 Welcome, everybody, to the Private Property Farming Podcast. My name is Marlene Walker, and thank you so much for joining us this evening. I'm your host every Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 PM, right here at the Private Property Channel. This is the Farming Podcast once again. But don't forget that we do have other podcasts related to property, buying a first home, and beautiful luxury houses that are on show across the South African region. So be sure to follow all our podcasts, which air during the week and on weekends, to get all your property information and have all your questions around property answered. And most importantly, get some time to browse through the available properties that are up for sale or up for rent. And also visit our website for any more additional information. But specifically on the Farming Podcast, if it is your first time watching the podcast, thank you. We've just tuned into the right podcast related to agri, food, and farming needs. We do have our YouTube channel under the Private Property Platform, and you could go on to the Farming Podcast playlist to also watch all the other 80-plus videos that we've done so far since the season started. Today, I'm quite excited because I'm joined by two females in the food and agriculture space. It is woman's month after all, and we're taking full advantage of this beautiful month that we have dedicated to us woman. And we need to constantly encourage women to always partake and have an active role in the food and agriculture sector. So they're not strangers to the show. We've previously had them both on their each individual episodes. Again, you could go on to YouTube and Google Monday, my Friday, or Dominika Alberts, who are our guests this evening. And just to update yourself on the conversations we've previously had with them on their own individual episodes. So tonight is more of a panel, and our topic is all about the benefits of growing your own food. And we've got the right experts. And I'm joined by Mandy, my Friday, from Naledi Farm. And I'm also joined by Dominika Alberts. But I want both of these ladies to introduce themselves. Ladies, Mandy, Dominika, thank you so much for joining us this evening. How are you doing? Thank you, Mali. Thank you for inviting us. We are doing wonderful. Likewise. Thank you. I just want to start off by asking Mandy, if you could please introduce yourself. Tell us about Naledi Farm and what it does. OK, so we are an agritourism space, right? The way I define agritourism simply is where agriculture meets tourism. So we take people that come from the city, give them a chance to come and walk with bare feet and touch the soil, come and see how things grow, where the food comes from, just to get away from the city bus. So that is in a nutshell. We have various programs and things that we run from our Sunday lunches to kiddies' camps and garden workshops. We are instanturian, not very far away from fallways, a stone throw away from the CBD, Pretoria, and Johannesburg. But really in a nutshell, we are in agritourism space. If I could just quickly add on this space. Naledi Farm was born out of a children's book that I wrote in 2010. The book is called Simonyame Roholy Naledi, which means In the Vegetable Garden with Naledi. That was in 2010. We now wanted to create a physical space where people could walk into this vegetable garden. So we're all about growing our own food. We're about working with our hands and getting that so much needed vitamin D and exercise out in the fresh air. Yeah. Wow, sounds exciting, Mandien. Obviously, combining tourism and agriculture I think that is so beneficial because not so many people are exposed to own food gardens or how the agritourism space works. Dominika, you're a herb enthusiast. Maybe just introduce yourself and what does a herb enthusiast mean? Well, basically, I live in the city. I don't have a lot of space. I wanted to grow vegetables, but I don't have a lot of space for that. So I decided to go into the herbs. And it's easy to grow. It's interesting. There's so many things you can do with it, medicinal properties, insect repellents, et cetera. So I've got a passion to do that. I've also got a general passion for gardening. And yes. Right, that's fantastic. So let's get on to the show without further ado. And I will oppose this question. And either of you are more than welcome to answer. So the topic is about the benefits of growing your own food. And we live in such a fast-paced life, especially for us residing in the urban areas, where we can just simply download an app. We have Uber Eats. We have Mr. Delivery. All the retailers now have their own apps where we can just order food online at the top of your button. So why do we need to grow our own food? OK, let me go first. I think, really, for me, it is about the peace of mind that comes with knowing what's on your plate, because you know exactly what you have put in the soil. You know that your food has no chemicals, so you know that it's good for