September Talk – Organics NZ

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be a WWOOFer (Willing Worker on Organic Farms), come along to our September talk and hear all about Philippa Jamieson’s volunteering adventures. As author of ‘The Wild Green Yonder’ and editor of Organic NZ, Philippa has a unique view of where the organic movement is at in New Zealand.

Expect to meet some new faces, as this month’s talk is a joint meeting of the Good Gardeners and Canterbury Soil and Health. We look forward to seeing you all there. Non-members are also welcome.


When: 7.30pm on Monday 21 September
Where: The Oxford Terrace Baptist Church cnr Oxford Tce and Madras St
Cost: $2.00 per person (to cover hall hire)

Open Home Discussion – Sunday 22nd of March

Diana Kirpensteijn’s Food Forest
The unsettled weather on Sunday didn’t deter the large group of gardeners keen to visit Diana’s home and garden. Diana (left), a long time member of Soil and Health, has lived at her Opawa property for 23 years. In that time she has converted a barren suburban section - once dominated by a large macrocarpa windbreak - into a fruitful forest. ‘For every plant I removed, I planted three fruit trees,’ says Diana. A diversity of flowers, herbs and edible perennial plants co-exist under the groves of fruit trees, and raised garden beds provide areas for intensive vegetable production. ‘It was important that the garden was low maintenance,’ says Diana, which makes a lot of sense when you consider the size of the garden - ½ an acre if you include the adjoining property which the Kirpensteijns also own.

Nutrient Cycling
In keeping with organic principles Diana cycles all her organic waste back into the garden. Green leafy weeds and kitchen scraps are given to the chooks, and the manure is put through the compost heap. ‘Occasionally I buy some blood and bone, or sheep pellets, but overall I try to avoid bringing in a lot of materials from outside as it involves a lot of extra work. However, I have recently started adding rock dusts to my compost heaps to correct mineral deficiencies,’ says Diana. Diana also makes comfrey tea which she feeds to tomatoes and other heavy feeding vegetables.

Renegade Chooks
Diana originally planned to ‘tractor’ her chickens around the garden using them to dig over empty beds, however the chickens had alternative plans and were forever escaping to greener pastures. ‘If you’re going to have a “chicken tractor” make sure your chickens can’t dig their way out,’ says Diana, recalling the loss of leek and garlic seedlings scratched up by a runaway chook. ‘I’ve decided that it’s easier to have a permanent chicken run, and cycle the waste through the compost’.

Friendly Bees
Unlike the chooks, Diana’s bees are free to go where they please. Being in close proximity to a neighbouring school Diana always makes sure she buys friendly queens. The four hives, situated in the far corner of the garden, supply the family with 110kg of honey a year. But being a bee keeper is no easy task, you need to be registered, and MAF carries out regular hive inspections. Unfortunately, with the arrival of varroa mite, Diana is faced with a tough decision, treat her hives with chemicals, or stop being a bee keeper altogether. Although organic solutions do exist they are unlikely to effective during the initial establishment phase, which is expected to last 3 to 4 years.

Living Mulch
When asked how she kept her fruit trees free of pests and diseases, Diana explained the importance of a living mulch. Fruits trees do a lot better when they don’t have grass growing up to their trunks. A living mulch of organic matter (straw, leaves, bark . . .) combined with perennial herbs like parsnips and comfrey, creates a great habitat for ground beetles. Ground beetles are voracious predators that like to snack on juicy larvae, codling moth larvae being no exception, so having a healthy population of ground beetles helps to control this unwanted pest. A living mulch also helps to reduce fungal diseases, as it encourages microbial diversity and increases the chance that fungal spores will be out competed or consumed by beneficial microbes.

Pest Barriers
One of the downsides of mulch, is that it can harbour slugs. Diana avoids mulching in the spring when the slugs are most prevalent, and protects her tender seedlings with plastic pottles that have had their lids cut out. Another physical barrier that Diana finds essential is shade netting over the carrot beds, ‘growing carrots is a waste of time unless you have nets to keep out the carrot fly,’ says Diana.


Tasty Treats
Those people who were lucky enough to be able to stay until the end of Diana’s talk were rewarded with pink grape juice made from Diana’s favourite grape ‘Iona’. Diana had also baked a spiced apple cake – recipe courtesy of the late Rod Donald – and had potted up plants and honey for sale. Diana insisted that people weren’t to leave until all the ‘black boy’ peaches had been picked and given away. All in all everyone had enjoyable afternoon, and no one left empty handed!

Posted by Charlotte McHaffie

Gardening at the Beach

It was great to see such an awesome turnout on Saturday, when thirty people turned up to North Beach to hear Charlotte talk about her coastal garden.

