Makana gardening

24/09/2020

THE BENEFITS OF HIRING A LANDSCAPER AND THE SERVICES THAT LANDSCAPERS OFFER

*Saving money.

*You will not be wasting money on dying plants that are not suitable and have not been given the right care.

*Less mistakes.

*Sticking to a budget allocation.

*You save time.

*You have someone who has experience and can point out potential problems eg. Tree roots

*A landscaper has experience in how to divide up your space for different activities in the garden.

*A landscaper is both creative and practical and can make your ideas come alive.

* A landscaper can install water features that don't leak and automated irrigation that delivers the right amount of water for each plant's needs.

*Increasing your property value.

*Enhancing your time spent at home.

*Minimising the stressful gardening tasks and leaving the enjoyable tasks for you.

*You have access to expert advice, aftercare and support.

PLANNING AND CONCEPTUALIZING

1. The first step in designing a garden is to meet with the client to discuss their needs and preferences. We speak about a budget, take measurements, note prevailing climate - amounts of sunlight, wind direction, existing structures etc.

2. We put together a pin board with ideas for how the area is to be demarcated for pathways, plant beds and function areas. We do a list of types of plants that will be suitable, soil improvements, materials and work out the budget.

INSTALLATION:

Constructing all water features, pathways, irrigation and prepare and improve the soil for what you want to plant. Supplying plants, grass, pots, compost, benches and plant out beds and pots.

4. Providing aftercare maintenance.

21/09/2020

INDIGENOUS OR ENDEMIC 🤔

When we say that a species is indigenous to a place, we mean simply that it occurs there naturally. It is a native. But a species can be indigenous to a number of places at once. So for example a marula tree is indigenous to large parts of Africa from South Africa to Madagascar.

If we say a species is endemic to a place, we mean that it occurs naturally and exclusively to a small area and only in that limited area. It is not widely distributed, and won't be found naturally anywhere else in the world.

In fynbos there are many endemic plants that occur in an area as small as 50m x 50m.

The problem with this small distribution area is that these plants can easily become extinct. For example, if developers bulldoze an area for a housing estate or a golf course- there is a chance that a plant may become extinct. And who knows, maybe THAT was the plant that could cure cancer or covid 19 because afterall as the Quran says, there is a cure in this world for every affliction.

Be aware and help save our indigenous and endemic plants!!! Who knows you could be helping to save lives. 😇

Have a fabulous day. Stay healthy and Please like my page and share to help promote Makana Gardening.

You can find us on

Website

https://makanagardening.com

Facebook
https://facebook.com/makanagardening

E-mail

[email protected]

Or

[email protected]

Telephone or WhatsApp

+27635384497

17/09/2020

🍋LEMONS

Lemon trees 🍋are such a pleasure to have in the garden.

They make me think of walking along the sunny streets of Cordoba in summer and spending winters on a citrus farm in Clanwilliam. Waking up to the scent of citrus blossoms outside my window.

Lemon trees love to grow in a sunny🌞 position.

They also need an acidic soil. If the pH of the soil is not acidic, important nutrients are not available to the plant and the plant will display stunted growth, plant tissue death, yellowing of the leaves (chlorosis) and less fruit and leaves.

But all is not lost if your soil is not suitable. You can grow lemon trees in a pot and buy a bag of the proper soil at a plant nursery.

Lemon trees more than most plants need micro nutrients like copper, iron, zinc, selenium.

I usually recommend bioganic from Atlantic Fertilisers for most plants. It will not burn your plants and is an amazing general purpose fertiliser. I also drench the leaves of my lemon trees with a dilute solution of seagrow every three weeks.

Keep a lookout for pests like citrus psylla, ants 🐜and sooty mould. Sooty mould is a black fungus that grows on honeydew. (Honeydew is basically sweet sticky poo from insects such as whiteflies, aphids and mealybugs).

I make a homebrew which I use as a preventative measure. It discourages most pests.

1 tsp. Dishwashing liquid

1 tsp Jeyes Fluid

1 tsp Scrubbs ammonia

1 tsp Kelpak

10 litres of water

Mix well. Apply as a full cover foliar spray every 2 weeks.

The dishwashing liquid acts as a surfactant and the insects do not like the smell of ammonia and Jeyes fluid. Ammonia NH3 is also a fertiliser so it does 2 jobs at once. Best of all, you won't be poisoning the fruit and killing bees and other beneficial insects.

You will prune trees after they have finished fruiting. 🌳🍋

I've added a link to a wonderful article from Australia on how to prune lemon trees. The article is quite agricultural but one gets the idea.

https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/citrus/citrus-pruning #:~:text=Pruning%20should%20involve%20removing%20unhealthy,new%20crop%20may%20be%20lost.

I hope that this little blurb on lemon trees was useful.

Please like 👍my page and share to help promote Makana Gardening.

