Greetings from Johannesburg, South Africa

[Jenny]

I have been watching Mark's videos for a few years now and joined the forum a while back, but have not gotten around to participate on the forums - I plan to spend more time here, as there is so much that I can learn from the members here.

I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. We have a temperate climate, with hot summers tempered with summer rainfall and very mild winters, so I can grow most veggies pretty much throughout the year. I try to be as sufficient as possible in my urban environment , with the goal being to grow all my food, herbs and medicine. I have so far managed to grow enough of almost everything without having to purchase anything in the stores, except for potatoes and onions, but I aim to remedy that this year.

I mainly grow all my fruit, veggies, herbs and medicinal plants in containers on my patio, but will be planting my fruit trees out into a dedicated "fruit corner" in my garden this winter, once I have removed massive Agave plants, which currently occupy that space.

 

[ClissAT]

Hi Jenny & Welcome.
You are doing very well to grow most of your fresh food, for sure.
I always also think about how we would go if we had to grow the wheat or other grain to make our bread.

 

[Jenny]

Thank you. True, I certainly do not have the space to grow enough wheat or grains, so have to buy flour at the shops when need be.

I actually bought some Quinoa seed, the regular one and also the red variety last year, but have not yet planted the seeds, as I bought it late summer. I'm going to try to grow it in containers this coming spring, so will see how that pans out. I like to experiment growing a few new things each year.

 

[ClissAT]

Most seed food purchased from an organic store will be viable which means it will be much cheaper & larger volume than just buying a packet of seeds.
I got some chia seeds from my local organic supermarket several years ago and now have it coming up everywhere.
Unfortunately it tastes horribly bitter so there must be some process the chia goes through so it is edible.
The chooks would sometimes eat it.
I will follow your lead & get some quinoa to plant when the season is right.
I also have amaranth as ground cover under some fruit trees which self seeds.
I want to get peanuts going the same.

 

[Jenny]

I got some chia seeds from my local organic supermarket several years ago and now have it coming up everywhere.
Unfortunately it tastes horribly bitter so there must be some process the chia goes through so it is edible.
The chooks would sometimes eat it.
I will follow your lead & get some quinoa to plant when the season is right.
I also have amaranth as ground cover under some fruit trees which self seeds.
I want to get peanuts going the same.

I also planted some Chia last year summer and I'm planning the plant it again this coming spring in September. I have never actually eaten it before. I grew it just for the fun of it, because I like the flowers and also wanted to save some seed. I may do a taste test during the next harvest.

 

[ClissAT]

Somewhere here I wrote about growing it next to the chook pen 3yrs ago.
It grew over 3 m tall! Great for shading that side of the pen as summer came on.
So obviously it likes a lot of fresh nitrogen and moist soil.

 

[Jenny]

Somewhere here I wrote about growing it next to the chook pen 3yrs ago.
It grew over 3 m tall! Great for shading that side of the pen as summer came on.
So obviously it likes a lot of fresh nitrogen and moist soil.

Yip they grow quite tall. I initially planted the chia in a container, next to some gem squash in full sun (screenshot of a video I took of when chia plants were still small this past spring, shown below), but eventually they got so big that I had to transplant them out in the garden, where they grew to an even greater height.

 

[Auron Leonhart]

Welcome Jenny! Hope you have as much fun and find as much helpful information as I have.

 

[Mark]

Welcome Jenny!

I'm growing chia also - it grows very easily from seed - didn't even cover the seed but just threw it in...

 

[Jenny]

Welcome Jenny! Hope you have as much fun and find as much helpful information as I have.

Thank you, indeed lots of good information to be found here

 

[Jenny]

Welcome Jenny!

I'm growing chia also - it grows very easily from seed - didn't even cover the seed but just threw it in...

Thank you Mark. I saw your chia bed in your seed collection video series today

 

[Mark]

See the sophisticated way I sowed them... took a lot of practice to get that right