Camel Thorn Horticulture

Camel Thorn Horticulture Camel Thorn Horticulture supplies growers and resellers across Southern and East Africa with sustainable growing media.

As the South African distributor of Jiffy, we combine RHP certified products, local expertise and trusted relationships.

11/09/2026

This is Jules - the person behind Camel Thorn Horticulture 🌱

His route into horticulture wasn't the obvious one, but it's the reason we do what we do today, hear his story below 👇

Drop him a hello in the comments 👋

08/09/2026

If your Growbag mix coped fine over winter, don't assume it holds up once the heat properly arrives 🌱

As South Africa moves out of the cooler months, growers running open Growbag systems often find the same substrate that performed well over winter starts drying out faster than irrigation can keep pace with.

Jiffy 50/50 Growbags are a 50% coco pith, 50% husk chip blend built specifically for high water-holding capacity in hotter climates — the pith holds moisture, the husk chips keep enough air in the root zone to stop it water-logging instead.

It's the combination growers running roses and strawberries lean on, since both crops are particularly sensitive to the moisture swings a straight coco or peat bag can produce once temperatures climb.

Are you already seeing your current Growbags drying out faster day to day, or is that still a few weeks off for your setup?

This tray went from empty to fully seeded this morning — a dozen pellets, a dozen chances to get spring propagation righ...
04/09/2026

This tray went from empty to fully seeded this morning — a dozen pellets, a dozen chances to get spring propagation right from day one.

Every pellet was dibbed and seeded today: same depth, same moisture, same starting point across the tray. That consistency matters more in spring, when a compressed planting window leaves little room to redo a bad batch. A pre-formed pellet system removes the cell-to-cell compaction differences you'd get filling trays with loose mix, so germination timing stays tighter across the whole tray. Once these germinate, the same pellet goes straight into the ground or a larger container next to it — no root disturbance at that first transplant, which is exactly where most spring losses happen. Watch for even emergence over the next few days; if a couple of pellets lag noticeably behind the rest, it's almost always a localised moisture or temperature difference in the tray, not the seed itself.

Question: What's going into pellets like these in your setup this week, and how many days are you giving it before first emergence?

Hashtags:

01/09/2026

Happy Spring Day 🌱

Though if you ask your soil thermometer, spring probably started without waiting for the calendar's permission.

1 September marks the official start of spring in South Africa, but soil warms on its own schedule, not a date on the wall. Plenty of growers have already seen germination pick up over the last couple of weeks, well ahead of today. Spring Day is a useful prompt to check where your propagation programme actually stands versus where the calendar says it should be. If your trays are still running on winter timings and winter watering, today's a fair day to reset that.

Question: Where are you actually at right now, ahead of the calendar, or still catching up?

Fun Fact Friday 🌱 A single 40ft shipping container of Jiffy 7C pellets carries enough compressed growing medium to start...
28/08/2026

Fun Fact Friday 🌱

A single 40ft shipping container of Jiffy 7C pellets carries enough compressed growing medium to start hundreds of thousands of tree seedlings, and there's no soil in it at all.

Because the pellets travel as dry, compressed discs rather than loose substrate, one container does the logistical work that would otherwise take dozens of truckloads of soil. That's exactly why forestry nurseries in remote parts of Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique can get running with minimal infrastructure - the growing medium arrives ready to hydrate on site, not dug out of the ground. It's a big part of why over 8 million pellets went into African reforestation projects in a single year.

Tell us if you've used our 7C pellets before and what you thought of them👇

A substrate ratio is quietly gaining ground with South African growers this season: 70% coco peat, 30% perlite.Why the c...
25/08/2026

A substrate ratio is quietly gaining ground with South African growers this season: 70% coco peat, 30% perlite.

Why the combination works:
✔️ Coco peat holds water and buffers nutrients, giving roots a stable, forgiving environment
✔️ Perlite opens up pore space, boosting drainage and aeration where straight coco peat can compact
✔️ The blend suits growers scaling up who need consistency across large volumes, not just small batches
✔️ Comes down to a practical choice too: small bags suit smaller operations, while bulk bales need forklifts, racking and container-load planning

If you're reviewing your growing media for spring, this ratio is worth putting on your shortlist.

Are you set up for bales, or does your operation run on small bags?

21/08/2026

As we're getting closer to September, we're curious what's actually holding growers back from getting spring propagation moving.

A. Media or plug stock delays
B. Greenhouse/tunnel space not ready
C. Labour availability at peak sowing time
D. Irrigation or climate control not dialled in yet

Tell us below what your answer is and why 👇

18/08/2026

Transplant shock isn't usually caused by the plant. It's caused by the handling.

A few things that quietly stress plants at transplant:
✔️ Squeezing or tearing the root ball to fit a container
✔️ Moving from a fast-draining plug straight into a slow-draining substrate (or vice versa)
✔️ Transplanting into media that hasn't been pre-wetted to the right EC and pH
✔️ Delaying transplant past the point the roots have started circling

Matching your propagation media and your growing-on media — same supplier, same certification standard — removes a surprising number of these variables in one move.

What's your biggest transplant-stage headache — timing, handling, or media mismatch?

14/08/2026

Did you know a strong root system does most of its growing before you ever see it above the growing medium?

By the time a seedling shows its first true leaves, the root system has already determined:
🌱 How well it will handle transplant stress
🌱 How efficiently it will take up water and nutrients later
🌱 How resilient it will be to the first heat spike after planting out

That's why the propagation stage — not the growing-on stage — is where most yield is won or lost.

What's the one crop you're most nervous about propagating well this spring?

"Tissue culture plants are too difficult to handle outside a large operation."We hear this regularly. It's worth unpacki...
11/08/2026

"Tissue culture plants are too difficult to handle outside a large operation."

We hear this regularly. It's worth unpacking.

The hardening process does require care — but it is not inherently complex. Most of the losses come from three things:

1. Wrong growing media (not sterile, inconsistent, wrong moisture balance)
2. Humidity dropping too fast after the lab
3. Contamination introduced at transplant

None of these require specialised equipment. They require the right inputs and a consistent process.

Smaller nurseries across South Africa are successfully hardening TC banana, protea, blueberry, and fern material. The barriers are lower than people assume.

Are you considering TC propagation, or already running it? What's the biggest question holding you back? Ask below 👇

Address

94 Frere Road, Judith Paarl
Johannesburg
2094

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 16:30
Tuesday 08:00 - 16:30
Wednesday 08:00 - 16:30
Thursday 08:00 - 16:30
Friday 08:00 - 16:30

Telephone

+27825647091

Website

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