What started as a simple effort to bring some greenery into her home, turned into an inspiring journey for backyard gardener, Vuyokazi Kiva-Johnson. In her compact 6×1 metre garden, she’s demonstrating that big things can grow in small spaces.
Growing up in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, she never thought she’d one day be growing her own food in the small space she now calls home in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs.
“I love picking fresh produce from my own garden,” she says.
Growing food from scraps
Inspired by a friend who managed to grow watermelons in a small, paved yard with only a stoep to work with, Kiva-Johnson decided in early 2024 to try her hand at using the little space she had.
“The friend I visited told me I could begin by throwing potato peels, pepper seeds, or even spoiled tomatoes into the soil.”
At first, her goal wasn’t to grow anything but to enrich her soil, which had never been used for planting. “I was throwing anything into the garden; not to grow plants but to fertilise the soil,” Kiva-Johnson explains.
From those discarded food scraps, tomatoes turned out to be the first good-quality tomato harvest. “I used food debris, carrot, butternut peel and seeds, spoiled tomatoes – just anything from food,” she says.
As she continued, she noticed a transformation. “I saw the colour and texture of my soil change from a light sandy colour to a darker, richer shade. That was a sign my soil was ready to produce.”
Her excitement grew even stronger when she saw high-quality tomatoes sprouting from the food scraps.
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A growing passion
As a mother with a 9-5 job, she only has time to give her food garden full attention on weekends and after hours. Her nephew and son help out after school, pulling weeds and watering, especially when the tomatoes begin to grow, she says.
For now, this backyard gardener isn’t focused on farming for profit. She sees her efforts as small pilot projects, but each day brings new surprises that encourage her to keep going.
“I haven’t expanded my hobby to involve the community yet, aside from sharing pictures of my recent tomato harvest on WhatsApp and Facebook.”
Kiva-Johnson tells Food For Mzansi that currently, she’s not sure if what’s growing is peppers or brinjal, but she’s excited to find out, one crop at a time.
She says she has learned so much from a Facebook group called “Sifunda Nezolimo” to connect with a community of backyard and advanced farmers. “The social media groups have been really helpful since I started. I browse them whenever I can and learn from other farmers,” she adds.
Next up, she’s planning to grow beetroot.
The next big thing
Kiva-Johnson now grows her food in a 6×1 metre garden space, and while she wishes she had more room, she’s excited to see what her hands can create. Recently, she planted strawberries and is exploring what her soil can offer her family.
“This small garden has shown me that even when you think you know a lot, the work of your hands can truly work wonders.”
“I never imagined I’d feel this excited about having a food garden. It’s teaching me so much about the value of food production.”
Growing up in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, Kiva-Johnson recalls how her mother was a backyard gardener. She never showed interest in joining her, but now she finds herself doing exactly what her mother used to do, and it feels wonderful.
“Plus, being able to pick three fresh tomatoes to snack on, add to a salad, or make a sandwich without having to open my wallet is amazing,” she says.
Now, she’s curious to see how she can preserve her harvest to avoid waste—whether it’s through agro-processing into sauces or pastes. She’s particularly excited about her tomato harvest and eager to learn more.
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