Carpet lawn

We've had a lot of construction on the Rez in the past three, four months as the old people move into a new dwelling beside the garage. This left the lawn in a state but I came home yesterday and found new lawn already to roll out!

Planting spuds for Xmas...

Got two thirds of the tamafreakies in the mara this evening (No.1 son was doing the dishes - great results alround).

We got in three rows of Swift potatoes, will be cropping new potatoes before Xmas.

Garden starting to look quite respectable now. I've left it later this season as I always seem to lose seedlings to frost being too impatient.

Oh, Bruno took this Leeston Gothic shot.

Spring planting

Spring planting well underway, though the unsettled weather continues with with a passing hail strom at the end of a cold rainy day after a beautiful 21 degree day yesterday. Transplanted some mange tout/snow peas after sprouting them inside, sourced from Koanga heritage seeds via Piko (relocated to Stanmore Rd after their lovely old premises on the corner of Barbadoes/Milmore Streets was earthquake damaged; check out the Greening the Rubble project there).


Southland Sno seedlings transplanted



Also working on the new tunnel house, using wood left over from dismantling one of the leanto's. It was a chance to work koro's old posthole digger. Trouble is, you go down two feet in this soilk and you hit the old Rakaia River bed (it might be the Waimakariri bed actually, which use to flow south of Banks Peninsula).

Kaiwhaiki hui

Another great Tahuri Whenua hui-a-rohe, hosted at Kaiwhaiki, ten minutes drive out of Whanganui on the south bank of the river.

I took my first born, Whitiaua, on our first roadie (Bruno and I went on a field trip to Waiheke several months ago).

Uncle Ake thanking the tangata whenua for their hospitality. Alby Marsh of Plant and Food is digesting.

Sigfried Bauer and Whiti. Sigfried, a retired (he says 'cured') ultramarathoner was laying into sports journos. He's holding a two crowns of some exotic root crop that Richard Hunter had gifted him. Sigfried ran the length of Aotearoa in 18 days, 5 hours.

Maori Green Vegetables book launch...

Just back from meeting with fellow committee members and supporters of Tahuri Whenua at Parewahawaha, Bulls. As well as catching up on admin chores, we launched Nick Roskruge's latest book, Korare: Maori Green Vegetables: Their history and tips on their use

Really interesting collection of crops - some might call them weeds but hey, as we know in Christchurch, ya never know when ya gonna have to dig a hole in your backyard and fend for yourself. best you know what puha looks like and how to prepare it...



Some of Nick's postgrads came along, representing Chile and Malawi. We have quite a collection of research projects compelted alongside our community of growers, and with our crops of taewa and kamokamo.

That's Uncle Hemi blessing the book - Nick is on the left there. The book can be ordered from Tahuri Whenua PO Box 1458, Palmerston North.

A number of displays showed the variety of work coalescing around our mara. Moko of Otaki brought along some Te Waka Kai Ora publications, including one on bee keeping their first apiarist has just achieved Hua Parekore certification).

Took a shot of this snack from Peru, made from purple spuds like our (ha, our...it's theirs!) tutaekuri. Plenty of options out there for Maori growers.

Pumpkins, Broccoflower, Red Brussel Sprout and Dalmation

First frost hit Leeston on Tuesday, just minus 2 but it'll be the first of many. So the pumpkins were pulled - leave a bit stalk on, evidently stops them from rotting (another tip from one of my koro).

Nice shot of Lila (Our daughter is Willa, our dog, Lila, and the cat, Milly. I get confused daily on who I'm growling...often it's Lila who digs up selected spots of my vege patch).









Two new crops for me. Broccoflower - a cross between cauliflower and broccoli (obviously :). The other is a red brussel sprout.

Autumn beds in

 Shorter days, early evenings, a fire to take off the chill.


And crops....





Karaka potatoes

Last of the spring onions, and plenty of tomatoes

Pepper Tree, pretty spicy wee things too.

First sweet corn harvested for the season

Love autumn...

Firewood and guttering

Major seasonal chore here in Leeston is the gathering of firewood in preparation for the cold damp winter. We were lucky in knowing a dairy whanau in Doyleston who had trimmed pine shelter belts and invited us to help ourselves. Along with my father-in-law and a brother-in-law, we hauled back probably three cords of pine, some of it still needing blocking up and splitting.

The picture below shows how much we've got. Might need to augment this with some good blue gum or macrocarpa...

