aid identification. We will also cover some aspects of bird biology. 

Additionally, we'll help you access and use tools such as books, apps, internet resources, and binoculars. The emphasis is on developing your birding skills through enhancing observation and interpretation.  Come along for a bit of fun to open up a whole world of opportunities to see birds and nature in an enriching way.  

Cost: R600 per person – Please enquire about couples and family discounts
Time: 7h00 for 7h30
Booking is essential - please contact Ronald on [email protected] or Tel. No. 066-587-3077

BIRD WALKS

This is a wonderful time of year to go for a bird walk.  Not only can you easily spot all the beautiful birds but the pre-rain flowers in the grassland are popping up, adding to the interest and enjoyment of the walk.  This is the time to see all the interesting tiny plants that grow in the grassland before they are shaded out by the grasses.

Date: 7th September with Lance Robinson

Time (for both walks): 7h00 for 7h30

Date: 5th October with Chris Hines
Cost: R195.00 per person, this includes a delicious breakfast buffet 

Booking is essential - please contact Ronald on [email protected] or Tel. No. 066-587-3077

COFFEE MORNING

Date:  Wednesday 4th September at 10h30
Topic: Creating beautiful containers that are also wildlife friendly
Be inspired to combine plants in containers to not only look beautiful, but also to include species that can nurture locally occurring wildlife.

Date:  Wednesday 2nd October at 10h30 Topic: Scorpion Sting First Response

Scorpions represent a contradiction within the human mind. It is true that a few species of scorpion are venomous enough to cause harm to us and in rare cases death. However, at the same time they are a vital component of those natural systems that give us life! 

This Essential Scorpion Sting First Response Presentation provides a unique structured framework that will greatly reduce the risk of being stung by a scorpion, and provide the best possible outcome, should a scorpion sting occur in both humans and pets. This framework of understanding can be applied anytime and anywhere, does not require any special equipment. Essential life skills for everyone who may encounter a scorpion at home, at work or in the environment.

Jonathan will have his latest book, Essential Scorpion Sting First Response for sale at the event. 

Coffee Morning Cost: R25.00 per person towards our food parcel drive and includes a cup of coffee.  No booking

HOLISTIC WELLNESS RETREATS & WORKSHOPS - New at Random Harvest.

Jana, founder of The Journey Tree and New Insights Certified Life Coach, in collaboration with a team of wellness practitioners, will be launching Holistic Wellness Retreats & Workshops at Random Harvest in October. They will be facilitating a wide range of wellness programmes every month and what better way to restore your wellbeing than in the beautiful and soul-restoring surroundings of our farm?

Find out more contact Jana on [email protected]

PRACTICAL GARDENER TRAINING

Give your gardener the gift of knowledge! This full-day workshop is perfect for gardeners working in the residential, corporate, hospitality and school environment. 

The knowledge imparted plus the practical component will help gardeners at all levels to reach their full potential and understand the importance of their work.
 
The cost includes course material, beautiful certificate of attendance, tea/coffee on arrival, breakfast and a cooked lunch! An enjoyable, inspirational day for these invaluable men and women.

WhatsApp Lindsay on 0824499237 or email [email protected] to book your gardeners’ place.

Course date: Friday 13th September and Friday 11th  October, from 08h30 to 15h30 

TEA GARDEN

Unbelievably it is time to start thinking of year-end functions and wondering about where to celebrate.

Our beautiful Boma under the tall Fever Trees has been the choice for many memorable celebrations, with guests raving about the exceptional atmosphere and delicious food. 

Whether you're planning a corporate event or a festive gathering with friends, we invite you to join us for an unforgettable experience. Secure your spot today and let us make your year-end celebration truly special!

For bookings and more information - please contact Ronald on [email protected] or Tel. No. 066-587-3077

COTTAGES

This month we decided to ask one of our regular customers about why she loves staying with us every chance she gets, and this is what she had to share with us.

“As a young lady navigating the demands of corporate life, I find immense peace in spending time at Random Harvest Country Cottages. The serenity of the countryside offers a stark contrast to my hectic work environment, allowing me to unwind and recharge. 

Whether it's walking through open fields, listening to the rustle of leaves, or simply breathing in the fresh air, every moment on the farm helps me reconnect with nature and myself. After each visit, I return to my life feeling rejuvenated, centered, and more balanced, ready to take on new challenges with a clear mind.“

For bookings and more information - please contact Ronald on [email protected] or Tel. No. 066-587-3077

RETAIL NURSERY

The team have been very busy preparing the retail nursery.  