your children. It's loaded with nutrients. Most of the food that we buy in the supermarkets and big retail stores, some of them come from faraway countries, like I always say. Places that we have never even visited before. They travel miles and miles on helicopters and ships. And at the end of the day, when you sit on your table with that potato salad, I mean, is it a potato salad after all? So it's about the peace of mind, of knowing exactly that what you're eating is good for your body and it's good for your children's bodies. Absolutely. Dominika, do you want to add there? Yes, I have to say I agree with her, because these days whatever you grow need to feed your body. And the way in which they grow the vegetables these days in bulk and different techniques they use that's unhealthy for our bodies, obviously it's better to know what goes onto your plate, as she said. I truly agree with that. And also to get a love with the kids, to teach them to grow, to take the responsibility to grow their own food. And then they will also, I think, have a better idea of being healthy, because they would want to eat the vegetables that they grow. So they get that whole experience with sowing the seed and planting their own plants, seeing it come up, and then it nourishes their body and just that whole love for that, yes. So I think it's important. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for that. Just to add, and it's also about convenience. I know we talk a lot about convenience stores, but there's nothing more convenient than going to your backyard and picking just what you need. Now, if it's five leaves of spinach that you need, you pick those five leaves of spinach and there is no waste. So there is no better convenience for me than that. Yeah, and you don't need an app and data to download that, you know. It's just a few steps away and then you've got your spinach. Exactly. And another thing that I also want to add is that when I started growing my own herbs and a few lettuce and things that I would use every day, that feeling of growing out in your garden, picking your own things and putting it in the salad bowl and you're so proud of your hard work that went into growing that, that feeling of satisfaction. Yeah, so I think, yeah, that's also, and me being a teacher, there's something I focus on a lot is creating that sense of responsibility in the children. I'm talking to them about it every day. Grow your own food so that you can learn responsibility. You can learn patience. And then when you harvest it, that feeling of I have achieved it. I've grown my own food and it's just more delicious because you've grown it yourself. So, yes, definitely that as well. The last thing, the last thing, and the fact that, you know, they say that he who feeds you controls you. The person who puts food on your table controls you. So it is that sense of being independent, being able to do things for yourself. You're not dependent on somebody to provide a meal for you, but this is things that you're able to do for yourself. So breaking away from that chain that binds all of us. Wow, that is quite profound. He who feeds you controls you. Absolutely. I've never heard of that before, but yeah, that's quite profound. Dominika, we have a question here actually from one of our guests that asked, and her name is Colleen Janssen. And they would like to know, the comment is, or question is, would love to have my own herb garden. Any advice, please. But before you answer that, which pretty much ties into the question that I wanted to know is that, you know, you said your herb enthusiast, you started growing herbs in your own garden, you know, living in the city. Tying it to Colleen's question is that, what are the basics around herb gardening? If you could please share. Okay, I would say the first thing is that you, you need to know that most herbs need, at least, you know, the majority of herbs needs at least six to eight hours of sun a day. Like your rosemary needs a lot of sun, your thyme needs a lot of sun, your mint can go with semi shade. So the point that I want to make is you need a spot where it's going to suit that specific herb that you want to grow. And so the basic is first this positioning where you're going to place it. If you do not have a lot of space and you've got a balcony that has direct sun, you know, six hours minimum, then that's perfect. So all you need is a container, literally. I love growing herbs in containers because herbs can sometimes take over the garden. Like you should never plant mint in your beddings because it just takes over, literally. It comes out everywhere. So it's good to actually start with containers. Then rosemary, for instance, then most herbs needs very good draining. So to combine your soil, your potting soil, you can use, for instance, I'm a fan of the Melancian's potting soil because it has a lot of nutrients in, but I mean any potting soil that you are comfortable with using. You mix it with a little bit of compost. You mix it with sand to