Vyf Kerse vir 'n Facebook-Vriendin

Kerse het deur die eeue heen verskillende betekenisse vir verskillende mense gehad. Soms is die kers romanties, soms 'n teken van spiritualisme, soms om te onthou en soms, soos vandag, net om te sê ek dink aan jou. Maar soos gewoonlik span ek die kar voor die perde in. Eers 'n bietjie geskiedenis, sodat almal kan verstaan hoekom hierdie vyf kerse my so na aan die hart lê.

Vandag, presies een jaar gelede, het ek met verwondering na die foto's gekyk wat my Facebook-vriendin op haar profiel gelaai het. Sy het pas 'n nuwe ouma geword van die mooiste babadogtertjie met 'n vol gesiggie en hemelblou ogies. Ek het saam met haar gejubel en met oopmond na die nuutste wonderwerkie gestaar, want sien, ek was ook op pad om 'n splinternuwe ouma te word. Elke foto wat sy gelaai het om met die res van die wêreld te deel het ek bewonder en gedink ek verstaan hoe trots sy voel, hoe vol haar hart moet wees.

Ek was verkeerd. Eers toe ek net meer as vier maande gelede my eie kleindogter in my arms gehou het, het ek regtig verstaan. Geen mens wat nie self 'n ouma is nie, kan daardie oombliklike volheid in jou hart, daardie byna bo-menslike liefde wat bot, bloei en jou hele wese volrank, verstaan nie —nie regtig nie. Die oomblik wat die besef deurdring dat hierdie volmaakte, Godgegewe geskenk, deel is van jou eie liefde eerstens vir die pa van jou dogter en tweedens daardie onbreekbare, onverskrokke liefde wat 'n ma vir haar kind het. En jy besef jy is sandkorreltjie klein en jy kruip jou knieë nerf-af om te probeer dankie sê terwyl jy weet die ses-en-twintig letters van die alfabet sal nooit genoeg woorde kan saamflans nie.

Hierdie twee prag-kinders het saam gegroei en ontwikkel vir meer as vier maande en elke foto was 'n plesier om te bestudeer. Sjoe, maar sy het groot geword van die eerste foto wat ek gesien het en ouma lyk so gelukkig soos net 'n ouma kan wanneer sy haar kleindogter vashou. Ek het asem opgehou vir die aankondiging dat sy haar eerste treë gegee het.

Maar op 31 Julie 2014 lees ek die mees ontstellende berig. Die Here het Elena kom haal en my Facebook-vriendin is stukkend. Deur die trane probeer ek my indink hoe sy moet voel, maar die seer is heeltemal te veel. Ek WIL nie weet nie en steeds brand die hartseer 'n gat in my bors. Sê nou dit was Liyane? Sal ek dit ooit kan verwerk? Kan enige iemand dit verwerk? Elf maande oud en so pragtig en gesond. Ek wil skree en skel en vra WAAROM? Waarom 'n onskuldige kind wat deur almal om haar liefgehad was, gekoester was en so welkom was? Kyk hoeveel ander kinders word verwaardloos, is onwelkom, word mishandel. Hoekom dan nou hierdie enetjie so voor haar tyd neem?

My Facebook-vriendin se pyn is duidelik, skerp en soos 'n vlam wat deur haar normaalweg vrolike insette skroei. Elke keer wil ek vir haar sê ek verstaan. Maar ek verstaan NIE. Niemand kan nie. Tensy dieselfde smeltkroes vir jou gedeel was, sal jy nie verstaan nie. En ek huil weer omdat ek nie die woorde het om te sê ek is jammer nie, om te sê ek bid elke aand vir jou as ouma nie. Woorde wat so dor klink soos die woestyn op 'n wolklose dag.

So vandag steek ek nie net een kers aan vir Elena nie—ek steek vyf aan. Elena, want al het ek haar nooit self ontmoet nie, voel dit asof ek haar ken deur haar ouma. Irene, want geen jong moeder verdien hierdie hartseer wat aan haar uitgedeel is nie. Edmundo, want jy het al op skool my hart gesteel as vriend vir my seun, Oupa Ferreira, want daardie hart moet in stukke wees en nou moet hy sterk wees vir die res. Laaste en belangrikste, vir Ann, want al het ek nie woorde nie, hierdie ouma-seer het baie meer as 'n pleister nodig.

Hierdie lirieke sê dit so mooi:  

Daughty - Gone Too Soon

Wanneer Mens Moet Oor Begin

 

Dis nou wat gebeur as jy vir maande lank te besig is om aan jou weblog aandag te gee. Jy verander jou vonkposadres en siedaar, jou 'hosting' se vervalkennisgewing bereik jou nie—jy verloor jou hele bloomen blog. Nou ja, huil gaan nie help nie, so mens begin maar voor.

Vir diegene wat my nog nie ken nie, my naam is Yolande Pienaar en ek skryf stories. Natuurlik verskil mense se opinies oor hoe goed of sleg die stories geskryf is en dis okei, want dis nou ongelukkig iets waaroor ek geen beheer het nie—skryf moet ek skryf. Die boeke wat tans te koop is, is te vinde op die bladsy genaamd Boeke deur Yolande Pienaar indien iemand belangstel.

Ek hou van stories wat mens die ligter kant van die lewe laat sien, want wraggies, die alledaagse lewe het genoeg van sy eie kwaad. So ja,  ek hou van humor en ek glo die liefdesverhaal-genre leen hom by uitstek daartoe om die simpel goed wat mens elke dag aanvang uit te buit in 'n storie. (En ek is oud genoeg om baie van daardie idiotiese dinge self te ervaar het.)

