Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update March 31st 2013

Posted 11 years, 8 months ago by WIC Coordinator    2 comments

keep sowing, planting and watering

The drought in the Waikato is not over. Now is the most important time to get winter vegetables growing. Take time to plant and sow carrots, lettuce, silverbeet, broccoli, leeks, spring onions and spinach. Water twice a week until the rain comes :)

WIC gardeners sowing, planting and watering for a winter harvest
WIC gardeners sowing, planting and watering for a winter harvest


Harvest and store pumpkins

Check that the whole plant is dead and brown, and the pumpkin has a hard skin. You can leave pumpkins to dry for a few days on the ground outside, but check that rats and mice do not eat them. Pumpkins will keep for months in a cool dry place.

butternut pumpkins drying in the sun
butternut pumpkins drying in the sun

Citrus will be fruiting soon

Many gardeners in Nawton planted fruit trees last year. Some of the mandarins, oranges and lemons have little fruit which will ripen this winter! Give each tree a bucket of water once a week, and pull out weeds

a well mulched mandarin tree with ripening fruit
a well mulched mandarin tree with ripening fruit


Recipe - fruit muffins

These fruit muffins can be made with apples, feijoas, blueberries, persimmons, peaches..

2 cups self raising flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup of  green top milk

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 1/2 cups fruit cut into even sized pieces

Preheat oven to 200°C
Mix the egg, milk and oil together. Add to the rest of the ingredients in a big bowl and mix until just combined and moistened. Don’t over mix or the muffins will be tough and not rise evenly.
Spoon into lined muffin tins. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes.

Peni with home grown blueberry muffins
Peni with home grown blueberry muffins


Tree Crops Conference 2013

The 2013  Tree Crops Conference is in Hamilton on April 26th to 28th. There are field trips, workshops and speakers, all about growing your own fruit.

The Conference starts on April 26th with Apple Friday. Everyone is welcome (you do not have to be a NZTCA member). The admission fee is an entry into one of the apple competitions: apple juice, apple pie, apple strudel etc. through to a piece crafted from apple wood. Entries close on April 10th.

Kumara

Some gardeners have already harvested their kumara, while others are waiting until April. Kumara harvesting tips:

  • Harvest before the first frost
  • Harvest on a sunny day
  • Harvest when the soil is dry
  • Leave the kumara to dry and form a hard skin before you store them
    harvesting kumara in the Burmese Community Garden at Grandview
    harvesting kumara in the Burmese Community Garden at Grandview

How to keep late beans and tomatoes producing

Some gardeners planted late tomatoes, peppers and beans. As the nights get colder, these summer vegetables will slow down and die. You can keep them warm, and producing for longer, by covering the plants with microclima cloth. No need to build a frame, just drape the cloth over your plants, it is very light and lets rain and air through

a row of beans and peppers covered with microclima cloth
a row of beans and peppers covered with microclima cloth

You can buy microclima from garden shops. It will last for years if you look after it.

 

Happy Growing!

late beans starting to fruit at Grandview Community Garden
late beans starting to fruit at Grandview Community Garden

 

 


Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update March 25th 2013

Posted 11 years, 8 months ago by WIC Coordinator    2 comments

Harvest Celebration

Gardeners, volunteers, supporters and  guests gathered last Friday at Grandview Community Garden to celebrate the achievements of the Waikato International Community Gardening Project.

sharing a harvest meal at  the WIC celebration
sharing a harvest meal at the WIC celebration

Guest speakers Martin Gallagher (Waikato District Health Board)  and Terry Chapman (K'aute Pasifika Trust) unveiled the new Grandview Community Garden sign.

After a delicious harvest meal there was time to catch up with others, tour the community garden and reflect on the achievements of the WIC project since 2011.

Grandview Community Garden provided a large dish of kumara served with chopped parsley for the celebration. It was planted at the WIC Kumara Growing Workshop on October 27th

freshly dug kumara
freshly dug kumara

Other home grown dishes included:

Corn on the cob

Taro cooked in coconut cream

Stuffed zuccini

Sushi

Vegetable relish

Noodles and spinach

Sliced beetroot

A rainbow of healthy salads

Watermelon and banana melon

Cabbage, pak choi, broccoli, spinach and silverbeet

The nights are cooler now, but the soil is still warm. Have you planted your winter greens? These vegetables need a warm soil to get growing, so that when the cold days arrive, they are already a good size. Green vegetables could be expensive this winter, because of the drought, so it is worth growing them.

