11 Feb 2014

Though she is relatively new to the trade, the returns that she has so far accrued have encouraged Ms Mmathebe Jautse to put more effort in developing her back yard garden.

Ms Jautse, a resident of Oliphant’s Drift, says she will forever remain thankful to government for helping her set up the backyard garden, as it enabled her to improve her life and feed her family.

“In the short time that I have been operating this garden I have seen immense returns. I was able to use the returns to finish off a house that I had started building,” she said.

Ms Jautse said she enjoys backyard gardening because she has always loved nurturing plants. She explained that she grows a variety of vegetables in her garden, among them rape, spinach and peri-peri.

Pests have always been a big problem for Ms Jautse as they destroy her crops. She has sought assistance from agriculture officers who advised her to buy pesticides.

But the pesticides were prohibitively expensive, and she was forced to resort to cheaper methods to fend off the marauding pesticides. “So I plant the peri-peri to chase away pests,” she said. Ms Jautse said she faces another challenge of rocky soils, which make it difficult for her vegetables to grow well.

She said she must upgrade the soil in her garden if she wants to improve her crop yield. Despite her challenges, Ms Jautse is determined to forge ahead and use the opportunity that government has given her to better her life. ENDS