Op hierdie blad gaan lesers in die toekoms so ietsie van alles kry—van  nuutgepubliseerde liefdesverhale in Engels en Afrikaans tot 'n alledaagse gerammel oor die stampe en stote van die lewe. Hierdie is tog 'n web-joernaal so, anything goes.

Tussen ons, het julle gesien hoe klim die Suid-Afrikaanse skryfster Marie Dry se boek Alien Mine deur Amazon se topverkoperlyste? Die boek is skaars 'n week op die rakke en tans 369 ste op die VSA webwerf se topverkopers!

 



 

In a bleak future where government systems are breaking down and lawless bands of men terrorize the country, botanist Natalie Hanson fears for her life and hides in a cave in the Rocky Mountains. When she is captured by human raiders, a fierce alien appears and slays her attackers. Natalie is now held captive in her own cave by the sexy and striking alien commander, Zacar, who informs her that she will be his breeder. Natalie soon realizes that these aliens worship strength. So what will happen when Zacar finds out she has severe asthma?

Totsiens tot 'n volgende keer.

Using Tomato Seedlings or Germinate Your Own Seed

During the previous season (2011-2012) we decided to germinate our own seed. We obtained Divine seed (the name of the variant is actually Divine) and proceeded to plant them in polystyrene seed trays. And waited. And waited. The seed germinated slowly and by the middle of November we were nowhere near transplant stage.


I did an internet search and could find only a few places to buy tomato seedlings. And all of them were more than 200 kilometres away. After phoning around I happened upon Terra Nova Seedlings, situated a mere 50 kilometres away. The seedlings also cost about a third of what the seed did. We planted the seedlings inside the tunnel at the end of November – directly into the soil, enriched with fertilizer and Pine sawdust a couple of weeks before.



We set the tomato plants 45 cm from each other and planted the next row 60 cm from the first. We planted the seedlings diagonally from each other in the two rows close to each other. The space between the rows was 1.6 meters.


Not having any way to find the correct fertilizer, we used a general purpose fertilizer for vegetables that you buy at your local farmers shop (Afgri) and used it as a foliar spray. This we did at three -week intervals. For bugs we used Malathion and for fungus Funginex.


The seed we planted germinated and by 17 December 2011 they were at last ready for transplant.



These seedlings we planted outside on 4 January 2012 with no protection. We staked the tomato plants with Poplar saplings. Here we planted single rows with the plants 60 cm from each other and the rows 1,5 m apart. The only problem we had with the tomatoes planted outside was to control the amount watering when it rained.


By the end of December the seedlings in the plastic covered tunnel had grown into huge plants and the fruit began to set. Using baling twine we guided the plants upwards with the help of 20mm plastic pipe cut into 3cm pieces. This proved to be ineffective due to the high temperatures the inside of the plastic vegetable tunnel reached. The stems slipped through the slit cut in the plastic and caused the entire plant to topple over.



The tomato seedlings planted outside only reached the same stage as those in the plastic tunnel about 6 weeks later. The photo above was taken on 12 February 2012.



The photo above was taken on 29 December 2011 inside the tunnel. We were excited about the rapid growth of the plants. Little did we know that in the space of one week, our elation would turn to despair when the unpruned plants outgrew us. The photo below was taken on 3 January 2012. Five days made the difference between manageable and out of hand.



For days all we did was prune the plants into shape again. This was a lesson well learned and one we vowed not to repeat. Having to prune the plants in mid-summer heat also brought home the fact that the plastic tunnel had too little ventilation and the temperatures were much too high for successful tomato production.


As to whether we will germinate our own seed or buy seedlings - I think the answer is obvious. It is definitely more economical to buy seedlings than germinate your own seed. It might not be as rewarding, and if you have a small garden it is worthwhile going that route. But for mass production in a high tunnel, buying the seedlings just makes more sense.

Next time I share what we learned about pruning.

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del.icio.us Tags: Tomato seedlings,Tomato Seed,growing tomatoes,high tunnel tomatoes,planting tomatoes

Growing Tomatoes in High Tunnels

To my horror I realized that I haven’t posted to this blog in quite some time. Hmm… two years qualify as a pretty long time. Since we moved to the farm, live has catapulted us into a rat race unrivalled by that in the city. It’s no excuse though for neglecting some of my friends. (Grovelling will surely be required to fix the situation)


 

Since my last post we erected the vegetable tunnel in 2011 and promptly planted tomatoes -late in the season – it only went in around 21 November. Despite reading like crazy about the growing of tomatoes in high tunnels, we made a bundle of mistakes. And paid the school fees.




The Highveld of Mpumalanga can get scorching hot. Combine that with the plastic covering of the tunnel and inadequate ventilation and you get tomatoes that burst their seams. Now, I suspect that the inadequate watering (my miscalculation) added to the crop being damaged. We did however manage to sell enough of the crop to recover our costs.


Naturally over the Christmas period we sort of left the tunnel to its own devices except for watering it. BIG MISTAKE. We returned to the tunnel in January only to find that there were no passages left, the tomatoes had grown to such an extent that it resembled a tropical forest. Being already large, we spent most of January trying to prune the plants back into shape. I wouldn’t advise anyone to leave their tomatoes grown in a high tunnel covered with plastic for more than a few days.



In any event, we were determined to grow the tomatoes well and when someone offered us another second hand high tunnel, we bought it. Over the next couple of weeks, I will let you in on how the production went. The previous season taught us well and this season, we were more prepared. Although no expert, I can only share what we have learned.


Until next time.

del.icio.us Tags: growing tomatoes,high tunnel tomatoes,growing vegetables