broccoli, lettuce and silverbeet seedlings grown at Grandview Community Garden
broccoli, lettuce and silverbeet seedlings grown at Grandview Community Garden

Before you plant and sow, make room!:

  • Pull up tomato plants and pick off green tomatoes, they will ripen in the fruit bowl
  • Cut corn and sunflower plants off at soil level and leave the roots in the ground. The dead roots enrich the soil as they rot away. Just plant or sow between the stumps
  • Cut back herb plants (thyme and sage) by one third
  • Gently lift ripening pumpkins out of the way and plant around them
  • Pull up and shake seeds of lettuce, parsley, rocket - free plants!
  • Loosen the soil with a fork and water well - notice how it is still dry underneath
  • Make a compost heap with everything you pulled out and trimmed off

Grow leeks and spring onions

It is not difficult to grow spring onions and leeks. Leeks are like mild onions, and are great for cooking soups, stews and pies in winter. Leeks and spring onions like soil which is not too rich, but fine and moist. Read more here

Is your pumpkin ready to harvest?

The hard skinned keeping pumpkins are ready to pick when the whole plant has died, and the stalk is brown. Leave the pumpkin in the sun to harden the skin, and store in an airy place away from rats and mice. Eat the smallest, most immature pumpkins first, as they do not keep well.

pumpkin drying on the vine
pumpkin drying on the vine

This week at Grandview Community Garden

Monday March 25th 1.30pm to 3pm,   Wednesday March 27th 5.30pm to 7pm and Saturday March 30th 2.30 to 4pm

Tun Hla Kyi prepares the ground for autumn seeds at Grandview Community Garden
Tun Hla Kyi prepares the ground for autumn seeds at Grandview Community Garden

Time to sow carrots, spinach,broccoli, leeks, silverbeet, lettuce, cabbage, spring onions, kale and beetroot. There is space for new gardeners to start. Community Garden Mentors are there to help you with your garden. All welcome.

Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. Bus route number 8 (Frankton) .Call us if you have any questions Clare and Tim ph 021 0387623 WIC Community Garden Mentors

Events:

Rhode Street School Kai Festival Thursday 28th March.

'Kai, entertainment and activities galore will be a great start to your Easter break and way to spend a Thursday evening. Come be a part of the 6th annual Rhode Street School Kai Festival. The list of delicious kai includes Healthy Pork Bone Boil Up, Chop Suey, Burritos and Real Fruit Slushy.'

Free After School Programme   Explore Nature through Art

For ages 7 - 12

Fridays 3 - 4pm, from the 5th April to 10th May

with artist and Enviro-facilitator Adrienne Grant

at Te Whare o te Ata Community House, 60a Sare Cres

855 7804 or tewhareoteata@fairfield.org.nz

Registrations essential by 1 April. Limited places

 

 

 


Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update March 18th 2013

Posted 11 years, 9 months ago by WIC Coordinator    2 comments

Garden Diary

  • A late crop of potatoes is growing well in the SWPICS garden in Tokoroa
  • Valeti harvested a big bunch of carrots at Grandview Community Garden
  • Glenda staked her purple and green climbing beans
  • Gardeners and visitors had a tidy up at the Grandview Community Garden work day
  • Paul trimmed  leaves off zuccini plants to give other plants some light
  • Ming Sen's late tomatoes are setting fruit
  • ESOL World Gardeners have pea and beetroot seedlings ready to plant out
  • Phil, Bob, Ali and Papaloloa planted out cabbage seedlings
  • Ronnie and Jody's zuccini are still fruiting
  • A keen group learned to sow vegetable seeds at The Hamilton Migrant Resource Centre

Rain!

In the photo: now is a good tme to sow carrots

Make the most of rain -sow seeds of carrot, lettuce, silverbeet, peas, broccoli, spinach, spring onions, cabbage and pak choi.

Plant out vegetable seedlings and spread mulch to keep the moisture in.


In the photo:  Planting out lettuce seedlings into a well mulched plot at Grandview Community Garden

Water young fruit trees and vegetable plants - the water will soak in while the soil surface is moist. There may be more dry weather ahead of us.

Look out for self sown vege plants which might pop up after the rain. Look closely before you pull anything out - encourage the good plants ! 

When are kumara ready to harvest?

Kumara take at least 120 days to grow before they are ready to dig. Some gardeners wait for 150 days and others wait for the leaves to go yellow. Wiremu Puke, who grows kumara in Te Parapara Garden at Hamilton Gardens, advises to dig on a dry day when the sun is not too hot.