They have built new edging all the way around.  What I love about this is that we have recycled and reused decking offcuts (which were consigned to the rubbish heap) in an innovative way. This is in keeping with our dedication to the environment.

My staff have combed the nursery to give you a hugely diverse range of plants for your garden to choose from.  I am sure there is not another nursery in our area that has this diversity of plants available.

We are a true plant lovers’ nursery with plants to cater for all tastes in gardening.

Random Harvest recently donated indigenous fruit trees to a primary school in Cosmo City, where the students had a fantastic time planting them. Jeffrey was on hand to teach the children the proper planting techniques, making the experience both educational and enjoyable. It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn about nature while contributing to their school's green spaces.

The children have each adopted a tree to look after.  Jeff will visit them for ongoing help and advice.  Hopefully it impacts on them and encourages them to love and respect nature.

IN THE SHOP

Offering the creatures in your garden opportunities for nesting and feeding in the form of nesting boxes, bird feeders, solitary bee hotels and insect hotels, plays a crucial role in supporting biodiversity in a garden. These structures provide safe nesting sites for solitary bees and other beneficial insects, which are essential pollinators and natural pest controllers. 

Unlike social bees, solitary bees do not live in hives, so they rely on cavities in wood or hollow stems to lay their eggs. By installing these hotels, gardeners help sustain local insect populations, which in turn, enhances the health of plants and the overall ecosystem. These hotels also offer an educational opportunity, allowing people to observe and learn about the vital roles these insects play in nature.

Bee hotels from R240.00
Insect Hotels from R240.00
Nesting box R398.00
Pangolin R195.00
Calabash feeder R425.00

PLANTS LOOKING GOOD 

Moraea cookii
This is one of my new favourite plants – M. cookii is a delicate looking but very hardy, drought resistant bulbous plant with bright green, dainty reed-like leaves.  It produces striking bright yellow, iris-like flowers that, although each only last a day, are carried in succession almost all year-round, peaking in winter.  The flower stalk is branched and is carried above the thin strappy foliage.  Plants multiply readily, grow best in full sun and are ideal for rockeries, flowering meadow gardens and containers.  Interplant with smaller grasses for a beautiful display.  Bulbs need not be lifted but left in the ground to multiply. Size up to 30cm

Lessertia [Sutherlandia] frutescens - Cancer Bush
Hardy, evergreen, fast growing, sun-loving shrub with lovely silver-grey foliage.  The striking, large, bright orange, pea-like flowers are borne in Aug. and Sept. They attract sunbirds to the garden. These are followed by inflated green to pink, papery pods.  The pods and flowers are decorative in a vase.  It is an important medicinal plant and has traditional uses as well. This beautiful slender shrub is a must for any garden.  Plant several together for effect.  This is a short-lived plant, but it seeds itself freely.  It is wind and drought resistant.  Prune regularly to encourage it to bush out.  Plant in well-drained soil and water well in winter and spring and cut down on watering in summer. Size: 1 to 1.5m

Mitriostigma axillare - Dwarf-loquat 
Hardy, evergreen, slow growing, wonderfully glossy shrub or small tree with smooth brown bark.  It has beautiful, quite large, glossy leaves that are quilted.  The beautiful, white, star-shaped flowers are clustered along the previous season’s branchlets and adorn the tree from Aug. to Nov.  The strong, sweet scent of these large clusters of flowers attract pollinating insects, moths and butterflies to the garden.  The bright orange fruit is conspicuous against the dark green leaves and is much sought after by birds.  The decorative fruit persists on the plant almost all year round.  Mitriostigma is a useful garden plant for areas in deep shade.  It makes a wonderful indoor and container plant.  Plant in well-composted soil and water regularly to encourage faster growth. Size: .5 to 4m

Pelargonium salmoneum - Salmon Pelargonium
Hardy, evergreen, bushy, Pelargonium shrublet with smooth, fleshy yellow-green leaves.  The flowerheads, each with up to 20 flowers, are a beautiful sizzling salmon-pink colour with red veins.  It blooms prolifically from early winter to early summer.   It attracts many insects and butterflies to the garden.  Prune to keep in shape.  Plant in well-drained soil in full sun or a little light shade.  Plant along a border, cascading over rocks in a rockery or in containers.  As it requires little water it is easy to maintain and just needs a little pruning once a year in early summer. Size: Up to 50cm

