Review of CSA
Learning Groups - Limpopo
2018
PRINCIPLES
•Minimize external inputs
•Maximise internal diversity
•Focus on soil health and natural soil building techniques
•Take care of the environment
•Use available water as efficiently as possible.
•Work together, learn together and plan together
•1. GO KAONAFATṦA TAOLO YA MEETSE
GOOD WATER MANAGEMENT
Diversion ditches- to carrywater to
beds
Mulching -
Improved furrows and ridges- on
contour, mulching, mixed cropping
Greywater management and use;-ash,
tower gardens,keyhole gardens,
greywater bucket filter
Dripkits
Tunnels
RWH storage tanks
Small dams
3. GO KAONAFATṦA HLOKOMELO YA DIBJALWA
CROP MANAGEMENT
Mixed cropping- incl intercropping
Pest control brews -Chilli -soap, onion-
paraffinetc
Planting of herbs -(mixed in veg beds eg
coriander, parsley,
Seed successions- plantinga range of seed,
across seasons for continuity, Seed saving
Conservation Agriculture; minimalsoil
disturbance, soil cover ,crop diversity
Planting to maximise shade –inafternoons
2.GO FOKOTṦAKGOGOLEGO YA MOBU
CONTROLLING SOILMOVEMENT
Cut off drains –ditches across a
contour at top of garden/slop
Contours- measured withline level
Stone lines/bunds-made on contour
Strip cropping-
Sand bags for erosion control-
5.HLOKOMELO YA DIMELA TṦA TLHAGO
TAKE CARE OF INDIGENOUS PLANTS
Small nurseries-propagation of fruit and
indigenous crops andtrees
Planting-windbreaks, hedges, multi
functional plants, inter cropping
4.GO NONTṦA MOBU
KEEPTHE SOIL FERTILTY/HEALTHY
Dedicated paths andbeds
Soil fertilitymanagement- manure (incl
improved manure), compost, green manures,
legumes, liquid manure
Bed design -trench beds, shallow trenches,
eco-circles, banana circles/basins
MENWANAE MEHLANO/ FIVE FINGERS
Ditsela tše hlano tšeo di ka dirago gore temoe be maleba/ kaone
Principles
Practices
Assessments (traffic
light)
% implementationin the group
Water Management
Cut off drains and swales
Not yet implemented by most
participants
Diversion ditches
~20% (10/52)
Greywater (filtration, use)
~8%
Small dams
~14%
Organic matter (incorporation in soil)
-leaves, bones, woodchips
etc buried to increase water holding and fertility
~60%
Drip irrigation
~6%
Saving water; Rainwater harvesting in drums, management of leaks
of communal stand pipes, no longer letting irrigation water run
24/7
- Lepelle
All participants involved in some way in
saving water
Control soil movement and erosion
Stone bunds
~24%
Banana basins and circles
~22%
Strip cropping (aloes, sisal) and planting grass to reduce run
-off
~8%
Contours
-water flow for collection
Not yet implemented
Ridges and furrows
-planting of cropson ridges; sweet potato,
sunflowers…
~30%
Sacks with sand for rehabilitation of gulleys
~2%
Crop management
Planting in basins, mulching and direct watering of basins only
~60%
Close spacing in field crops and vegetables
~20%
- Not everyone agreed with this
practice
Planting to provide afternoon shade and planting windbreaks
~22%
- Not everyone agreed with this
practice
Crop rotation and intercropping
~52%
Natural pest control
~18%
Conservation Agriculture
~36%
- more ideas still to be tried
Soil fertility
Trench beds
~60%
Mulch
~60%
Liquidmanure
~20%
Compost
~46%
Application of manure (cattle, chickens)
~70%
Legumes; planting for foodand soil fertility
~68%
Looking after indigenous plants
Stop burning veld
No one doing and not needed for all
areas
Don’t chop whole trees
- just cut branches
Most participants
Plant indigenous trees in the yards to protect and save them
Most participants
List of practices
Soil and Water Conservation
•Cut off drains –ditches across a contour at top of garden/catchment
•Contours- measured with line level
•Diversion ditches- made to carry water to the garden
•Stone lines/bunds-made on contour
•Banana pits (local good practice)
•Improved furrows and ridges- made on contour with mulching and
