The latest news from the farm.
The last planting for the season is now done. We had a good planting season with regular bouts of rain to help the young seedlings settle quickly and strongly showing at least a 90% survival rate. It is important that the young plants develop strong stems and well-anchored root systems to withstand the strong winds which can so easily uproot them later.
While our newly planted tea fields are showing good growth, our tea fields are battling the plagues of nature common to this time of the year. Good rains also mean weeds are flourishing so the weeding battle is on. Weeding around the newly planted seedlings help them grow stronger quicker without competing with weeds. Weeding around older plants also prevents foreign matter in the harvested bundles early next year. When preparing a tea field for planting we do use weeds to our advantage by simply ‘knocking them down’ to help protect the moisture levels of the soil and act as protection against wind damage.
At our Bergendal factory, everything is ready for our annual BRC food safety compliance audit from 13 – 15 September. With a proud AA rating, we feel confident that we will maintain this reputation and continue to supply food safe rooibos of superior quality.