Indholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2016 i go! Platteland

Three years ago, when we were planning the first issue of Platteland, we thought that 60-70% of our sales would be in the platteland and the rest in the concrete jungle and suburbia. Now we know it’s the other way round. We also know that, for the majority of our readers, the platteland is either a memory of their childhood days, or a place where exhausted city slickers can take a break, or a dream for “one day when our ship comes in, or when it’s our turn to win the Lotto jackpot”. In these fantasies, of course, there’s no such word as “inkommer”, a term veteran town dwellers use to describe new arrivals from the city who look at the “lovely village” through rose-tinted glasses and think everything is…

In August 2015, I visited my sister in Switzerland and was introduced to Mein Schönes Land, a quarterly magazine with country life as its main theme. I brought one home with me, and shortly thereafter discovered Platteland, to my great delight. After thoroughly perusing every new issue, it goes to a good friend and then gets displayed on our coffee table so we can introduce our visitors to Platteland. Every page is quality and is a pleasure to read. And I mark the next issue’s on-shelf date on the calendar so I won’t miss it. Thanks for all the trouble you take to create such an enjoyable magazine every quarter.…

Although a city dweller, I regularly read and treasure my Platteland magazines, because even if my husband and I cannot make our country-life dream a reality just yet, your magazines help me to at least feel connected in some way to the heart, creativity and earthiness of our beautiful land and people. My husband, four dogs and I recently spent some time in the Karoo, Betty’s Bay and surrounds. En route and throughout our time away, the platteland and its people touched my soul as it always does, and I became a better person for it. The ingenuity, perseverance and, most of all, hearty zest for life despite unforgiving circumstances, drought and a struggling economy humbled and motivated me to assess my own attitudes and levels of determination. I honour…

Thank you so much for your very interesting magazine. The article about resurrection plants (Platteland #10) took me back years to my primary school days, when I had to take an interesting plant to class. My mother remembered the plants on my uncle’s farm just outside Potgietersrus that would look quite dead but after rain would turn green within a few hours. She got hold of some of these plants and I took them to school. I remember clearly that the teachers weren’t impressed at all.…

Not many people cook balanced meals of raw, nutritious ingredients any more. Either we’re too busy or we don’t have the necessary experience or skills in the kitchen. Also, sales of instant and ready-made convenience food has increased by 40% between 2005 and 2010 in South Africa. Enter the HealthyFood Studio at 155 West Street in Sandton, opened by the Vitality programme of health giant Discovery. Here, a professional chef from the Prue Leith Chef’s Academy will teach people how to use fresh ingredients from Woolworths – or cultivated in your own back yard – to create nutritious, balanced meals. Groups can also book a practical cooking class. Contact 0860 372 029 HFSbookings@discovery.co.za…

Experts and consultants of Babylonstoren near Paarl will be offering several oneday workshops on the farm over the next few months. They run from 10:00 to 16:00 and cost R550 per person – which includes lunch at the Greenhouse. Email reservations@babylonstoren.com to book or find out more at babylonstoren.com. TEAS & TISANES 8 June 2016 Gundula Deutschlander (see page 85) of the gardening team shares her antique and modern herbal knowhow and teaches you how to make kombucha (a fermented tea) full of probiotics. ALOES 15 June 2016 Spend the day with succulent expert Ernst van Jaarsveld, author of Tree Aloes of Africa. MUSHROOMS 20 July 2016 Kotie van Tonder and Danica Resoort will show you how to grow and use shiitake and oyster mushrooms. INDIGENOUS VELD PLANTS 27 July…

