Fungi

Beautiful yellow fungi.

Red Clover

Clover helps provide abundant nitrogen to farms and orchards all over the world.

Before Bumblebees were brought into New Zealand clover seed had to be brought in every year.  Only the long tongues of Bumble Bees could fertilize Clover.

It also makes a colorful and tasty addition to salads.

Gourd tendril

Tendrils are amazingly touch sensitive. as soon as they come into contact with something they start contracting and spiral.

Any plants with tendrils can be trained up into trellises, huts, archways walls................even better if they are edible.

Red Admiral

These beautiful native butterflies lay their eggs in stinging nettle bushes. The catterpillars use webs to roll up webs to keep safe.

Various introduced wasp species have had a big impact on these beauties.

Tree House

Lining, windows, door, cladding, built in bunk, 12 volt power system....all with a view of the tree tops. We all want to move in.

What a project. A big thank you to family that helped out.

Fig Tree

What a tree.
We camped right next to it on the Kaipara harbour.

This fig tree is around 29.7meters high and 14.4 meters in girth. Its buttress roots are beautiful.

We had a great 'north' trip exploring Kauri forests, lakes, harbours, jumping bridges, caves, streams and atching up with great friends.

Succession in the vegie garden

Lettuce is ready to harvest. Tomatoes are growing.

Succession is a great type of companion planting. The lettuces are a living mulch and then the tomatoes provide some shade and stop the lettuces from bolting to seed in the hot summer sun.

Many Hands

Thanks everyone.

The tree house deck is now done.

Garden shed

First thing build in the shed was a garden shed/glass house for the garden.

It's entrance has lots of space for hanging tools and the benches fit bread trays to hold seed trays at just the right height for me to work.

We tried to incorporate lots of passive solar; Cobble floor, water barrels for winter, north facing, at southern end of garden to maximize winter sun.

Shed door

Roof, walls and now doors.
The shed is done.

Chilli Sauce

Time to bottle sauce.

Praying mantis

I was hunting for ripe Cape gooseberries. The mantis for bugs amongst the leaves.

Artichoke flowers

Sunshine on a rainy day.

Crunchy apples

The apples are the latest in our fruit harvest along with beautiful fat purple grapes and the last of the peaches (lovely jucy golden queens). It is so satisfying after four years of TLC.

Cosmos

This year I have grown pink cosmos. They are a beautiful companion providing light shade, insect fodder and a beautiful contrast to the lush green growth.

Popping sorgum

This is the first year I have grown this sorgum. They are around 2m tall with around 4 slender tillers per plant. The seed heads are just starting to show themselves.

Piglets

These guys are such a time waster. They clean up our understories or move through the paddocks with the sheep.

Waiting

This year we had over 170 children attend our two seaweek mornings.

We made over 60 handlines, dug, splashed, build, poured, talked and even managed to catch crabs, flounder, mullet, sprats, starfish and a seahorse.

Pesto

Silverbeet, chives, parsley, tomatelloes, basil, sorrel and all next to the Lemon tree............Hey Presto!!

Essential ingredients for sumer pesto grown close to the house.

River

3 o clock swim time we will be at the river.

Bombing off the clif, kayaking, snorkelling or just cooling off.

Ice plant

One of my favourite bee plants. Bumble bees, bees, native bees...........

Cabbage caterpillars

The white butterflies are out in fource. Watch out brassicas!!!

Field garden

The field garden is where it all happens. The seed crops and crops for winter storage. It consists of 80 1.2-4m beds in a four year rotation.

Garlic harvest

One bed of garlic (1.2m-4m) = one years worth of garlicy yum.

And enough for seed for next year.

Before plaiting I dry garlic for a few weeks. Then it graces my front veranda in beautiful plaits.

Coast

Family, fun and fishing too!!

Once a year the whole family stays down the coast for a week.

Chive flowers

We have been eating more flowers this year than chives. I pick a bunch for my kitchen windowsill and they make their way into salads, dressings, omlets, and warm new potatoes. Yum!!!

In the garden they grow with my strawberries and are frequently visited by smaller pollinators.

Sweet Christmas

After all of the normal Christmas traditions we made one of our own. A family honey harvest. Yum.

Everyone helped harvest the honey from dad's top bar hive. Most important job being taster.

Note the fancy new honey extractor (colander and bucket) we use for straining honey we are not saving as comb honey.

Net full

One of the favourite places for children of all sizes is our net hung high in the trees. Cool, shady, quiet or a great place to jump and yahoo if you are brave.

Honey for the teacher

Toby collected a jar of honey for his teachers thank you present.

Comfrey mulch

The tomatoes recieved their Christmas present today.

Compost tea and a sprinkling of woodash followed by a thick layer of comfrey mulch around their roots and a raw milk spray for their leaves before the sun got too high.