Nature To Nature Gourmet Plant Food

Hi All,
I suppose it's time I write a little about my business and where the idea to produce Plant Food using Recycled Human Food started.
Way back in 2008 I, like all or most other gardeners was once again confronted by SNAILS and SLUGS when starting to prepare my veggie and herb garden. Faced with the two traditional options of either allowing "Mother Nature" to do her own thing and budget to lose a certain amount of plants to our slimy friends or using Methaldihyde based poisons to kill them off, I started the search for an alternative.
While researching Organic Natural Snail Repellent I stumbled upon research done in Hawai to eradicate a plague of small frogs which presented a huge problem to gardeners and farmers. What then struck me was that not only was the project successful in repelling the frogs but also proved highly effective in repelling snails. The compound used in these trials was Caffeine extracted from used coffee grounds.
And so, armed with this little knowledge I decided to put some time and effort into creating a product based on Used, Leached Coffee. Over time the coffee formulations were added to by the addition of crushed egg shells, bio carbon and probiotics thus creating a range of highly effective Soil and Plant Foods addressing needs from being an effective snail repellent to being a fully balanced fertilizer. So were born the core of the Nature To Nature range of products known as "Crumble", "Tea Break", "Coffee Break" and "Natures Breakfast", all differently formulated addressing specific needs.
Registration of these products are underway and grow tests are conducted around South Africa with a wide range of growers from Herbs to Vegetables to Olive Trees. Initial tests show great results which will be published on this blog from time to time.
 

Changing seasons

Hi All,
Hard to believe but February had come to it's end and so I believe, had summer. On the 20th of February when leaving my home to see to my vegetable garden, I walked over dew wet lawn and felt a slight chill in the otherwise hot hot dry air of the past three months. That's when I realized it's time for a change in season again. Even though the seasons seem to be shifting and are becoming more intense in either it's heat or cold depending on where one finds oneself at the time.This of course does mean that Autumn has arrived. In my book such a romantic and beautiful time of year in Cape Town, this I suppose is directly linked to less winder days and nights. My experience is that one sleeps so much better because winters cold had not arrived yet while summers heat had started departing.
For us gardeners however, it is a time of change too, that intense growth of summer is slowing down, plants are steadily starting to wilt, leaves are changing color and will be making way for the winter crop to be planted from April onwards. I have however planted some cocktail tomatoes two weeks ago and am eagerly watching how they have doubled in size over this time. I am hoping to get a decent harvest even though I planted late. Watch this space, I will let you know how it progresses.
Even though seasons are changing, I must tell you about the wonderful harvests I have had during this past three months. Maybe I need to just inform you guys that after my initial vegetable flash in the earlier part of the season, I d garden any subsequent growth in pots placed in my vegetable beds rather than in the soil itself. Why would I do this?, well I produce an Organic Plant Food under the brand Nature To Nature and I needed to start doing well controlled grow tests in order to test the efficacy of the different products with different plant types. Thus I realized that carrying out these tests in pots will be more practical and effective than doing so in open soil treated with the Plant Food. My Aubergines are presently carrying an average of 10 fruit per plant, this while planted in pots. The chillies depending on type vary in size from 4cm to 28cm with one Thai Birds Eye bush producing 85 beautiful chillies. Needless to say Im very impressed. Earlier this year a single Rosa Tomato plant carried tomato bunches of up to 40 tomatoes per bunch. Currently the Sweet Rocket goes from seedling to full production in less than 3 weeks. So even towards the end of the summer growth season, growing one's own herbs and vegetables and cooking them for own consumption remains one of the more satisfying activities in life.  

Why growcookeat

Hi all, this is my first time blogging so quite excited about sharing information and reading about all those out there with similar interests. I started this blog because I feel there could be lots of people interested in growing, even on a domestic scale, that which they eat. I have been investing time and effort in establishing a garden at my home through which I not only feed myself but family and friends also benefit from fresh organically grown Fruit and vegetables and herbs all year round. I am involved in a production facility where recycled human food products such as used coffee grounds, tea and crushed egg shells form the base of different formulations of plant food. So, I suppose Im lucky to have constant access to organic plant food in order to keep my garden in good shape. Well I will through this blog endeavor to part with some of the knowledge making it easy for most anyone to produce good quality plant food using stuff you throw in the garbage bin everyday. I would also like to help with the planning of gardens, container gardens etc and at the same time help you to plan what to plant where and when so that you can have fresh produce most of the year. As an avid home cook I will share my favorite recipes and flavor combos with you. All information will revolve around growing as much of the food you consume yourself, cooking it and enjoying it with friends and family while contributing to a sustainable environment by recycling human waste into high value effective compost.