Indholdsfortegnelse for Autumn 2023 i go! Platteland

It’s as if we’ve been retreating deeper and deeper into our shells over the past few years. Many people were forced to start working from home, and the distance between us just grew increasingly wider. Our homes have become our entire world. A part of this world is the greenery that you plant and nurture in order to make life more beautiful, and thus more enjoyable – even if it’s a fern suspended in a macramé plant holder in your living room. A garden is a living system, something that breathes and gives life and changes and dies. It is truly precious. It makes you move, bend, stretch and perspire – and clears the cobwebs from your mind. A garden with all the life forms it contains makes you cry…

Charl Barry* Rock music and movie addict On 2 January 1980, after his compulsory two years as a conscript in the army, Charl Barry put a plan in motion to fulfil a big dream: He wanted to see the British rock band Led Zeppelin live, and the only way he could think of was to get a job as a flight attendant at South African Airways. In the nearly 40 years that followed, Charl “saw the whole world for free”, attended at least 450 international rock concerts (including Led Zeppelin’s last show in 1980), met many of his rock heroes – and became addicted to booze, cocaine and tattoos. There’s a story, which may or may not be true, that Charl was such a wild party animal that The Rolling…

How do you describe Kliprand to someone who has never been there? How do you give someone directions to Kliprand if they’ve never kicked up dust on the gravel roads between Loeriesfontein and Garies? It’s difficult to convey the idea of this settlement, because it’s aborderline case. It’s almost a village, but somehow not. It’s on the outskirts of the Western Cape, although most of the farms in the area fall within the Northern Cape. Some people say Kliprand is in Namaqualand; others would swear it’s in Bushmanland. What’s undisputed is that in the spring of 2022 Kliprand had a superbloom of wildflowers – no other region or reserve had a more spectacular display of spring flowers. The rocky ridges around the settlement swelled in yellow, orange and purple waves.…

Kirstenbosch: best of the best! Kirstenbosch, South Africa’s largest and most-visited botanical garden, has won the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Award for 2022. This exceptional award means that a visit to this beloved botanical garden at the foot of Table Mountain falls among the top 1% of tourist activities in the world. TripAdvisor is the largest travel review website globally – tourists have uploaded more than 200 million reviews on this platform. This Best of the Best Award is the highest of its kind for excellence in the travel industry. It is determined by reviews from the past 12 months, with the number of reviews and their quality taken into account. Kirstenbosch is home to about one-third of South Africa’s plant species (7000 of the 22000), and…

YOU’LL NEED • sweet peppers• jalapeños or other chillies• white-wine vinegar or apple-cider vinegar• water• sugar• salt• garlic cloves• mustard seeds• celeryseeds• black peppercorns HERE’S HOW 1. Remove the stems, seeds and pith from the peppers, and cut into slices. Slice the chillies into rings – use gloves if they’re very hot, and don’t touch your eyes! Place the pepper and chilli slices in sterilised jars. 2. Pour the vinegar and water into a saucepan and add the sugar, salt, garlic and spices. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring regularly, and take it off the heat once the sugar and the salt have dissolved. 3. Using a funnel, pour the hot pickling liquid into the jars. Compress the pepper and chilli using a spoon to release any air pockets.…

Have you ever noticed that the packaging of some products lists different countries of origin? South Africa might be indicated in a large font, but often this is followed by text in small print: “Packaged in…” Rina Theron tackles this topic at the start of the chapter “Gesondheid uit die grond uit” (Goodness from the earth) in her second selfpublished book, Sandveldkos: Tuin tot Tafel (Sandveld food: from garden to table). It details her quest to live closer to nature while doing something about her concern regarding food security. In South Africa, food producers and manufacturers have to be accredited, and traceability codes have to be printed on the packaging. These codes make it possible to trace any harmful substances in food all the way to their source, but the…

Menu Choose as many dishes as you like and serve them in any order, or all together: Bread, butter and fatty biltong Chicken croquettes with corn and truffle sauce Mussels with chorizo and cream Deep-fried curried calamari with avocado and aïoli Arancini Brinjal with a twist – DESSERT – Hazelnut crème brûlée with caramelised pears Bread, butter and fatty biltong Your doctor might not approve of this recipe… It’s best enjoyed as an occasional treat, especially if you’re health-conscious. You can bake your own white bread or use a shop-bought loaf of unsliced white bread – you’ll have to cut 2cm-thick slices at home. Use salted farm butter that has softened. The biltong should contain yellow fat, and should not be too moist or too dry. Spread a generous amount…