get better drainage. And then it's literally just placing it in the correct spot where there's enough sun or maybe enough shade if it needs a little bit more shade than sun. So yeah, and then fertilization. And that's it. It's really, really the most easiest thing in this world to grow is a herb. Right, so the biggest takeaway is there's good drainage and enough sunlight. Manti, can you come into this one as well in terms of what are the basics of starting a vegetable garden? Like how do you know which vegetables to pair with? Can I just start off with beetroot and potatoes and onions at the same time? Can I farm tomatoes and maybe carrots? What are the basics around starting a vegetable garden? So like with Dominica, the first thing is sunlight. Most people have, I don't, I think it's just a misconception that veggies don't like the sun. Vegetables love the sun. So six hours minimum to eight hours, if you can get more, you know, the better the yield. So sunlight is number one. Number two, and most importantly, is the soil. There's nothing that you can do on bed soil. So make sure that you prepare your soil very well with good calm manure or compost. You can even do your own compost at home. You don't even need to buy it. So sunlight, good soil, and then knowing what to plant when. Like now we are in summer. So we're looking, summer is easy because summer we have a whole variety of things that we can plant, you know, from your beans to your melons, if you have space and maize and potatoes. But when we go to the winter, that's when we look at things like your leafy greens, your spinach, your broccoli, your cabbages, which are more cold resistant. But those three things, the sunlight, the soil, and knowing what to plant when. Because most times people fail in their gardens because they plant, you know, a certain veggie at the wrong time of the year. And then they wonder why their tomatoes didn't grow until they planted them in the middle of winter and tomatoes don't like frost. So it's knowing when, yeah, knowing when to plant what. Yeah, and sticking on to the basic ladies, Dominique and Manti, you know, for anybody that's listening to both of you ladies with giving, you know, such practical advice. And one is thinking, hmm, I've never started my own vegetable herb garden before. I hear you saying sunlight. So now maybe I need to go out and figure out, you know, where's the best place for my potential crops to get sunlight, but sticking on the basics really. You mentioned sunlight, water and the soil. Does one have to go out and buy expensive, like what Dominique has said about a potting soil or compost, does one have to go out and buy, you know, some fancy sprinklers because now we heard Dominique say good drainage, you know, just, you know, we see all these beautiful growing and planting bags in, you know, our local nurseries or these retail stores and they go for anything, retail anything between 200 and 400 grand. Like what are the basics that one can just start with in their house to just start growing their own food? Let me quickly go. I think number one, you don't need a lot of space. So, you know, we don't need hectares and hectares of land. Really vegetables like spinach, tomatoes and lettuces and all your salad leaves can easily grow in containers. So don't think, okay, I'm in a small place or I'm in a flat, I don't have enough space. So space issues, we deal with them by introducing containers, you know, you can use tires, you know, all tires from cars, you could use shoe. I can't think, but you know, just be creative and think what is it that you have, you know? And then what is it that I wanted to say? And then number two is time, right? A lot of us think that we don't have enough time. What I always say is you must look at how much time you have and then center your garden around that. So if you have 15 minutes in a week to spare, look at what you can plant, you know, that only needs 15 minutes care. I have about, let's say I have about four hours a week so I'm able to grow a whole lot more. So look at the amount of time that you have and then plan your garden around that. So it's not really time consuming, you don't need fancy equipment, you don't need a lot of space, but it really is using what you have, your own space, your own time, and your own resources, you know, and making the most of them. Dominika, thank you for that, Manti. Dominika, what are some of the basics with regards to herb farming? You know, when you speak about herbs and we hear rosemary, mint, et cetera, and you mentioned that mints just run, mint runs quite wild, you know, and people could be thinking, oh my gosh, it could be growing on my wall. But what are some of the basics? Should just start herb farming, that can be used ice cream containers like Manti was saying, be creative, tires, you know, in containers. So what, do herbs take a lot of space? What are some of just the basic stuff that you don't have to step out of your house, go to the shop and buy, but just start planting. Yes, now