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Ann's Food Garden

Merrivale, Kwa Zulu Natal

About Ann

Gardening Experience: Intermediate

I work from home as a typist. I am married with 2 adult children, 5 dogs and we became grandparents for the first time on 22 October. I love cooking but cannot always find the greatest fresh produce and herbs especially the more unusual ones so have now decided I need to grow my own.

About Ann's Garden

Size: Small - 3m x 1m + pots
# fed by garden: 2
Of all produce consumed, % from this garden: see below

"When we measured it out we discovered that there was far less space than anticipated. The pots contain herbs such as mint, rosemary, horseradish, one very large pepperdew plant and the tail end of some Cos lettuce as well as a variety of scented geraniums.

We went to our SPCA Garden shop to get some more butter lettuce seedlings and they were having a sale and for the grand sum of R15 ended up coming home with tomato, red oak lettuce, bright light spinach, beetroot, green pepper and brinjal / eggplant seedlings. So the decision as to what we are planting was made for us! We will be putting the tomatoes and lettuce in pots again because that at least leaves bed space for some of the other things. Am having to share the seedlings with the next door neighbour!"

"The garden will be feeding the two of us, my husband, Willem and myself. The lettuces have been feeding us our salad requirements for a couple of weeks because I just cut off as many leaves as I need and add some of the fresh herbs. Last year the one pepperdew plant produced enough for about twelve bottles of pickled pepperdews.

I am hoping to add some wigwags for runner beans into the pot garden (the legal kind). I forgot to mention that into the holes of the edging cinder block I am putting some thyme and parsley and possibly marigolds for bug control and also because they look so cheerful."