Garden to Market

05/07/2025

22/06/2025

Heavy duty for small scale, normally we use hand tools but this was just one of those jobs that's best done with the right tool. This is the pumpkinpatch that I'd previously tarped and grown on over summer. Once that crop was safely in the barn to mature and dry off, it was time for some serious bed prep. Pulling a chisel plough through at 700mm deep requires some grunt. Luckily Justin from has just the right tractor for the job. This rip removes any compaction from the horses that have been on the paddocks previously. I'll really see the benefit from this when, we get to these beds again in spring. Minimal tillage!

27/05/2025

Why we must shorten our supply chain.. buy local.

Industry Scandal: The Loss Of Nutrients - Sixty years of producing standardized fruit and vegetables and creating industrial hybrids have had a dramatic impa...

12/05/2025

A little magic at the gardens today.

11/05/2025

📝 Sign the petition to stop the increase of glyphosate levels in New Zealand food!

📅 Deadline to sign: May 22, 2025

🔗 Sign the petition here: https://petitions.parliament.nz/66da9603-f385-44ff-abda-08dd8139b86b

New Zealand Food Safety is proposing to dramatically raise the legal limits of glyphosate residues in mainstream New Zealand food.

Right now, the limit is 1 mg/kg for wheat, oats, and barley.

They want to increase it to 10 mg/kg - and to 6 mg/kg in dry peas.

Why? Because residue levels are already exceeding the current limits. Instead of reducing use, the proposal is to simply change the rules.

Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Roundup, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the world and certainly NZ. It’s absorbed by crops, stays in the food chain, and ends up in our bodies.

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen.

A growing body of independent research links glyphosate exposure to:

- Certain cancers, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Hormone disruption
- Neurological effects
- Gut microbiome damage
- Liver and kidney dysfunction

Glyphosate has been suposedly found in urine, breast milk, placentas, and umbilical cords, showing how deeply it’s embedded in our environment and in us already.

We are being exposed through supermarket bread, grain-fed meat and dairy, public parks, gardens, and the air around sprayed fields. All exposure adds up..

This isn’t just a human health issue. Glyphosate harms soil microbiology, weakens crop health, and contributes to nutrient decline. It affects pollinators, beneficial microbes, and more.

📢 Take action:
🖊️ Sign the official petition to Parliament: https://petitions.parliament.nz/66da9603-f385-44ff-abda-08dd8139b86b

📬 Make a submission to NZ Food Safety: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/consultations/proposals-to-amend-the-new-zealand-food-notice-maximum-residue-levels-for-agricultural-compounds/

04/05/2025

Tough life, a personal delivery today for and Kerry.. Annie and I had lunch where Jeannies son Gus has built a wonderful establishment. We were given a full tour of the property and amazing permaculture garden with fruit trees, comfry beds, swales and ponds. Thankyou for the incredible hospitality.

22/03/2025

Garden to Plate – A Dining Experience
Outram & No.7 Balmac

Join us for a unique farm-to-table journey!

• 2pm – Outram: Visit Neil Robinson’s vegetable farm and learn about regenerative growing practices.

• 6pm – No.7 Balmac: Enjoy a multi-course dinner featuring locally sourced produce.

What to bring: Gumboots and weather-appropriate gear—rain or shine! (Extreme cold may cancel.)

Thursday, April 17 | 2pm – 10pm
Cost: $145 (includes farm refreshments & dinner). Limited to 40 guests.

https://www.wilddunedin.nz/events-2025/garden-to-plate

28/04/2024

Getting filmed and interviewed!.. More to come on the subject of this day. But I can say it was lots of fun and we had stunning weather for both gardens, so there will be some great drone footage and small scale market gardening action to come.. lol... cant wait to see the arial view of the garden beds.

24/04/2024

Now available at Brighton Store... https://www.google.com/maps/place/On+the+Spot+Brighton/@-45.947456,170.3309368,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xcd49baf38c0bf6f7?sa=X&ved=1t:2428&ictx=111

05/02/2024

Up early to harvest these spring onions, before temps hit the mid 20s. Transplanted in 4-5s they've grow really well. The bed previously had a crop of micro peashoots, which I tarped for a couple of weeks before transplanting the groups of spring onions. These were dropped off 2 hours later.