Another chore is the cleaning of the gutters, clogged with leaves and, a one-off, mortar and pieces of brick from when we took our chimney down after the February 'quake.

The flowering of the San Pedro...

And 9 days later, like a bird from a Bill Hammond painting.

Tahuri Whenua hui, Haraki Marae, Te Puke

Another great Hui-a-Rohe for Tahuri Whenua, this time in the Bay of Plenty, Te Puke, Kiwi Fruit country (I'm old enough to remember these little tarts as Chinese Gooseberries, a more accurate term...). I stopped off at Maketu for some quiet time. Never been there before but definitely want to go back.

The famous Catholic church ... and a wee kina

 Manaia detail...














I was one of the first to arrive, the other members dribbling in from around the motu. Then we were called on...

In the midst of a growing district. Detail from the whare nui... and of course, the ukelele appeared!

Epic broccoli

Willa holding one and a half heads of broccoli which I was just about to par boil for freezing, cut them up and throw the bits in boiling water for a minute, then drain, dry (I did this in a lettuce spinner), and pop into freezer bags.

I've been told you boil greens to destroy natural toxins present in many plants. This helps them keep better while frozen.

Maori vegetables: taewa and kamo kamo

The most popular post on my 'Maori Economy' blog is on the 'Physico-chemical and morphological characteristics of New Zealand Taewa (Maori potato) starches', which links through to a research paper investigating Maori potatoes for their starch properties.

The most popular search term has been 'kamo kamo', something I'm not growing this season (and regretting that decision...next year!). So, here's some pictures from when I last grew this ever popular, somehow defining Maori vege...

Alby Marsh, Plant and Food, is working on some research with Tahuri Whenua on Kamo kamo to prepare a kamo kamo worksheet which will involve interviews with growers across the country over the next 6 months.

Preparing winter crops...

Pulled my last row of tutaekuri and the few huakaroro that I had planted out. I need the space for leeks and onions, with brocolli, brussell sprouts taking up the last remianing gaps I had.

The tutaekuri crops well - about 4-5 pounds a plant (although when I first planted this variety in Washbournes Rd, it cropped twice a heavily). Huakaroro a bit disappointing but I didn't have good seed this year.

Here's a pic of a 'Pepper Tree' bought from a hippy shop in Mapua. Evidently crops a very hot pepper for about ten years.

Tutaekuri

Now digging up some Tutaekuri to take to Mapau next week. Not my favourite tasting taewa but a crowd pleaser because of its intense purple colouring, and always funny to give the literal translation: Dog shit (not to be confused with the Tutaekuri River in Hawkes Bay where I spent my teen years, trout fishing and camping, and just hanging out).

Another name for these Maori potatoes, from TE Tairawhiti, is Urenika, a transliteration 'Nigger's' ure or penis. [This reminds me of a bizarre argument with a Professor at Otago who was most aggrieved at my (admittedly provocative) use of the word Nigger, rapping the Public Enemy song 'I don't wanna be called Yo Nigga' which has the inimitable Flavour Flav with the lyrical line N.I.G.G.E.R., Nigga Nigga Nigga Nigga Nigga!...My challenge to him was how to write the whakapapa of this Maori potato without referring to the racist term which our tipuna had obviously picked up from the whalers and sailors 200 years ago.]

It does look a lot more like dog crap than an African/African-American penis.

Anyways, the garden is now starting to produce at a level I can see saving me money down the local supermarket. Also gifting stuff to friends and whanau, always important. French beans, brocolli, cauliflower, spinach. Tomatoes are ripening, and the scarlet runner beans - one of my favourites because of their beautiful bright red flowers and heavy cropping - and corn well on the way. I've planted some dwarf cornflowers too, wanting the pale blue flowers amongst the greenery and peas straw mulch.

scrolling garden...

I know it's kinda naff but I'm diurnally (or as often as I can remember) and digitally recording our garden here in Leeston, and will post a slideshow in the top right, scrolling through our seasons.

Huakaroro

BBQ, with Nana and Koko coming up from Rakaia. Pulled these huakaroro from the sandpit...

My favourite potato, washed, put in cold water, brought to the boil, left a bit, then drained, pat of pata, tote, he reka!

(Yes, those are some stray Tutaekuri I bandicooted from the neighbouring row...'bandicooted'? Term i picked up from Ngai Tahu kaukatua Trevor Howse, pages 8-9 of this newsletter)