In the photo:  yacon, kumara and taro growing together in Annie's plot at Grandveiw Community Garden

Tomato recipe

Renee from Sport Waikato has a delicious way to eat tomatoes on crackers:

Tomato Mixture:

3 chopped tomatoes

1 diced red onion

Finely diced garlic (approximately 2/3 gloves)

Handful of chopped parsley and/or basil

Mix all ingredients.

Dressing:

¼ cup of olive oil

¼ cup of white vinegar

1 teaspoon of sugar

½ teaspoon mustard

Mix all ingredients and shake well to combine then pour over the tomato mixture.

Method:

Layer crackers (I have used Ryvita crackers – full of fiber to help you stay fuller for longer) with a thin spread of hummus then top with a few spoonfuls of tomato mix. Yum!!!

Grow fruit - choosing  a fruit tree

in the photo - cox's orange apple
in the photo - cox's orange apple

There are many different varieties of apple trees. Here are some which grow well in the Waikato:

Priscilla - a red/yellow apple which ripens in early March

Discovery - A red apple which ripens in February. 

Reinette du Canada - ripens in May. Green skin

Hetlina - red/gold. Ripens in February

Cox's Orange - Striped orange and red. Ripens in February

When you are buying a fruit tree, look for the signs of a healthy tree:

  • Clean bark with no moss or lichen
  • No moss on the pot or potting mix
  • A strong main stem
  • Healthy, firm buds (not brown and dry)

In the photo: fruit trees bought last July at Tree Crops Sale in Hamilton

This week at Grandview Community Garden

Monday March 18th 4pm to 6pm  and  Thursday March 21st 9am to 10.30 am

Time to sow carrots, spinach, silverbeet, lettuce, cabbage, spring onions, kale and beetroot. There is space for new gardeners to start. Community Garden Mentors are there to help you with your garden. All welcome.

WIC Harvest Celebration !

When: Friday March 22nd 5.30pm

BBQ provided   Please bring a plate of food from your garden

Join us at Grandview Community Garden and celebrate the achievements of the WIC Project with a harvest meal and tour of the garden.

 

Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. Bus route number 8 (Frankton)

Call us if you have any questions Clare and Tim ph 021 0387623 WIC Community Garden Mentors

 

Events:

Grandview Garden on the radio:

Hear Tim and Min talk about Grandview Community Garden on  FreeFM (89FM) Wednesday 5pm

Free After School Programme   Explore Nature through Art

For ages 7 - 12

Fridays 3 - 4pm, from the 5th April to 10th May

with artist and Enviro-facilitator Adrienne Grant

at Te Whare o te Ata Community House, 60a Sare Cres

855 7804 or tewhareoteata@fairfield.org.nz

Registrations essential by 1 April. Limited places

 

 


Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update March 11th 2013

Posted 11 years, 9 months ago by WIC Coordinator    2 comments

Keep your gardens alive in the drought

This week's WIC Update has advice for how to keep gardening in the dry

Watering: You can't water everything, so make sure water goes to the plants that need it most:

  • Young fruit trees - water each tree with two buckets a week
  • Vegetable plants which are still producing - beans, tomatoes, capsium, chillies; water with half a bucket  twice a week
  • Seedlings - spinach, lettuce, cabbage, peas; water a milk bottle full every second day, to keep them alive. When the rain comes, they will grow well

In the photo: Angela waters bean plants at Grandview Community Garden

Watering tips: Water runs off the soil when its very dry. The answer is to water VERY SLOWLY, right at the base of the plant. Water early in the morning or in the evening.

When it rains:  Go out and water! The rain will help your water soak in. It will take many days of rainfall  for the soil to recover.

Can you keep sowing and planting?   Yes!

In the photo: Zaw Mai San sows peas and carrots at Grandview Community Garden

Plant seedlings close together. They will 'help eachother' by covering the ground and holding moisture in the soil. Plant in the evening and water the planting hole first as well as watering the plant in. You can sow seeds of carrots, silverbeet, spinach and peas now. Water the ground before you sow, and mulch a thin layer over the top after sowing. Tip: place an old plank along on top of the row after sowing seeds. It will keep the soil damp underneath. Check after a few days and remove the plank as soon as your seeds are up.

Shelter

Make shelter around your vegetable garden with cloth, branches or timber to reduce dry winds.

