I have a small area of garden surrounding our cottage that I initially just wanted to make water wise and as low maintenance as possible. Well it’s been a year and a half since we started the garden has definitely become everything we wanted. We only need a gardener once a month just to do some cleaning and trimming the grass but otherwise it takes care of itself which is pretty incredible for our very windy and hot climate on the Cape Peninsular of South Africa.
In October I started my homemade Jam business. It was initially triggered by my guava tree which was giving me 10 ripe guavas a day for 10 weeks straight over the previous autumn. I didn’t quite know what to do with them so I started making jam as a way to preserve the fruit. This season I’ll try Preserved Guava Halves.
Guava tree
And then my husband egged my on to do something with this new skill so I started my business. I committed to making seasonal jams so that I could keep costs low and manage expectations from a customer perspective. And it’s been the fruit sourcing aspect that has moved me towards adding more fruit trees to my own garden to support my jam business.
I already have a lemon tree, guava tree and a loquat tree. I use the lemon zest and lemon juice in my jams and don’t use any added pectin or preservatives other than sugar. So the amount of ingredients is small.
My new Fig Tree
Now I’m so happy to have just planted my first fig tree in my garden. Fig jam is one of my best sellers so having my own tree will make a huge difference to my stock costs.
Granadilla plant
I’ve also added a granadilla plant which will probably take a couple of years to start giving me fruit - although I will use them for a yummy juice concentrate and baked cheese cake 😋.
Blueberry bush
Lastly I’ve just planted a blueberry bush and 3 small Cape Gooseberry plants. These can all be used for jam and smoothies and whatever else we can use them for.
Gooseberry plants
My next purchase will be a Clementine tree! I’ve got just the right spot for it where the soil is quite dry. I love making Clementine & Ginger Jam and my kids love eating them fresh.
The idea is to have the trees just inside our boundary fence so that any fruit hanging over can be collected by neighbours. I love the idea of being a resource to the village even if we only have limited space.
Lemons
My lemon tree is covered in plum-sized green lemons and the guava tree is full of baby guavas so it looks like we will have plenty of both at the same time very soon.
Guavas
The other new addition to the garden is a lovely sage bush and some mint which I’m sure will spread like weeds. Hopefully it will keep bugs away from my granadilla too!
Sage
Mint
It’s an exciting time for my little patch of earth and I can’t wait to see it all producing wonderful fruit over the next year or so.
I’ll post an update in a few weeks and let you know if it all survives. The wind today and this coming weekend is going to be incredibly strong, so pray for our new plants to make it!
Till next time….
