Wantmonster

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 go squander some cash on this little delight - a timelapse garden video camera!!

“The camera takes a picture at one of six pre-determined intervals (one minute to 24 hours) and combines them into a single 1280 x 1024 resolution AVI movie file for easy playback on a computer. It has a light sensor that turns off the camera at dusk and back on at dawn, allowing for continued video capture each day.”

Sweet Seedy Sunday

Loving our Seedy Sundays. Had a fantastic turn out last weekend to see the lovely Sarah Frater from Edible Gardens. With so much knowledge and experience, it was a really interesting session on fruit trees. It’s a popular topic right now – articles in the Kapiti Observer each week by Kath Irvine, a glorious NZ Gardener special (the species harvesting guide is pure gold) and fruit tree providers simply running out of stock. Mental note: must do lots of preservation posts this season.

Swap table was very exciting. I had been a little worried that we’d end up each month with swap tables where everyone had brought the same thing – absolutely wrong! I’m so impressed by the variety of things – feverfew seedlings, orach seeds, mini kiwifruit, plenty of lovely bunches of different herbs, three types of sunflower seeds, teasels…….

Lots of great conversations too – lots of really interestig people doing interesting things and really wanting to get involved. Lots of interesting local initiatives including:

- Transition Towns Kapiti Food Forest,

- A Gardening Group looking to form and help people in their own backyards,

- Raumati South Community Garden,

- And plenty of people interested in seed-saving and starting a Kapiti Community Seed Bank.

If you want to know anything more about any of these, email me and I’ll pass you on to the right people. Or come to the next SS.

Next Seedy Sunday is July 19, 2pm Kapiti Community Centre. Guest speaker to be confirmed soon.

The Queen Rejoins The Organic ‘Victory Garden’ Revolution

For the first time since the World War Two vegetables are being grown in the grounds of Buckingham Palace alongside ornamental plants. They’re also growing heirloom varieties for genetic conservation – YAY!

Jane Poynter – Biosphere 2: Ecophillia

I, like anyone else who has heard of it, am a massive fan of TED. To actually hear some of the world’s most inspirational, influential and downright clever people speak about topics for which they have a deep passion is simply phenomenal.

The next stage of TED evolution has begun with TEDx – a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. So expect a lot more content coming on any topic you may be interested in.

In this TEDx Talk, Jane Poynter tells the story of BioSphere2 and her experiences in relating to the ecosystem afterwards. Giving you a real sense of the connectivity of all things, this is a must-see for anyone interested in the natural world.

Thanks to Paul Reynolds for the heads up!

Clumping Bamboo

I’m quite the fan of bamboo. It’s incredible stuff. Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world. One of the more common bamboos (Gigantea) has a tensile strength twice that of steel. Different species are used in construction, ornamental, for medicine, for food, for torture – unbelievably useful. I also love how the wind sounds blowing through it.

I’m trying to do some research into non-running bamboos, a.k.a. sympodial varieties, to provide some shelter. That seems to be the main purpose for growing bamboo in NZ. I’ll be able to use stems as garden stakes, maybe for some building projects and if I get the right variety, to put in my sushi.

Clumping bamboos generally grow slower then the running-type, a.k.a. monopodial varieties. New shoots only develop close to older stems, mainly in autumn, but twice annually in rich soil. They harden over winter and put on leaf growth in spring and summer.

Non-running bamboos (Clumping or sympodial species) available in New Zealand after the jump

Link Salad

I’ve added Australian blog Sowing the Seeds to my reader. They’ve got lovely pictures – except the beach worm thing, that’s kinda ewww. But check out the hot Summer Love (Acalypha reptans) and beautiful misty eucalypt shots.

Through StS, I came across this lovely little number from Washington State The Inadvertent Farmer. Stunning photos from an organic lifestyle.

And The Medieval Garden Enclosed is making hay and I really want a dragon arum.

Sick of food rules – what to eat, what not to? Listen to this refreshing interview with author Nina Planck. She also talks about fertility and diets which was pretty eye-opening.  While we’re on the subject of food, check out the Table of Condiments That Periodically Go Bad

Favourite link goes to the very clever Make a greenhouse out of plastic bottles.

Flowers make life so much better

Flowers make me very happy and I’m very grateful to my colleagues who are a lovely bunch, for this lovely bunch. LPLL has been a little stagnant lately as I’ve been in recovery. But lying on my back in a hospital bed has started a whole lot of thought processes which will hopefully soon manifest into a whole raft of quality content and real-world planty projects.

