Townie on a NZ smallholding

Townie on a NZ smallholding

Sunday, 27 July 2025

July 2025


Half of July has been spent in Takaka, and I'm developing a new talent for magically closing roads. Motueka and the Takaka Hill took a big hit with the recent storm that included 2 flooding events.  Numerous slips have since been cleared but a huge slump with washout damage is proving more challenging.  The hill is currently open with restrictions but there's talk of potential for permanent closure.  Surely this can't happen?  The contingency for me would be to fly me in from Blenheim - not too shabby a prospect, but still sincerely hoping it won't come to that.

Back home, the torrential rain brought down a huge slip and blocked the North Bank valley road again.  It's an extension of the big slip of August 2022 and this time it's serious.  The rock fall is not yet stable and is being continuously monitored. Contractors estimate that 20,000 cubed metres of material needs to be cleared, and more rain is forecast for next week.  We're looking at weeks or longer before it's properly accessible.  Currently one lane is open overnight from 4:30pm - 9am and at weekends.  This is considerably better than last week when it was only open for an hour on weekdays in the morning and late afternoon, but there's always a disclaimer saying it could be closed at any moment if deemed unsafe.  Any trip out has to be a full day event and I have an overnight bag with me in case I can't get home.  Shift work has been unfeasible but luckily I've had enough work in Takaka to keep me going.  Others in the valley have been way more badly affected.  Let's hope it gets a proper fix this time.

I have agreed to a 7 day on/off roster at Golden Bay Community Health starting in September, and after some negotiations, have been provided with accommodation just outside Takaka (right behind a gin distillery) for when I'm working there.  It's a 2 bedroomed downstairs apartment, also not too shabby.  Sometimes the other enormous bedroom will be occupied by my colleague Rachel, who travels in from Mapua.  I've been enjoying the primary midwifery care and the friendly facility staff, so hopefully this line of work will be sustainable despite the distance from home.


The enforced time at home has allowed me to continue shovelling soil and other manual jobs a little at a time.  Progress is visible and 3 raised beds in the horse arena are now nourished and open for planting business in spring.  They'll provide substantial zones for multiple annual vegetables, and I'm hoping that they'll be more easily managed from a weed perspective than the open-ground beds.  It's a big relief to have got rid of that giant pile of soil.  I’m absolutely amazed at this volume which was originally created from composted prunings and weeds.  The bed to the left of the path is shaded by 6 olive trees and the soil added to it has been freezing overnight.  No wonder the mediterranean herbs I once lovingly planted never made it through winter.  It's amazing the difference that trees can make.

A big tidy up of general garden crap and debris is next on the cards, so that it's all gravel-ready for whenever a gravel truck can get into the valley.  I’ve raked up most of the dead leaves, though there’s always more hiding.  It’s good to remove this rotting organic matter from the gravel paths, but it also reveals the weeds that have been sheltering there.  Lots of attention is needed in the step-over espalier apple bed - I'm looking at you raspberries!  That'll be a dastardly old job as those prickly berries have really over-extended their boundaries.   There's also more work to be done in the flower beds, including digging up some of the flouncy pink dahlia tubers that are much admired.  

Orchard pruning part 2 finally happened today.  Karyn braved the drive out to provide her sage guidance and skilful pruning of the remaining trees.  We'll have to have a fire at some stage to get rid of the numerous branches that have been dropped.  Happily the task is now completed and the trees are looking heaps lighter and beautifully open.  Hope they reward our efforts with abundant fruit in summer.   I've also pruned most of the vege garden fruit trees.  Guessing the fig tree might never forgive me for its brutal trim, but I'm going with less figs next season being a win. Same for the feijoa tree. The olives are all trimmed and looking tidy - should make it easier to weed the paths around them.  The cows have been very happy recipients of the foliage.

 

Lucas and Laura have finally moved into their new house in Rolleston.  It sounds like it's been well worth the wait and they're excitedly making it their home.  Peter's going to head down there to help with some DIY stuff, and I'll be dog-sitting the grand fur-babies, Woody and Charlie, in August when they take a holiday to Korea.  It'll be a good chance to catch up with some of my former Ara friends and scout around for a camper van.

It looks like the ewes could be pregnant, though I've been shamefully and totally wrong about this before.  Hope they don't choose the worst weather night to birth their lambs.  What am I saying - of course they will.... It's been the harshest winter we've had so far in Aotearoa, and not over yet.  The long range weather forecast for the next 3 months suggests that more adverse events are possible, so we'll just have to brace ourselves.  And bring on spring!  


Wednesday, 25 June 2025

June 2025



 
Winter's definitely here.  We've had a lengthy cold and wet snap that is very un-Marlboroughian.  When there's even a little sunshine, it really feels warmer, even if it's still cold.  Can't complain because it IS winter, and maybe we're noticing it more because we're home more.  It's leaving very few, sometimes if any, functional gardening hours, so tasks have been chipped away at rather than completed.  