Shape the soil

Stop the water running off. Make a saucer shaped hollow in the soil around each plant, to trap water. When you are watering, fill each hollow, and leave the water to slowly soak down to the roots.

Plan for the future

You never know when there will be a dry summer.  Plan for this by planting a variety of crops. There will always be something that you can pick.

Plants which can survive the dry:

Richard from Gardens4Health recomends: corn/maize, NZ spinach, silverbeet , chilli, kumara, potato, peppers, amaranth, soya and climbing bean ( including snake bean), lentils, pumpkin and squash, bitter melon, onion, beetroot, cherry tomatoes, shallots, garlic, passionfruit, peanuts and spinach

Fruit trees

In the photo: mandarin fruiting in May

Thinking about planting fruit trees this winter? Choose one or two which are dry tolerant, for example: fig, grape, guava, cranberry, pepino and citrus.

Get ideas by looking at online catalogues: Copperfield  Edible Garden . Ask your friends and neighbours what they grow, and make a note.

Enjoying your produce

Many WIC gardeners are picking and eating home grown fruit and vegetables, despite the drought.

Levi's grandson eats the cherry tomatoes straight off the vine

Tun Hla Kyi's son cooks fresh tomatoes with fish

Peta's taro is growing well - the leaves are very tasty stir fried with spices and coconut cream

Angela has a great zuccini harvest - she made zuccini pickle and zuccini cake

Peni is harvesting blueberries and cranberries - nice in baking

Taiohi Toa enjoyed their sweet corn

Mariyah has been cutting flat leaf parsey for salad

Gardeners enjoyed the first banana melon at Grandview Community Garden

In the photo: Grandview Gardeners take a break and have a slice of water melon and banana melon (yellow)

This week at Grandview Community Garden

Fungai started his garden from bare ground in March 2012
Fungai started his garden from bare ground in March 2012

How to start a new vegetable garden in the dry:

Community Garden Mentors will be at the garden to show you how to get a garden started in dry conditions. All welcome

When: Tuesday March 12th 9am to 10.30am  and  Wednesday March 13th 5.30pm to 7pm

Saturday March 16th 8am to 12.00   Working Bee.

Can you help with: painting? planting? spreading mulch? tidying the shed? Please join us and lend a hand to get the garden looking great for our WIC Harvest Celebration. Morning tea provided. 

Wear boots or shoes and a sunhat. Bring tools and seeds if you have them.

Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. Bus route number 8 (Frankton)

Call us if you have any questions Clare and Tim ph 021 0387623 WIC Community Garden Mentors

 

Garden Resources

Strawberry Plants: A kind person has donated strawberry plants to the WIC gardeners. If you would like some, come to one of the sessions at Grandview Community Garden. Please let Clare and Tim know you are coming - txt: 0210387623    email: clare@greenfootprint.co.nz

 

Reminders

Waikato Community and School Gardens Network Meeting

Where: Salvation Army Hall, 180 Grandview Road, Hamilton
When: Monday, March 18 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Presentations:
Growing communities from the ground UP by Richard Main, Gardens4Health
A table for 9 billion by Lettie Bright and Chole Irvine. Oxfam GROW Campaign
The meeting will begin with a round robin, followed by presentations, then group
discussion and reflection. Tour of Grandview Community Garden will follow the meeting.

WIC Harvest Celebration

You are invited to the Waikato International Community Gardening Project  Harvest Celebration

      Where: At Grandview Community Garden   

      When: Friday March 22nd 5.30pm

  •  BBQ provided
  • Please bring a plate of food from your garden

 Join us at Grandview Community Garden and celebrate the achievements of the WIC Project with a harvest meal and tour of the garden.

RSVP clare:   clare@greenfootprint.co.nz   Ph 021 0387623 

Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd.

Happy Gardening!

 

 

 

 


Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update March 4th 2013

Posted 11 years, 9 months ago by WIC Coordinator    2 comments

Haere Mai – Malo E Lelei – Kia Orana – Talofa Lava – Aloha – Fakaalofa Lahi Atu – Ni Sa Bula – Kam Na Mauri – Taloha Ni – Talofa Ni – Khush Amadeed – Sowagat Hai – Pakhair Raghalay – Marhaban – Ni Hao – Namaste – Choum Reap Sur – Soo Dhawaada – Masayang Pagdating – Bienvenido – Welcome

WIC Harvest Celebration

You are invited to the Waikato International Community Gardening Project  Harvest Celebration

      Where: At Grandview Community Garden   

      When: Friday March 22nd 5.30pm

  •  BBQ provided
  • Please bring a plate of food from your garden

 Join us at Grandview Community Garden and celebrate the achievements of the WIC Project with a harvest meal and tour of the garden.

Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. Questions? phone or txt Clare 021 0387623 

Garden Diary

Papaloloa harvested yellow tomatoes

Desmond and Shirley's dwarf beans are up

Annie’s lemongrass is enjoying the hot weather

Fungai’s maize corn is flowering

Paul transplanted pack choi and cabbages

Sam and Rara planted out spinach and pak choi seedlings

In Tokoroa, the SWPICS garden is producing tomatoes and crookneck squash

The first butternut pumpkin is nearly ripe in the Iris garden

Ma’ara’s yacons are over a metre high

Phil's sunflower is taller than him

Kora's and Valeti’s lettuce seedlings are ready to plant out

Ali and Yuri picked and saved silverbeet seeds at Grandview Community Garden

How do you know when your vegetables are ripe?

Some vegetables ripen after you have picked them, and other vegetables do not. Here are a few tips:

Rock melon (cantaloupe) is ripe when the fruit smells sweet and perfumed. Some have grey skins, other types have yellow or green skins when ripe.

Watermelon is ripe when it sounds hollow when you tap it, and the tendril nearest the fruit is dry and brown

In the photo: unripe watermelon with green tendrils

Pumpkins and butternut are ripe and sweet when they have a hard, coloured shell, the stalk is brown and the plant has died away. Leave the stalk on when you pick the pumpkin. It stops rot getting in.

In the photo - a ripe pumpkin with dry stalk and hard skin

Zuccini, courgettes, kamo kamo and squash can be picked and eaten at any size. They  grow a hard skin as they get bigger. At this stage you can pick and store them in a cool dry place.

Pick tomatoes when they are pale green, yellow or red. Unripe tomatoes ripen after they have been picked. Keep them in the fruit bowl.

Sweet corn is ripe when the silks or tassel at the end of the cob is dry.

Capsicum and chilli  are ready to eat when green or red. The flavour is sweeter when they are red

Whitefly

Have you got tiny white flies on your cabbage, pak choi or broccoli? They suck sap from the plant, and make leaves yellow and wilted. Whiteflies like the warm weather but die when the cold nights arrive.

Tips to control whiteflies:

  • Fill a trigger bottle with water and squirt the undersides of the leaves in the early morning, 3 days in a row..
  • Soap spray: Use only pure soap, as detergents will damage your plants. Liquid soap: 2 Tbsp (30 ml) per litre of water. Dry soap: 5 grams per litre of water. Rinse plants afterwards

Drought in the Waikato

Our region is now at Water Alert Level 3, which means hand watering only.

Seedling vegetables: three times a week (one litre per plant = one milk bottle full)

Vegetables: twice a week (two litres per plant = one 2L milk bottle full)

New fruit trees: once a week (ten litres per tree= one 10L bucket full)

Tip: half full buckets are easier to carry than full buckets. Use two buckets and have the tap half filling one while you are watering with the other.

Preserving your harvest

Have you got too many apples or peaches? March is the traditional month for preserving fresh fruit

In the photo - cox's orange apples

 Here you can read about preserving fruit using the overflow method.

Recipe

This Tomato Relish recipe is a good way of preserving tomatoes. It tastes great in sandwices or with a curry. You can add chopped chilli to make it hot.

This week at Grandview Community Garden

Water wise vege growing - come and see how mulching and careful watering can keep your garden growing.

Community Garden Mentors will be at the garden to answer gardening  questions and help you get your garden ready to grow autumn vegetables.

When:

Tuesday March 5th 9am to 11am 

Thursday March 7th 5.30pm to 7pm

Saturday March 9th 5.30pm to 7pm   

 

Wear boots or shoes and a sunhat. Bring tools and seeds if you have them.

Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. Bus route number 8 (Frankton)

Call us if you have any questions Clare and Tim ph 021 0387623 WIC Community Garden Mentors

 

Events

Hamilton Italian Festival is on Sunday March 10th at Hamilton Gardens, There will be food, entertainment and cooking demonstrations.

Waikato Community and School Gardens Network Meeting is on Monday 18th March 1pm to 3pm at Grandview Community Garden.