I’m starting to come right so you’ll be hearing more and more from me over the next couple of weeks. But it may still take a little time to get fully up to speed – please keep checking your RSS.

x Anna

Companion Planting 101, 102 and 103

I’ve had my fair share of companion planting grrrrrr moments – relying on inaccurate information, finding books that give different opinions, or in fact contradict, or wondering why the five different companion plants weren’t protecting my beans. The good folks at Plangarden blog have put together an excellent guide to help me, and you,  get it right.

Plangarden’s three part series first takes you through knowing your plant families to some common blunders. Followed up by a comparison of companion planting guides, all in handy pdf or snazzy slideshows. It’s great stuff, a handy reference with plenty of commonsense:

“credible sources like Cornell University’s Dept. of Horticulture, enjoin gardeners not to hang on to every word found in a CP guide as providing foolproof solutions. Experts encourage us to frequently check our plants (go ahead, look under the leaves!) and document observations from our own plant combinations.”

So read up, experiment, and hopefully all your plants will be zinging along with synergistic vigour soon.

Link Lovage

One week on the couch recovering from surgery hasn’t allowed me much time in the garden. Whether has been so horrible here it hasn’t really been a problem. Despite my incapacitated state, I haven’t spent much time on the computer either. There are a few things though that have come to my attention that I would like to share.

Blogs I’ve put into my Google Reader to keep an eye on include Punk Rock Permaculture, Earth and Tree,  The Herbalist’s Path, and Dandelion Revolution.

Now on to the really useful stuff I’ve spied:

–  The Huffington Post has a great article/chart A Recipe for Longevity: 33 of the Healthiest Foods on Earth – yep, they’re all plants! I’ll be eating a little more pineapple this week.

–  Uncluttering Your Refrigerator’s Crisper tells you how to best store your fruit and veges.

OooOOOOooo and I’ve been drooling over the books at Chelsea Green. You should too…

Ecological Lawn Care

The good doctor over at The Phytophactor has provided some very sound and reasoned advice on the care and upkeep of your lawn – or lack there of…

My particular favourite is:

Lesson 5: The plant diversity of your lawn and gardens is directly correlated with your IQ. This goes without saying, and it explains why lawn monoculturalists are so difficult to teach.

May Garden Tip: Plant Lots of Garlic!

Are you planting garlic this year? Every garden should have some. Not only is it fantastic food that keeps you healthy but also makes a potent spray to keep ants, spiders, aphids, caterpillars and other bugs away from your plants.

Those of us in the Southern Hemisphere need to be planning our garlic crops now. It’s super easy to grow but you need to have your beds ready and you need to get your cloves to plant. Don’t plant the stuff from the supermarket, it’s too dry and just won’t sprout. Get in to your garden centres quick! Last year wasn’t a great garlic year so everyone will be racing in to buy bulbs.

Traditionally, garlic bulbs go in on the shortest day but a few weeks early will give them a good boost. Remember, garlic stays in the ground for 6 months so you need to think carefully about where you want it. You can plant into pots if you aren’t sure where you’re going to be that far out.

Fresh sums it up

I’ve just seen this great trailer for a new movie. It could be a trailer for my mind at the moment. Check out Fresh the Movie.

Prep’d and ready to go

I feel so gosh darn urban homesteady today. It’s been a beautiful day and I’ve spent it pottering around getting stuff done.

Off in search of a new oven this morning – depressing. It seems $2500 seems to be the going rate for a new oven that doesn’t appear to be made out of plastic. Most look like they would melt if we turned them on. I make my own bread and pizza – I need decent, heavy-duty cookware. So we’ll have to come up with plan B on that one.

Spent the rest of the day kicking it in the sun collecting more marigold seeds and gathering dill to be prepared for drying. Had a meeting to prep for the next Seedy Sunday and then began my kitchen prep for the week. I’ve made yoghurt, started some fenugreek sprouts and a rocket farm on some paper towels and a lid. Even made one for the neighbours – I’ll get them gardening eventually! Finished the day off  by cooking a big casserole in the crockpot.

So the theory is, I should be all ready set go for a busy week ahead – work, Seedy Sunday promotion, blogging and some proofreading -but I can relax knowing my kitchen is in order, even if the oven isn’t.

Permaculture worm tower

I love simple, cheap and appropriate ideas that make gardening easier and fun. At the first Seedy Sunday we showed three videos with this philosophy in mind.

