With South Africa’s long summers, vegetable growers sometimes put off preparing for winter until it is almost upon them. Farmers cannot stop the cold, of course, but they can make timely decisions to ensure they are better off when it arrives. And with climate change, it pays to be well prepared: our summers seem to be getting warmer and winters colder.
I farm in Henley on Klip, just east of Meyerton in Gauteng, and found the past winter, for example, to be the coldest I have experienced in a long, long while. I’ve had pumpkin fly on my cucurbits for the past 23 years, but with the very low temperatures of this past winter, this pest was absent for the first time ever. Areas with very cold winters don’t get pumpkin fly.
FARM MANAGEMENT IN WINTER
This story is from the March 12, 2021 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
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This story is from the March 12, 2021 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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