Live the slow life… and have more fun winning letter We’re a family of plattelanders, and we are all avid readers of your magazine. By the way, I like the feel of the new paper – I think it was a good idea to change it. I’m sending you a story that I think aptly illustrates your motto, “The slow life is the good life.” We live in the beautiful Boland town of Wellington. But even here the pace of living has picked up considerably. When we bought our house with the deck that overlooks one of the large mountain peaks, we dreamt of often kicking back there with coffee or wine and good friends. Or even simply to light a fire by ourselves while we admire the natural beauty…

In February 2020, when Nannie de Villiers signed the rental contract for the site of her new doggie daycare, she–like all of us – was unaware of the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic would bring. Yet not only did her business survive, but it has also thrived. Thanks to its uniquely playful “personality”, Dogs Day Out stands head and shoulders above traditional dog kennels. “It’s like dropping your dog off with friends for the day,” Nannie describes her daycare in Strand, near Cape Town. Last year, the canine playschool was voted best small business by KFM’s popular Best of the Cape Awards. Nannie told us how her dream became a reality. Where did the idea for Dogs Day Out come from? From 2003 to 2006, I lived in Atlanta in the US,…

Carnarvon lies on a lovely alternative route if you’re travelling from the Western Cape to Upington, Kimberley or Bloemfontein and want to avoid the busier roads. A long time ago, before our country’s roads were tarred, many travellers, hunters and missionaries would stay over here. Originally known as Harmsfontein, the village was renamed in 1874 to honour the fourth Earl of Carnarvon, Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, who was the colonial secretary at the time. Drive through Carnarvon today and it is clear that the prosperous years have gone. At the Astoria and Carnarvon hotels, the beds are empty – it is only in the bars that you’ll find people. Children and adults wait for small change and other meagre handouts in front of the Spar, Hot Stuff, Pep, Jacobs Broers…

Where do you go to recharge your batteries if you are feeling utterly exhausted after a year like 2022 (and its charming brothers 2021 and 2020)? These three scoundrels brought us years of darkness and sticky fingers, deception and scheming – let’s not even get started on incompetence and laziness. The interest rate and fuel prices are only going one way – upwards – and the economy limps in the opposite direction, downhill, ever more feeble. Sometimes it seems as though the bad guys are getting the upper hand. And who could forget the worldwide grief the pandemic unleashed? What you need is a place as far away as possible from every litter bug, and from “I know my rights” Tom, Dick and Harriet with his or her brand of…

If you grew up in the arid Karoo or Namaqualand, and you regard a brown and grey landscape as the default, you eventually start to believe that lush green Edens with huge trees, mossgrown paths, and luxuriant roses and other profuse bloomers belong in fairy tales. So you grow fond of succulents and everything waterwise – until you find yourself, on a beautiful spring day in the Boland, in a dazzling English cottage garden and realise what kind of an effect it has on your mood to spend time in a place with such an abundance of green and masses of flowers. Just wait until you see Hogsback, a village in a magical setting of mountains and forests in the Eastern Cape. Especially in October and November, when the Hogsback…

I can no longer remember how old I was when we learnt about Pavlov’s dog in school, but it must have been some time in the early ’80s, when I was still dreaming of a career in the circus. Fortunately, the first set of scales fell from my eyes at one of Boswell-Wilkie’s biennial visits to Namaqualand. Would you believe, the flamboyant Madame Zabarovska with her eight acrobatic French poodles was one and the same person as Lulu the dumbest clown, and the tannie with the greasy hair behind the counter at the popcorn machine! The lesson I learnt that day: I would have to work on my repertoire if I ever wanted to make the shortlist for chief clown. At the circus you dared not hide any talent under…