You can find us on

Website

https://makanagardening.com

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/makanagardening/

E-mail

[email protected]

Or

[email protected]

Telephone or WhatsApp

+27635384497

15/09/2020

MOLES AND MOLE-RATS
And HOW TO GET RID OF THEM
Mole-rats are the creatures that push up heaps of sand. They are herbivores ie. they eat plants and ⚘🌷bulbs.⚘
Moles are the mammals that leave tunnels like train tracks on your lawns and in your plant beds. They are insectiverous ie. They eat insects.

The most common mole in Cape Town is the golden mole
(Family - Chrysochloridae. Note that the taxonomy of the Chrysochloridae is undergoing a review in the light of new genetic information.)
Moles are insectiverous, this means that they are after the lovely insect snacks in your garden. 🦗😋
It also means that they take care of goggas 🦟🦗 for you so they can be quite useful in keeping insect populations in check and maintaining a balanced and rich ecosystem.

The Cape dune mole-rat (Bathyergus suillus) and the Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis) are endemic to the Western Cape. They eat bulbs but they are also one of the key agents responsible for the distribution of geophytes - on the Cape Flats and in dune areas. The Cape Flats has a special and unique flora, the only one of it's kind in the world. This area is rich in indigenous and endemic bulbs, corms and tubers. The mole rats carry the bulbs through their underground tunnels to store in special storage chambers and they sometimes drop some bulblets along the way. The bulbs will start growing and sprouting where they are dropped and stored.

Moles and molerats 🦦are important parts of the ecology of fynbos and so environmentalists are not keen on killing them. Home gardeners 👨‍🌾👩‍🌾are however very irritated by the damage that they can cause.
The first line of defence would be to trap them and release them somewhere where they will be safe and happy. They are most active around twilight time or at dawn.

In the course of my career, much to the fright and horror of visitors, I have had to get the help of a mole snake🐍 to hunt down a few pesky mole-rats 😂I'm always quite keen to use biological control rather than poisons. Their natural enemies are extremely efficient in getting rid of them.

I have also hired a professional mole trapper to eradicate them from a national keypoint site where they were endangering safety protocols.
Moles don't like a lot of noise and activity. They have very sensitive ears. My little golden mole packed up her little suitcase and moved to the neighbour's garden because she couldn't take the noise of playing kiddies on the lawn every day.
Another way of making your garden uncomfortable for them is to remove or limit their food source.
Poison is an extreme alternative. Mole trappers usually use poisoned bait.

These are the main methods of getting rid of moles and mole-rats.
People have come up with many creative solutions -
1. Noise eg. Sawn off 2 litre coke bottles to amplify the noise of the wind.📢
2. Poison eg. 🚗 exhaust pipe fumes down into the tunnels.☢
3. Natural Enemies. eg. 🐕

Drop me a line and let me know what you have tried and whether it was successful or not.
Please don't forget to like my page and share to help promote Makana Gardening.

You can find us on
Website
https://makanagardening.com

Facebook https://m.facebook.com/makanagardening

E-mail
[email protected]
Or
[email protected]

Telephone or WhatsApp
+27635384497

15/09/2020

Compost is known as BLACK GOLD for gardeners.
There are many ways to make compost, but for this article we are going to concentrate on household compost bins.
Let's get started 🙂
A basic compost heap is built up of balanced layers of different types of organic and inorganic materials. The layers must be in ratio to each other or you will pick up problems with the decomposition process and the final product. Think of it as a recipe.🎂🍰

1. The first layer in your compost heap must be a carbon-rich layer. This will consist of materials such as shredded newspaper, autumn leaves🍂🍁 straw etc. This adds bulk to your compost. The first layer is usually a little coarser to encourage air pockets, assist with drainage and discourage compaction. The trick to a good compost heap is adding different textures and grades/ sizes of shredded material together. This carbon or brown layer must be approximately 3x the nitrogen layer but depending on other factors such as compost heap size and types of materials this ratio may fluctuate.
2. The second is a nitrogen layer. This will consist of green organic matter. 🌿🌱Kitchen scraps, grass clippings, eggshells 🥚etc. This layer contains lots of lovely bacteria that help with decomposition.
3. Next add a layer of sand. The sand will protect your compost from insects and flies that may be attracted to the kitchen scraps. It also adds a wonderful texture to your finished product.
4. You can add a compost activator which consist of dormant microbes that are activated by water. But this is not necessary if you can't find any. Nature has a plentiful supply.

Water in well 🌧and repeat the layers. Your compost heap should never be allowed to dry out. A compost heap must be moist. If you built it properly with finer as well as coarser material, waterlogging will not be a problem.

