Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2023 från go! Platteland

Farmers have always commanded our deepest respect: These are the people who put food on our tables year after year, in spite of onslaughts from the elements, politicians and other mobsters. We recall how the farmers of our town arrived one by one to introduce themselves after we bought “the long house” (then still yellow) on the main street of Koringberg in 2005 – the one with the two dying trees and little else in the yard. Some of them have been popping in often since, and then they would share their knowledge, help where they can and resolve our country’s issues. In our heads we all have a certain picture of a farmer: A mature male, usually no-nonsense, with a hat and a Hilux, perhaps with a dog on…

In October 2020, when many platteland restaurants went under during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bev Missing opened one in Swellendam in the Overberg and christened it Grace + Merci. This was out of gratitude, she says, because she had not only survived breast cancer and Covid-19, but also the traumatic loss of her African bath and bodycare range, Rain, which she had started in her garage in Ladybrand in 1998 and later established in Swellendam. (In Platteland #5, at the end of 2014, we spoke to Bev about this international brand name and the book she wrote about making soap.) In 2021, when the restraint of trade had finally ended, Bev opened a “Secret Shop” in the garden behind Grace + Merci, where she could again give free reign to her…

Graaff-Reinet is one of the few places that are actually better in real life than in the photos you see on social media. Once you’ve turned off the thoroughfare and spent some time in this Eastern Cape town, it becomes hard to leave. Many of us have driven through Graaff-Reinet – it’s one of those towns at the intersection of major regional routes, without bypasses. If you’ve always just passed through, are you under the impression that there’s not much more to Graaff-Reinet than a slightly chaotic main street and an impressive church? IT’S ONLY RECENTLY that I found out about all the wonderful things happening in Graaff-Reinet, and how you could easily spend a week there to experience it all. In fact, if it wasn’t for Instagram and a…

I leave Johannesburg at 06:30, heading west to Groot-Marico in North West, 210km away. Near Broederstroom I cross the provincial border, and then it’s Hartbeespoort and the dam wall, before the landscape along the N4 starts being dominated by mining infrastructure. Near Rustenburg, it changes to dry bushveld and fresh air. I’m on my way to meet Daan and Beatrice van der Merwe at Wilde-Als, the Marico Biosphere Reserve’s visitor centre. Daan used to be in the army and Beatrice is a social worker. Nowadays this biosphere project keeps them busy. “The area was declared a protected environment in 2016,” Daan tells me. “That made it possible for us to apply to Unesco in 2017 to have it declared the 10th biosphere reserve in South Africa. It spans 447268ha, of…

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…

Honey wine, also known as mead, karri or nectar of the gods, is a mixture of fermented honey and water – and is said to be the oldest alcoholic beverage. “The problem is that the minute you say ‘honey wine’, most people immediately think it’s very sweet – which is indeed the case with 99% of the products,” explains Dr Ernst Thompson, owner of Cape Town Meadery. Ernst makes beer, gin and sparkling wine with honey. The business originated from a merging of two of Ernst’s great loves: his doctoral studies on fish farming, which focused on enzymes and biotechnology, and his part-time honey-farming enterprise. He used traditional African methods to develop a honey sparkling wine – an innovative addition to the international mead industry. Many other new products have…

“What would I want to wear if I were a dog?” This is what Louise Park-Ross asked herself when, one evening in 2018, she noticed that her Jack Russell, Lucky, was shivering. The existing options for dog jerseys definitely did not suit either of their tastes, and shortly afterwards Lucky and Lou was launched. Apart from stylish high-quality jerseys for dogs, Lucky and Lou also sells several matching jerseys and scarves for humans. This is one of the very few suppliers offering dog jerseys in sizes ranging from XXS to XXXL – this makes them accessible for anything from a Chihuahua to a Great Dane! The jerseys can also be worn by cats, pigs and sheep. Louise, who is known on Instagram as Loving the Look, Babe!, designs all Lucky…

At Platteland we are active proponents of composting, and over the years we have featured stories on everything from worm composting to bokashi. If you’re concerned about sustainability, making your own compost is the responsible thing to do. It doesn’t require magic or genius; you simply have to imitate the natural process by which Mother Nature turns decaying plant material and other organic waste into humus over time. In our yard we have an ambitious number of “composting projects” on the go: a large, neglected compost pile with many thick branches in the olive grove; two composting bins by the vegetable beds; a plastic composting tower near the kitchen door; two worm farms in the garage; a bokashi bin in the pantry; and a stainless steel bucket in the kitchen…

Mother of invention When you’re born into an Italian family, you grow up in the kitchen, says Motherdough owner Lance Littlefield. “I grew up in South Africa and attended school here, but spent most of my adult life in Italy and India,” he says. “Wherever I ended up, food formed a large part of my life.” Motherdough sells kits to home bakers, allowing them to experiment in their own kitchens to master the art of natural fermentation. Lance spent years honing the fine skills and technical knowledge of a master baker, and the baking workshops that Motherdough offers countrywide are a golden opportunity for amateur bakers to learn from him. “For us, real bread is made from the best ingredients – a maximum of five! – and proper fermentation,” says…

Surviving in the rooibos tea industry has required much adaptability and development, but the founder and managing director of Carmién Tea, Mientjie Mouton, says their values are the same as they were in 1998: “Our clients are most important, our environment is most important and our people are most important.” The story of Carmién Tea begins in an old farm shop on Brakfontein Estate near Citrusdal, in the foothills of the Cederberg. Before moving here, Mientjie grew up on a rooibos farm a stone’s throw away. She recalls how a group of farm women gathered in those days to package the first Carmién tea, and how hard everyone worked to place the labels in the same position on each packet. “The first consignment was delivered to the local Spar on…

The Ohrigstad valley is green and thriving after the good late-summer rains in February. Yet it is an area where the climate and rainfall vary dramatically, depending on how high up or low down you live: when 280mm fell in the upper reaches of the valley, the Elses further down had 80mm. The Els family farm, Haakhoek, is 4km outside the town. “The name Haakhoek comes from the name of this plain. It is known for its many umbrella thorn trees [haak-en-steekbome], which cling to your clothes. The peak behind the farm is Tafelkop, and that deep notch is Olienhoutkloof,” explains Dewald Els. Three generations of Elses currently live on the farm, of which Waldo (8) and Marko (6) are the youngest. Their parents are Dewald and Melissa, and then…

BOSJES A botanical guide on your phone Over the past six years, Bosjes lifestyle farm, situated between Wolseley and Worcester at the foot of the Waaihoek mountain range, has grown into one of the Boland’s most popular destinations for nature and food lovers. Bosjes has won several archictectural awards for its unique chapel that appears to be floating on water, as well as for Die Spens, where you can enjoy a delicious breakfast or lunch. The garden is equally impressive and features many surprises, as well as paths that go on for kilometres. Now Bosjes offers QR codes on signs that have been posted at various interesting points and plants along these pathways. Simply point the camera of your smartphone at the QR code, as though you are going to…

I spent my childhood in a small and seemingly insignificant town in the middle of nowhere. But years of city living shrouded easy interaction with my fellow human beings in a stubborn layer of dust. Days, often weeks, may pass without a challenge to my primal skills of communication. I convince myself that no-one is interested in anything I may have to say anyway. Anybody who crosses my path can be side-stepped with a quick smile. Then we each carry on in our own direction. This pattern of behaviour is familiar and safe. A sudden eruption of chatter – about the weather, personal health or relationship woes – is sure to send me straight to my therapist. Politics or the dismal state of the economy may necessitate even more drastic,…