herbs absolutely, it does not take a lot of space. Obviously rosemary can become a very large bush, lavender can become a very large bush, but you can contain it, but obviously I'm cutting off some of the pods, you know, if you want to just maintain the growth of the herbs. So it does not take a lot of space and you can literally grow it in your windowsills. You don't even need to grow it outside. And again, I've actually read that they say that it's better to grow herbs in plastic containers rather than terracotta pots. And we know terracotta pots are extremely expensive these days. And but the soil dries out very, very quickly. Whereas in plastic containers, it's as if, you know, the soil lasts a bit longer. And you can go to any shop, even at pick and pay and checkers, you'll see that the plastic containers aren't that expensive. And a small, let's say 15 by 15 centimeter plastic container is enough for one season to grow your mint in or your thyme or your rosemary would need a little bit more space. But mint and thyme and oregano and those herbs actually doesn't need very large containers. So as I said, if you don't have time to look after them or you feel that your garden is not the great place to grow them, then start with small plastic containers. I think they cost like 7.99 for a 15 centimeter one or at maximum 20 Rand. And you fill them with soil and you make sure you add some bone meal to it and yeah, and compost. And to them, yeah, you can grow it in your windowsill. You don't need a lot of space or even on your balcony, on a little table and it's easy to get. Wow, great. Mindy, I have a question here from one of our viewers. Her name is Queen Taco and she asks, my plants are getting eaten by insects. How can I prevent this? Q, okay. We live with insects. They're part of the environment, they're part of nature and not all insects are bad, right? You know, I always say that if you go to a store and you find a perfect tomato with no spots or anything on it, you must worry because yeah, it means if insects, you know, didn't way way way too afraid to eat it, you should also be afraid. Why is it that it is spotless? So our insects are actually our standard of approval that the food is good for us. Obviously, if the infestation gets too big then you have to deal with it. But what we do is that we always say we confuse the enemy. So we don't just plant a whole row of spinach but we mix in marigolds and nastachiums and lavender, you know, all sorts of herbs in between the veggies so that, you know, that insect if it smells that wild garlic there's like, okay, I'm not going there, I'll rather go there. So we confuse the enemy. Plus it also looks beautiful, you know, to add flowers and herbs in between your cabbages and your spinach. I mean, imagine if we have a whole field of cabbages and they just get wiped out, you know, once by whatever insects, but if they have those flowers and herbs in between, you know, they help. That's what we call companion planting. Yeah. And I know, Manti, you're an advocate for organic farming using minimal or no pesticides at all, just maybe to sum up what you just said, just to answer, Queen, you mentioned that, you know, you do companion planting, et cetera. Are there any also, any DIY or home remedies sprays that we could spray on our plants that could give up a pungent smell to maybe this beetroot or onions or potatoes that we're farming? Do you have some home remedies that one could use? What I normally do, if you know marigolds, marigolds have that very, very pungent, strong smell. So marigolds, chili, garlic, and like a teaspoon of your liquid soap, you mix that up in water and you leave it there for about a day or two. The longer it stays, the more potent it becomes. And then you just spray, you know, so basically you are not really killing, you are just deterring them so that they don't, you know, yeah, yeah. Yeah, fantastic, thank you so much. And Dominica, you know, my dimension, like when you start to grow your own food, you need to know which vegetables to plant in which season. Now that we're going into the summer slash spring slash summer season, what are some of the best herbs to grow in these new upcoming seasons? Well, in spring the best time, it's actually the best time for all your, most of your herbs, especially your rosemary, which I'm very fond of because it's very easy to grow. And I use it because I love lamb and it's amazing to cook with lamb, et cetera. So rosemary is one that you can start growing now. And also mint, it's the season now to plant them. September is the month to plant your mint. And that is an awesome time also to plant. And yeah, then just your basic herbs like your oregano, your thyme. And you have different types of thyme. There's actually four types of thyme that you can get. And some of them are very beautiful, they creep. So you can even use them as a ground cover. And so yeah, September is the month. You can start planting most of the herbs. Wow, I've got a challenging question for both of