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".