Instant lawn gives profit and pleasure

Having given up the stresses of a hectic business life, a couple found satisfaction and success in farming grass, as this article showed.

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Crossing over from supermarket operator to instant lawn grower is no easy task. But Hannes Engelbrecht of Zwartkop, near Pretoria, was compelled to do just this when the pressures of a hectic business life started affecting his health. Engelbrecht and his wife, Ronelle, sold their supermarket and recreation resort at Hartbeespoort Dam and bought a piece of land at Zwartkop.

“Hannes has an in-born feeling for business opportunities,” says Ronelle. “When he announced we were going into the production of instant lawn, I had my doubts, since the previous owners of the farm apparently did not fare too well here. The place was, to my mind, nothing but one large rock collection.”

Hannes says they had no choice but to use dynamite to blast the rocks when they started clearing the land for planting.

“We took soil samples to Roodeplaat for analysis and they advised us on the composition of fertilisers and other matters relating to the quality of the soil.”