DO OR DAWDLE • Mont Rouge Book a tour in advance and stock up on the farm’s green and black olives, olive oil and olive caviar to brighten up your salads. Where? On the Rooiberg road to Calitzdorp Contact montrougeolives.com • Blue Sky Organics Take a tour – and buy all sorts of products – on this working organic olive farm (there’s also a pet-friendly two-bedroomed selfcatering cottage). Where? Buffelshoek, Olyvenrivier Road Contact blueskyorganics.co.za 028 581 2014 or 083 653 3635 lizeglington@hilbert.co.za • Heron’s Nest Studio Gallery Visit artists Kim and Graham Bolland’s studio and gallery for paintings, ceramics and objets d’art. Where? Behind the police station Contact 073 262 3335 or 083 360 5206 • Metabole Natural Healing Dr Charl du Randt is a registered naturopath who diagnoses and…

In Namaqua National Park on the West Coast, in Spoeg River Cave, archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of domestic sheep in South Africa – bones from a prehistoric braai fire that dates back about 2 000 years. And some parts of the country are steeped in sheep culture – like Calvinia in the Upper Karoo, where the annual Hantam Vleisfees (26 and 27 August in 2016) celebrates eating every conceivable part of a sheep: tails, testicles, you name it. Clearly, we have a very long and deep affinity with the woolly brigade in this country, but what if you didn’t grow up on a farm and you’ve never kept sheep before? Here are a few pointers to help you get started. WHICH BREED IS BEST? “Say cheese” Elmarie van…

Serves 4 Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 5 minutes You need FOR THE SAUCE • 2 tablespoons (30ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice • 2 tablespoons (30ml) tamarind paste (or substitute with lemon juice) • 3 tablespoons (45ml) fish sauce • 3 tablespoons (45ml) sugar FOR THE NOODLES • 1 box (200g-250g) pad Thai rice noodles • 1 tablespoon (15ml) unscented oil (canola or sunflower) • 2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced • 2 eggs FOR THE DANDELIONS • 1 tablespoon (15ml) unscented oil (canola or sunflower) • 16 dandelion crowns, squeaky clean This is how Make the sauce Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Make the noodles In another bowl, soak the noodles in very hot water for about 8 minutes. Prepare the dandelions…

• Why? Pruning stimulates new growth and makes the plant more productive. You can use your own judgment to shape the tree or shrub, or to control its size. All diseased, dead and unproductive parts are removed this way. • When? Plants should be pruned in their resting phase, usually in winter. Prune too early and you risk disrupting their normal growing function. A plant will respond to pruning by starting to grow in order to repair the wound. The new, soft shoot that forms can be damaged by cold temperatures. The plant will now use its reserves, which should last until the weather warms up. In this way it reduces the extent of the damage and moisture is prevented from entering the pruning wound. • With? Use sharp, clean,…

WEEKNIGHT WINNER Cauliflower and potato soup with Cheddar Serves 6 Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 35 minutes This delicious soup will find favour with young and old. You may replace the cauliflower with broccoli and the Cheddar with blue cheese. You need • 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil • 1 medium or large onion, chopped • 1 teaspoon (5ml) Ina Paarman’s Green Onion Seasoning • 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm x 1cm cubes • 3 garlic cloves, sliced • 1 medium to large head of cauliflower, broken up into florets • 3 cups (750ml) boiling water • 2 tablespoons (30ml) Ina Paarman’s Chicken or Vegetable Stock Powder • 2 cups (500ml) full-cream milk • ½ cup (125ml) mature Cheddar, roughly crumbled or grated • fresh herbs…

Write to us and tell us about your move to the platteland, the characters in your town, festivals and bazaars you love, things that bother you, your garden, animals and clever ideas... Send an email to letters@goplatteland.co.za or post it to Platteland Letters, PO Box 740, Cape Town 8000. We give preference to letters of fewer than 300 words. Remember to include your name and surname and, very importantly, the town where you live. Platteland reserves the right to edit and shorten letters at our discretion. win Elbie Nel of Port Elizabeth wins a gift hamper from Livingseeds consisting of a sprouting kit (with four sprouting seeds, four sprouting lids and a recipe booklet) plus an assortment of seedlings and heritage seed specially chosen to suit the winner’s area and…