 

Happy Gardening

 


Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update February 25th 2013

Posted 11 years, 9 months ago by WIC Coordinator    2 comments

Garden Diary:

Tun Hla picked and cooked yellow zuccini to share with his classmates

Peni  planted up an old bathtub with spinach, lettuce and capsicum

Lian has started harvesting pak choi

Angela planted out spring onion seedlings last week

Papaloloa  has been picking runner beans (nice to eat raw!)

Ali 's aubergines (eggplants) are ripening

Fili's peas are up

Ioana's gold nugget tomatoes are ripe

Yuri  watered the fruit trees at Grandview Community Garden

Harvest Celebration at Grandview Community Garden

Everyone is invited to The WIC Harvest Celebration at Grandview Community Garden on Friday March 22nd, 5.30 pm. Bring a plate of something from your garden. WIC is putting on a BBQ so come and celebrate with us. Make a note in your diary!

Sunny dry weather

The hot dry weather keeps on, with no rain in sight.

When you water - water at the roots, water slowly, let the water soak into the soil.

After watering - put on mulch

Have you noticed? Some vegetables enjoy the hot dry weather:

  • parsley - stays green because it has a deep tap root
  • aubergines - need heat to ripen
  • melons - need a long hot season to ripen
  • tomatoes - the leaves are healthy in dry weather

Gardens 4Health Partner Meeting

The next Gardens 4Health meeting is on Thursday, February the 28th at 1pm, at The Sanctuary, Unitech, Auckland. Its a great chance to meet people working in community gardens and get inspired! Tim is driving to the meeting and has room for two more people. If you are interested, phone Tim on
0211035755

Sow and grow vegetables

Keep sowing and planting cabbages, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, peas, spring onions, leeks and parsley. Keep the little plants cool and shady during the day. When you are buying seeds to sow now, check on the back of the packet for "SOW IN LATE SUMMER" or "SOW IN AUTUMN"

In the photo: vege seedlings growing in the shadehouse at Grandview Community Garden

Cover your tomatoes

Thirsty blackbirds are pecking tomatoes at Grandview Community Garden.

 

Its easy to cover the plants with an old net curtain. If the birds can't see the tomatoes, they leave them alone.

 

Recipe - Ratatouille

What can you make with zuccini and eggplant? Rataouille is a summer vegetable dish made with zuccini, tomatoes and eggplant. It also makes a good pasta sauce or taco filling, with minced beef.

Grow fruit

Delicious plums, apples, pears, peaches and nectarines are ripe in summer. To have fruit in summer, you have to plant a fruit tree in winter. Start thinking about what fruit you would like to grow, and where. An apple tree costs about $35.00 to buy and will produce fruit in its second year, if its well looked after.

True story: Tom has a plum tree which produces buckets of fruit every year. Tom gives plums away to family and neighbours.

"You're so lucky to have plums" the neighbours say

"Luck had nothing to do with it' says Tom. "I went out and bought a plum tree and planted it!"

This week at Grandview Community Garden

Learn how to grow lettuce, cabbage, leeks, spinach, pak choi, peas and beetroot from seed

When:

Monday February 25th 10 am to 12pm  

Wednesday February 27th 6pm to 7.30pm 

Friday  March 1st 9am to 11am   

 

Wear boots or shoes and a sunhat. Bring tools and seeds if you have them.

Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. Bus route number 8 (Frankton)

Call us if you have any questions Clare and Tim ph 021 0387623 WIC Community Garden Mentors

 

Pick Your Own Fruit:

Picking your own fruit can be fun and is often less expensive than buying ready picked fruit. Here are some places which sell pick your own. Before you set off, phone first to check they are open.

  • The Olde Berry Farm Limited - blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries (red), strawberries,
    205 Morrinsville Road R.D.6, Hamilton, North Island, New Zealand 3286. Phone: 07 858 2968.
  • Blueberry Country - blueberries
    397 Jary Road, Ohaupo, Hamilton, North Island, New Zealand 3881. Phone: 07 8236923.
  • Fruitdale Orchards - sweet corn, strawberries, tomatoes, blackberries
    78 Osborne Rd, RD1, Horsham Downs, Hamilton, NZ. Phone: 07 829 4838.
  • Kaipaki Nursery & Orchard -  apples
    1309 Kaipaki Road RD 3, Cambridge, North Island, New Zealand 3495. Phone: 07 827 9562.
  • Monavale Blueberries Limited & Cafe Irresistiblue -  blueberries,
    790 Wallace Road, Monavale 3495, New Zealand. Phone: 07 827 9456. Fax: 07 827 9485.
  • Ohaupo Orchard, Hamilton - blueberries
    397 Jary Road, RD1 Hamilton, Ohaupo, North Island, New Zealand 3881.