My two previous attempts at worm farming had ended badly with the bins being overrun with nasties that killed off the worms. But I so love the simplicity and ease of this idea I’m going to give it another shot. This is a great way to get nutrients straight into your garden.

Everybody has space to grow vegetables…

Sometimes you just have to get a bit imaginative with it, like this Alaskan resident.

Using old guttering  provides the perfect depth for lettuce, spring onions, radishes, some cute little Parisian market carrots and most of your herbs. It’s easy maintenance and a great way to recycle.

How does your garden grow? (Juneau Empire via Make)

(via Lifehacker)

Auxins, geotropism & upside down tomatoes

I may be a little obsessive but tomatoes are on my mind again…

Upside-down tomato plant hanging contraptions have been hanging around for years and I’m a bit skeptical. bit skeptical. I’ve heard lots of people marvel over them but I’ve not seen a pic of the plants actually growing in them. The only pics I’ve seen have clearly been taken for advertising purposes when the plants are in full fruit. Do upside down tomato plants work?

My heart always goes “Oooo, that looks nice”. But my head goes, “but what about the auxins?” Auxins are hormones that control aspects of plant growth – things like the flowering, fruiting, bulb formation, dormancy etc.

More on auxins after the jump, along with links to how to test these mad ramblings…

Tulips

Not a flower we think of often in New Zealand. But it is actually big business here. In 2006 exports of bulbs alone were worth NZ$6.6 million. Strangely enough, NZ exports tulip bulbs back to the Netherlands.

This is mainly driven by large Dutch companies such as Haakman, aiming to supply international customers year-round. New Zealand-produced bulbs are used to fill the gap in northern hemisphere production for early and late supply. Tulip production is based in Tapanui, Southland.

So if you receive tulips between October and January, there’s a pretty good bet they come from New Zealand.  Image of NZ tulip fields by Southland Times via Te Ara.

More beautiful tulip images at Istanbul Tulip Festival

The dark side of fruit & veg

I’m just a little perplexed by this article in the Daily Mail. I can’t figure out if it’s another case of bad journalism, some kids taking the mickey or a tragic indictment of the state of our food supply.

I can maybe see what they’re saying about hayfever. I can also see that in diversifying our diet, we eat new compounds that could cause allergic reaction.

I believe though, it’s more likely that kids are actually allergic to the high levels of pesticides in the fruit and veg. The cited celery and bananas being amongst the most pesticide-laden of products.

But such horrible headlines! ‘The tiniest piece of celery can leave me gasping for breath’: Rising number of children allergic to fruit and veg.

Ridiculous scaremongering for those that only read the sensationalist headlines. All the good work that’s been done on promoting healthy eating in England will have just taken a giant step backward.

Jerusalem artichokes

I reckon that every garden should have Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus). It’s like an insurance policy – you’ll always have food growing in your yard. Because once you plant them, it’s almost certain you’ll always have them. And you won’t have to lift a finger to help them grow.

Don’t get your Jerusalems confused with your globes. The Jerusalem artichoke is a brown-coloured, knobbly, white-fleshed tuber root vegetable, much like a yam. It has quite a nutty flavour. Cook them like you would any other root vegetable.

Jerusalem artichokes grow in almost any soil type or shade condition, but do best in a light but rich soil. Pick your patch with these things in mind – 1 – the tops grow to about 2 metres and can easily shade out other plants – 2 – any small amount of the root left in the ground will produce another plan. Best time to harvest is in autumn when the sunflower-like heads die off.

Nutritionally, these tubers rock with plenty of potassium, iron, vitamin C, protein, niacin, thiamine and fibre. They contain about 57 calories per half cup. Margaret Lynch provides really good information on preparing Jerusalem artichokes for eating.

The tubers are also a wonderful source of biomass for ethanol production, good source of fructose and a great forage crop for livestock, especially pigs.

Jerusalem artichoke links and recipes after the jump.

Welcome to the weekend

Alright, I’m prep’ed and ready go. The very first Seedy Sunday happens this very weekend. Apart from the horror of having to get up and talk in front of a group of people and the few technical difficulties we are having with the videos, I’m surprisingly calm.

So a quick list of what I’m taking for the swap table: Shoofly seeds (said to scare off white moth), Marigold seeds (the ones best for nematode control), Pumpkin Jack-be-little (they’re so cute!), Jerusalem artichokes for planting, and some organic produce – lettuce, oregano etc.

Nervous but incredibly excited about the possibilities! I’m really hoping this will be a positive step in building a community of people who share, care and promote gardening and healthy eating. If you are near Kapiti drop on by.