My sojourn on the platteland was short-lived but unforgettable. The move was quite a shock to the system, as it was on short notice and we didn’t have much time to prepare for swapping our hectic city existence for life on the platteland. My mother’s new husband had bought a house in Stanford. We teenagers were quite a handful. My brother got a motorbike to keep him occupied and I got a pair of binoculars. With that I discovered the wonderful birdlife in the area – and even grew to like this one-horse town. Sure, friends were few, but there was plenty of quiet. We’d just started feeling at home when it became clear the marriage was on the rocks. To show her disappointment with her soon-to-be ex, my mom…

I grew up in the 1950s on the farm Bronkhorstfontein near Groot-Marico – a fantasy world that defined my formative years. In 2011, my wife, Rita, and I bought two works by sculptor and painter Jo Roos. A painting titled Marico shows a scene with trees and koppies in the background. I love trees, and at the beginning of this year, Rita bought me another tree book: We are the Champions: The Champion Trees of South Africa by Enrico and Erna Liebenberg, which you featured in your Garden Diary in Platteland #10. On page 83 we discovered The Marico Tree, currently the tallest measured thorn tree in South Africa, and Rita noted that it looked similar to Jo Roos’s painting. This led us, along with Eddie and Mariki Nel, to…

I’m grappling with this question: is water conservation or recycling of plastics currently the most important issue in the arid Western Cape? I have memories from my childhood of my two grandmothers, who lived in the Sandveld, watering their geraniums and precious herbs with dishwater. This was in the days before every home had running water, when Grandpa or the grandchildren had to carry pails of water from the fountain to the farmhouse. Our bathwater also went to the plants. These days, a lot of water is lost when you rinse plastic containers for recycling. So I’ve bought a plastic bucket that fits in the kitchen sink, and when I’ve rinsed out recyclables like milk and yoghurt containers I empty the bucket in the plant beds near the kitchen door.…

At Platteland we have a soft spot for a good home remedy as well as a good story, like the one of Namaqualand engineer Stokkies van Zyl, whose arm was almost amputated after he sustained serious burns from his elbow to his hand in 2006. But a plattelander makes a plan, and a desperate Stokkies decided to try his grandmother’s brandsalf remedy. Three days later his doctor couldn’t believe his eyes and 14 days on there was hardly a sign of a burn. Now this selfsame Brandsalf Balm is used by many doctors, clinics and hospitals, and it apparently also works wonders for sunburn, cold sores, bed sores, mosquito bites, muscle pain and even smelly feet. • It sounds like a myth: a liquid plaster that you paint on that…

We can’t imagine that you haven’t yet heard of the miraculous health benefits of rooibos tea, but did you know it’s also good for your garden? Margaret Roberts, South Africa’s herbal queen, says rooibos is a great natural fertiliser she’s been using in her compost for years. “It raises the nitrogen level of your soil and contains nutrients and trace minerals that are conducive to growth. Never discard rooibos leaves or bags – rather add it with vegetable and fruit peelings to make compost, or give it to your worm farm.” Horticulturist and writer JJ van Rensburg is also a great rooibos fan. “Tear open your used rooibos tea bags and scatter the leaves around plants to fend off snails and other pests – it’s a very effective biological pest…

In South Africa, an estimated 20% of 35 000 commercial farmers – that is 7 000 farmers – produce 80% of our total agricultural value. This is according to Prof Ben Cousins of the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS). “This is unsustainable both in terms of concentrating too much power in too few hands, as well as placing undue risk on the food system,” says Dr Scott Drimie, director of the Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL). Not only do these commercial farmers face political uncertainty, but the dangers of climate change will also place our water systems under severe pressure and compound soil erosion and land degradation. “Adapting to climate change will be immensely challenging for our society,” Scott adds. “We need to be pursuing more sustainable…