Taming dragons on a pitaya farm Although pitayas – better known as dragon fruit – can be found in most supermarkets these days, the cultivation of these bright-pink tropical fruit is still in its infancy in South Africa. One of the country’s first commercial producers, Jackye Riddle, unexpectedly found herself in the business of growing dragon fruit. She’d bought an Eastern Cape citrus farm and planned to retire there. Because there were citrus trees on the farm, she started farming citrus on a small scale as a hobby. By the time the trees were becoming old, Jackye had been bitten by the farming bug and was She started looking into niche fruit with which to experiment and soon spotted a strange-looking vine on a neighbouring farm. At that stage, there…

The cooler autumn months are a good time to get active in your garden if you’d like to welcome pops of colour during the cold of winter. Most bulbs can be divided into one of two groups: summer and winter bulbs. In nature, winter bulbs typically grow in winter-rainfall areas and go into hibernation during the summer months. In general, winter bulbs flower beautifully in early spring, but some types will start blooming in late winter. Regardless of their flowering season, all winter bulbs must be planted in late autumn so that the cooler soil temperatures can trigger the growth cycle. Hadeco is an online bulb and garden retailer that offers gardeners everything their hearts may desire. Hadeco’s experts have the following advice for preparing your winter garden: Start right…

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Of all the towns along the famous R62 connecting Ashton in the Western Cape with Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape, it’s safe to say the residents of Barrydale’s are the most eclectic (some would say quirky) collection of individuals you’re likely to find. For years, this small town, has been attracting interesting, talented, smart, kind, eccentric and sometimes just plain crazy people. You’ll often hear the locals, even in Afrikaans, talking about the energy of the ley lines, its call, or healing vibes that drew them to Barrydale. Others like to joke about the spaceship on Diesel & Crème’s billboard next to the R62, a few kilometres before you drive into town and find your way to this American-inspired diner. “It’s true, the people who live here are seriously off-kilter,”…

Where old and new rub shoulders Colesberg’s Church Street is a mishmash of architectural styles and periods. It is almost as diverse as the people that have settled here over the years – from the hunters and gatherers of the Stone Age to the farmers, missionaries and transport riders of the late 1700s. Early in the 20th century, Colesberg had a large Jewish community – today, the synagogue that dates from 1920 houses a shop. Early in the new millennium, the town saw lots of changes, but in the quieter streets you’ll find many renovated historical buildings that tell stories of yesteryear. “What are you driving – a Renault Duster? Don’t worry, you’ll show that road who’s boss.” I was reminded of these parting words of a Vanderkloof resident, Les…

Make the beauty last The experts at Ludwig’s Roses have a few tips for helping your flowers last longer: Rose bushes need sunlight to flower. Prune shrub and tree branches in your garden that have grown larger in summer and are now blocking the sunlight. Even though it’s cooler than in summer, roses still need ample water. You can give them more water, but less often. Keep deadheading the flowers to encourage the plants to produce more blooms. Towards the end of the rose season, you’ll notice black spot appearing, especially on the lower leaves – they turn yellow with black spots on them. Pick off the leaves by hand and burn them. If it’s a bad infestation, you can consider spraying the rose bush with Chronos, a fungicide developed…

Understanding the basics Moon phases As the moon’s gravitational pull causes tides to rise and fall, it also affects moisture in the soil. Therefore it is said that seeds will absorb more water during the full moon and the new moon, when more moisture is pulled to the surface. This causes seeds to swell, resulting in improved germination and better-established plants. The moon also impacts plant growth through geotropism, which is how plants grow in response to gravity. Roots grow downward in the direction of the gravitational pull and stems grow in the opposite direction. • New moon to first quarter (waxing) – semi-fertile This is the ideal time to plant crops that produce their seeds outside the fruit. It is most suited to sowing or transplanting leafy annuals of…

I used to get bronchitis with every change of the seasons. During one of my many doctor’s visits and a handbag full of cough medication and antibiotics later, the doctor gave me some passing advice:“Cook yourself some power soup.” There and then he shot himself in the foot, because that was the last time he saw me for that particular ailment. The broth needs to simmer for 24 hours, so it’s best to use a slow cooker. A pressure cooker would also work, but everything needs to boil together for a long time to extract all the nutritional value from the bones. It can simply stand there simmering, receptive to all the bits and pieces in the vegetable drawer that have been waiting for their true purpose. Makes 5 ℓ…