Hardy Winter Greens

As the days grow shorter salads often slip off the menu, and we find ourselves eating copious amounts of roast vegetables and hot pumpkin soups. Although warm and filling, a winter diet consisting primarily of starchy vegetables can lead to sudden cravings for ‘winter greens’. Unfortunately in the depths of winter it can be difficult to source quality organic greens - broccoli, kale, spinach and rocket always seem to be in short supply.

Timing is crucial
Growing winter greens successfully can be tricky, as over the coldest months vegetable plants go into stasis and barely grow at all. To ensure plants are large enough to harvest over winter you need to plant your seedlings by the end of February! But at the height of summer who is thinking about kale and cabbage? Usually it isn’t until the end of March that we begin to anticipate the onset of winter, and by then it’s often too late.

Favourite Winter Greens
Soil and Health members list their best picks for winter.

Pak choi is Dave’s number one choice. The plants photographed here were planted as seedlings in late March. “Although great in stirfries, I like to eat pak choi lightly steamed so that it retains some of its crispness”.

Endive is Charlotte’s favourite winter green. A member of the chicory family, endive is a lot hardier than lettuce and better suited to Canterbury’s cold wet conditions. "I mainly eat endive in sandwiches, as it is a great lettuce substitute", says Charlotte. The endive shown in the photograph is a 'broad leaved endive' and was sown mid-February. The curly-leaved endives ‘frisee’ are better grown in spring through to autumn, as they are less tolerant of damp cold weather.

'I also eat a lot of mizuna and rocket', says Charlotte. Mizuna is a mild tasting form of mustard. The one photographed here is ‘Red Coral', which is available from Kings Seeds. For winter cropping mizuna can be sown late summer through to mid autumn.
The purple varieties of mustard and mizuna help to brighten up winter salads.

Donn chose rainbow silverbeet, a colourful version of the old classic. Apparently there is not much left of Donn’s silverbeet as he and Linda have eaten it down to the stalks. The plants shown in the photo were sown mid February.


Chickweed comes top of Bonnie's list, simply because it’s always in abundance, grows year round and is easy to harvest. “I love this weed – so tasty in soups, salads, smoothies, stews and pancakes”.


What winter greens are you growing?
Share your growing tips with other readers. We would love to know what ‘greens’ have been successful for you this winter. Post a comment to let us know which varieties you are growing and when you sowed/planted them.

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

Bronze at Ellerslie

When Project Lyttelton and Soil and Health teams got together at Ellerslie to celebrate the completion of their display garden, they were amazed to find out they had won a Bronze Award!

"Getting Bronze was a fantastic result. Many adjacent displays had spent tens of thousands of dollars, while ours was put together with voluntary effort and lots of sponsorship . . . The judges said that they kept coming back to our garden because they loved the concept and really enjoyed how place specific it was," said Matt Morris.

The display is named 'Dig This' Community Garden, and celebrates the 'planting, harvesting and feasting of good organic food in your local community'. The silhouette of the port hills, coupled with the metal bollards and shipping rope captures Lyttelton's unique landscape.

A big thanks goes out project managers Wendy Everingham and Rod Lawrence from Project Lyttelton who did an outstanding job, and Soil and Health members Donn Hampton and Brian Morris who put in many days of hard work on the construction. Thanks also to all those members who were on hand during the show to talk to people and give out leaflets.

If you’re planning to visit the show this weekend make sure you check out'Dig This'. Hopefully our award winning garden will inspire other communities to work together to create a more sustainable city.

Posted by Charlotte McHaffie

Open Home Discussion - March

Maximising Food Production

Visit Diana Kirpensteijn’s garden in Opawa to learn how to get maximum food production for minimum effort. Diana’s ‘multi-purpose’ garden has been carefully designed to ensure year-round productivity. A variety of different fruit and nut trees, as well as large vegetable gardens, supply the kitchen with seasonal produce. Eggs and honey are also often on the menu, thanks to Diana’s hens and bees.

If you’re keen to learn more about organic food production, and would like to meet other Soil and Health members, make sure you come along to our March talk.

When: 2.00pm on Sunday 22 March
Where: 5 Ombersley Tce, Opawa
Cost: Members free, Non-members $2.00

For more information email: organicschch@gmail.com

We Need Your Trees

Recent fires have damaged much of the native plantings on Southshore Spit. The Southshore Residents Association and the City Council’s Coast Care Rangers need your help to continue the ecological restoration of the Southshore Spit Reseve.

Interested people are invited by the residents association to contribute ‘self propagated’ seedlings of local native species which may be self seeding and growing ‘wild’ in their gardens, often beneath power lines and tall trees etc.

Plants may be potted up and transferred to a nursery area at Tim Sintes property in Tern St, where they will be watered and cared for, or they can be potted up and cared for at peoples homes and brought along to a community planting day planned for the autumn. Empty pots can be supplied by the council by contacting Pete Neal on 3884706

The plant species sought are N.Z. coastal natives (capable of surviving in this tough environment) such as N.Z. Ngaio, Coprosma, Broadleaf, Five finger, Kowhai, Karaka, Akeake, and Cabbage tree, etc.

Please ring project co-ordinator Peter Neal on 388 4706 for more information or e-mail him on PANEAL@xtra.co.nz

Rodney Chambers
Coastal Area Head Ranger
Christchurch City Council

Peter Neal
SSRA

Southshore Self-Sufficiency

You wouldn’t expect to find an edible garden paradise at the end of Southshore Spit, but that is exactly what Pete and Marion Neal have created, albeit with some help from willing neighbours. “At the moment five neighbours give us all their garden waste and kitchen scraps, unfortunately one is leaving, so hopefully we will be able to train up somebody new,” says Pete. Pete has even modified his fence to make it easier for neighbours to deposit their waste into his compost bins.

Compost Secret to Success
Each year Pete and Marion produce about 1.5 cubic metres of compost; after living on their property for 38 years they have managed to build the soil up 30cms in places. ‘We’ve never brought in any top soil, when you do that you end up with other people’s problems,’ says Pete. Apart from compost, the only other fertilisers they are use are sheep manure, blood and bone, and lime. Looking at the rich layer of organic matter its hard to believe that a couple of spade widths down its pure sand.

Two Bin System
To make their compost the couple use a two bin system, each bin measuring approximately 1 metre x 1.5 metres. When the first bin reaches capacity, the contents are turned over into a second bin. If the compost appears dry, water is added during the turning process. “You need enough water to keep the process going, but not so much that you put out the fire,” says Pete. After turning, the compost is covered with an insulating lid, which helps to keep the compost hot and prevents the rain from getting in. Pete uses a piece of metal coated polystyrene as a lid, but you could use two pieces of 6mm plywood separated by a 20mm gap.

Food in Abundance
Marion and Pete grow more vegetables than they need, which means they always have surplus to give away. ‘The neighbours give us their garden waste, and we give them vegetables,’ says Marion. The couple grow enough potatoes, pumpkins and onions to last them the whole year. A small orchard also supplies them with peaches, pears and apples.

Although Pete is quick to point out that he isn’t a ‘greenie’ because he doesn’t ‘have a beard or wear jandals,’ the couple’s self-sufficient lifestyle tells a very different story.

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