Ficus sycomorus - Sycomore Fig
If you have a Bushveld Farm or a big garden this beautiful evocative tree is for you.  It is a fairly hardy, semi-deciduous, medium to large, spreading fig tree with a distinctive yellow stem that is often seen along riverbanks.  It has semi-deciduous stiff variable leaves with a sandpapery feel.  The figs, which are inverted flowers, are borne on leafless, clustered branchlets arising on the stems and main branches of the tree from July to Dec., although some fruits can normally be found throughout the year.  They attract birds to the garden - both fruit- and insect-eaters – and, in the wild, monkeys, baboons, bush pigs and antelope relish the fruit.  This tree has many medicinal and traditional uses.  It also makes an attractive container plant. Do not plant figs near walls, pools, pipes or paving. It should only be planted where it has a lot of space.  Plant in sun or semi-shade or even a shady position. Size: 5 to 25m

Euphorbia clavarioides - Lions Spoor
Euphorbia clavarioides is a very hardy flat, dwarf Euphorbia that has a large, underground stem and tiny truncated stems above ground that form a huge, greenish-yellow cushion. It bears tiny leaves that do not last long. Then the green stems do the job of photosynthesis.  The tiny yellow flowers are produced on the tips of branches from Sept. to Feb.  and attract a whole host of insects, beetles and birds.  Used in traditional medicine to bath swollen feet. The closely packed stems present the smallest possible drying surface to winds and, if damaged by fire, they re-sprout from the underground stem.  Makes a beautiful container plant.  Plant in full sun in well-drained soil in amongst rocks or in a grassland garden. Size: 0.06 to 0.15 m

PLANTS ON SPECIAL – Less 15%

Aloe striata – Coral Aloe
This very hardy, stemless Aloe has beautiful, broad, blue-green leaves that are edged with pinkish red.  It bears stunning coral-red flowers on flat-topped spikes in winter from May to Jul.  The flowers attract a whole host of insects and sunbirds as well as insect-eating birds with its copious nectar at a time when it is really needed by the wildlife.  This beautiful plant deserves pride of place in an Aloe or succulent garden where it will give endless joy.  It also makes an attractive container plant.  Plant in full sun in well-drained soil and do not overwater.  Size: Up to 30cm

Watsonia angusta - River Watsonia
Very hardy, evergreen plant with firm, grey-green, strap-like leaves that arise from a flattened corm.  From Nov. to Jan., it bears spikes of orangey-red flowers, that add fiery spikes to the garden.  The flowers attract Sunbirds and insects to the garden.  It makes a good accent plant but is also beautiful for mass planting.  Plant on banks to help with soil retention.  It grows and flowers best when it has compost-rich soil, sufficient water (it tolerates marshy conditions) and sun, although it tolerates semi-shade as well.  Size: 0.5 to 1m

Buddleja salviifolia - Sagewood
Very hardy, evergreen, drought resistant, very fast-growing, multi-stemmed, large shrub or small tree with grey, quilted leaves and graceful arching branches.  From Jul. to Oct. it bears wonderfully-fragrant, small cream to lilac flowers in long sprays that attract a myriad of insects.  A great bird and butterfly tree that can be used as a nurse plant to protect other plants in very cold areas.  It works well as a windbreak or as part of a mixed border.  Planted in conjunction with B. saligna and B. auriculata it ensures a long and fragrant blooming season. Prune regularly to keep it looking neat and tidy as it can become a little scruffy. Plant in well-drained soil, in sun or semi-shade. Size: 3 to 8m

Senecio speciosus -Beautiful Senecio
This beautiful, hardy, clump-forming perennial has a basal rosette of softly hairy, toothed leaves.  Daisy-like magenta to deep purple or pale pink flowers on long stalks from July to March are carried on branched flower heads.  A worthwhile, pretty addition to any garden in sunny areas even when not in flower.  It dies back briefly. It also has many medicinal uses. Size up to 70cm

GARDENING TIP: SPRING GARDEN MAINTENANCE

Most of our trees and shrubs have, by now, started unfurling their buds. There is still a last chance to nip and shape wayward branches and twigs on trees and shrubs. Make clean cuts and ensure that autumn and winter flowering shrubs such as Ribbon Bush (Hypoestes aristata) and Spur Flower (Plectranthus and Coleus sp) as well as Wild Dagga (Leonotis leonurus) have been pruned short enough to avoid leggy growth through the growing season. Shrubs that bush out more will mean more flowers. Prune off at least two thirds of the plant as the flowers are borne on the new growth.