you ladies, you know. And this is coming from me being typical and trippinier. And maybe people who are, we have retailers or greengrocers selling maybe organic vegetables and herbs or are living within the communities and are looking for business. I mean, it's such a tough time. So if I run a small store right now and I'm listening to you two beautiful ladies telling everybody to grow their own herbs, what do you say to people would say, I think I don't wanna grow my own food because I rather support X and Y greengrocer in my community, you know, buying vegetables and so forth. What would you say to someone who has that type of thinking? Let's start with you, Dominika. Well, you know, being a teacher, I'm a bit biased. So I've got, you know, I feel I wanna just inspire everyone to start their own vegetable gardens and start growing their own food. And I know, you know, you get the people that are just not into gardening. They just not, they don't wanna get their hands dirty. They just not into it. And, but I have to start again with a previous podcast. I also told you where my love for gardening started. And it was actually at a point where I realized I need to get something that takes me away from the hustle and the bustle and the whatever the movement of the city and just get into a quiet space. And I think if you, you might feel intimidated by the whole idea and that might cause you not to want to start because it's just like it's not, you're not interested in it. It looks difficult and it intimidates you. So I think just to start with herbs, because we all cook and we all, and it's lovely to use fresh herbs rather than dried herbs that's old, you know. And it's nice to use fresh herbs that you got out of your own garden. So just start with that. And if you truly not into gardening, by all means support the people that are farming. But I think that as South Africans, we need to start advocating agriculture growing because I think it's our strength as a country. Most of the food that we create are being sent overseas. And we have a wonderful opportunity for employment creation. So I think if the people start realizing that this holds, it's a key for the youth of our country, then and start supporting that cause. I think at least do that. If you don't want to start growing your own vegetables, at least support the fact that the youth must get a real awakening of agriculture and growing things because they've got such a, you know, they have a lot of knowledge that their grandparents can carry over to them. Self-subsistence communities or self-subsistence communities that learn to grow their own food for generations. And the youth need to learn from them, because it's basic practices to grow healthy food. And yeah, I think just start advocating that. Start supporting that. Then already you are doing a great thing. So yes, that's my heart. Mandi, do you want to add anything there to that question? And I think just to agree with Dominica, yes. I think the only reason why you'd be like, I don't want to grow my own vegetables is because perhaps you don't know where to start. You feel intimidated and you think it's just this overwhelming thing. My advice to you is get a mentor, get a friend, get a group of people, you know, somebody, your grandparent, somebody to help you along. And soon, trust me, you'll be addicted. The benefits of growing your food are just, you know, yeah, you can talk until the sun shines, you know? From just a health point of view, from the therapy that you get, yeah, it's just a very long list. So get a mentor, get somebody to take you along. There's always room for your local grocery stores, because it's not all of us that have space to grow pumpkins or to grow maize. So there's always room for us. But to agree with Dominica, yes, let's encourage young people to get their hands there and to be independent, like I said, and to be able to provide food for themselves. Yeah, ladies, you mentioned, you know, I'm so happy that we're having this conversation this evening. It's because you mentioned so many critical, yet also technical aspects around growing your own food. And I like what you say, Mandi, is that some people just say, I'd rather go buy at the store because I just don't know where to start. But going into the technical stuff, like we've had our audience asking, how do I start? What are the basics? Where do I go if my plants get eaten by insects? Like, what is the best way for someone to start researching their information? Are there any online platforms that either of you have maybe always followed in just to assist you from Dominica I, growing your own herbs, Mandi, understanding and knowing how to do crop rotation or companion planting? So, you know, other than just going on to Google, what's the typical search methods one could start learning the technicalities around growing your own food and also are nursery supportive when you're buying your seeds or your plants, et cetera? Do they give some technical advice to make sure that at the end of