SOWING SEEDS OF CHANGE

A food revolution is taking root in Katikati.

WORDS JO-MARIE BAKER / PHOTOS ALAN GIBSON

With supermarket shelves stripped bare and vegetable seedlings impossible to find during 2020’s Covid lockdown, Katikati locals Tessa Mackenzie and Anne Billing realised just how vulnerable our community was when it comes to food.

Fresh produce was in short supply and even local onion growers couldn’t meet demand. So the pair sat down over a cup of tea and asked a simple but powerful question: what can we do? Their answer was Grow On Katikati (GOK), a grassroots project born from donated seeds and a determination to make sure locals never go without fresh food again.

“The lockdown is long gone but the need for food security still remains,” explains current GOK coordinator Jizzy Green. “Many people are struggling with rising food costs and living expenses. We try to bridge that gap because every vegetable you bring in from the garden means another dollar or two that stays in your back pocket to spend on other things.”

Five years on, GOK has grown into a local phenomenon. Over 100 active members, spanning all age groups and walks of life, are now harvesting seeds, growing their own seedlings, swapping fresh produce and learning how to compost, cook and preserve the food they have grown.

GOK’s Crop Swap (held on the first Saturday of every month on Beach Road beside the Katikati Community Centre) draws a huge crowd. People bring what they have and take what they need, including macadamia nuts, citrus, fresh herbs, Jerusalem artichokes, Māori potatoes and every type of produce you can imagine. Preserves, kombucha scobies, sourdough starters and even worm castings are offered free of charge. If you have nothing to personally swap, a koha (donation) is all that’s asked.

“We start at 9:30am so it gives people time to bring all their produce. We put it on a couple of big picnic tables, and then at 10 o'clock we declare the swap open and people help themselves,” Jizzy says. “We’ve got a new couple who have just recently become members. They sent us a message after their first Crop Swap and said they were blown away. They were just so excited to see other people take what they had personally grown. They also took home several fruit and vegetables that they’d never seen or eaten before.”

Jizzy knows firsthand what is possible to achieve in your own backyard, having grown over one tonne of food on her own quarter acre section in just 12 months. Her fellow GOK coordinator, Diana Donker, grew up watching her grandparents make their own butter and cheese, and picking up fallen orchard fruit to make apple sauce, jams and preserves.

“I can’t really think of another way of living,” Diana says. “It’s ingrained in me to grow my own food. Yet a lot of people are just so far away from the reality of where their food comes from, and believe that it’s more difficult than it really is. Bringing people back to natural living is good for the mind, body and planet.”

The two women have taken over GOK from the original founders and work alongside a team of volunteers to run lots of initiatives including a kids’ seedling club, a local seed library, workshops and social events. For just $60 a year ($5 per month), GOK members can collect unlimited seedlings each week, plus get four free King Seeds packets each month, along with discounts and other perks.

“We’ve got one lady from Waihi who has retired from the corporate world,” Jizzy says. “She’d never grown anything in her life before but the joy of being able to pick her own tomatoes for the first time superseded anything that she’d done in her business career.

“We like to say we’re not just growing food — we’re growing commUNITY. We also offer collaborative gardening where we match people with garden space to those who need it. For example, we’ve paired volunteers with elderly locals who struggle to maintain their gardens due to mobility issues. They share whatever is grown so it’s a win-win.”

GROWONKATIKATI.COM

Subtropical Summer

Ginny Clark from Decor Gardenworld shows us just how easy it is to grow subtropical treats.

The best time to plant fruit trees, trees and shrubs was five years ago. The next best time is now. 

Growing your own is easier than you think and, with the subtropical summer on our doorstep, and shortages of some of our most popular of summer fruits in the shops, there is no time to waste. 

For the edible garden, we are spoiled in Tauranga, as we can grow numerous subtropical fruits that give us that tropical feel, along with many of the all-time hardy favourites. No matter what size your property is, there are plenty of options for you to grow in a sunny corner. 

Berry fruits, such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and loganberries spring to mind. If you are growing blueberries, choosing several different varieties will help with pollination and extend your harvest season from November until April. Raspberries are either summer fruiting or autumn fruiting types, so again the season can be extended. There’s even a cute little raspberry called “Mini Me” which is ideal to grow in pots or hanging baskets.

Passionfruit, strawberry, guavas, tamarillos, and Lady Finger bananas are subtropical fruits that are easy to grow. You could even plant a dwarf growing Cleopatra Avocado in the small home garden.

For those of us that have spent time in the tropics, you will remember the gorgeous fragrance that is quintessential to that part of the world. Plants that will remind you of that year after year include one of our all-time favourites, Gardenias. Ranging in size from the little low Radicans through to the taller Veitchii, Professor Pucci and True Love, you can’t go wrong. They work well as an under planting to Palms and glossy-leafed Pukas and all those other tropical-looking plants. Star Jasmine is another all-time favourite, and it can be grown as a ground cover or climber.

Vireya Rhodos are also a good choice. Some are fragrant, plus they will flower three to four times a year. Murraya (Orange Blossom) and Australian Frangipani also grow well here. But the piéce de résistance is the Tropical Frangipani. If you have the right spot that is super sunny and warm with a bit of space, then she would be my favourite.