 I managed to clear the temporarily-overlaid weed mat from the 3 beds that are going to be permanently decommissioned.  Those beds need levelling and then replaced with brushed-off said weed mat to cover the whole area, including where hedges have been removed.  It's a dirty, sticky, and heavy job, but hopefully the slow and steady progress will pay off soon.  The zones will eventually be covered in gravel, as will the bare areas in the soon-to-be (but not soon enough) fruit cage.

My shoulder can't cope with too much of the same action so I've been spreading the load by keeping a few jobs on the go at the same time.  The mound of soil needs to be moved to the raised-higher beds in the horse arena that Peter is working on, along with the remaining compost from the big compost area.  There's still heaps of soil to go, but only a bit more compost is left.  I hope that my guess that there's about another 6-8 barrow loads isn't too much wishful thinking.  The compost bed will need some structural work before new compost material that's accumulating elsewhere in the garden can be transferred over.  

I've completed the easy task of weeding the tunnel house (both sides now) and spreading some well-rotted cow manure that Billy gathered while we were away.  It won't take much to make it seedling-ready in spring.  The repair to the plastic roof isn't totally holding out, but should be re-fixable when things dry out.

Karyn came round to help with orchard pruning (season 13, part 1) and good progress was made (thanks Karyn!).  Peter has been chopping down some of the orchard trees that don't provide us with fruit and are now big enough for firewood.  They include a flatto nectarine and 4 cherry trees which were a very foolish purchase several years ago - they're ex-commercial orchard trees, used to having the bejesus sprayed out of them and so don't produce a viable crop in an organic environment.  A double grafted apricot was also a foolish buy.  No need for double grafters when you have heaps of space, and when one graft dies off there's no pollinator.  It was a gnarly and characterful tree though, sad to see it go.

I acquired some limes from Tākaka, gifted a few and dehydrated the rest.  They should be good in gin one day.  Our own citrus is only just starting to colour up so probably won't be ready for a while yet.  Also dehydrated were Granny Smith apples, which I found on roadside stalls west of Nelson.  Karyn asked me to look out for them and I was surprised they were still available.  I'm down to the last few persimmons, and the final remaining crop to gather and process is the yacon, which I'm thinking of dehydrating into powder.  Sam and Molly brought their yacon crop and we peeled, blitzed and squeezed the juice out of them, then condensed the yacon liquid into syrup in a pan on the fire.  The syrup looks pretty disgusting, but it tastes ok and is allegedly a superfood. 

🐾 RIP Lexie

Sam and Molly's elderly greyhound, Lexie, developed cancer.  They knew the end was near and asked if she could be buried here on the property.  Sadly that day arrived (Matariki) and they drove up from Rolleston with her.  They chose a spot in the orchard and she's resting there in peace, below a newly planted greengage plum tree (Reine Claude du Bavay).  It's a beautiful spot for a beautiful dog. 

                  

                                                 

I'm heading back to Tākaka for the first July week, but my plan to keep chipping away at the garden has been thwarted by a huge ongoing storm that's spectacularly hitting the top of the South Island.  First a night of gusty gale force winds, then rain rain rain.  Many regional roads are closed from the Wairau River flooding and slips, but luckily the Onamalutu just held its banks at our place.  So whilst we have lakes and saturated ground, there's no moat or indoor river.  The rain's still coming today - no post-storm calm sunshine yet - but it looks like we're over the worst.  The main highway through to Tākaka has taken a big hit too, so fingers crossed it's accessible by Monday.  

 Bracken continues to be a very springy springer spaniel, absolutely full of energy and with boundless curiosity.  He adores hugging and being hugged and looooves having company at home, especially when visitors play with him.  Lucas and Laura are patiently awaiting the availability of their new house, delayed since February for 'red tape' reasons.  Hopefully there's been a little more progress recently.  Billy's still in Italy and planning to stay there a few more months.  He sent us more 'care packages' - aka food parcels full of UK delicacies like Bassetts Licorice Allsorts, wine gums, galaxy chocolate and heaps more.  

The UK is having a hot summer, so no surprises that we're having a fairly harsh winter here.  At least there's time and head space to make a few future plans.  I've decided to spend several months gathering funds and then head overseas to do some humanitarian midwifery work - something that I always thought I'd do before having a family.  No idea where or exactly when yet, but I'm confident that the best path will open when I'm ready. This quote from Mahatma Gandhi is a big inspiration: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others".   




Thursday, 29 May 2025

May 2025



I've spent the last couple of weeks in Mohua (Golden Bay).  A work opportunity came up that was too good to turn down, and at a perfect time in terms of my shoulder healing.  Luckily a fairly good time to leave the garden to its winter slumber, though I wish the weeds also got that memo.  I suppose no hurry to sort them out.