For a man who spends his days doing tough manual labour in the Karoo sun (wearing a hat, at least), Pieter Louwrens doesn’t look like someone who’ll be celebrating his 70th in 2017. His skin is almost wrinkle-free, his eyes shine like those of a young man, and he walks fast and purposefully as if he has a plan. Or rather, plans. Until 1992, Pieter was a forester at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), but after the decision was made to close the Saasveld Forest Research Station near George he did not want move to the Eastern Transvaal. He resigned and then spent a year unsuccessfully seeking work in forestry and agriculture. At that time, friends of his came to retire in Vanwyksdorp and, after a visit…

Former Springbok athlete Heidi de Kock is the only real estate agent in town. Visit hdkproperties.co.za or call 082 978 4863 for information. R595 000 The piece of land across from the Dutch Reformed church has been subdivided into three plots of 1 071m2 each. The price is for all three plots. R620 000 A restored three-bedroomed house with Oregon-pine floors and ceilings on a 704m2 plot. There’s one garage and two large storerooms, and it gets municipal water. R3,5 million Farm (24,9 hectares) with a threebedroomed house, two garages, three flats, 65 pecan trees, an apricot and plum orchard and a rugby field – with showers, toilets and a campsite.…

It’s early morning on an icy midwinter day, and on Copenhagen, Annette and De Wet Vogel’s farm 32km northeast of Smithfield, shearing is in full swing. De Wet jumps out of a Land Cruiser to greet me. He’s on his way to the veld to fetch another herd of sheep for the shearers. His arms are bare, even though there’s a nip in the air. “Ja-nee, I feel guilty when we shear in this cold weather. That’s why I’m not wearing a jacket,” he explains. Annette is waiting on the stoep, wrapped in one of her own handknitted scarves. “De Wet is crazy about his animals,” she says, “but although I also feel sorry for the poor sheep when they are shorn, it’s just too cold to walk around with…

What is a weed? You might answer that a weed is a plant that you, the gardener, do not want. It has gatecrashed the country club where the proper plants are behaving nicely. It has ignored the Right of Admission Reserved sign. It is behaving badly – eating their food, drinking their water. Bumping into them. Acting like their equal. It has a funny accent. And it obviously didn’t get the memo about cocktail attire. It’s wearing old vellies and it hasn’t shaved. It has a tattoo in a secret place, which it shows you. So you kick it out. Despite appearances, that ejected weed now wilting on a heap could be a plant that is not only nutritious but also pleasant to eat. It might even be better for…

Chantel Dartnall FRANCOLIN CONSERVANCY, GAUTENG Dandelions and nettles Gauteng chef Chantel never left home. She grew up “surrounded by the peace and tranquillity of nature” on the Francolin Conservancy near Elandsfontein outside Pretoria, where she now serves vivid five-star fare at Restaurant Mosaic, part of The Orient boutique hotel. Nettles star in Mosaic’s Mushroom and Nettles Tea. Chantel makes a mushroom stock with a bit of salt, brown sugar and lime leaves, and then adds dried nettles before the tea is strained through muslin. “I prefer to serve this tea warm, as the comforting earthy aromas will escape from the cup as it is poured,” she says. Dandelions are on the breakfast menu. “I like using dandelion petals because of their vibrant colour – especially for our dish Crack of…

The brassica family is back with a vengeance, mostly thanks to the discovery of its health benefits – and let’s not forget the variety of interesting ways to prepare, cook and store these vegetables. Predominantly of Asian and European descent, the brassica clan includes cabbages, cauliflower, kales, kohlrabi, mustards and Asian leafy greens. Most are cold-weather crops that enjoy the cool of winter to fill out and produce their rich bounty. The good news – especially in light of the general decline in the variety and quality available in the shops due to our extended summer drought – is that, with the exception of cauliflower, perhaps, they’re all relatively easy to grow. 1 Prepare the soil Before you start, it is important to know that brassicas are gross feeders with…

