Community Tips
Farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing
Load shedding and borehole pumps — get a generator
During stage 6 last year our cattle went 8 hours without water because the borehole pump is electric. I bought a second-hand 7.5kVA diesel generato...
Drip irrigation vs sprinklers for small farms
When I started I used sprinklers because they were cheaper upfront. Water bill was R4,000/month. Switched to Netafim drip tape — installation cost ...
Selling citrus direct vs through an agent
We used to sell all our Valencias through an agent in Tzaneen. They took 15% commission plus transport. This year we listed on this app and sold 2 ...
Wild rosemary (kapokbos) — the Karoo's hidden cash crop
We harvest wild rosemary from 40 hectares of natural veld. Sun-dry it and sell to herb buyers in Cape Town. Zero input cost — it grows wild. We get...
Record keeping changed my farm
I used to keep everything in a notebook. Missed expenses at tax time, forgot spray dates, couldn't tell which tunnel was more profitable. Since I s...
Frost in the Karoo — when to bring ewes into the kraal
We get hard frost from May to August. If the forecast shows below -3°C, I bring the pregnant ewes and newborn lambs into the kraal with a windbreak...
Reading clouds in the bushveld — old trick that still works
My oupa taught me this: if the cumulus clouds are flat on top by 2pm, you're getting rain by 4pm. If they stay puffy and round, the moisture isn't ...
Why I drive 3 hours to buy Karoo lamb
I live in Graaff-Reinet and Johan's farm is 40 minutes away. But even if it were 3 hours, I'd still go. Supermarket lamb at R180/kg doesn't compare...
Free-range layers — the numbers that work
I run 200 Lohmann Browns. They cost about R120 each as point-of-lay pullets. Feed is R6,500/month for the flock. Each hen lays ~280 eggs/year. At R...
Selling Karoo lamb direct — the premium is real
A whole Karoo lamb through the abattoir agent gets you about R1,200. Selling direct on this app I get R1,800. That's a 50% premium. Buyers pay it b...
Tips for first-time buyers on this app
I've been buying direct from farmers for 6 months now. My advice: start with one small order to test quality and reliability. Message the farmer fi...
How I got my first 10 buyers on this app
When I joined I had zero orders. Here's what worked: I took good photos of my produce (natural light, no filters), wrote honest descriptions includ...
Succession planting — never run out of produce
Instead of planting all your lettuce at once, plant a new batch every 2 weeks. By the time the first batch is harvested, the second is almost ready...
Keep a diesel log — it saved me R40k in rebates
SARS gives you a diesel rebate for farming use (currently about R3.93 per litre). But you need proper records. I use the expense tracker on this ap...
Supplemental feeding in the Karoo winter
The veld goes dormant in winter and the ewes need support, especially if they're pregnant. I give 20 bales of lucerne per week to 320 ewes from Jun...
Making your own compost tea — free fertiliser
Fill a 200L drum with water, hang a hessian bag with 20kg of mature compost in it, add a handful of molasses, and bubble air through it with a chea...
Cattle dipping schedule for the lowveld
Ticks are brutal in Limpopo. We dip every 14 days in summer (October to March) and every 28 days in winter. Use a registered pour-on like Triatix. ...
Lumpy skin disease — vaccinate before summer
Lost 3 calves in 2024 because I vaccinated too late. Now I do the whole herd in September, before the mosquitoes come. It costs about R85 per head ...
Dorper breeding — why I keep a ram book
Every mating season I record which ram goes with which ewes. Sounds old-fashioned but it prevents inbreeding and lets you track which sires produce...
Companion planting that actually works in tunnels
I plant basil between my tomato rows in the tunnels. The basil repels whitefly and aphids — I haven't sprayed in 2 seasons. The trick is to plant t...
When to plant white maize in Limpopo
We've been planting WE5323 in mid-January for 20 years now. The key is to wait for at least 50mm of rain before you put seed in the ground. Too ear...