Of course, we can’t ignore Hibiscus either. Although not fragrant, they will give you a fabulous show right through until late autumn.

Combine this selection, along with a Batik Bench seat, colourful Morris
and James Pot and super-efficient Zieglar and Brown BBQ and you will be well on the way to creating your own subtropical paradise. 

Decorgardenworld.co.nz

Plan, plant and pot

Ginny Clark from Decor Gardenworld says a little bit of planning now will go a long way to ensuring you have time
to sit back, relax and enjoy your garden this summer.

In an unprecedented year of lacklustre weather, spring is finally emerging. This is a wonderful time to spruce up your outdoor spaces with thoughtful gardening. 

Begin by evaluating your indoor-outdoor flow. Enhance the appeal of your outdoor living areas and don’t forget about your main entrance – this is the first area your guests will see! Simplify access to vegetable gardens and utility spaces. Replace aged trees, update planting schemes, and tend to outdoor containers.

Foliage is key, and a variety of texture forms and colours will enhance year-round interest. Contrast and repetition create visual appeal, while varied heights add depth. Grass-like textures like Lomandra, Astelias, Carex, Flaxes, and small palms, combined with easy-care shrubs such as Coprosmas, Nandinas, Hebes, Green Ball Pittosporum and Loropetalum Plum Delight offer vibrancy. Leucadendron and Grevilleas will provide lasting colour.

Nandinas

Layer your spaces with ground-covering plants to curb weeds and backbone plants with red and green foliage shrubs. Use plants to create low borders – flowering annuals, low perennials and Japanese Box or even parsley can be very effective and as long as they are trimmed occasionally.

Then turn your focus to elevating the spaces with garden art, ornamental pots, furniture, and screens. Revitalise your entryway with pots of perennials or annuals, fruit trees or a specimen plant. It is easy to change the look seasonally, and consistency in pot style will help enhance the visual impact.

Strategic placement of artistic elements like urns or bird baths adds character. Use them as a focal point that can be viewed from both indoors and outdoors. Introduce outdoor “rooms” through shade trees, pergolas, ornamental screens, or a bench seat. A New Zealand-made glasshouse extends growing seasons and doubles as a cosy place to relax. 

The options are endless, so get planning, planting and potting to make your outdoor space a home to be enjoyed for many moons to come. 

Decorgardenworld.co.nz

Sustainability in bloom

Mitre 10 MEGA Tauranga has come of age – leading the way on all things green with a new-look garden centre and strong focus on sustainability.

Words Jo Ferris | Photos Jahl Marshall

Mitre 10 MEGA Tauranga has come of age – leading the way on all things green with a new-look garden centre and strong focus on sustainability.

With fresh ideas, new technology and their ‘arms-wide-open’ approach, nothing rains on this team’s parade. Now fully roofed, the only place rain falls inside is in two 30,000L tanks.

Feeding a sophisticated irrigation system, it not only eliminates using town supply, plants are flourishing – noticeably so. Staff efficiency has also gained. Despite the new technology – rather than downsizing the garden centre’s team – it has increased from 14 to 25, as supervisor Lorena Stead and 2 IC Marisa Pirina shift up another gear.

“Spring is our busiest time of the year. It’s like turning the lights on,” says Lorena.

Customer focus underpins this store’s entire purpose. That means people on the floor and more time to greet and help customers. The café moved instore, but still overlooks all the activity. Opening up the garden centre not only created additional space for more stock, visibility increased thanks to new, lower plant bays. The Garden Hub is also a novel drawcard – a central station which enhances staff’s ability to handle customer queries. Just outside is the plastic pot recycling bin – another sustainability initiative, which has seen 900kgs recycled in the past 10 months. And that’s not counting any containers foraged by customers. Mitre 10 even takes polystyrene – number one in New Zealand to do so.

Changes also flowed instore. By definition, ‘garden’ has assumed an entirely new meaning.

More than a green space for trees, flowers and veges; outdoor zones are another room – an extension of how we live, play, entertain – even work. Anything from a simple patio now extends to sophisticated retreats – fully sheltered or open-air; lit and heated. As much as gardens grow, so has this store’s vision, according to Lorena.

“Gardens are another room in the home. But there’s also the internal garden – indoor plants – not only but also.”

Specialty zones cover the full gamut – from indoor plants, tools, plant care, ornaments and rainwater storage systems to probably the Bay’s largest selection of outdoor furniture, BBQs and every accessory to match. If you can’t find it, this store will seek it. Being owner- operated and part of a solely New Zealand co-operative, buying power and access to a wide range of products strengthens this hugely successful business.

Innovation and a "people first" mantra feed this store’s belief in mutually beneficial relationships – from everyone who walks in the door to everyone on the shop floor.

Newbies to long-timers, staff know their stuff; and they know people. Customers come from far and wide, such is the store’s reputation for familiarity. It’s an attitude Mitre 10 MEGA Tauranga continually works on. And customers feel it. Regulars watched closely as the garden centre remained open throughout the renovation. Written feedback was overwhelming and staff are grateful.

Inspired by the new look, Lorena and Marisa say customers love all the initiatives as well – especially how
plants respond to the new irrigation. Both agree the garden centre looks and feels brighter. True to the "spring has sprung" philosophy, team members are also thriving – watching their garden grow as natural rain waters it from above. 

mitre10.co.nz