MENU Chicken liver and mushroom pâté, served with orange jam Malay-style butternut soup Fried egg with wild mushrooms Roast springbok saddle with beetroot tzatziki Banana pudding with coconut ice cream Stuffed dates wrapped in bacon WELCOME SNACK Chicken liver and mushroom pâté Serves 6 Preparation time 20 minutes, plus 2 hours’ cooling time Cooking time 10-15 minutes You need • 100g butter • 100g portobello mushrooms, sliced • 250g chicken livers • 2 spring onions, chopped • 100g almonds, finely chopped • 1 teaspoon (5ml) dried thyme • 1 teaspoon (5ml) cinnamon • 1 teaspoon (5ml) paprika • 2 tablespoons (30ml) dessert wine (we used noble late harvest) • 120ml fresh cream • 1 sprig fresh rosemary • toasted rye bread, to serve • orange jam, to serve (recipe below…

As a child I dreamt about farming one day – from chasing sheep with a blade of grass in my mouth to surveying the farmyard from the back of my horse. I almost thought my dream would come true when I met a boy from Tzaneen, but then I got married to an Englishman from Pretoria and was blessed to live in Dunfermline in the beautiful Scotland for six years. There, we lived literally five minutes from everything precious to me: five minutes from the beach in Aberdour, five minutes from a scenic pond where my curly-haired daughter could throw bread to the swans, and five minutes from the spot where a gentle horse came to chew carrots at the fence. That tranquillity, wholesomeness, earthy scent and freedom don’t seem…

I love the tranquillity of the platteland, where your mind can take off and the open spaces are like a balm for the soul. Here in Middelburg we’ve had a really dry rainy season. The dam level keeps falling and you try to save water in every conceivable way: take short showers and install a mechanism to use less water, flush the toilet as seldom as possible, only water the plants when the leaves curl up from thirst… Watering the lawn, hosing down the paving and washing the car are out of the question. Come afternoon, the clouds gather, but they blow away by evening… until two nights ago, when I heard a cricket outside my bedroom window for the first time this season. Many people believe crickets start to…

I read the editors’ response to Louis Bothma’s letter about almonds in California (Platteland #10) and would also like to add my contribution. To blame the “uncontrolled cultivation of almonds” for the water shortage is a little creative journalism. Firstly, California’s population of 4 million in the seventies has grown to more than 40 million today. Furthermore, the state gets its main water supply from winter snow, which has declined markedly since 2014 due to global warming, caused by our modern lifestyle. California’s groundwater is therefore no longer sufficiently replenished and, at the current rate of consumption, the state will experience severe water shortages. Farming operations will indeed have to be restricted, especially the cultivation of fodder for cattle. What people are particularly upset about is that feed is mainly…

BOOK NOW! 29 September to 3 October If you’re interested in organic farming practices and want to learn how to live more sustainably, make a plan to be in Vanwyksdorp for the Sustainable Living Weekend from Thursday, 29 September to Monday, 3 October 2016. On guided farm tours, small farmers in and around the town – including Pieter and Sally Louwrens – will talk about organic and ethical farming methods that they use, and everyone is welcome to ask questions or share their personal experiences. The weekend is a great opportunity to find out more about small-scale organic food production, food processing and preservation, smallscale beekeeping and chicken farming, and alternative energy and building methods. Administrative fee R75 per person – spots are limited and bookings close on 20 September…

You can’t be particularly bothered about much when you’re relaxing in the foothills of the Rooiberg: you switch off the phone and forget about everything. “It’s almost medieval,” jokes my travelling companion. During the balmy summer days that follow, we gather hospitality and interesting people who seem to have been created for just this landscape. It’s broad daylight and blue skies one Wednesday morning when I encounter an ethereal being: a woman with snow-white hair walking down the dirt road running along lucerne paddocks. Barefoot. Draped in white linen. A druid? Perhaps artist Willem Boshoff’s sister? The woman is intensely shy – I feel like a thief as I photograph her. OUR CHRISTMAS in Vanwyksdorp is blissful – as is our sojourn on the historical farm Watermill, 2km from town.…