the day, you have a successful crop to harvest? Maybe we could start with you, Mandi. I would say consult with the elders, hey? I mean, that's what I do. I have a grand, he's 10 and 90 this year, but he's passionate about growing his own food, you know? He's the one that I go to when I have big infestation of insects or when I just don't know what to do and he's, you know, he's like my garden advisor. So those people are there, they're in our communities, in our circle of friends, there is somebody who will know and who will be able to help you rather than going on to Google and you'll be bombarded with pictures and beautiful pictures and you'll want your garden to look like that, you know? Instant key. And you'll be so frustrated when that doesn't happen. So get a friend, somebody who can take you along step by step. We also have that offer that service at Naledi Farm where we take people step by step and help them establish their own gardens. That is what I would recommend. Dominika, I know you have a YouTube channel. Where can people go for technical advice or information around herb farming? Yes, I know that Google is not, it's not the place to go because you are bombarded with a lot of information and it confuses you. But I think I have to agree that, you know, going to elders and asking them because they have been around before all these fancy things and before potting soil and compost and all that stuff, they've always used car manure and things like that when they grew their own gardens. And I mean, even stuff like that grass that they feed the horses, I can't remember what you call it. I think you would know, but anyway, people use that as mulch for instance. Lucerne, yes, that's the one, Lucerne. They use that as mulch, you know. Basic stuff that is, when you are farming or you have animals or chickens, you use what you've got and they've got that wisdom. So I think definitely elders, I have to agree. And then secondly, you know, I know not a lot of people go to the shops and buy magazines but there's the grow to eat magazine. And that has honestly helped me a lot as well with a lot of information. I've used that. And then Instagram page where I give advice, solely because I was struggling to get advice. So I've decided that I'm gonna share what I know as I learn, I share. And you will be surprised how many people need advice, how many people desire to get advice, basic advice, not paragraphs and paragraphs of information that they need to read. Literally just one basic information on how to grow. And I must tell you that to learn from trial and error is also the best thing. It's almost like when you get married, you cannot cook or you feel you cannot think. And then you take a few recipes, you master them and you've got the basics. So now you can make anything out of anything because you've got the basic. And I think it's the same with gardening. You learn a little bit here, you learn a little bit there and then at the end of the day, you realize all plants has the same needs. Obviously, certain plants need shade, certain plants needs sun, but they all need nitrogen, they all need phosphorus, they all need potassium and it comes in the same forms in nature. So, and I think we've been given everything. And we've been given herbs to aid us in best control. We've been given herbs, the push and pull technique that the farmers use with different plants. They don't even need any chemicals. They don't even need anything more than just nature. I just wanted to quickly add to what Dominika was saying, you'll be surprised how many real life people with real gardens you'll find on Instagram. I'm part of now a big community of really life people who just readily offer advice and help. So, check who you follow on Instagram and that's how that's one way of learning and growing. Absolutely, community, community, community, that's the best place you could obviously get the information. And I like what you said, Dominika, as well, trial and error. It's not about getting a perfect first time round, it's just about testing and testing. And what you also said, Mindy, is also very, very profound because when you Google, you get to see so many information, so many pictures, you want your garden to look perfect and there's absolutely nothing wrong if you have a tomato with a slight blemish there. I really, really love this conversation, ladies, but just to some of the podcast this evening, I just wanna find out from both of you ladies, since that we are in Women's Month, what message would you give to women, to young girls, to young teenagers in the food and agriculture space? What last or final words would you give to people in the food and agriculture space or sector, specifically women? Dominika, maybe you could go first. All right, now, I think that women specifically need to get involved in agriculture. We have this idea amongst the women in the world, not just in South Africa or in Africa, that agriculture is a man's thing. Forming is a man's thing. I think we've got very few