Establishing the Vegetable Beds
When Charlotte and Scott first moved into their place eighteen months ago, the property already had a lot of established native trees and shrubs. However, to get their vegetable garden started a little more effort was required. Knowing just how hungry sandy soil can be, they decided to kick start their garden with a few cubic metres of top soil. A layer of topsoil (10-15cm deep) was laid onto the grass and edged with bricks from the old chimney. Before planting they lightly forked a layer of composted chicken manure into the new beds. ‘It is always a good idea to dig in some compost first, as topsoil often contains silt and clay, which can bake hard and crack in the sun’, says Charlotte. Compost is a wonderful substance that improves all types of soil; while compost helps light, sandy soils retain moisture and nutrients, it also improves aeration and drainage of heavy soils.

Green Manure and Seaweed
The best vegetable bed — seen above — was enriched with seaweed and green manure over the winter. Seaweed was laid in shallow trenches and covered with soil. Oats, lupins and broad beans were sown over the top in April, and the green manure was dug-in during August. The soil in the green manured area is noticeably better than the soil in other beds. The organic matter has broken down to create sticky humus, which binds the sand particles together, enabling the soil to hold water and nutrients.

Nothing Wasted
Scott and Charlotte don’t like to take any organic matter off their property. A huge pile of tree prunings sits in the middle of the garden as testament to this philosophy. ‘One day we will get a mulcher’ says Charlotte, ‘in the meantime the pile is home to many invertebrate species, and is fondly known as the “spider cave”’. Weeds, grass clippings and old vegetable plants are mixed with straw and composted; all the household’s kitchen waste is recycled using bokashi buckets. Occasionally the pair source enough manure and straw to make a large compost heap, but most of the time they just use rotted down seaweed, or buy in composted chicken manure. ‘If you are using manure make sure it isn’t contaminated with herbicides. Sometimes farmers spray herbicides on their fields to kill broadleaf weeds and these contaminants can get into the manure’ says Charlotte.

Hardy Coastal Plants
Although most of Saturday’s talk was devoted to the hows and whys of vegetable gardening, Charlotte found some time near the end to recommend some hardy coastal plants. ‘It is a good idea to plant wind and salt tolerant trees on your NE boundary ’, says Charlotte, ‘once you have established your first line of defence it is possible to plant more tender plants on the leeward side’. The plants Charlotte recommends for coastal gardens are listed below:


Trees
Ngaio Myporum laetum
Coprosma lucida, C. robusta, C. repens
Pittosporum tenuifolium, P. eugenioides, P. crassifolium
Broadleaf Griselinia littoralis
Kowhai Sophora microphylla, S. prostrata
Olearia paniculata, O. ilicifolia, O. avicenafolia, O. traversii
Akeake Dodonea viscosa
Kanuka Kunzea ericoides
Cabbage tree Cordyline australis
Corokia x virgata, C. cotoneaster
Coast banksia Banksia integrifolia*
Olive Olea europaea*

Shrubs
NZ lilac Heliohebe hulkeana
Hebe species (especially H. odora, H. salicifolia, H lewissii, H. speciosa, H ballensii)
Marlborough rock daisy Pachystegia insignis
Kaka beak Clianthus puniceus
Brachyglottis greyii
Muehlenbekia astonii
Coprosma propinqua C. virescens
Rock rose Cistus sp*
Coast rosemary Westringia rosmarinifolius*
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis*
Lavender Lavandula sp*
Wax flower Eriostemon myoporoides*
Grevillea sp (choose frost tolerant species)

Herbaceous
Rengarenga lily Arthropodium cirratum
NZ Iris Libertia peregrinans
Dianella sp.
Gazania hybrids*
African daisy Arctotis hybrids*

Ground cover
Native daphne Pimelea prostrata
Pratia angulata
Fuchsia procumbens

Ferns
Shield fern Polystichum vestitum, P. richardii
Hen-and-chickens fern Asplenium bulbiferum
Hound’s tongue fern Phymatasorus diversifolius

All plants are native to New Zealand, except those marked by an asterix* .

Posted by Charlotte McHaffie

Open Home Discussion – Sat 29 November

Growing Vegetables at the Beach

Sandy soils and salt spray can make growing vegetables a challenge. For Soil and Health member Charlotte McHaffie, living 200 metres from the beach is a mixed blessing. Visit Charlotte and Scott at their house in North Beach to learn how they have created an edible garden on the sand dunes. Accompany them on a guided walk to discover which plants grow best on the coast.

If you’re interested in learning more about beach gardens, or would like to meet other Soil and Health members, make sure you come along to our November talk.

When: 2.00pm on Saturday 29 November
Where: 50 Cygnet St, North Beach (just north of the North Beach Surf Club)
Cost: Members free, Non-members $2.00

So the speaker has an idea of numbers please R.S.V.P.
Ph 388-7353 or 021 037-5716
email: organicschch@gmail.com