BARBERTON • Dusty Tracks Off Road Adventures Wynand Engelbrecht and Pieter Visser know this area like the backs of their hands, so let them take you into the mountains. They will create a tour to suit your needs, and the possibilities are endless. You can take the transport option or drive yourself, sleep over or not. And yes, you can go panning for gold if you want to. 072 668 4063 (Wynand) or 076 825 5794 (Pieter) wynand@dustytracks.co.za dustytracks.co.za • Josephine’s At this Belgian restaurant, Josephine Laporte prepares the food and Danielle Vermeeren takes care of the frontof-the-house operations. You’re unlikely to come across a better selection of Belgian beers, and don’t leave without eating a heart-shaped waffle. 40 General Street 013 712 3543 or 072 400 5279 restaurantjosephines@hotmail.com •…

Three years ago, they were just an ordinary family from Table View, Cape Town, who wrestled with city stuff: the commute in traffic to work every day, worrying about what they eat and where their food comes from, concern about how their only child is growing up, a craving for chickens and pigs and sheep, the eternal pursuit of everything… Then one day Piet and Carien Alberts walked into a house in Moorreesburg, about 100km from the city, and they just knew: it was time for a new beginning for them, their son and their two chows, Knor and Grom. How did your move to the platteland come about? Carien: Ever since we got together, we’ve been going on holiday in small towns – places like Riebeek-Kasteel, Darling, Greyton, McGregor,…

Back in the 1970s, when Adèle Cutten graduated with a BSc, she decided that teaching wasn’t for her. Instead, she joined the Outspan Oranges marketing team and spent her days handing out fruit and zipping around the UK in one of the iconic orangeshaped Outspan cars. She had no idea that a brief visit to the Isle of Harris in Scotland would turn her knitting hobby into a business. Adèle’s 50ha farm just outside Port Alfred, halfway between East London and Port Elizabeth, the mohair capital of the world, is the perfect location for the workshop of Adèle’s Mohair, where all her fashion and home accessories, as well as hand-spun and hand-dyed hand-knitting yarns, are crafted. Mohair is Adèle’s main focus, but she also sells merino wool (about 20% of…

1 Black nightshade NASTERGAL Solanum nigrum and S. retroflexum Anyone who has stopped at a Free State farm stall will remember nastergal jam, a summer rite of passage. Children, dogs and chickens love to eat the ripe black berries straight off these bushy annual plants. When ripe, the fruit is mostly sweet with a hint of bitterness (the green berries are poisonous). The other useful and overlooked part of the plant is its leaves, a traditional kitchen herb routinely included in imifino and morogo – seldom on their own, as the flavour is too strong, but as part of a collection of edible leaves. When cooking amaranths and fat hen, add leaves of black nightshade to the pot, or include them in a hearty minestrone-like soup with a base of…

Tolbos JESTER This mediumsized tolbos with pink leaves is an excellent screen plant, can tolerate less water and full sun, and thrives at the coast. It flowers throughout the year. RED DEVIL A cheeky deep-red shrub that flowers in winter. It grows up to 1m tall and works well in a border or a pot, or as a low hedge. It can tolerate full sun, little water and coastal conditions. SAFARI SUNSET This tolbos grows up to 2,5m tall. The leaf colour changes from deep red in summer and autumn to brightyellow-and-red in winter. It flowers from February to April and from July to August. Pincushions HIGH GOLD This shrub grows up to 2m tall and has bright-yellow flowers in spring that will lure countless birds to your garden. It…

Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts… Like any family, the cabbage family is a diverse bunch. They all form part of the Brassica genus, which in its turn is a member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae). We all know that cabbage – in any form – had a bad name for many years. Not only was it cooked for too long, it was also mistakenly stored for too long thanks to its reputation for having a better shelf life than most other vegetables. So do keep in mind that, if you want to enjoy the natural sweet and fresh juicy flavour of the cabbage family, you should ideally use the vegetables as soon as possible after harvesting – preferably on the day you buy and prepare them. The longer cabbage…