             
Before I left, we managed to complete all the self-wicking beds.  No mean achievement given that there are 11 half-IBCs and 3 blue barrels, and each one took 5 full wheelbarrows of soil/compost.  It's been great to use up the delicious compost that's been sitting in the big compost bed since long before we went to Australia.  Heaps of topsoil is left over from the original raised beds that will have to find a home somewhere.  
The self-wicking beds are all planted up too.  2 are full of Karyn's strawberries, 2 have raspberries (self-supporting varieties), and the rest are accommodating whitecurrants, NZ cranberry (Chilean guava), gooseberries, redcurrant cuttings, and 3 blueberries in the half barrels.  Peter will grow spuds in 2 and breed White Cloud Mountain Minnows in another.  The last one is spare but probably not for long.  

                                   
The vege garden had been planted fairly late in spring, delayed by being out of NZ, but it's managed to crop reasonably well.  There are still perpetual leeks and walking onions, and the yacon is hanging in there until it succumbs to a big frost.  The Verdia is producing lettuces, greens and celery, and some herbs.  I bit the bullet and dug up the skirrets, not really knowing what I'd find.  Only a small crop but they were sweet, chewy, and tasty after being blanched and roasted in butter.  Probably not a big thing going forward for me, but I replanted the base plant so it can remain a curiosity for another season.  Gotta love a weird vegetable!  I decided to go ahead with a proper winter garden, and commandeered Karyn's bed, which had been emptied of its bounty and fertilised with compost.  There are now heaps of red onions, spinach, bok choy, beetroot, and mizuna seedlings planted up, and carrot and parsnip seeds sown.  I'm interested to see how well they grow, and therefore how worthwhile it is to create a future winter garden.  I won't plant garlic as it seems to find its own way into my flower garden.

The drive to Tākaka takes about 3.5 hours, and I included a recharge stop in Motueka to ensure the car made it over the Tākaka hill.  It's a long way for work, but a beautiful route and you could never tire of the view from the hill saddle, looking out over Tasman Bay and Golden Bay, both arms of the Tasman Sea.  

                    

                                             
I was staying in the gorgeous Ligar Bay, a few km along the coast from Pōhara.  It's a breathtakingly scenic route to the health facility in Tākaka, and includes a section of road crossed by Little Blue penguins.  I was lucky enough to come across a little blue whilst driving home from a birth one night.  There wasn't any other traffic so I could spend a while happily watching it.  The photos of Ligar Bay are taken from the site of the Abel Tasman monument.  Tasman was the first Pākehā to arrive in Aotearoa on 18th December, 1642.  The monument tells us that '...the story has been lost, with the passage of time, and the truth remains forever suspended in the seas of time'.

          
I revisited Te Waikoropupū Springs, where we'd been previously with Marcus and family many moons ago.  These are the largest freshwater springs in NZ and an extremely serene place to contemplate the meaning of life.  The springs are recognised for their spectacular colour and clarity, estimated at approx 76cms, close to that of optically pure water.  To local māori, Te Waikoropupū is a taonga (treasure) and is considered wahi tapu (sacred), to be held in high cultural and spiritual regard.  Legend has it that Waikoropupū is the home of Huriawa, one of three main taniwha of Aotearoa.  Huriawa is a diver of land and sea and is believed to rest beneath the surface of the springs.

                 
                                                 
On a day off, I took the road to Collingwood, which welcomed visitors that day with a double rainbow.  It's a quirky little place in a stunning location.  On my return journey, I stopped off at Milnthorpe Park Scenic Reserve on a tip-off from my colleague, Ruth.  It's a coastal conservation area featuring a network of walking tracks.  The photos show one of the wetland zones within the regenerating vegetation, and Milnthorpe Beach, just north of the Parapara Inlet.  It was an exquisitely beautiful walk, and getting lost just added to the joy.
 
Labyrinth Rocks Park was also a fab find. In a fairy-tale other-worldly location, maze-like pathways weave through gnarly limestone outcrops and lush native bush.  Locals hide little toys and figurines for children to scavenger hunt.  It's another place where getting lost is part of the experience.

I have been booked for a few more weeks of work here in Golden Bay - plenty of opportunity to see more of the local sights.  A couple of my old neighbours (and previous yoga buddies), Helen and Kate, moved to Pōhara with their respective partners.  Obviously, I bumped into Kate on day one as she works in the Primary Health unit too.  It was lovely to catch up with them both and will be good to see more of them when I'm back.  Such a small world!
Plans are afoot for my (special) birthday holiday in Rarotonga.  Where better than Aitutaki, the world's most beautiful lagoon, to celebrate the arrival of my sixth decade?  There are other activities like sea scooter snorkeling and paddle boarding to check out.  Researching the options is ramping up anticipatory excitement and providing a raison d'etre for those extra working hours, and it's great to have some happy sunshine to look forward to in winter 🌞