women farmers in our country and I really think that women need to start standing up in that industry, get involved and then I've just read a few facts that I wanna share and something that I was thinking about. They say that there's 62% of the country's youth aged 15 to 35 is currently unemployed and a lot of women are single moms, they don't have any support and I think that this can bring in income to them. There's a lot of opportunities involved in farming and it's not just with regards to so I mean, hydroponic farming is becoming a big thing these days and new technology that's being developed. So I think that there's so many opportunities for women out there to help them, to support their own families, to get an income and yeah, so I wanna truly inspire, not inspire, motivate the women of our country to get their hands dirty, start growing their own food, teaching their children because it comes from the mother's side. We are the teachers mostly, the teachers are children to be healthy, to eat healthy and to just recognize that in yourself and to start with teaching the youth also, the young people to fall in love with gardening again, fall in love with growing herbs, fall in love and also the medicinal properties of herbs that you can use to make your own products one day maybe. So yeah, that is my heart. I think they say that by 2050, 70% there will be a 70% increase in need for food because of other population in our country. So the future of South Africa is really, I think our country can move forward quicker when we get more involved in agriculture because it is an industry that is being underdeveloped currently and there's so much potential for that. Manti, your advice for women in food and agriculture? Okay, I'll talk to women in homes and communities. I mean, I think there is no reason why children should go to bed hungry, you know? Every home should be able to grow tomato, onions, spinach, you know, those basic things so that every child, when they sleep, they are fed. It doesn't take a lot. You don't need hectares and hectares of land. One or two rows of spinach will feed you for a very long time. A packet of seeds, I think cost about between 19 and 30 rent and those seeds could last you for generations to come. So there's really no reason why we are struggling with poverty, you know, when we have land in South Africa, when we have the sun and we have good rainfall. You know, if all of us as women could come out and really start working and getting our hands dirty, there are lots of empty pieces of land, you know, we have parks that are not used filled with litter, you know, if we could, as women, get out and, you know, start with our own small yards and eventually grow and become bigger. Wow, thank you, ladies, for that. And my message to both of you, Mindy and Dominika, first I just want to thank you for your time this evening and for just being women who are teaching us about food, the importance of growing your own food, starting your own gardens and the many, many benefits that we have, you know. I don't see, like we mentioned social media, I don't see men teaching us about herbs, about, you know, companion planting, Mindy. Thank God it's women and it's true what they say, you know, you empower a woman, you empower a community and you've definitely empowered us as a private property farming podcast community about growing your own food. Thank you so much for your time this evening and I wish you a lovely Thursday evening and a great weekend ahead. Thank you, Mindy, thank you so much for having us. Thank you, it was lovely, yeah. It was absolutely lovely indeed. Thank you so much for watching the farming podcast this evening. We were joined by Mindy Mai Fahdi from Naleri Farm and Dominika Albers, a herb enthusiast. Mindy is based in Centurion, Dominika is based in Pretoria and today's topic was all about growing your own food, the benefits of growing your own food and we explored many, many things, you know, how to start your own food garden or herb garden using the basic stuff, you know. I think the biggest takeaway here is about sunlight, having good soil and making sure that your plants get enough water as well and what Mindy also said, it's about time, you know. If you have 15 minutes throughout the day, use that 15 minutes to go out to your food garden and just start something. Dominika mentioned that herbs don't take any space, you know, you could use small containers, use what you have in your kitchen and just start your herb garden, you know, you get many, many benefits out of that, you get to de-stress, you get to be art in nature, vitamin D and, you know, just starts to learn so many things about yourself whilst you're growing your own food but thank you so much to Colleen, to Queen, to every one of you that maybe has dropped in questions that have also watched this live, we truly appreciate your support. Happy Women's Month to all the women viewers and yeah, I'll catch you next Tuesday, eight o'clock same time, thank you. That's me signing out.