Tongaat farmer Shirley nurtures her plants

The grime under her fingernails and her tanned face, arms and legs is evidence of Shirley Coetsee’s hands-on approach to farming.

On any given day you will find the petite and feminine Ballito lady tilling the soil on her and husband, Joe’s three-hectare farm in the Tongaat hills.

Joe travels the world visiting farms and teaching and consulting on hydroponic farming so their Tongaat venture, appropriately named 2fresh, is Shirley’s responsibility.

“Right now we have 20 tunnels, about 1600 square metres net-house where we grow the cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, lettuces, cabbages, baby corn, baby marrow, and a variety of herbs to name a few,” said Shirley.

Shirley hails from the Eastern Free State and met her game ranger/farmer husband, Joe, in Westbrook where they were both living.

The Coetsee’s now live in Ballito, but Shirley spends her time, rain or shine, on the farm. Her busy day starts early in the morning when the orders received from restaurants, fruit and veg outlets, small retails stores and residents, are picked by her and her staff of nine women, and placed – in a pack house that she and Joe made with their bare hands from recycled pallets, ready for delivery the same day.

That she has an affinity with plants and growing them is confirmed when she says, with a smile, “Plants are like little children and I get great satisfaction from watching them grow and thrive.

“I inspect the plants in the tunnels and check the moisture content and whether more or less water is required, and see which vegetable and herbs need fertilisers.”

Shirley admits to having an emotional attachment to her plants and chats to them. She feels that a woman’s strong nurturing nature is an asset as, “I spot problems and problem areas quickly and can just sense when things are not right.”

The exciting part for Shirley is experimenting with new varieties of seeds and new farming methods.

“When chefs or stores ask us to source a particular vegetable or herb that is trending, I order the seeds and start growing them.

“This is where Joe comes in as he gleans so much information on new farming technologies, seed varieties, planting techniques and so on during his travels that he is a wealth of information and helps me a lot.

“The other thank you must go to Dr Wessel Neuhoff and his lovely wife, Barbara Neuhoff for all their support in making this first farming project possible!”

This is just the beginning for the Coetsees who plan on getting more space to expand as the Dolphin Coast temperature is perfect for growing vegtables and most herbs. With Shirley and her power-house team of women at the helm the future looks bright.

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