VRYHEID KZN: Fertile soil reaps massive pumpkin harvest

Who said one needs to own a huge piece of land to be able to farm? This is definitely not the case with the Kunenes from Church Street. Mr Kunene is a retired teacher who dedicated his life to educating other people’s children, while his wife dedicated her life to those in need of medical care. She is a retired nurse. The couple retired a few years ago and they now have the time to expand on their fresh produce. The Herald was called out last week by Mr Kunene to ‘come and see something’ at their home. Not knowing what to expect, it was a huge surprise to find a very small patch of soil in their backyard that had an abundance of fresh produce. Not less than 30 pumpkins hid among dry grass which protects them from the winter frost. Once you take a step into the vegetable garden, it becomes a world of wonder filled with green peppers, maize and a peach tree. One specific pumpkin catches one’s eye once you start to lift the dry grass. It lies hiding in the corner and seems ‘shy’, but because of its size, it is impossible to overlook. Mr Kunene proudly asks: “Have you ever seen such a huge pumpkin?” And in all honesty, this pumpkin looked chemically modified, but Mr Kunene guaranteed us that he only uses ‘kraal’ manure in his vegetable garden and doesn’t use any kind of pesticides. At that moment, Mr Kunene pulled out a scale and the pumpkin pushed the needle up to an astonishing 17.2kg… compared to another pumpkin that only weighed 5.2kg.

Mr Kunene also informed the Herald that his grandson Kuhle Kunene, a Grade 5 learner at Nardini Convent School, also has ‘green fingers’ and plays a great part in the success of the veggie garden. After school, Kuhle can’t wait to get his hands dirty by working in the garden. Kuhle said he is upset that the pumpkins flourished like this, because they are taking up all the space, making it impossible for them to plant something else at this stage. Mr Kunene laughingly says he is only the ‘worker’ and that his wife ‘orders’ him around and gives instructions as to what has to happen in the garden. It seems like the Kunenes have struck a ‘piece of gold’, since the soil appears to be very fertile. When one looks around their garden, even the trees and shrubs give the impression to be bigger compared to other gardens. Next to the driveway is another patch of vegetables that proudly ‘brags’ with spinach and tomatoes. Mrs Kunene says they will expand on their fresh produce once they find more space or a bigger piece of land on which to plant. They will then sell the veggies to the community, but for now they unselfishly give away any extras to friends and family. Furthermore, she said they mainly started to plant veggies for home use and to keep themselves busy and active while on retirement. Both Mr and Mrs Kunene are well into their 70s, yet they don’t look a day older than 60. “We never expected to see our hard but joyful labour flourish like that!” The couple agrees that they are indeed blessed with abundance and they will continue to plant seasonal vegetables.

Maybe the fertile soil also keeps them from growing old, who knows… the wonder of nature is a mystery…

ALSO READ: 10 easy and delicious vegetables to grow in your garden

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