Pizza Party Blowout Welcomes 2012

We had a lovely, sunny afternoon gathering at Lily White's garden on Saturday 14th Janurary. The public event was open to members and non-members, with over 30 people joining us, each bringing their favourite pizza topping to share with the group. The pizza oven, made from bricks and clay, was super hot (having been lit at 8.30 that morning) and cooked the morish pizzas in just 3 minutes. Lily demonstrated the technique for pizza base success and Dave Evans (treasurer) sweated it out putting the individual pizzas in the oven and rescuing them again before they burnt. Every pizza was unique in its topping selection and the artists considered their pizza to be a masterpiece-feast.

Each visitor gleefully enjoyed their food and the company was delicious. We toasted to the Soil and Health Association and also to community in action, people helping out others, and inspiring each other to garden wisely. I found inspiration to attack my convulvulous at home without chemicals, thanks to more thoroughly understanding its growth cycle.

Cheerful conversations about gardening, seasons, recipies, families, oven building etc filled the afternoon until Stephen Browning, one of our new Green MPs, surprised us all by joining in and we had a deep discussion about the recently proposed Food Bill. He seemed enthralled with his pizza before dashing away to take care of his parlimentary business. As the adults chatted, the kids could explore the kids corner, with chalk and toys or the rest of the garden which gave them a sense of adventure.

Lily White has been gardening with permaculture principals for over 30 years and helps kids enjoy gardening with "Kids Edible Gardens". The event was organised by Canterbury Soil and Health Association to celebrate summer harvest. We have been making a point to celebrate the seasons with our members in public events and open garden visits.

Posted by Bonnie Schaab

Celebrate Sprng with a Potluck Extravaganza

Join us for a potluck lunch at Seven Oaks.
Our Soil and Health lunch will coincide with the Seven Oaks monthly working bee (11am-1pm), so come along and admire this central city green oasis.

Please bring some food to share and your own glasses, plates and cutlery. Drinking water will be provided.

When: Sunday 25 September 12.00 -2.00 pm

Where: Seven Oaks Education Centre, 35 Hassals Lane (off York St), Opawa

DVD Screening - Homegrown Revolution

An award winning short movie about Jules Dervaes and his family, living on an urban homestead in LA. Jules visited Christchurch recently and spoke to a packed meeting in New Brighton. If you missed his visit, then here is your chance to catch his inspiring message.

The DVD will be followed by our own Bob Crowder speaking on a pertinent topic of his choice.
We’ll finish up with a pot-luck feast with mulled wine or cider

Where: WEA, 59 Gloucester St
When: Thursday 5 August, 7 pm

Members free, non-members gold coin donation

Garden Visit Sunday 23rd of May

Jan’s Jungle

If it had been 20 degrees warmer visitors could easily have imagined that they had been transported somewhere north of the Equator. Crammed with an incredible array of rare fruits and vegetables Jan’s Garden has a distinctly tropical feel. Jan has even managed to make paved areas and pathways productive by filling them with an impressive collection of potted herbs and shrubs.

After being welcomed with a hot cup of Jan’s delicious pumpkin soup, visitors were introduced to some of Jan’s more interesting vegetables. “People are always giving me strange things to grow” says Jan, gesturing towards a table overflowing with a cornucopia of unusual edibles.

Skirret

Jan likes to eat skirret root in salad. Although related to carrots this perennial root vegetable is now seldom grown. Skirret’s long white roots can be boiled, stewed or roasted, but the core is inedible and should be removed before cooking.

Tasty tubers

Another of Jan’s favourite salad ingredients is yacon. Yacon has a tuber that looks a lot like a dahlia’s, but unlike the dahlia it is not poisonous. The tubers are crisp and sweet, tasting a bit like apple or watermelon. The yacon is related to the Jerusalem artichoke, another tuberous plant which Jan cultivates. By selecting the “least knobbly tubers” Jan has created her own distinct varieties that are smooth and round. Jerusalem artichokes can sometimes cause indigestion, but Jan assures us that if you peel them and make fritters out of them they will not induce flatulence!
















Many of Jan’s tubers come from South America. Ulluco is widely grown throughout the Andes and is a significant food crop. The multi-coloured tubers are sometimes available in Christchurch supermarkets, and can be easily propagated, however, don’t sell them or you might be harrassed by Crop and Food Research who have sole rights to them in NZ. Another less common Andean tuber is the anu, a tuberous nasturtium that is often grown together with ulluco and potatoes.















Preserves

Being a keen preserver means that Jan doesn’t let any of her produce go to waste. For those of you lucky enough to sample Jan’s pumpkin soup the magic ingredient was Jan’s sweet chilli sauce (recipe below). In addition to making traditional chutneys and sauces Jan also creates unique beverages and fruity wines.

Supreme Sweet Chilli Sauce

250g mild chillies
2 red capsicums
8 large cloves garlic
1 kilo tomatoes

Chop the above ingredients in a food processor, or cook first and then mouli.

Add 4 grated apples
2 ½ cups white vinegar
1 kg sugar
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cayenne
3 tsp salt
2 Tbsp pickling spice (in a bag)

Boil for 1 hour, then bottle.

Chillies – original recipe said “seeded”, but I like the seeds appearing in the sauce so leave them in. For hot chillies with seeds I reduce the quantity to 100g, as it is meant to be a SWEET chilli sauce.