* Please note that the bottom of the bin must make contact with the ground. Do not compost in a closed container the decomposing process releases compost 'juice' and your watering of the heap, needs an outlet for the moisture.
I've linked pictures that hopefully paints a thousand words and a wiki article that tables what those potential problems may be in the troubleshooting portion.

https://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Compost-Pile
Compost should consist of various soil organisms and microorganisms like bacteria and fungi that break down the organic material. In order to encourage the existence and multiplication of these micro organism one needs to create the ideal conditions in the compost heap for them. Microbes require heat,🌞🌦 moisture and air to survive and thrive.

As organic material decomposes it becomes hot. Bin composting will not reach the temperatures of huge compost heaps but the sides of the bin help to contain the heat therefore bin composters also rely on larger organisms like earthworms to assist in the process.

A basic aerobic compost heap requires oxygen to thrive. This is why you are advised to have holes in your compost bin and to turn your compost heap over with a fork. Earthworms also help to aerate the heap through their tunneling.
(If you cut off oxygen from the heap, it will become a slimy and stinky decomposition. This is called anaerobic composting.) Bokashi is an anaerobic method of composting.
For basic bin composting the process of aerobic composting is best. This will give you a textured compost with a rich pleasant smell.

Thank you for reading, I hope this brief summary has been helpful and encouraging. Please leave comments and questions and don't forget to like and share my page and help promote Makana Gardening.

You can find us on
Website
https://makanagardening.com

Facebook https://m.facebook.com/makanagardening

E-mail
[email protected]
Or
[email protected]

Telephone or WhatsApp
+27635384497

09/09/2020

PEEING AND POOING IN THE GARDEN
😬🤢🙈
People always ask me if they can use urine and faeces to compost their garden. They reason that it is just manure. 🤗

The scientific answer to this is that all organic material like manure, kitchen scraps, leaves and paper etc. must be broken down by bacteria and microorganisms before the nutrients can be used by the plant.
These soil microorganisms that break down organic material needs nitrogen to survive so they pull it from the soil. This causes a shortage of nitrogen in the soil for the plant. The process is called immobilization.
Once everything is fully decomposed, it has gone through a lot of natural chemical processes ( combining with oxygen and hydrogen etc.) , the nutrients is only then available in the form that the plant can use.
(You can read up more in explanations of the Nitrogen Cycle) 🔁
So the short answer is no, 🚫 just peeing in your garden or burying your vegetable scraps immediately before planting won't fertilise your plants. It may cause more harm than good.

The other nasty side effects is a bad smell, diseases like typhoid and insect pests such as maggots and cutworm.🐛🦠

A well managed compost heap however is fabulous. More about how to build a good compost heap to follow.

08/09/2020

MORE ON HOW TO GROW 🍅TOMATOES LIKE A 🌟 GARDENER

WHAT KIND OF TOMATOES ARE YOU GROWING!!!

Tomatoes come in two basic types. Determinate and indeterminate tomato plants.
Determinate tomato plants only grow to a certain size (usually max about 1½ metres tall) and then they stop growing. The plants are fairly small and bushy rather than lanky. They also take a while to blossom and then set the fruit. But once this happens, the fruit is set and ripened within a short time of each other and it is then all over. So don't worry too much if your soil is right and your plants look healthy but you don't have tomatoes yet. You stake these plants mostly to support the weight of the fruit.
Determinate tomatoes are usually fleshy and good for sauces.

Indeterminate tomato plants keep growing, blossoming and producing fruit. They need serious staking to keep the plant upright and to prevent the fruit from touching on the ground and spoiling. You need more space per plant to grow your indeterminate tomato plants than you would need for determinate tomatoes.

Tomatoes do not have a large root structure so they will grow very happily in a pot.

Determinate and indeterminate tomatoes have different pruning methods. You do not need to prune varieties like cherry tomatoes and roma tomatoes. Determinate tomatoes need less pruning than indeterminate tomatoes. I've linked an excellent video that shows you how to prune tomatoes.

HAPPY GARDENING!!!🙂

Home Grown/Home Made How to Prune Tomatoes episode.

30/08/2020

SOIL AND LIGHT CONDITIONS FOR GROWING TOMATOES 🍅🍅🍎 like a BOSS

If you set the ideal growth conditions for any plant right from the start, you will have very few problems later in the season.

Tips to keep in mind when growing tomatoes.

SOIL and NUTRIENTS
The ideal soil pH for tomatoes is about 6 to 7 on the pH scale. They need a fair amount of calcium so by all means mix in a cup of lime in the soil before planting and spread crushed egg shells around the plant. Crushed eggshells also helps to deter snails. Calcium helps with plant growth and preventing blossom end rot.
Tomato plants don't like too much nitrogen but like all plants they do need a balanced diet. Too much nitrogen and they will only have lovely tender green leaves and little fruit. Too little nitrogen and the plant won't have enough healthy leaves to produce food for the plant and developing tomatoes. So you have to get the balance of nutrients right in the soil.
Potassium in the soil is important for producing blossoms and fruit and phosphate is important for strong roots and stems.
Woodash contains calcium carbonate, potash, phosphates and micro elements so by all means add some ash when preparing your soil.
WATER
Tomatoes like even watering. If you let the soil dry out and then give lots of water the tomatoes will split open. Don't water the leaves of the plant. Water the soil around it roots. Water in the morning not at night.
SUN
Sun intensifies the sugar in the fruit. Tomatoes need full to semi-sun to ripen. Don't grow tomatoes in the shade. Fungi thrive in warm dark damp conditions.

