Am excited that the weather appears to be warming up, enough so that I have recently, and somewhat bravely (or perhaps foolishly), planted my tomato plants outside, having managed to successfully grow them from seed. I’ve read some books on companion planting, so have added some marigolds next to them in the vegie plot (which is in fact not quite a plot, more like a smidgeon of space in the garden – saying that I have an actual vegetable garden would in fact be over-stating the matter ever so slightly).
I’m hoping that with the recent economic shift, as well as an ongoing desire to eat better, cook better, get my hands dirty, be more sustainable and tread lightly on the earth, I will be inspired to keep going with this whole vegetable growing hobby. As i write, my strawberries are flourishing beside the spinach, my lettuces won’t stop growing and my lemon tree has fruit on it for the first time ever!
Luckily, there’s plenty of New Zealand-specific books to help keep me inspired, and help me make good choices when planning, planting, growing, picking and eating. Dennis Greville has written many fabulous garden books, and his latest (written with Jill Brewis) is fantastic – The grower’s cookbook : from the garden to the table. There’s plenty of ideas on what to grow and what to do with it when it’s grown. I also really enjoyed another of his books, Get fresh : how to grow delicious vegetables and herbs in New Zealand. Am also putting a subscription of New Zealand Gardener on my Xmas wish list.
3 December 2008 at 4:20 pm
How clever you are! All my attempts to grow veges from seed have ended in shrivelled up sad little threads of death (I do great strawberries, though …). My all-time favourite gardening book is Anna Pavord’s The New Kitchen Garden, but I might just grab a copy of Mr Greville’s latest work and see if that helps!
5 December 2008 at 10:22 am
New Zealand Gardener magazine rocks! I recommend signing up for their weekly e-newsletter too – lots of good info on what to do in your garden right now.
I must admit that, while I’m a fan of companion planting, for me the jury is still out on the whole marigolds thing. Mine get covered in aphids, which I suppose might mean that said aphids are being attracted away from other plants, but I strongly suspect that’s not actually the case – given how much “added protein” I have to remove from my lettuces!
I know the subject was New Zealand gardening books, but I can’t resist putting in a couple of plugs for my two foreign favourites. One is the classic work by self-sufficiency expert John Seymour, “The Self-Sufficient Gardener,” which is an absolute treasure-trove of practical advice (tried and tested over a lifetime). The other is the growing collection of inspiring books, videos and online material by River Cottage founder Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Given that Dorset’s climate is quite similar to our own (a smidge cooler, I’m guessing, since he grows his tomatoes in poly-tunnels) this wealth of material is extremely useful – just reverse the seasons!
This year my garden policy is “Who needs a lawn, anyway?” Every available space has been turned over to growing edible things and I have to say the benefits are, well, delicious.
5 December 2008 at 11:13 am
Have a think about the whole companion planting idea too – I have now learnt why my parsley kept dying … you shouldn’t plant it near mint.
Also, my pumpkin seeds and my sweet peas popped through this week – can’t wait to put them into the garden! And I found more fruit on my lemon tree. ‘Tis shaping up to be a good season!