Garden resources

Horse manure is good for the garden because it is rich and light. It does grow weeds - so be prepared to pull the new weeds out or put the manure through a hot compost to kill weed seeds. Phillips Equine at Matangi often has horse manure available. Phone 07 8295675

Awapuni Nursery is offering Free leek seedlings with online orders this week

Make any order from their online store in the next seven days and they will add in one free leek bundle, containing at least nine seedlings.  http://www.awapuni.co.nz/ 

 

 

Happy Gardening

   
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update February 18th 2013

Posted 11 years, 10 months ago by WIC Coordinator    2 comments

Enjoy your Harvest - Eat A Rainbow

In the photo: beans, capsicum, squash, carrots and rocket

The different colours in fruits and vegetables show the presence of vitamins, so  'eat a rainbow' every day to get your share.

Recipe

Sanitarium's recipe for Sesame Polenta with Salsa would make a great lunch, or serve it with salad for a main meal.  You could add a little cold chopped chicken to the salsa if you have some. Polenta is a dry coarsely ground corn meal, which is cooked like porridge then baked. It is often sold in the bulk section of the supermarket or places like Bin Inn.  Spanish onions are also known as red onions - they are sweeter and milder than brown onions, so are often used raw.  You could be using corn, tomato, capsicum and perhaps coriander from your garden in this recipe - coriander prefers spring and autumn's coolness.  If you like chilis, add some finely chopped chili into the salsa - home grown of course!   The salsa would also work well served in a wrap- you could add some lettuce, etc from your garden

 

In your garden this week:

In the photo: harvesting tomatoes and silverbeet at Grandview Community Garden

Where to get woodchipping mulch

At Treescape,  91 Riverlea Road phone (07) 857 0280  Hamilton you can buy bulk wood chipping mulch for your garden. They are open Monday to Friday 9 am to 5pm. A trailer load costs $15.00 and they can usually load up your trailer for you.

Watering well

There is another dry week ahead in the Waikato. Careful watering is so  important to keep your vegetables going. Zuccini, beans, tomatoes and most other vegetables will keep producing if you water them carefully.

Remember:

  • Water in the evening so it has all night to soak in
  • Give each plant half a bucket each.
  • water slowly so it soaks right in
  • Water veges twice a week, fruit trees once a week

  

In the photo: watering zuccini

Look out for cabbage butterfly

Are your cabbages full of holes? Look under the leaves or in the middle of the plant for green caterpillars.They live on cabbages,broccoli and pak choi. If you find any - squash them!

Planting out seedlings

The hot weather is hard for baby plants. Here are some tips for successful transplanting:

  •  Plant in the evening if you can
  • Water the planting hole before you plant, and water the plant in afterwards
  • tear off a few leaves. This stops the seedling losing too much water when its planted. New leaves soon grow.
  • Make some temporary shade for each seedling:

In the photo: shade made from bamboo leaves for the seedlings

What to sow now

Silverbeet, celery, pak choi, lettuce, spring onions,spinach, beetroot, peas, leeks

In the photo:celery 

Look around for specials on seeds. Palmers on Lincoln St Hamilton have 5 packets of McGregors seeds for $10.00 this week.

At Grandview Community Garden this week

Join us to sow vegetable seeds, water and mulch your garden or start gardening with us! Thursday February 21st 6pm to 7.30pm and Saturday February 23rd 8am to 10am

In the photo : sowing vegetable seeds at Grandview Community Garden

Wear boots or shoes and a sunhat. Bring tools and seeds if you have them.

Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. Bus route number 8 (Frankton)

Get in touch if you have any questions Clare and Tim ph 021 0387623 WIC Community Garden Mentors

 

What's Happening in the Region

Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival

Road To Resilience on saturday the  23rd  in the Sustainbale Backyard, is free event  where you can watch a fruit tree pruning demonstration,

see how to build a top-bar bee hive and  learn about  Time Banking. You can even buy a scone cooked in the earth oven!

Happy Gardening!


Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update February 11th 2013

Posted 11 years, 10 months ago by WIC Coordinator    0 comments

What's Happening in the Region

Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival

The Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival  starts on February the 15th at Hamilton Gardens. There are plenty of free events including  Road To Resilience on saturday the  23rd  in the Sustainbale Backyard, where you can watch a fruit tree pruning demonstration,

see how to build a top-bar bee hive and  learn about  Time Banking. You can even buy a scone cooked in the earth oven!

