G F & P Dienste / Services

15/06/2018

10 of the best vegetables to grow in winter

1. Shallots
2. Cauliflower
3. Broad beans
4. Garlic

For the full list and more, follow the link:

In South Africa, April until the end of May is a great time to plant vegetables to grow in winter. You'll be enjoying home-grown veg for months to come.

30/05/2018

30/05/2018

Let the cold not put a dampener on your gardening.
Contact us for our winter pricing on automated irrigation solutions.

15/05/2018

TIP 6 - Collect rainwater and reuse old water

Even if you live in a dry part of the SA, you could collect 24,000 litres (5,280 gallons or 150 water butts) of rainwater from your roof each year. Obviously, not many people can store that much water, but if every household in the country collected even just one water butt’s worth of water a year (160 litres), that’s four billion litres of free water that we all could be using on our gardens.
• It’s simple to collect rainwater: just divert the water from your drainpipe into a water butt or a wheelie bin.
• Reusing grey water (water from baths, showers, washing machines and washing up) is a good way to use water a second time. You can buy greywater diverters that divert the water from your bath to an irrigation system or a water butt.
• Household soaps and detergents are harmless to plants, but don’t use water containing bleach, disinfectant, dishwasher salt or stronger cleaners, which can harm plants, damage soil structure and could be a health risk.

26/04/2018

TIP 5
Use the best watering techniques for your plants
• Sprinklers: best used to water the lawn and soak unplanted areas, sprinklers have great coverage but you can’t target specific sections of your garden with them.
• Hoses and watering cans: labour intensive but precise, use these to water around plant bases beneath the leaves, and leave the surrounding soil dry. This limits w**d growth and means all the water goes where it is needed.
• Seep hoses: these allow water to seep out of holes in the hose. They can be buried under soil or mulch, which avoids evaporation. They allow you to water established plants in rows, but are best used on heavy soil as water spreads further sideways, covering more than it would on lighter soils.
• Automated irrigation systems: these allow water to drip or trickle into growing areas whenever you programme them to do so. They save time and effort, but they are the most expensive option. Make sure you take hot and dry weather into account when you programme your system.

21/04/2018

TIP4

Plant flowers that need less water

Some plants need less water than others to grow; lavender, palms, mimosa and verbena, to name a few. For more ideas, see this list on the Royal Horticultural Society website. This interactive guide to drought-resistant plants for the gardenis useful, too. For a more in-depth look at low-water gardens, look at this guide. It covers everything from design and plant selection to irrigation systems and rainwater collections.

14/04/2018

TIP 3:
Use the right amount of water

This depends on the soil type. Light sandy soils need
watering more often than heavy soils. Clay-based soils
can be watered less frequently, but need more water.
The Royal Horticultural Society’s rule of thumb is that
for plants to keep growing, up to 24 litres per sq metre
(5.2 gallons per 10 sq ft) every seven to 10 days is sufficient.
That’s about two and a half 10 litre watering cans worth
per sq metre.

10/04/2018

Like our PAGE for more Garden TIP's
Tip no.2
-Water at the right time-

Many of us over-water our gardens. This is not only wasteful, it means we’re doing more work than we need to. To check if you need to water or not, look at the soil about a spade-deep down. If it’s damp, it’s fine; if it’s dry, it’s time to water. If you have clay soil, it might feel damp whether it’s irrigated or not and sandy soil can feel dry, even if it has water in it. If this is the case, watch your plants and when they start to show signs of water stress – when leaves change position or get darker – note how the soil looks and feels. This way you can get more of an idea of what your soil is like when it has too little water.
Watering the garden before a drought sets in keeps the soil’s moisture levels up and helps prevent a water deficit. You should also water plants in the evening when it’s cooler, to reduce evaporation.

05/04/2018

Like our PAGE for more Garden TIP's
Tip no.1
-Look after your soil-

05/04/2018

Is your borehole Pump on its last life line, or do you need to have maintenance done on the whole borehole setup. Contact us for expert advise and service in the Bronkhortspruit and PTA area.

27/03/2018

Need some winter garden tips, click on the link for a short video from Tia Pinney
https://youtu.be/tG4yHO7nzz4