COMPANION PLANTING
Tomatoes are very social. They love growing together with plants like basil, parsley, garlic, marigolds, and chives.
They don't like neighbours from the cabbage family.
Companion plants help to deter pests. And improve the growth and taste of the tomatoes.

I hope that this has been helpful to keep in mind when preparing to plant tomatoes.
We would really appreciate it if you would
like, subscribe, share and follow makanagardening media posts and platforms to help spread the word.

For all your gardening needs
You can find us on
Website
https://makanagardening.com

Facebook
https://facebook.com/makanagardening

[email protected]
Or
[email protected]

Telephone or WhatsApp
+27635384497

28/08/2020

I have started this business page called makanagardening on Facebook to promote my Garden Maintenance and Landscaping Design business.
WHAT WE DO:
1. Help you plan your outdoor space
2. We draw landscaping plans
3. Build water features
4. Install irrigation
5. Build decks and pathways.
5. Check and improve your soil quality.
6. Advise you on what to plant and how to care for your plants
7. Help you minimise garden pests.
8. Provide quality aftercare and maintenance for your garden

I am a qualified and experienced landscaper, horticulturist and project manager for more than 20 years. If it is about your garden, I can help.
It has always been my hearts desire to help people grow and create beautiful gardens because we are all connected to the Earth.
So I am starting a little blog too. I'm going to be doing byte size gardening hints and tips with pretty pictures.

I would really appreciate it if you would
like, subscribe, share and follow makanagardening media posts and platforms to help spread the word.

You can find us on
Website
https://makanagardening.com

Facebook
https://facebook.com/makanagardening

E-mail
[email protected]
Or
[email protected]

Telephone or WhatsApp
+27635384497

26/08/2020

I was surprised to see the little white daisy like flowers (cotula turbinata) in the fields in June already.

The roses and some deciduous trees are starting to blossom but we can still prune, spray and feed them. The apple and pear trees have not yet started to blossom, so now is the perfect time to treat them.

We must prune, spray and fertilise roses and fruit trees every year at the right time. If you do it properly this once, it prevents a lot of problems later in the year.

The reason we prune trees and roses is:
1. To cut out dead and diseased parts of the plant.
2. To shape the tree.
3. To encourage fruiting spurs to form so that you can have a bountiful harvest of fruit.
4. To open the branches so that sunlight and air can reach all the ripening fruit.
5. To grow stronger stems and lateral branches.
After pruning we spray the trees to prevent and minimise problems like peach leaf curl, various fungi, bacteria, viruses and insect damage.

Then fertilise with a phosphate and a balanced fertiliser that will encourage stem and root growth, healthy leaves and flowers and fruit.

Makana Gardening will also come out to prune, spray and fertilise your trees and roses. As well as show you how it is done.
We charge approximately R100 per tree/ rosebush up to 2.5 metres tall. This includes pruning, teaching you how to prune and care for your trees and roses. AND We will also spray and fertilise.

Call or WhatsApp us on +27635384497

Website https://makanagardening.com

Email [email protected]

(Still setting up [email protected])

I've linked a few good articles on pruning.

https://www.wikihow.com/Prune-Apple-Trees

https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoors/gardening/pruning-apple-trees

https://www.ludwigsroses.co.za/rose-growing-tips/rose-care/winter-pruning/

25/08/2020

Makana is a Hawaiian language term meaning gift or reward. It is often used as a person's name or as part of a name.

Makana is a Hindi word which means lotus seeds.

Makana a Punjabi word of endearment used often by people to address their beloved or children.

Makhanda (also spelled Makana), Xhosa, (born c. 1780-died 25 December 1819) was a warrior, war doctor, philosopher of the indigenous people in South Africa. Grahamstown is now called Makana after this figure.

In Arabic makana is a place and contentment.

We are a garden maintenance and design business active in Cape Town.

My new website is now up and running

https://makanagardening.com

Contact +27635384497

24/08/2020

The deciduous plane tree outside my bedroom window has started to bud and the coral tree just beyond are delighting the birds with the rich nectar in their bright orange/red flowers.
September is called EyoMsintsi which is isiXhosa for The month of the Coral tree.
Spring has arrived!!!
And to celebrate I've started a new gardening page on FB where I can help with your gardening questions and needs.