Jerusalem Artichoke Fritters

1 egg (free range)
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp wholemeal flour
freshly ground pepper
½ tsp freshly chopped rosemary
500g scrubbed Jerusalem artichokes
cooking oil – organic sunflower is nice

Method

To create a batter beat the egg in a large bowl, then add flour, baking powder, rosemary and seasonings.

Grate the unpeeled artichokes into a colander, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add drained artichokes to the batter and mix well with a fork.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Place a large spoonful of mixture in the pan and flatten with the back of a spoon. When brown turn over to cook on the other side. Drain on absorbent paper and keep warm.

Serve with sour cream or yoghurt, or one of Jan’s favourite chutneys/sauces.

Thank You

A big thanks goes out to Jan, it was great to be able to look round your fabulous garden and to learn some of your preserving secrets. Soil & Health Canterbury wishes you all the best for the next growing season.

Garden Visit and Preserving Demonstration

Visit Jan Mackenzie's wonderful organic garden. See what incredible bounty you can achieve on a small suburban section, and learn how Jan creates delicious preserves and wines from her autumn harvest.

A fascinating afternoon for sure!

When: Sunday 23rd May, 2.00 to 4.00 pm
Where: 37 Cleveland St, St Albans

Free for Members, Non-members gold coin donation

Silver Medal for Style and Sustainability

Soil and Health Canterbury wowed the judges at Ellerslie, this time winning ‘Silver with Distinction’ for their garden Sustainability with Style, created in partnership with fellow organic group The Good Gardeners’ Association.



Designed by Phil and Linda Ducker of The Good Gardeners’ Association, the garden featured elegant architectural structures - lych gate entrance, pebble mosiac and summer house – all built from recycled materials and sustainably harvested timber.
Surrounding a central lawn area, raised beds overflowed with an abundant variety of flowers, herbs and vegetables, and fruit trees were planted strategically along the garden’s boundry.


A compost heap and potting area were also thoughtfully integrated into the final design. “We love compost, and it was great to see composting being promoted at Ellerslie”, said Matt Morris (Chair Soil and Health Association NZ), “compost heaps are a thing of beauty and so magical in the way they transform waste into a healthy product to enrich the soil”.

“Ellerslie is a great place for Soil and Health and The Good Gardeners’ Association to get their messages out to a wide audience which would not normally be exposed to its ideas”, said Matt Morris.

A big thanks goes out to Donn Hampton, Dave Evans and Brian Morris for their incredible efforts with this project, and to Phil and Linda Ducker from Good Gardeners’ and the rest of their team.

Open Home - Sunday 18 October

Sustainable Living in Spreydon
The October open home in Spreydon was a great success, with over fifty people turning up to learn more about Elvira’s productive orchard and no-dig vegetable beds. Having a relatively large section – just under 1000m2 – has enabled Elvira to devote a large area of her garden to food production, while still allowing space for a wide border of native trees and shrubs. “When I bought it, the house was a ‘handyman’s dream’ and the garden was a big area of grass with a few new trees (tags still on them) planted strategically”, says Elvira. Twenty years later large native trees create a lush evergreen backdrop, contrasting beautifully with deciduous fruit trees and berry crops. Close to the house two large vegetable beds and a small glasshouse provide the family with year round produce.

No-Dig Yes-Mulch
To maintain the health and productivity of her trees, berries and vegetable beds, Elvira regularly mulches with compost, sheep manure and leaf mould. “I use a thick layer of leaves, mainly oak, which I collect from a kindergarten, parks and Church Square, Addington”. No organic matter leaves the property, old plants and weeds are either chopped up and left on the garden as mulch or are composted in a heap along with kitchen waste. Any prunings too woody to be applied directly are piled up at the back of the shed and left to slowly decompose.


Fertilisers
To get seedlings off to a good start Elvira usually throws a small handful of compost, Zoodoo, sheep pellets or worm compost into the planting hole. Homemade seaweed brew also helps to boost growth and keep plants healthy. “I also dig in bokashi from time to time and have found it is great for brassicas’, says Elvira.

Tree Health
As well as regularly mulching her fruit and nut trees with compost, Elvira also underplants them with calendula and nasturtiums. Elvira successfully grows a diverse range of fruit and nut trees – peaches, plums, nectarines, apples, walnuts, hazelnuts, citrus and feijoas – as well as grapes, currants and berries. Mulching and companion planting keeps her plants free of disease. However, last year one of her ‘Gravenstein’ apples got a white fungus for the first time, so any tips on how to combat this would be much appreciated. She is currently trying a baking soda spray and has heard that diluted milk can also be used to combat fungal diseases.

Water Recycling
Elvira also showed just how easy recycling water can be. You don’t need a fancy grey water system, or even a network of pipes. Elvira simply places a large bowl in her kitchen sink to collect waste water which she then empties into the garden. “If you only use a small amount of detergent (Ecostore brand) you can safely use the dishwater to water plants”.

Plant Sale
Inspired by the popularity of Diana’s honey and grapes at her open home in March, committee members potted up a range of seedlings for sale on the day. There was an interesting array of plants on offer; purple sprouting broccoli, Argentinean tomatoes, lettuce ‘marvel of the four seasons’, to name but a few. The seedlings sold quickly and the sale proved to be a great fundraiser.

A big thanks to Elvira Dommisse for hosting the day’s event, a great afternoon was had by all.



Posted by Charlotte McHaffie