Homegrown Food

In our quest to live off the land for a much healthier and sustainable lifestyle, you learn very quickly that having your own supply of fruit and vegetables is a must.

My husband grew up in Mangamuka, a small town just south of Kaitaia on a large farm with a large old villa .  He remembers vividly at least 1/4 acre of the property housed an orchard and would have a massive supply of fruit and preserves all throughout the year.

Although I didn't grow up on a farm, I did grow up in Ngaruawahia where all properties were 1/4 acre sections and nearly all the houses had fruit trees galore and vegetable gardens.  As a child I would go from house to house eating what fruit I could with all my cousins and it was great!

Imagine my surprise when we first moved onto the Ponderosa and there wasn't much of a supply, especially considering a property as old as this one.  In fact, there was a fig tree, pear tree, lemon tree, grapefruit tree, walnut tree, plum tree, hazelnut tree and 3 cherry trees.  The property did come with a green house, and was loaded with tomatoes and the vegetable garden had heaps of onions.  (Secretly my daughters thought the old owners had an obsession with onions, because they were everywhere).

I have blogged about the cherries, plums and nuts ARE YOU NUTS & SUMMER FRUIT SURPRISE but we took action and planted so much more.  An OLIVE GROVE , a citrus grove with lemons, oranges, limes and mandarins as well as plums, peaches, apples, cherries, pears, almonds and a nectarine tree. 

We repositioned the vegetable garden closer to the house as well.  The old vegetable garden was positioned closer to the front boundary which meant we had to walk a marathon to go and grab something for a meal.  Not good in the rain.  It's pretty close to the back doorstep now, and we get to look at the progress of the garden from the kitchen window which is great!

Beetroots, kale, radishes, spring onions, spinach, silver beet, celery, lettuces, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, sage, marjoram, thyme and bay have served us well over the winter months and I'm starting to think about what needs to be planted for picking this side of xmas.

Kale, Carrots & Beetroots

Beetroot, radiches & spring onions

Sliverbeet, spinac & spring onions

I am currently on the hunt for some maori potato seeds and hope I'm able to secure some soon as I need to get them in the ground this month just in time for xmas.  My favourite fruit tree supplier is Farrels has their annual sale on at the moment so I'm looking to add a few more nectarine trees and citrus as well.

Grapes, passionfruit, raspberries, avocado, pomegranate and asparagus are all on the radar as permanent features too.  I just need to find the right place for them.

Have a great night peeps!