Camel Thorn Horticulture<\/a> is South Africa\u2019s main importer of Jiffy products. Based out of Johannesburg, it offers coco growing media<\/strong> and peat products, all with Jiffy\u2019s certifications and guarantees. The Jiffy range already includes seedling pellets<\/a>, compostable pots<\/a>, growbags<\/a>, microgreen trays and planks, Preforma plugs<\/a>, growblocks<\/a> and it\u2019s expanding all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe offer solutions for a wide range of crops,\u201d says Jules Kieser, Director of Camel Thorn. \u201cThat\u2019s because many different crops thrive in South Africa thanks to the different climate zones. In the south and west you\u2019ll see mainly berries, wine, cut flowers, and veggies. There\u2019s lots and lots of forestry along the east coast. And the sub-tropical north is fantastic for macadamias, forestry, and fruit such as mangoes, lychees, bananas, and granadillas.<\/p>\n When it started in 2016, Camel Thorn focused on Jiffy coco products<\/em>, imported direct from Jiffy\u2019s manufacturing plants in Sri Lanka. The Jiffy-7C pellet was particularly well received. \u201cThe coco peat pellet is still very popular, especially the 40 x 45 pellet for vegetables, and the 60 x 120 for macadamia seedlings and forestry<\/a>,\u201d says Jules. \u201cJust recently, Jiffy Preforma plugs Europe have really taken off for high-value crops.\u201d<\/p>\n These days, Camel Thorn mainly serves macadamia growers and horticulturalists specialized in produce like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers<\/a>, and leafy greens<\/a>. Hydroponic farming and other indoor ag methods have expanded rapidly in South Africa. Already, 30% of the country\u2019s lettuces are grown under cover. Many of these crops are exported: Nuts to China and the US, and flowers, fruit, and other produce to Europe.<\/p>\n The growers\u2019 international clients insist on them using quality coco products such as Jiffy to comply with their GAP requirements<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cThe growers\u2019 international clients insist on them using quality products like our coco growing media, because they comply with their Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) requirements, and they have all the certificates of analysis they need. Jiffy products are unique: we can guarantee them. Unlike the competition, the composition of the growing media is always consistent. The products are RHP-certified, produced at ISO-certified locations, and meet global quality standards.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules is well aware that the products can seem expensive to growers at first. That\u2019s why he has identified situations where Jiffy can save growers money and run multiple trials to prove it. For things like granadilla and macadamia cuttings, Jiffy-7C coco pellets reduce rooting times by 30%.<\/p>\n Red Sun Hortitech, one of South Africa\u2019s biggest macadamia<\/a> nurseries, is a Camel Thorn customer. The first nursery to focus on cuttings, it ran a lot of trials and found that coco growing media \u2013 specifically Jiffy-7Cs \u2013 were the best in terms of the speed of rooting, and water and labor savings. Red Sun\u2019s business grew as a result and many other macadamia nurseries have followed. From supplying only the local market, they now have holding nurseries in a number of African countries. In fact, their approach is so successful that it has attracted global interest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is amazing to see how we can transform businesses like that. Another example is the protea flower<\/a> sector. Proteas are very susceptible to transplant shock. If you plant them in a normal plastic container and disturb the roots during transplantation, they just die. But we\u2019ve shown growers that the young plants can go straight into the ground with pot and all, thanks to our compostable Jiffy Pot strips.\u201d<\/p>\n We have good people who speak to customers about how to get the most out of the products<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cCustomers often compliment us on our service levels. We have good people who take the time to speak to customers about how to get the most out of the coco growing media and other products. It\u2019s been very relationship-driven. We\u2019ve grown by over 30% per year for the last five years, and we\u2019ve only just begun.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules and his team have just set up in the Western Cape, the center of the country\u2019s berry, fruit and wine<\/a> industry, and they are looking beyond South Africa\u2019s borders. When Camel Thorn started, it won a lot of reforestation contracts in Eastern and Central Africa. Before Covid, they were planting 6 million trees a year in Tanzania alone on former tobacco fields. \u201cThe reforestation projects are now starting up again and we are going back in.\u201d<\/p>\n Camel Thorn is continually expanding the range of products available through its account managers and direct from the website<\/a>. It will soon include Jiffy substrates for professional and home growers of berries and other crops. The first trials are now running.<\/p>\nDifferent solutions for different crops<\/h2>\n
Coco pellets to grow everything from veg to forestry<\/h2>\n
Hydroponic growing media<\/h2>\n
Certified and guaranteed <\/h2>\n
Transforming the market<\/h2>\n
No more transplant shock<\/h2>\n
Expert advice<\/h2>\n
Supporting reforestation projects<\/h2>\n
Coming soon: Jiffy\u2019s famous substrates<\/h2>\n