Almost 60% of New Zealanders Are Maintaining Vegetable Gardens
January 5th, 2011I was at Pak n Sav (Godzilla scale supermarket chain in New Zealand operated by public menace FoodStuffs) today and I just laughed at the prices for the whole range of vegetables. Although, I bought a kilo of those South Island cherries that were on special.
The Farmlet website is woefully neglected these days, but, really fast: The integrated chicken rotation system we implemented is working out great. We have the best looking garden yet. Everything is growing bigger and there’s just more than in previous years. Tomato plants look absolutely perfect (so far).
We’ve let other sections of the garden go fallow and there are insane lettuce jungles with bolted seed tendrils extending everywhere. It can all go to the chickens. They love it.
So, get chickens! Let the chickens eat and scratch out weeds. Turn over the dirt. Add mulch or compost for structure. Plant seedlings. Watch in amazement at what happens. This isn’t complicated. Let Pak n Sav chew on that garlic for NZ$20 per kilo and the NZ$3 silverbeat.
We had a pig done in and the whole thing turned into sausages with the butcher using Becky’s home made fills (no MSG or any other nonsense). Bush beans and garlic from the garden. Good/cheap wine from Black Market. Tui frolicking in the Chinese lantern bush outside the window…
The handful of other Americans here are going to start emailing me and telling me to shut up.
Via: New Zealand Herald:
Almost 60 per cent of New Zealanders say they have taken up vegetable gardening in the past 12 months.
A Herald-DigiPoll survey of 750 people found benefits in growing your own food during a tough economic year.
As the price of fruit and vegetables rose 12 per cent in the year to November in Statistics New Zealand figures, 57.6 per cent of people said they had started vegetable gardening.
Women were more likely to have taken it up, at 62.1 per cent, but the majority of men also answered that they had.
In Tauranga, a community garden with 57 plots was formally opened in November and the spaces were taken up within a month.
John Goldstone had no experience growing vegetables, but now tends his plot every day, usually after his work in engineering.
He has corn, lettuce, capsicum, spinach, onions, broccoli, silverbeet, strawberries, tomatoes, basil, rhubarb, radishes, jalapeno peppers and potatoes sprouting.
The garden charges $5 a week for enough space to feed a family of four all year round.
“I take a lot of pride in my garden,” Mr Goldstone said. “It’s great. It’s stress-free. It’s a really peaceful time.”
A $2 punnet of capsicum seedlings yielded 100 vegetables – at the supermarket it would have cost at least $200, he said.
There were solo mums at the gardens who had children with allergies. By growing their own vegetables, they knew exactly what had gone into them and could be assured they were safe.
The garden had three experienced gardeners who helped the rest with their plots, Mr Goldstone said.
It had been fresh fruit and vegetable prices that had pushed him to start gardening, but since he started, the joy of it had taken over, he said.
“I’m absolutely consumed by it,” Mr Goldstone said.
“The word’s out there. Everyone now knows. It’s amazing how many people are talking about growing your own vegetables.”
Warren Knight, one of the experienced gardeners, said growing vegetables had been saving many families $50 a week.
Extra produce was donated to food banks, and the community garden had also taken up a 16-year-old for community service who had become a great asset, Mr Knight said.
Elderly residents living nearby who had not grown vegetables for years had picked it up again.
“I’m amazed at the number of people who haven’t done any gardening before trying it out,” Mr Knight said.”But they’re lovingit.
“They’ll feed themselves over summer, and then feed themselves all year round.”
Related: Country Calendar: Growing Strong — Whangarei Growers Market
“..the whole thing turned into sausages with the butcher using Becky’s home made fills..”
Drool…..
my mum shopped at Pak n Save for years because the groceries were so much cheaper than the other supermarkets. but she hardly ever bought fresh produce there because there was a chinese family ran a greengrocer just around the corner from PnS that was less than half the price and had a better selection.
as for chickens, yes! in NZ you have the advantage of not having to deal with foxes…