plantings (Local good practice +)
List of practices
Gardening practices
•Dedicated paths and beds
•Soil fertility management
•Mixed cropping; companion planting
•Mulching
•Trench beds
•Shallow trenches
•Eco-circles
•Incorporation of manure-large quantities
•Making improved manure-composting manurewith grass and OM andinclusion of urinefraction from
kraaling
•Makingcompost
•Liquidmanures
•Pest control brews _Chilli -soap derivatives, onion-paraffin derivates,
•Planting of herbs(mixed in vegbeds)
•(Seedand seedlings) Seedsuccessions; seed bedswith a rangeof seed planted in succession for continual
supply of seedlings
List of practices
Field cropping
•Conservation agriculture; close spacing and inclusion of lime and
bone meal with manure
•Diversified crops; maize, millet sorghum, sugar beans , cowpeas
•Intercropping
•Planting fodder
List of practices
Associated practices
•Greywater management and use; ash (local practice),
•Tower gardens
•Greywater bucket filter and drip kits
•Small nurseries; propagation of fruit and indigenous crops and trees
•Tunnels
•RWH storage tanks
Garden monitoring
34%
21%
14%
76%
31%
93%
97%
38%
24%
21%
0%
21%
21%
93%
76%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100%120%
CUT OFF DRAINS/DIVERSION DITCHES
CONTOURS, LINE LEVELS
STONE BUNDS
TRENCH BEDS
ECO CIRCLES
MIXED CROPPING
SEED AND SEEDLINGS
MULCHING
LIQUID MANURE
NAT P&D CONTROL
CA
BUCKET FILTERS/ DRIP KITS
TUNNEL
RWH STORAGE
EXPERIMENTATION
% Implementation of new ideas (N=29);
July-September 2018
Eco –circles,
mulching, mixed
cropping
Farmer Experimentation
No of participants (N=29)
trench beds
21
tower gardens
4
banana basins
3
Eco
-circles
5
Measurements Sedawa
Mametja
Botshabelo
Christina
Tobejane
Koko Maphori
Lerato Lewele
Mariam
Malephe
Date
rainfall (mm)
rainfall (mm)
rainfall (mm)
rainfall (mm)
21/12/2017
5
10
8
7
24/12/2017
1
4
3
4
30/12/2017
22
32
30
28
25/01/2018
1.5
3.5
3.8
5
28/01/2018
1.6
2.1
2
3
30/01/2018
1
1.5
1.8
1.4
24/02/2018
2
2.6
2.8
2.4
16/03/2018
28
51
30.2
10.2
21/03/2018
9
20.8
10.2
20.5
24/03/2018
20
32
28
9
01/04/2018
9
8
15
30
02/04/208
1.4
2
2
1.8
Total
101.5
169.5
136.8
122.3
Ave for each
rainfall
event
8.5
14.1
11.4
10.2
Tunnel experiments
•Trench bed inside tunnel
•Trench bed outside tunnel
•Furrows and ridges outside tunnel (control)
How productive is
each practice?
Water
Cost (R/m
2)
Yield
Sales
(Rands/ m
2
)
Profit
(R/m
2)
Trench
inside
tunnel
1100
R18,70
6 bundles/m
2
R60
R41,30
Trench
outside
tunnel
2926
R48,80
4,2
bundles/m
2
R42
-
R6,80
Furrows
and ridges
3913
R130,40
2,4
bundles/m
2
R24
-
R106,40
➢Water productivity –how
much crop is produced for the
amount of water used?
➢Trench in tunnel10x more
than furrows and ridgesand
5 x more than trench
outside tunnel
➢Must have mulch and do
deep watering. If not then
result is similar to furrows
and ridges…
➢Cost-benefit (R35/210l)
➢Profit of R31/m of trench
bed( in tunnel)
➢~R620/tunnel fully planted
(15m2), for a season
➢If water is free then~ R900
Farmers' method (Water applied)
Name of famer
wateruse
(m
3)
Total weight
(kg)
WP (kg/m
3
)
Christina Thobejane (Tunnel; trench
beds, with mulch)
1,10
48,9
56,7
Christina Thobejane (Furrows and
ridges with mulch)
3,91
24,5
5
Christina trench outside
2,93
14,7
11,3
Nora Mahlako (Tunnel; trench beds
without mulch)
9,47
19,6
5
Production intunnels
Chameleons
▪Top: Chameleon in trench bed inside tunnel
▪Bottom: furrows and ridges outside tunnel
➢Measure the
amount ofwater in
the soil (20,40 and
60 cm deep)
➢Tells you when and
how much to
irrigate
Applying water until the chameleon
changes colour (goesblue) seems to be
a good idea as this saves her some
water and meansthat she only has to
irrigate once a week (every 7 days).
Shehas thus now changedher irrigation
practice of watering a little every
morning and afternoon, to a deep
watering every 5-7 days.
