A beginners guide to starting your very own veggie patch
By Angelique Redmond There are a multitude of reasons to start a veggie patch, but the one that stands out for me is the idea of fresh, crunchy vegetables that you didn’t have to buy from the shop. So, not only will you save yourself some money, but it’s a great activity for the whole family to get involved in! The old adage goes, ‘You are what you eat’ so why not eat the freshest vegetables around? Getting started Step 1 is quite simple; plot the space you will need for your vegetable patch. Will you be growing it outside in your garden, in a window box or tub? The perfect size for a vegetable patch is roughly 4 square feet or 0.3 meters. Step 2 is where you take a look at what type of soil you are working with. You need to know what type of soil you currently have and what the PH balance of the soil is, neutral is generally a PH of 7, but vegetables grow best in slightly acidic soil with a PH balance of 6.5. If you’re not sure, you can always pick up a soil test kit from a reputable gardening store. If you can’t find a soil test kit here’s two quick ways to test your soil using household ingredients: Scoop some soil into a container. Then, add a half-cup of vinegar. If the soil bubbles or fizzes, it’s alkaline. If there’s no reaction, scoop a fresh soil sample into a second container. Add a half-cup of water and mix. Then, add a half-cup of baking soda. If the soil bubbles or fizzes the soil is highly acidic. If your soil is too acidic you can adjust it with finely ground chalk or limestone often referred to as garden lime, which will raise the PH. Other common soil problems could be sandy soil or soil high in clay, or a patch that doesn’t drain well. To check for drainage issues, water your patch and then check it the next day, if the water is still there, the patch has poor drainage, which is not ideal for a vegetable garden. One thing you can do is add sand to the soil to improve the drainage. What should you grow? Step 3: Deciding what to grow can be quite the process. When I first started my vegetable patch I was quite overwhelmed with all the choices and had to be quite strict and limit myself, or I would have ended up with a vegetable back yard instead of a garden! Decide what you really like and what you will use daily or...
Woza Sisi Exhibition in Collaboration with DOPEstore
Woza Sisi is an ongoing body of work that explores a group of women working as street hairstylists at Kerk Street market, in Johannesburg CBD. Woza Sisi has collaborated with DOPEstore as part of a series of cultural monthly events hosted at the concept store to develop visual arts within the fashion sector. DOPE, which is an acronym for Designer Original Products Enterprise, is a retail store that was founded by Andile Cele in 2009. The store offers premium designed products. DOPEstore strives to work with different creatives in the fields of art, fashion and music. “We feel that art plays a vital role, and its a medium that hasn’t been exploited enough within the youth culture” says Andile. These series of events are aimed at celebrating art, fashion and music. “We are excited to collaborate with young brands or artists in the scene”. DOPEstore feels that Woza Sisi will appeal to their clientele. It exposes hardworking women who execute artistry in a form of hairstyles daily. “Their contribution to street culture is overlooked”. The photography exhibition will also launch Woza Sisi merchandise to be revealed on the opening night, which will be available at the store throughout the duration of the exhibition. Also, two guests will have an opportunity to have their hair styled by one of the street hairstylists who participated in the project. Opening Thursday 5 March 2015 7pm – 10pm 6 March – 31 March 2015 DOPEstore 95 Commissioner Street Marshalltown Johannesburg...
Ernie Smith Live at the Orbit-Time for Love
It’s been almost 5 years since Ernie Smith’s last album, but this year sees him return to the airwaves with his new single – the Afrocentric jazz dance number Time For Love. Self composed and released under his own label Child Of The Light Records, the single is the first track from the album of the same name – fresh new sounds that include collaborations with Grammy winner Bebe Winans as well as local stars KB Motsilanyane and Mandoza. Although still very much an Ernie Smith styled record, Time For Love embodies a state of evolution in his growth and sound. The single was inspired by the many stages that people go through in life and the reminder to take time for love and other things that are central to the human condition. Details of the launch are as follows: Venue is: The Orbit- Braamfontein. Time:8PM Event: Dinner & performance...
OH, to be a Sizzling Coal at SoulProviders…
Hi, my name is Lindelwa and I’m a Sizzling coal. What does that mean? It means that I’m an impressionable youth with a brain soft and absorbent like a sponge, who is working under the guidance of Bright sparks and a brilliant Firestarter. Technically this metaphor should end with me being burnt to ashes and so becomes the end of me, but we will not get technical with it. Instead, this piece of coal will ignite into a giant flame-woman setting the world alight wherever she goes. In less than 100 words, that’s what it feels like to intern here at SoulProviders. I should tell you about why I like it here and what it’s doing for my personal growth as well. The journey has been quite… enlightening. It was in jest, during the early years of Twitter when I told friends that my first job will be a paid-to-tweet situation. As my Twitter addiction grew I learned and read more, and realized that there is work in social media – real jobs, for real. We millennials have it good, with all the progressive industries coming up with innovation – I cannot begin to imagine what’s in store for Generation Z. Back to SP, my first few weeks here felt hectic. Trying to find my feet in a new environment, everyone was and still is helpful, always willing to lend a hand, and teach me something – and this made it easier to settle in and learn the ways of the Digital Ninja. It’s been like having a room full of mentors and almost 5 months later, I feel like part of the family. In the beginning I struggled to keep up, whoooo! Never has the expression “ASAP” been so literal in my life. In the space of a few weeks I had become so much better at time management and delivering quality work in record time…not to mention “multi-tasking”. As someone working in a woman-dominated environment I can confidently say that WE ARE THE MULTI-TASKING MASTERS. To juggle 8 balls and drop none of them feels great! A sort-of affirmation of my ‘Super-Womanity’. All in all, it’s been an inspiring few months and I look forward to the exciting days ahead. ...
