Robyn Wolfe's Comments

Hi Robyn

Well it goes like this...if it is extracted in a licsenced kitchen and by a person with a food safety cert, and the packaging is labeled correctly (phew got all that!!) then you can sell it.

Would you be prepared to swap produce in return for a hive or two at the gardens? We can arrange when and how that works  later on.

Regards, Daniel

Hi Robyn. I have bees!! but only  one hive doing well so unfortunately nothing at the moment to come down to Tokoroa, sorry I had big dreams of getting a hive in the community garden for you.

Hi I'm using the term 'group' rather loosely.  I'm really just trying to find out if there is a place anyone can go and borrow tools that I could promote.  Thanks anyway.

Hi

Thanks for your kind offer to loan me tools: I have my own tools, am based in Hamilton.  I work with a group in Tokoroa and wondered if there was a tool bank I could promote to them. 

If you knew of any gardening clubs in Tokoroa, I'd be interested to hear of those too.  Cheers.

Hi Robyn

I am not expecting anything great, honey wise this year (but you never know what will happen) I will have a nucleus of Carniolan bees arriving soon and will get that established at home before moving down to the community garden. if we have a good year we could expect 10-20kg of honey off the hive. That would be neat wouldnt it?

Hi Robyn

Yes I am still keen to get a hive down there. I probably wont have bees to spare until late September or October when swarms start leaving hives.

I have been busy through winter making and selling hives (no bees)

How many chilis have you managed to sell? My plants are positively puny in comparison, the've been grown as house plants and are into their second year - got hit badly by frost last year but they're struggling along fortified with plenty of worm wee! I would love to try some yakon, not grown them before so curious to taste them. What is growing in the poly boxes next to the chilis, looks like spring onions?

hello Robyn, thanks for letting me know that the bulbils arrived ok.  Would love to see photos of the chili plants! Every one of those bulbils will eventually produce a stalk (scape) which are the edible "bolts" that you were asking about - probably not in their first season but definitely by the second or third year :)

Thanks Robyn. Your community garden work sounds very satisfying. I'd love to come and visit some time when I get a chance. I'm from the South Island, and know a lot (far too much!) about growing plants in the cold. Have recently moved to the balmy Waikato, and am excited about the greater range of things that I'll be able to grow - just at this stage not sure how great that range is, so keen to hear what others have succeeded at in the warmer end of things.

they were hot little things Megan's chillis :)

I have three peony plants, well I did, they were in the same pot where they germinated and I repotted them individually and they have sulked ever since, one has a little red shoot so fingers crossed they will bounce back. did you try growing the skirret? I jut reaslised its a perennial anmd you can eat the young shoots in spring so its planted in the wrong place... but I will leave it this year and see what happens.

how wonderful to live in the same home for all that time! We lived in our previous home for 10 years - it's right next door to where we've built our new house.

I planted my bulbils in a polystyrene box to ensure that they didn't get over run with weeds, they don't compete well. Lifted them when the foliage started to fall over - they could have stayed in the box but I wanted to plant something else there! No reason why they can't be left in situ for another season, so long as you don't forget that they're there and they don't get over watered. Will be interested to learn how they fare if that's how you decide to grow them.

Your community garden is looking really productive!

By the way am really happy to learn that the chilis are doing well for you!  Thanks for keeping me posted!

Will also take a look at your community garden FB page.  Haven't ever seen scapes in the shops down here - there's only one Asian food store in Queenstown :) Maybe when I've got enough garlic growing I can sell my scapes to them!

There are lots of varieties of hardneck garlic and the scapes usually start off relatively straight and develop their loops and curls as they mature. I can send you a couple of spathes of bulbils that will take several seasons to grow into decent sized bulbs (I've several photos on my page of the different growth stages) but if you're only growing them for the scapes it shouldn't be a problem. You won't get any scapes the first season, just leaves and tiny rounds but there's lots of bulbils in each spathe so well worth the time and effort. They're all packed up in boxes at the moment so it may be another few weeks before I can find them - they won't need to be planted until May although it doesn't seem t hurt them if they're planted sooner. The scapes are delicious stir fried and you can also use garlic chives scapes when they're still at the bud stage, ditto shallot scapes.

hello Robyn, by garlic bolts do you mean the curly stalks (scapes) that the bulbils grow on in hardneck varieties? They are edible when young and are very tasty.

I hope that  our council don't decide to start charging us rent :( We're not on town supply water, one of our members connected us up to a creek and we have a holding tank and pipe stands that were paid for and installed through a HEHA grant from the Southland District Health Board 

Our council has been very supportive and there are a couple of individuals who have guided us through the set up and alerted us to funding opportunities. You may wish to call into the council office to find out if there's anyone who can be your champion.

Our local bank SBS have also been really supportive with fundraising activities and the orgainser of the original local farmer's market is a member of our community garden so when we eventually have enough excess produce to sell, we'll be able to set up a stall. (if our new resident rabbit doesn't beat us to all the vegetables first! )

Hello Robyn, we lease 7000m2 from the council and are rent free at present. We only had to pay the initial legal costs to draw up the lease.

Robyn, do you think this will look good in the gardens?

Hi Robyn - fortunately I realised after another sting while gardening that it was only a random reaction and decided to keep a hive. I dont know anyone that has a hive to place down there, but........ I plan to have more hives next spring so I would like to put one at the community garden, it would likely be a Warre hive. How does that sound? Let me know and I will kep in touch.