Anika shovels out compost for spreading

This week we have had a young German wwoofer here, Anika from Essen and here she is shovelling out the compost which is ready. She also helped make the new compost. We make it anaerobically, watering it with EM (effective microorganisms) and scattering bokashi zing in the mix. We stamp it down and it doesn't shrink. This compost was used to prepare a bed for pumpkin.

A year later we have this property for sale now

Herbs on hand

We seem to have most herbs, which of course have their seasons. Parsley is responding to the bokashi too. Sage is good and of course lemon balm thrives. I am never sure which thyme is which but it doesn't matter much they are all good in salands and in soups. The mint is separate of course, too invasive..

Two types of macadamias

Last year wasn't a great macadamia crop either, mostly due to the cold wet spring which seemed endless. This year Malcolm has pruned them and spent hours mulching the prunings and spreading them out underneath. He will also scatter rock dust.

It seems we have two varieties, one with pinky catkins and one with lime green catkins.

Bokashi worked on the cabbages

I made bokashi a few weeks ago, left it for eight weeks (that was hard for me!) and then put it round the cabbages and celery and kale. Well everything has flourished, especially after a recent rain. The savoy cabbages are hearting well and the celery looks like celery. Last year it was hopeless'

Uncle Joe plum looks promising

Our best plum tree looks really good this year. Last year the crop was quite light due probably to losing a big branch the year before from overloading. The two early plums have also flowered beautifully.

Not sure about pruning skills yet..

Red and black currants pruning is a bit hairy. Here is one example.

The phacelias will bloom again

That herbal ley under the fruit trees will come to life again soon. With alyssum in flower all autumn and winter, soon the phacelia will be a mass of blue and the bees will love it. Well perhaps a month or two yet. They are still growing a lot after all the rains. The clover is dense too.

Also the borage is in flower in the vege garden. Chris' bees are still here so will enjoy them as well as the lavendar.

The first of the tomatoes are in!

Quite a job to get the soil ready in the glasshouse! But we dug in first the green crop, then later a lot of compost and worm wee.

Then I planted moneymaker, Sweet 100 in red and yellow and one called Early Girl. Five plants so far. There will be lots more

Our front door

For ages I have been dissatisfied with what is at our front door, so I dug out a huge untidy shrub and poured in some compost. Then I planted some flowers and some strawberries. In another spot I put lettuces among the flowers.

This year's citrus are doing well

Lemonades, oranges and grapefruit look good but limes seem a bit later. We have two lemon trees somewhere else. Might put some manure round them even yet.

The green veges love bokashi

Yes. The bokashi I made two months ago has now been spread around the green veges and they are thriving. The celery has a new life and the cabbages love it.

I made in on the shed floor. Pine sawdust, bran, seaweed, blood and bone, rock dust mixed together. On it pour a 3% solution of EM (effective microorganisms)with molasses. It also has an accelerator a tiny bit of ceramics EM. I keep it in a barrel with a cloth on and weights holding it down. Apparently because it has a predominance of anaerobic bacteria then putting it on veges improves the antioxidant proportions in the veges.

Satsuma mandarins are ripening

They are good and seem early this year. Already delicious. We have put a lot of compost and manure round the citrus and are even going to plant another lemonade tree shortly, well as soon as the soil is really wet enough. So far there hasn't been much rain, just fine days and a lot of dew.

Try again with that alyssum

The herbal ley looks different in autumn and winter

Yes well. Remember how we sowed a herbal ley with a great many seeds in it during spring? In late spring we had a lot of phacelia flowering which attracted beneficial insects. Twas a mass of blue. They died down and the alyssum began to flower. Here is the alyssum, the white flower and behind it you can see the phacelia coming again. Also the clover is flourishing at the moment.

The various mints seem to be coming again now. Under the figs we have added rue and wormwood and catmint and catnip though I had to plant the latter twice and must go and inspect to see if it is still there. But two rue plants are now seeding. They were hard to grow.

Making anaerobic compost

This is me Deirdre stamping on the anaerobic compost

We have learnt how to make anaerobic compost with EM or effective microorganisms. Basically you have to activate the EM1 adding molasses and warm water and leaving it in a warm dark place for ten days. Then you dilute it in a watering can and you have a wonderful solution of beneficial anaerobic bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms ready to water on your compost.

Well this one was one we had neglected for a while, as we had just piled weeds on it for months. So we sorted it all out, pulled out the woody stuff and added grass clippings and watered it.

Then to keep it anaerobic you have to stamp it down and cover it.

Silver eyes love the persimmons

Just as for figs, we have to get there before the birds. Fortunately persimmons don't mind being picked a bit early and ripen up well inside because it is quite difficult to cover them with nets, too high. Anyway we are sure enjoying our daily persimmons for the month of June.

This one had been upside down about to tackle the fruit and was just pausing before flying off and I caught it.

Malcolm mows front area for grass for compost

He loves doing it too, but today got the mower clogged. You can see the pile of grass on the ground.

Feijoas, Adriatic and Brown Turkey figs and apples

The autumn crops have been light this year, thanks to a dreadful wet spring which went on forever. However there have been enough figs and enough apples and feijoas for us and for close family. The persimmons are coming on, ripening up and are delicious now.

Fortunately this year we found another Adriatic that the Deans had planted a few years ago and this time it bore fruit. Just as well because the big one has been too sheltered and hardly ripened at all. A month late and so few ever got round to ripening. But the one in the sun is looking good.


The two apples in the photo are Tydemans Late Orange. One tree still isn't ripe. That is the last of the apples and we have planted some more - Gravenstein and the one from Wanganui with such good health properties – Monty's Surprise. It is a heritage apple again and its research is so good that Good Health Wanganui, the body that provides public health in that district, has bought 5000 trees to give away to households in their district.

We have also planted another cranberry because the other one is doing so well in acid soil near the pine trees.

Great weather in autumn and lots of apples

Sorry for no photo this time, my iphoto doesn't want to export at the moment. The heritage apples have been simply wonderful this season after a year off last year. We love peasgood nonsuch, Jacques Lebel, Egremont russet, lobo, Captain Kidd, nonnettit bastard.

Figs just started two days ago and it takes a while to pick them using a ladder and put the nets back. Then we usually give some away while they are good. People just love them. The late fig doesn't look too promising this year after the dreadful spring we had. It affected so many things – the macadamias, hazelnuts, walnuts for a start.

We had wonderful tomatoes in the glasshouse, didn't grow any inside. Grew parsley and basil with them to enhance the flavour.

Grapes were useless almost, seems hard to convert them to organic..

We have about eight big pumpkins nearly ready. Chestnuts coming very soon.

Now it is September and this property is for sale as we are getting older