Herb sales
Date
Herbs
No
bundle
s
Price
Amount
Total
2018/08/17
Basil
2
R15,00
R30,00
Coriander
32
R14,00
R448,00
Flat leafparsley
21
R9,50
R199,50
R677,50
2018/08/24
Coriander
20
R14,00
R280,00
Flat leafparsley
20
R9,50
R190,00
Spinach
30
R10,00
R300,00
Onions
33
R10,00
R330,00
R1 100,00
2018/08/31
Coriander
30
R14,00
R420,00
Flat leaf parsley
15
R9,50
R142,50
Basil
4
R15,00
R60,00
Spinach
24
R10,00
R240,00
R862,50
2018/09/07
Coriander
10
R20,00
R200,00
Parsley flat leaf
10
R20,00
R200,00
Parsley curly leaf
2
R20,00
R40,00
Funnel
6
R20,00
R120,00
Cabbage
7
R20,00
R140,00
Basil
4
R20,00
R80,00
Beetroot
2
R15,00
R30,00
Tomatoes
13
R10,00
R130,00
Spinach
40
R18,00
R720,00
R1 660,00
2018/09/14
Coriander
10
R20,00
R200,00
Parsley flat
-leaf
10
R20,00
R200,00
Parsley curly
-leaf
20
R20,00
R400,00
Cabbage
4
R20,00
R80,00
Basil
4
R20,00
R80,00
Beetroot
20
R15,00
R300,00
spinach
27
R18,00
R486,00
Onions
25
R10,00
R250,00
Fennel
4
R20,00
R80,00
R2 076,00
Total sales
R6
376,00
An average
of
R600/month
for the 7-10
participants;
selling herbs
and
vegetables
Marketing process
•Monday; all participants give a
list of available produce
•Thursday- HH relays orders for
the week –after checking with
their buyers
•Friday- harvesting, washing,
packing, delivery, payment
•Payment towards transport
•Good demand: spinach,
beetroot, flat leaf parsley,
basil, sweet potatoes, grenn
beans, onions
•Average demand: coriander,
curly leaf parsley, fennel,
•Other: cabbage, brinjals, green
pepper,
Week
Farmer's
name
Vegetables
and/ herbs
delivered
Quantities
Price/unit
Amount
paid
Total amount of
sales
28/09/2018
Christina
Thobejane
Spinach
5
R 18,00
R90,00
R550,00
Brinjal
4
R 15,00
R60,00
Basil
10
R 20,00
R200,00
Parsley curly
leaf
10
R 20,00
R200,00
Lena
Malepe
Parsley flat
leaf
15
R 20,00
R300,00
R440,00
GreenBeans
7
R 20,00
R140,00
Mmatshego
Shaai
Basil
10
R 20,00
R200,00
R490,00
Spinach
5
R 18,00
R 90,00
Parsley curly
leaf
10
R 20,00
R 200,00
Mpelesi
Sekgobela
Coriander
11
R 20,00
R220,00
R220,00
Magdelina
Malepe
Parsley curly
leaf
5
R 20,00
R100,00
R100,00
Josphina
Malepe
Coriander
9
R 20,00
R180,00
R180,00
Bigman
Maimela
Greenpeppers
8
R 11,00
R88,00
R268,00
Tomatoes
12
R 15,00
R180,00
Obridge
Tshetlha
Sweet
-
potatoes
12
R 25,00
R300,00
R300,00
Chicken tractors
Chickens scratch over the soil like a tractor. It
is a good idea to position the ‘chicken
tractor’ where you want to develop your
next vegetable bed. While scratching and
scavenging, the chickens do an intensive soil
preparation job for you, by:
➢loosening and aerating the soil;
➢fertilising the area through their
droppings, and by scratching that into the
soil as well; and
➢clearing thesoil of bugs and pests that
may damage your new plantings.
You can move the shelter every two to three
weeks, or as soon as your chickens have
accomplished the job you wanted them to do
in that portion of your yard.
Feeding Indigenous
chickens
Besides water, chickens need four things (the four
G's): Grain, Greens, Grit and Grubs
•Grain:
This is seed, like sorghum, millet, oats, maize,
sorghum, soya or sunflower seeds.. Maize is
probably the best and cheapest grain to feed your
chickens.
•Greens:
Greens keep chickens healthy. They will get greens
themselves if you let them scavenge during the
day, or you can feed them cabbage, comfrey, herbs
and most kinds of fruit. They also like eating
vegetable scraps. A good idea is to feed the
chickens weeds from your vegetable garden.
•Grit:
This is small stones that chickens need to help
them digest their food. They can collect their own
grit if they have somewhere to scratch around,’.
•Grubs:
Bugs and insects provide the chickens with most
of the protein that they need so that they can
grow. They need protein to make muscles in their
bodies and to make eggs. Growing soya beans and
feeding this tothe chickens is another way to give
them protein. If they are kept in a ‘chicken tractor’,
they can help you clear a new planting bed of
bugs, prior to planting.
In winter you should feed them mash (bought food),
because there are fewer insects and less grass for
them to eat outside.
Herbs:
•Comfrey
•Fennel
•Thyme
•Lavender
•Nasturtium
•Rosemary
•Sage
•Wormwood
•Oregano
•Chickweed
•Dandelions
•Nettles
Vegetables & Grains:
•Amaranth
•Plantain
•Clover
•Alfalfa
•Sunflowers
•Peas, Beans, & Legumes
•Lentils
•Squash
•Rhubarb
•Buckwheat
•Garlic, Onions, Leeks (Alliums)
•Asparagus