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Raised beds is the best form when planting veg that produce under ground eg: potatoes ,onions as you have a better chance of not getting rot .This allows the water to drain away from the vegetable when harvesting make sure you harvest when the vegetable is dry so when you store it thre is no water content in the vegetable gives you a longer shelf life .

It looks like a moth has got to them .This time of the year is the worst as most insects are coming out . I presume you don't want to use chemical the best thing is the to cover your veg with shade netting it will keep most of the insects out . Cut the leaves off aswell because the moth lays it eggs under the leave so as to keep control . The cut worm is also a big problem they attack cauliflower and cabbage , they are in the ground and usarly attack the root . fennel is plated some time in between cauliflower as it grow higher than cauliflower and moths will not attack your cauliflower as it does not like the smell .The moth will attack the tallest plant normally.

I am in Portugal at the moment I see they have placed lanes in for runners and cyclists . They have two lanes next to each other .Red is for runners and Green for cyclists . Spoke to some cyclists and they said it is for commuting to work mostly people who use it to go to work and back and are not serious cyclists . The guys that are serious still have to ride on the road as their speed is to fast for them to ride in these dedicated lanes and may cause accidents .

Where in Pretoria can I have a professional bike set up?

Cool let me know I am in Waterkloof or in Centurion

Sorry I only saw now mine are disc brakes

I have a set of Dt Swiss that came off my Scalpel have not done more than 200 kilometers . Let me know if you are interested .

Thanks appreciate it.

I am no fisherman but my son is he fishes with a mate of mine. What I need go know is we are off to Umngazi (Port St Johns ) in March again and he wants to try his hand at fly fishing I bought him a rod and reel but I really don't know what flys to buy. If some one can send me info on flys or better pictures of flys the he need for the estuary that will be great he is only 10 years old . Thanks

Or tell him to go onto the Hub and read the comments about his shop that should open his eyes

Why not type your frustration out in a letter and just slip it under the door of the shop one morning. I know you will be helping him out cause some times owners gust get to comfortable and don't realize there I a problem . I have shops and believe me we become shop blind .

Have a look under the leaves of the plant , most worms will sit under the leaves of the plant in the heat of the day they also lay there eggs (small black like dots )under the leave to protect the the eggs.If your plants is dying that is the mother plant the chances is it is a cut worm they attack the plants root ,if your cucumber itself has a dark round hole on it can be a fly that lays it eggs in the cucumber itself. If the leaves are been eaten then it is worms they might be small worms that you can hardly see with the naked eye you will have to spray the plant. Read the instruction of the chemical if that is what you are going to use as it will tell you how long before you can harvest the vegetable. That is why most farmers will spray the vegetables early in its growing stage as to prevent the worms from attacking the plant and so that by the time it comes to harvest the chemical is no longer in the plant and is safe to eat.

You are correct the roll will break down the question is how long will it take to break down. One of the important growth stages or a seedling is the the early stages of growth, this is when the root system develops the fastest. You don't want the root to grow straight down if the roll does not break down quick enough. The root needs to spread out as this will allow the plant to anchor it self up right and the more the root cans spread out the more nutrients the plant will be able to feed on . Just remember some vegetables and herbs grow faster than others you might just damage the development of the plant if the roll does not break down fast enough . My suggestion is to experiment with the toilet roll plant one or two with the roll and some with out and see if there is a difference and how long the roll takes to break down.

If you confront them on the price the will blame it on the R/$ exchange that is how they will justify it. Old trick as soon as there is a fluctuations in exchange take the stock you have and increase the the price.

