Waikato International Community Gardening Project Update February 25th 2013

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

Happy Gardening