Christmas 07 Newsletter

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Gardening Diary
The novice – Gina

The good side:
After doing Frankie and Ben's raised bed course, we put in four raised beds with lots of peastraw, horse manure, good soil from a bed we dug out and some clay soil from another site. We added in as much bokashi as we could before we planted.

The beds seem to be really fertile and the leafy plants especially are doing great (lettuces, silverbeet, rocket, coriander). The snow peas are nearly as tall as me, and we get a good handful every day, so far I’ve managed to convince the kids to eat them all as snacks but I see the day coming when I’m going to have to get a bit more creative.

I’'ve been rejoicing in the carrots, which have grown under a frost-covered cloche to keep away the dreaded rust fly. Finally they’ve got too tall, so I’ve taken the cloche off, but I think the kids will get them all before the rust fly does.

We've planted scallopini (summer squash) and potatoes in tyres, and they're doing as well as the ones planted straight into the garden. We'll have to expand our tyre empire next year, as it's such an easy way to get more garden space. We filled the tyres with a mixture of vermicast (worm poo) and compost, which we got from Wormworx in Cromwell (03) 455 0263. We used that same mixture in all our pots, and the plants seem to love it.

The bad side:
Slugs. I didn't think they were plentiful in our dry climate, but I can't ignore the holes in my lettuce and basil any longer. I've been told that pea straw mulch is a great hiding place for them, but as it's worked so well to keep the garden moist, I’m not giving it up. I’ve been told to try eggshells around the plants, and maybe cayenne pepper (I’ve noticed they’re not attacking Logan’s chilli plants). Think I’ll try both together, which should be unpleasant for any slug heading for the basil.

Sad courgettes and peas
I only planted one as everyone seems to get gluts of courgettes, but unfortunately my one and only has looked pale and insipid every since it went into the ground. Same goes for my two pea plants, which have each had four pea pods, and now look ready to expire.

Think letting them seriously dry out in pots before planting them could have been the problem. Next year, they’re going straight in the ground like the snowpeas.

The experienced "disorganised"
gardener - Greg

I recently had the privilege of visiting and spending time with some mountain farmers 80km south west of the Chinese city of Xi'an. Quite close to the Chinese end of one of the silk roads. People have been successfully living off this land, pretty much continuously for several thousand years.

I felt immensely inspired, walking in the hills under canopies of food trees like walnut, chestnut and a large edible acorn thing I’ve never tried, though was told it was OK if it was prepared properly. As with most things. And out into the open terraces where the many other crops grew.

We did a rough plant count on one of these 1-3 hectare farms and came up with a conservative 110 different sorts of food growing. And guessed a yield of about 10 ton per hectare. Not bad by anyone’s standards! And they’ve been doing it for at least 4000 years just to prove the sustainability of their way of life.

It was all about the way, of life for these good folks, and upon returning home to our beautiful Mahanui (an old name for the south island, and one I prefer to use!) I determined to grow even more food and be more organised! Which I feel is a big call for me! And plant more trees and especially food trees.

The Chinese are beautiful gardeners. Very organised and efficient. But then you’d have to be living with that many people.

Turns out that the key to the mountain farmer’s success was in the way they managed the water. In particular the watershed. Their trees and other plantings were designed to stall the water on the mountain in order to fill up the landscape with water like a huge reservoir / sponge in which the water was held in, and seeped out of thus having many active and vitally needed springs, even when it didn’t rain. Which in some seasons was months. Having the landscape full of water enabled the trees and other plants to bottom feed for their water saving on expensive irrigation.

Gardening is a physical activity. You get exercise and you get the best kai. A great combination for good health and vitality.

It is also a mental relaxation. A wonderful time to get absorbed in either your thoughts, or your non-thoughts. When your non-thoughting, just purely interacting with the natural world of your garden, with your fingers kneading that beautiful rich soil you’ve cultivated, composted and loved, your mind is open to fantastic inspiration. Nature is organised and balanced, and when we’re interacting with that quality of energy, we are that. I’m always immensely pleased with the outcomes of such activities.

I am continually collecting materials for the making of compost. When I have enough, I layer it all together with the right amount of water then protect it from drying out by covering it with whatever works. Standard compost procedures required.

This is the month to enjoy eating lettuces, peas, baby carrots, and zucchinis strawberries beans, nearly the works depending on where you are in the valley. Continue to sow seed for continuous harvest of the things you love to eat. Try to plant just the amount of seed your going to need as its very easy to plant too many. Mixing the smaller seed with dry sand is a great way to 'water it down' as it were.

Weeding and mulching is the thing to do to ensure your garden is dry-proofed. You'll be amazed at how much less water you'll use in the process. Pretty much any organic material can be used for mulch. As long as its been dried. Green mulches are OK around bigger trees but in the garden environment, as the green mulch breaks down, it uses nitrogen and can rob it off your seedlings and plants. So you can use grass clippings if they’re all dry.

Liquid manures give your plants and soil a good boost over summer when everything is growing like crazy. To make your own, get a large bucket or bin it a lid, and fill it with water. Tie some manure in a permeable bag or something, and drop it in the water. Leave for 2 to 4 weeks. To use, dilute to the colour of old tea and water around the roots of the plants.

Also now is the time to start thinking about your winter garden. Preparing beds and sowing, for a start, the things you like to eat in the winter that take longer to grow ie parsnips and carrots etc.

So keep weeding, mulching, and eating. And have fun! And remember the Wanaka farmers and gardeners market! Check out the web site and if you’ve got some extra produce, come down Sunday mornings, starts on the 13th Janurary. There are different cost structures depending on your level of commercialism. www.wanakafarmersmarket.org.nz