You can start planting the seed in the toilet roll . Go and buy yourself a bag of seedling soil don't buy the big bag as it dries out quickly and then looses all of its nutrition. When you have filled the rolls with soil just take your finger push it into the soil then drop the seed in and cover it with soil lightly when watering use very little water pressure so as not yo wash the seed out of the soil. Place the new seed in a place where they get morning sun or afternoon sun as mid day sun will absurd all the water and the new plant will get burnt from the midday sun. It will be better if you do the potatoes in the tyre s as it will give you more space to plant vegetables that take only six weeks to harvest. You can do your coriander now as well but don't plant them in the toilet rolls you will just be wasting your time and rolls . What you do is once your vegetable bed is ready you make a trench right to left not to deep 3 cm deep then take the coriander seeds and spread them along the trench and cover ,as you will see the coriander is a large seed and you get quite a lot in one packet so makes it easy to plant When you are ready to transfer the seedlings to the veg patch the soil around the seedling must be a bit dry so that when you take it out the toilet roll most of the soil is still with the root if the soil is to wet the soil will just fall off the root and the roots will take time to resettle in the vegetable patch ans the plant sometimes goes into shock and dies or the plant will take longer to grow. Remember to plant late afternoon in summer months as the soil has lost most of its heat and the roots will not bet burnt and the night temperature as now cool giving the plant a better chance the next day when it gets hot.

Well done Wayne now you need to get some compost in work it into the soil water it leave it for about a week then turn the soil again. The compost must break down first other wise it will burn the new seedlings or seeds . You still have time to grow lettuce,coriander,tomatoes.If you want rosemary I would plant it out side the veg patch as it will take up space in the veg patch and rosemary if looked after it will be with you for years very hardy plant. Don't plant broccoli ,cauliflower now as it is to hot it will bolt in other words they will just produce seeds plant in the beginning of winter or late summer same for cauliflower . When you plant onion or potatoes plant them to the right or left of the veg patch as they take longer to grow before harvest , by doing this firstly you don't disturb when you harvest your other vegetables and the center of your veg patch you plant the vegetables that take about six weeks to harvest. Then you will do two crops in the middle of your veg patch while the onion and potatoes are still growing. Onions and potatoes don't like to be disturbed to much while growing some potatoes are runners under the soil and if you dig to and plant around them you have a better chance of damaging the potatoes.

Most vegetables only grow in full sun. In December and January the hottest months i put up shade netting as this time of the year the sun will burn the vegetables. Last thing remember don't plant to close to the wall, as the wall gives off too much heat.

Most of these are easy to grow and don't need much attention. Cucumbers do tend to get mill dew on the leaves looks like white powder need to keep it under control . Lettuce once the head has formed and you cut in off pull the roots out you only get one per plant . Lettuce take about six weeks to mature . To keep a constance supply work out how many you will use a week an then plant about 10 days apart between batches. Plant on raised beds if possible and water early morning or or late afternoon. Peppers are also easy to grow don't need much attention what you must do is remove the first and second pepper that develops as this helps the plant develop and the plant becomes stronger as the first two peppers will suck nutrition out of the plant and the plant becomes weak . The same procedure for strawberrys . Last thing always rotate your plants don't plant that same vegetable in the same soil over and over as this will cause some plants roots not to develop properly you can get a root disease .

Koos get we'll soon . There are pizza waiting for you at the shop when you recover .

dipslick you can do it the same way you stap I pod on your arm. Make a pouch for the pepper spray and then strap it with a I pod strap to your arm.

Thanks to all off you really appreciate it.

yes he did manage to see the Tour this year. every year that I watch the Tour from now on he will be with me.

Today my uncle passed away . He had a cycle accident 25 years ago. He hit a pot hole front wheel buckled went over the handle bars landed on his back and broke his spine. Been in a wheelchair for 25 years now and for the last 25 years watched all the Tours de France and still said to me the best sport there is. All ways said just be carefull to win is not every thing enjoy the ride that is what is important. Joe may you RIP I will always think of you when I am on the bike . Will miss you he was Italian the cycling was every thing to him .

the last time I was there it was R 10 to get in. It is flat not much climbing can't remember how many k's you can do have to do laps to get a work out. I took my son there to to ride just for him to get some experience being flat . That is the one side of the dam ,there is another side that I have not done as it had some hills,by the look it was a bit to much for my son who is 9 years . I am planning to ride there with him in the next week or two as he will be getting his 26" small soon might try the other side with the hill or two.