How A Lockdown Hobby Became A Thriving Broccoli Business

What started as a lockdown project to provide fresh vegetables for the family quickly turned into a flourishing business after Teresa Theron started sending excess broccoli to local supermarkets. Lindi Botha reports.

- Lindi Botha

When President Cyril Ramaphosa announced South Africa’s lockdown restrictions in March, Teresa Theron suggested to her family that they start a vegetable patch, as their trips to the supermarket would be limited.

Theron’s plot on the outskirts of Mbombela, Mpumalanga, has seen its fair share of farming activity over the years, with Theron referring to herself as an ‘Old MacDonald’ farmer. She and her father farmed Meatmaster sheep on the land, and she collected a wide variety of pets, including ostriches, alpacas and pigeons. Last year, however, her father died suddenly and the sheep were sold.

“My husband told me I needed something to keep myself busy to get over the shock of losing my father,” recalls Theron. “So I decided to use the vacant land to plant vegetables, but it never got off the ground.

“When the lockdown started, my daughters, Nicole and Jacqueline, came back from university and we decided to get the vegetable project properly underway. We already had the nets, and we all pitched in.

“We thought we’d plant a mix of vegetables for ourselves and the surrounding community, but soon realised we had hopelessly too much. It was started simply as a fun project, but now it’s turned into a business, under the name Uni-Theron Trading.”

PRODUCTION

The Therons started by discing the land. After that, each family member took turns to push the rotovator on the lands.