Highlights from SoulProviders workshop week
For many people returning to work in January, the first week is spent mired in emails and admin. But not at SoulProviders! Early January is workshop week, where ordinary citizens are turned into #Social Media Ninjas! New skills are imparted and lateral thinking is employed to get everyone to see outside the box. And at the end of the week everyone walks away knowing that there is no such thing as a non-creative person… Check out what we learned last week: Nonto Khumalo To pin point one thing would be difficult because for me it was playing on new turf. I enjoyed learning about strategy and making sure we present the best possible option for the client. This was new to me because as a graphic designer my main focus was always to present the most striking visuals. Now with this new knowledge I know it’s not just about things looking good, it’s also about my work communicating to the target market and clearly getting the message across. I thoroughly enjoyed Clement’s creative session because as a creative myself, it was interesting to learn new ways of being creative and not thinking too hard about it but mainly just making sure I’m in the right frame of mind and remain inspired. Brandstorm!!!!! Presentation was the main highlight because I’ve never had to present since doing literature in high school. I didn’t realise I had the potential to get up there and sell an idea, but with such a great team I exceeded my expectations and that is purely because SoulProviders allows one the platform to grow and tap into one’s hidden talents. Nosipho Ginindza 1) The presentation by Clement that taught us that you can be more creative when you start applying lateral thinking. 2) Another highlight was Melissa’s presentation which showed where our weaknesses and strengths are with our brands. The brandstorms were awesome because they pushed us to come up with great campaigns and ideas for brands we do not work on and also seeing how we each have different ways of looking at each other’s brands. Angelique Redmond What stood out for me in workshop week was learning lateral thinking and that creativity is there – you just have to coax it out! I also loved the brandstorms – the rush of adrenalin you get from presenting and coming up with killer ideas, I felt like a social media sherpa! Lindelwa Nxumalo It was my first workshop week here at SP. My favourite session had to be the one on Creativity. The most important lesson I took from that is that curiosity/creativity are drained by...
Give Books, Change lives
Hi Nthabi, thanks for chatting to us. Tell us more about Give Books, change lives initiative? The Give Books; Change Lives children’s books drive is a response to the fact that the majority of children in South Africa do not have access to books and libraries and have therefore they do not read storybooks. Only 7% of our schools have functioning libraries. And since it’s the season of giving – let’s put the power of giving into the hands of our customers, supporters, and fans. We have partnered with 3 reputable NGOs, @ShineCentre @biblionefsa @nalibaliSA who run literacy projects for the benefit of less fortunate children. How it works is: 1. A person (or company) sends us their pledge amount or pays it directly into our account: Bank: Nedbank Account Name: Puo Educational Products Account Number: 1977061915 Branch: Rosebank (197705) 2. We will then deliver the books to the NGOs who will then distribute the brand new books to the children in their programmes. 2. When was it launched? We launched the initiative on 31st October through emails, social media and word of mouth. We’ve also had some radio coverage on SAfm http://iono.fm/e/115191?autoplay=1 and Radio2000. 3. How’s the journey been and what are some of the challenges that you come across when you communicate the message about #givebookschangelives? The response has been very positive. A challenge would be that at this time of year people are inundated with requests, but we’ve found that people then pledge a lesser amount, rather than not pledging at all. 4. Which provinces do you distribute the books at? All 9 provinces 5. What is the success rate? Within 3 weeks we had 1285 books pledged – this will make a big impact on children who would otherwise not know the joy of and thrill of storybooks to captivate the imagination. Or not have the opportunity to read for pleasure, or books that they can relate to. There are numerous benefits to reading – from educational through to building self-confidence – that we want is to give as many children as possible the opportunity for fun, locally relevant storybooks. 6. Do you find it effective when you also add social media as a means of communication? Yes as its very effective inn spreading our message. People have retweeted, liked and forwarded onto their networks. 7. What is your main objective as Puo? Our reason for being is to enrich children’s lives through Africa’s heritage. Be it storybooks, apps or games, Africa has a wealth of stories to be told and we want our children to hear them. 8. How can one help and how...
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