Photo credit: Ora Laubscher

Translated from original article by Ora Laubscher, published in the Gazette

5 February 2019

“I lovingly attend to this garden and am so happy to see that the people passing by always have something nice to say and are really interested in it,” says gardener Saul Swart.

Protea Primary in Napier is on of the few schools in the region that can still boast a sustainable vegetable garden on the school grounds. According to Saul, the vegetable garden project was launched about a year ago with the support of The Drift, an estate outside Napier.

Comparing photos of the first day the fertilizer was delivered and the seeds were sown, you can’t believe that, from the bare ground, has emerged this thriving garden.

The person driving this project, from it’s inception, with his persistent hard work, infectious enthusiasm and green fingers is Napier villager, Saul.

According to him, compliments flow from regular passers-by and some can’t help stopping in for a while to walk among the rows of maize, beets, cabbage, pumpkin, cauliflower, cabbage, beans, tomatoes and sunflowers.

When asked why they had planted sunflowers, Saul explained that they were there to distract and lure potential troublesome insects away from the vegetables that they would otherwise eat, especially tomatoes.

According to experts, it is a common method to keep unwanted insects away from your vegetables.

The purpose of the vegetable garden is to grow vegetables for the school’s feeding scheme.

According to Saul, they are also giving some of the vegetables to members of the community who are struggling “so that they can also have something healthy on the table.”