Tuesday 23 January 2018

Official working Bee Sunday 21st January

As we prepare for the Heroic Garden festival our working bees are becoming more frequent and more satisfying as the Sanctuary Mahi Whenua gardens and food forest begins to look their best. The recent rainfall has helped considerably and the sunflowers, in particular, have shot away.

Our tasks for the day - note our next working bee on the 28th is either a morning or evening one - you can choose when you come. 
The evening is from 5.30 - 7.30 pm

Good to see so many bicycles as people choose to come by active transport.

Judy ran a composting workshop
 with both Sanctuary members and the public participating

Judy's workshops are always popular & informative. See the earlier blog post;
http://sanctuarygardendiary.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/judys-compost-workshop-at-working-bee.html

Meanwhile, Louise and Caitlin helped with the weeding...

With Carla (Arthur in the far distance weed-eating) and

Benedicte

Ably supported by Timothe

Marita weeding too... so many weeds - so little time!

Keni working in the mara kumara garden...

that is looking spectacular!

As is the herb garden which is abundant and beautiful.

Thanks to Liz's tireless work.

Gabriel working hard on mulching the paths...

with Bev...

and Melissa.

Marita takes time to look at her own allotment

Diana working in her shared allotment with Deborah




The beautiful Sanctuary Mahi Whenua, a place of peace and tranquillity for all.

Arthur did a brilliant job of weed-eating the narrow paths and edges - a demanding job on such a hot day with all the necessary safety gear on. 

It looks great.

Arthur then helped Bev with the path mulching.


The newly mulched pathways ready for our Heroic Garden visitors.

The Sanctuary Mahi Whenua looking abundant and prolific - as it is.

The handsome rhubarb, with some to share after the working bee.

The Ying Yang beans are growing well.

Unfortunately, the glasshouse did not fare quite so well when a branch 
fell down on top of it during the recent wind storm.

Seedlings 'hardening off' outside in the shade area.

Rose and Sarah after the working bee - ready for lunch.

And John

Kathryn who came with her daughter Katya

There were 3 types of plums for sharing

The delicious Luisa's that the birds adore and readily eat

Plus 2 other varieties...




And the Rhubarb - delicious!


--//--
Even though we have been given a date, of May 1st, to vacate the Sanctuary Mahi Whenua and food forest, we are hopeful that this can be extended to accommodate our kumara harvest in June. 
But beyond this, we hope to stay on permanently as the gardens provide such a rich and diverse permaculture ecosystem that it would be a tragedy to bulldoze it away for intensified housing - particularly as the Sanctuary Mahi Whenua and food forest will be such a great asset to any new development and community. 

Please encourage your friends and family to sign our petition to retain the Sanctuary Mahi Whenua and food forest here;
https://www.change.org/p/unitec-institute-of-technology-keep-the-sanctuary-mahi-whenua-gardens-and-food-forest-where-it-is

Happy Gardening everyone and see you next Sunday for our working bees; 
morning anytime from 8am - 12 noon 
or evening 5.30 - 7.30 pm.

Sunday 14 January 2018

Unofficial Working Bee Sunday January 14th, 2018

Happy New Year for 2018 Fellow Gardeners

With the Heroic garden festival imminent, several additional working bees have been scheduled so we can have the Sanctuary Mahi Whenua ready to showcase. Additionally, the festival will provide a perfect opportunity to promote the continuation of the gardens alongside any new development on the Unitec site.

Today's tasks...

The pots and trays ready for the 'washing up'

Meanwhile a crop of ying yang beans, being grown for the colouration of the bean seed (which resembles the ying yang symbol) is well established.

The sweetpeas are finished and are now ready to be removed

 Our sign announcing the Heroic Garden Festival at the entrance


John cleans the protection cloth

Jackie weeds the Zinnia

 The start of our plum harvest - these were available to share at the end of our working bee. However, the storm last week, which brought the welcome rain, meant the plums were blown off while still green and they're unlikely to ripen.

Jenni weeds the front garden Rengarenga lillies

 Janet and Jan doing 'the dishes'

 Weeding and mulching the paths was a big job for today

Carla rakes out the mulch... 

David forms part of the mulch delivery team

Marita too

Bev weeds a path

 With Pauline

Liz was hard at work again in the herb garden - here's her trug!

Our Leafcutter House in the herb garden.
This was one of the sponsor prizes received by Trevor for being a finalist for 'Gardener of the Year', and very soon we should have (non-stinging) leafcutter bees for the Sanctuary

Meanwhile our mara kumara garden is growing well

The tiraha mounds will be the first of the crop to be lifted. 
These kumara will be gifted as koha.

Keni weeds the mara kumara plot
 

Our Maori potatoes are under cover and growing well. The cover is to stop the potatoes being affected by the potato/tomato psyllid - an insect pest that arrived in New Zealand around 2006 thereby posing a relatively new problem for all potato growers.

The kumara which will be lifted in May/June

 And the gourds whose flowers open in the late afternoon 
and evening, so they're not so visible in the mornings

Keni, (Pauline behind) Bev and John working around the kumara garden

Beautiful!

Sinead weeding the beans

with Kelly

Bill weeds the basil

Eva (all the way from Glenfield) weeds the Zinnia

Clara weeds the Puha with Jackie in the background

Deborah - dressed (colourfully) to garden

and her daughter Zigi and grandson Felix

Our crops of Florence Fennel

Lettuce

Zucchini

Cavolo Nero

Curly Kale

 Rainbow Silverbeet (Chard)

and Basil - YUM!

Benedicte helps weed the beans

The 'Three Sisters' establishing well

The corn supports the beans and then pumpkins will be underplanted.

Seamus with Nala the dog, enjoy the shaded area

Chillies growing in an allotment garden

 The mulch (that we are generously allowed to access) ingredients - collected and ready for processing

And finer materials

The variety of materials once chipped

And eventually the well aged mulch

Meanwhile, Helen our Hugelkulter is growing well in the food forest

The food forest is tranquil and shaded


Plenty of material is collected and stacked
 ready for processing in our compost bins

The shadow of the papparazzi

A perfect day for our busy working bee


Louise

 Timothe

 Seamus and Benjamin

And their active transport - fantastic!
 

A great working bee

 David finishes off the path mulching around the mara kumara garden

Carla - still raking out the mulch


Diana working
 
And at the end of the working bee,
the Rosemary hedge looking very smart and shipshape

The 'dishes' done

and the plums, prepared by Trevor, ready for sharing out

Jackie made date scones and served them with 
freshly whipped cream and allotment plum jam - YUM!!

Jackie's Plum Jam
2 kgs Plums
7 cups sugar
1. 5 Cups water

Halve plums and add to preserving pan. 
Cook until the plums are softened. 
Add the sugar and boil for 15 minutes until at setting point. 
Decant into steralized jars. 
Enjoy.

And since it's Zucchini season again - here's the recipe again for the
Zucchini Chocolate Cake

The next Working Bee is on Sunday 21st Januray 
- please bring a plate for a shared lunch. 

Happy Gardening everyone and see you on Sunday.