Fabulous list of heritage tomato seeds available from Bristol Plants & Seeds in Wanganui. They’ve been busy at work with Mark Christensen from Central Tree Crops Research Trust to grow and test heirloom varieties for superior levels of nutrition. I haven’t seen a report on the results but they do have a very impressive 170 […]
Ive just been reminded of a New Zealand short film I saw awhile ago. An Indian woman paints the story of spices onto the back of her lover. It’s just over 8 minutes and well worth a look. Enjoy! (Contains some scenes with naked flesh – if you are averse to such things please look […]
Yep, it’s that time again and we have Grant Lyon speaking about nutrient density in commercial and organic food and how to get those nutrients into your soil. He will be talking about Brix levels and refractometers and ways to get the best vegetables out of our gardens. I’ve found a bit of a basic […]
Yes, I’m afraid really. Due to current ill-health and a predilection for self-torture, I’m going gluten-free and soy-free for two months. Starting today. I feel low. At least I’m doing this by choice, I’d feel lower if this was the end of these long-time friends. It’s not – this is just an experiment. I was […]
Our permaculture worm tower seems to be working well. But we have just noticed that lots of the thin white worms that were in the bin have gotten out and gone wriggling around the garden. There seems to be a heap of them. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, we instantly knew what they […]
September 21 is my birthday. It’s also the start of a 2 week PDC course with two of the godfathers of permaculture – Bill Mollison & Geoff Lawton. Which would mean 2 weeks in Melbourne around my birthday. Can I combine all these elements? It would be dreamy. But then so would this one in […]
Possibly the most exciting, empowering, heart-wrenching, drama-filled, comedy-laden (for everyone around me), garden-geekiest day of the year – today I am Empirial Ruler deciding what shall flourish in my domain this coming season. The catalogues have arrived, the paper and coloured pencils are out, the day is cleared and the tea is brewing. Today I […]
I’ve taken procrastination to whole new levels on this one and for that I apologise. We showed the Synergistic Garden video by Emilia Hazelip at the May Seedy Sunday. Finally, I manage to get the notes up and a couple of links for your edification. I have to admit, I’ve become a little obsessed by […]
This just in from Stuff.co.nz: Food prices rocketed by 2.8 percent last month – the biggest increase in 20 years. Figures from Statistics New Zealand show that food prices have soared by 8.4 percent in the 12 months to June. SNZ said that all five of the food subgroups it measures increased in June. The […]
I’m deciding on how to spend my garden budget this year. With the amount of seeds I’ve saved, contacts made and plants well established for propagating I’ve got a little more garden moolah to go around. I’ve done the important stuff like join the Koanga Institute, and ordered my fruit trees. And now I may […]