Teresa and Pierre from Evergreen Urban farm and Rocklands farm in Simonstown

Tell us a little about yourselves! 

Pierre and I live in the South Peninsula of Cape Town and work together at Rocklands Farm in Simon's Town. We also have a little urban food garden at our home, with a beautiful lime tree, lemons, guava, olives, medicinal plants and bananas. We have a strong drive to try and become as self-sufficient as possible so our house is off-grid and some of our grey water feeds our garden.

How did you start doing what you are doing?

We started growing microgreens in 2015, when Pierre did a photography job for a friend who had a company designing and building greenhouses for home gardeners. (Urban Freedom). When Pierre bought the plot it took a long time until we could start building so we spent ages creating a garden on a rocky mountain slope.

What are you most proud of in your farming life?

We are most proud of how growing has become our career as we both came from different fields - myself in journalism and Pierre in photography. Covid lockdowns forced some changes and we had to re-invent ourselves but we couldn't be happier.

What is the most helpful piece of advice you received when you were just starting out? 

I cannot think of a single most useful piece of advice, but I read somewhere that many plants will die or crops fail but if you just keep going, you will find what works.

What advice would you like to give to others who are younger/earlier on their journey? 

Just start! Buy one herb pot or tree or veggie seedling and make it manageable for yourself. You can keep adding a few at a time.

Is there anything else you'd like to share? Where do you see growing going in South Africa? 

It is now more important than ever to be able to grow your own food because of high prices, the widespread use of chemicals and pesticides. Don't see bugs as the enemy, going organic is easier than it seems as nature finds a way to balance itself.

If people would like to connect with you or follow your journey, what is the best way for them to do that?

You can follow what we do over on our Rocklands Farm Facebook page and via Rocklands Farm’s website.