With a taste that can be as sharp as their thorns gooseberries are not to everyone’s liking. I love the crisp bite and piquant flavour that livens the palette whether you eat them straight from the bush or wrap them in a luxurious blanket of cream and sugar. Last year the birds raided our pickings [...]
As my bones creak and muscles ache I can only imagine this is how Sisyphus would have felt on his quest to push a boulder up a hill. Whilst much of the rest of New Zealand heads to the beach, the lakes or the mountains we stay at home and make our annual effort to [...]
I don’t know about you but I’m feeling a little short changed by 2011. It’s been a good year in so many ways but it has passed in a flash and I don’t feel I’m done with it yet. But that’s time for you, running away at its own pace. As we end 2011 under a large [...]
I had hardly walked in the front door when I was out the back slipping on my gum boots and trying hard not to break into a sprint down the garden steps. The chickens ran out of the house in hope of a late supper and clucked with disappointment as I trotted past them and [...]
Once again seasonal schizophrenia has hit me. As we rush headlong into Summer friends and family in the northern hemisphere are buttoning up their winter coats and hunkering down. Christmas is just around the corner but I couldn’t feel less Christmasy if I tried. It’s an infuriating feeling since I love Christmas – the celebrations, [...]
I hesitate to talk too loudly about dealing with pests in the garden for fear that they may reek their revenge. The chickens and I have already had a summit on what’s acceptable scratching and what the consequences will be if they persist in flying the coup and digging up my new beds. The rabbits [...]
Part of a training course I participated in this week we were asked to reflect on an achievement we were proud of. That’s not a notion I dwell on too much, usually because I’m moving on to the next project or task. It was a hard exercise for me to face off with my inner [...]
In my imagination I have a victorian walled kitchen garden that swaddles my crops and keeps them safe. In reality I have a patch that is exposed to the Wellington winds which on a bad day wreaks havoc and causes ruin. And if it’s not the wind that batters your precious berries it’s the birds [...]
I was invited to be a #veggiegeek on twitter a couple of weeks ago. I was first flattered then shocked at my realisation that yes indeed I have become serious about growing fruit and vegetables. I’m not expert by any means, I’m still learning and experimenting but this is the fourth year I’ve worked a [...]
I found myself stood for a few minutes the other day and swear I saw the landscape growing up around me. What was previously a wet and sagging lawn has turned into a green beast beating its chest and demanding attention. Just as well we’ve just had a long weekend that included Labour Day – [...]
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