Training in Horticulture

Are you interested in a career working with plants? Enrolments are now being taken for Certificate in Horticulture Industry Practice  and Certificate in Plant Propagation   both run by Agribusiness Training in Hamilton. The courses are 'hands on' and designed to give students the skills they need for working in horticulture.

Seasonal Work

Seasonal raspberry pickers are needed in Cambridge for 6 weeks to start immediately. Check this ad if you want to find out more http://www.seasonaljobs.co.nz/main.asp?input=job_detail&jobs_ID=11607

Water restrictions

Last week most places in the Waikato got about 30mm rain. It was good for the garden, but not enough to fill town reservoirs.

Waipa District is now  on Water Conservation Alert Level 3. This means hand watering only. Wherever you live in the Waikato,  follow these suggestions and reduce your water use:

If you wash your dishes by hand, don't leave the water running when rinsing them.

Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator so you don't waste water running the tap to cool the water down.

Don't leave water running while you clean vegetables. Put the plug in the sink.                                           Read more water saving tips here

Roast Tomato Pasta Sauce

Tomato - Big Beef F1 Hybridphoto from Egmont Seeds

Heres a recipe by Annabel Langbein using tomatoes and capsicum to make a pasta sauce in the oven. You can roast the tomatoes in the morning, turn off the oven, leave the tray of vegetables to cool and do the rest at dinner time. Its a recipe you can preserve, too.

NZ Edible Garden Show

If you are travelling on the East Coast between 22-24 February, have a look at NZ's first Edible Garden Show in Hastings at the Hawkes Bay Showgrounds.   

What to Sow in Your Garden Now

February is a really important time in the vege garden. If you want to have fresh food to pick and eat in the autumn, February is when you have to get organised and sow the seeds!  Silverbeet, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and spring onions are best started in pots. When the plants are about two weeks old they are big enough to plant out in the garden. Carrots, beetroot and peas can be sown straight into the ground.

           Do you want to learn how to sow seeds?            Do you have questions about growing vegetables from seed?         Come to this free workshop:

Sowing Autumn Vegetable Seeds

Saturday February 16th 3pm to 5pm at Grandview Community Garden

see how to make your own seed raising mix, learn how to sow seeds in pots and in the ground, and find out what to sow now.

Wear boots or shoes and a sunhat.  Please park on Grandview Road and walk in the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. (look for the banner) Bus route number 8 (Frankton). Get in touch if you have any questions Clare and Tim ph 021 0387623 WIC Community Garden Mentors

Seed Saving - free seeds from your garden

Have you got lettuces and silverbeet going to seed? Lettuce tastes bitter when the flowers start to form, and silverbeet leaves get smaller. Let the flowers grow and they will set seeds. Lettuce seeds are fluffy and white, with a tiny 'parachute' to carry them on the breeze. Silverbeet seeds look like little brown bumps on the stem. Collect these free seeds by picking them on a dry day and putting them in a paper bag. Label with the name and date. Keep the bag of seeds somewhere cool and dry. The seeds will be good for sowing this autumn. You can grow silverbeet and lettuce all year round in the Waikato. Read more in this article by Aleena La'ulu on seed saving in New Zealand.

In the photo - Desmond picks lettuce seeds at Grandview Community Garden.

Powdery Mildew

Cool nights and damp mornings make plant diseases grow. You might see powdery mildew on your zuccini and cucumbers. Over watering and over feeding makes powdery mildew worse. Do not water the leaves, only water the roots. Damp leaves are much more likely to get disease. If just a few leves are affected, pick  them off and either compost them in a hot compost pile or bag them tightly and put them in the rubbish.

Homemade spray
Research on zucchini plants showed that spraying diluted cow's milk on the leaves slowed the spread of powdery mildew .
To try this at home, mix 1 part milk with 9 parts water and spray the stems and tops of leaves with the solution. Reapply after rain.

At Grandview Community Garden the zuccini and pumpkin plants are looking really green and healthy. Why? we water at the roots once a week, do not water the leaves, and use mulch to keep the plant roots cool and damp.


 

in this photo - woodchippng mulch around this pak choi plant is dry on top, but scrape the surface and underneath the soil is moist and cool :)

Happy Gardening

 



Shim