With World Environment Day coming up on 5th June, the plan for our Nature Club was to meet at Soil For Life (www.soilforlife.co.za) on Friday morning. The weather was just perfect, a beautiful end of Autumn sunny day!
They have a fundraiser going on at the moment (www.eatfortheearth.com) and so the organizing mom provided a picnic lunch for us all, in return for a donation to Eat For The Earth.
On our arrival , we were directed to park down the road from Soil for Life nearby some stables. The children had great fun admiring the horses.
The horses frolicked about in the warm morning sunshine.
In the perfect outdoor classroom we learned all about Soil for Life and what they do. In a nutshell they "build the soil ; grow the plants ; feed the people and heal the planet". They have worked in the townships with people for the last eight years growing food and people. People are being empowered to help themselves, and one shack at a time is being made green.
After being shown how to create healthy soil , the children eagerly planted their own seedling trays.
They chose cabbage, spring onions and celery. I think that K put a turnip into her seedling tray too. That should be interesting as we have never grown these before.
At the really reasonable price of R2 per seedling, I too made myself an extra seedling tray with some lettuce and flat leafed parsley. I am sure I will return each season to buy my seedlings there.
We were taught all about composting and it was great to ask these knowledgeable men some questions I had about my own compost heap at home. At least I know I am doing it right now! They make hot compost heaps and have plenty of space for turning their heaps and moving them down the slope. There are a number of heaps going at one time.
At their final destination the heaps are sifted before being bagged and sold to the public.
As promised, the organizing mom put on a fantastic spread for our lunch time picnic. We enjoyed fresh rolls with healthy, tasty toppings, fruit, juices and even cake for desert.
What a perfect way to spend a glorious morning outdoors with friends and learn so much about sustainable , organic vegetable gardening.
At their little shop one can buy freshly harvested produce and seeds of all kinds. I could not resist this bright pumpkin ( to attempt a pumpkin pie) and some leek seeds. I have not grown leeks before and I hope to be successful with them.
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