Plants that are about to flower will benefit greatly from a bit of extra energy, in the form of nutrients to really flower well. I generally never use fertilizer, rather choosing to mulch with compost, as the goodness in this is sufficient for the plants’ needs.  This is possible because our compost is full of microorganisms that break down the organic matter in the compost, making the nutrients and minerals in it available to the plants.  Mulching with compost also helps to keep the moisture in the soil, so its benefits are two-fold.

Alternatively, you can feed flowering plants now, at the onset of spring, with a good quality organic fertilizer to help replace the enormous energy requirements and nutrients that go into flowering, new growth and root development. It is vitally important to use a slow release, organic fertilizer.  This means that the minerals are not “dumped” into the soil but are released gradually over time, so that they are available to the plants for a lot longer, and don’t create imbalances in the soil.

You will always find three letters on a bag of fertilizer – NPK. These stand for Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium, the main nutrients that plants require for healthy growth and flowering.  Plants need Nitrogen for leafy growth, Phosphorous for healthy flowers and Potassium for robust root growth. A ratio of higher Potassium to Nitrogen will also promote flowers as well as fruit and seed production. Either “Vita Grow” or Vita Fruit and Flower” that are available at Random Harvest Nursery are good fertilizers to use at this time of year.

Sprinkle about 100g per m3, ideally watering the day before applying to soil, as well as after application. Moist soil around plant roots creates a better environment for fine hair roots to take up dissolved nutrients from the fertilizer.

Avoid digging around your plants, as this can damage fine hair roots and therefore prevent the efficient uptake of nutrients by these very fine roots. Rather, cover the soil surface with a layer of organic mulch, thus trapping soil moisture so that it does not evaporate and dry up too fast, as well as hampering weeds from growing and outcompeting your plants.

ON THE FARM

With the coming of spring the pre-rain flowers in the grassland are starting to pop their flowers up.

To get the true miracle of how a grassland works now is the time to start walking around and observing all the tiny flowers flourishing in between the blackened, burnt grass.

To learn about the miraculous evolution of a grassland I would suggest walking through the grassland every two to four weeks.  It is then that the true magnificence of the grasslands can be appreciated.

This is a favourite time for Jeffrey and I to visit the grassland, with new and exciting surprises on a daily basis.

After all the years of exploring the grassland there are still surprises in store. For the first time on the farm, I spotted these Ant Lion Traps – I was beside myself with excitement.  They were only there for 2 days and left again for other areas.  It was fun tickling the surrounding sand around with a piece of grass to get a response from the Ant Lion.

We have placed new Beehives on the farm down in the bottom corner.  It is good to have these hardworking creatures back working hard at pollinating the flowers and making honey.  Hopefully soon we will have some Random Harvest Honey to sell.

The owls are back nesting in the old Hamerkop nests in the garden.  You need to look carefully at the picture to spot the Barn Owl.

On the top of the other Hamerkop nest is where the Spotted Eagle Owl has decided to nest.  It is just outside my bedroom window, and I can hear the owls calling at night.  What a privilege.

This tiny little Malachite Kingfisher caught a fish that was almost too big for him to swallow.  He managed after a bit of a struggle.

The fruit of the Kigelia africana (Sausage Tree) are so big this year that they almost dwarf Silas.  I have never seen them so huge. 

It has been so dry and dusty that I felt sorry for our trees in the ground.  The thick layer of dust on the leaves, I felt. was suffocating them.  Luckily, we have the powerful spray machine we use for Shot Hole Borer.  We filled it with water and sprayed the trees.  It seems to have given the trees a new lease on life.

We seldom take the time to observe the intricacies of the plants in our gardens.  The flowers of the Euphorbia caput-medusae are small, but on closer inspection, they are incredibly intricate – nature is truly miraculous.

The Ochna’s are in full flower – with their beautiful flowers and their red-tipped, mirror-like new leaves they are a sight to behold.

I am so happy the frogs seem to have come back to our new pond.  It is amazing how quickly they find new places to live and breed in.

Happy Spring and may all your plants be indigenous.

Sincerely

Linda