Here's a list of the websites and books that were mentioned at the gathering. There's all kinds here - lunar calendars, garden calendars, weekly newsletters, freecycling, skills exchanges, fruit tree stockists, seed sellers....
Feel free to tell me what I've missed via the discussion thread and I can update the attached document as we go. Lovely.
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Paekakariki Grower’s – Resource Summary
Edible Garden
http://www.ediblebackyard.co.nz
Kath Irvine teaches permaculture design and edible gardening to schools and community groups and is KCDC’s Green Gardener. Her website promotes a series of workshops run from her home garden in Ohau. She also puts out a weekly blog for gardening tips, recipes and news and a newsletter, both of which you can subscribe to via her website.
Good magazine
http://good.net.nz/magazine/community-gardens
Map of community gardens across NZ and list of gardens with website links or pdf information where available.
Ooooby (Out Of Our Own Backyards)
https://ooooby.ning.com/group/pkgrowers - our growers group
You're on it! Ooooby is the site where we intend to host the Paekakariki Gardeners discussion list - have a look at the regional groupings under the ‘Groups’ tab to get an idea of how it would work.
Also has lots of interest groups/discussion like Poultry in Urbania, Growing By the Moon, Seed Collecting, Worm Farming, Seasonal Recipes, Companion Planting, Organic Gardening for Beginners, Preserving, Herbs, Pruning….
See https://ooooby.ning.com/group/marketstallgrowers for information about their model for a homegrown surplus stall.
Transition Towns Kapiti
http://ttk.org.nz/
http://seedysundaynz.blogspot.com/
Transition Towns Kapiti is currently in a bit of a hiatus, but they do host Seedy Sunday - Kapiti Grower’s Group and Seed Exchange.
Seedy Sunday is a relaxed gathering for those who garden, or want to learn about gardening, growing food and sustainability, to share ideas and inspiration. The Seedy Sunday exchange table is for the exchange of 'useful' seeds, plants and produce. By useful, they mean edible plants and support species (this includes pretty flowers).
Meetings are held the third Sunday of each month, 2pm at Paraparaumu Memorial Hall, Tutanekai St, Paraparaumu.
Transition Towns Otaki
http://transitionotaki.ning.com/
See ‘Groups’ tab for chicken-keeping, seasonal (homegrown) surplus stall, Timebank, biodynamic gardening, sustainable food group etc. You can see the discussion without signing in, but can’t post comments.
Edible Garden
http://www.ediblegarden.co.nz/
Great catalogue of fruit trees with very helpful information on each. Stockists of Koanga heritage varieties. Ignore the out-of-date front page and look for the Autumn 2010 catalogue on the right-hand side.
Kapiti Freecycle
http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/KapitiCoastFreecycle/
The Kapiti Coast FREECYCLE group is open to all who want to “recycle” that special something rather than throw it away. Whether it’s a chair, a fax machine, piano or an old door, feel free to post it. Or maybe you’re looking to acquire something yourself!
Guerrilla Gardening
http://guerillagardening.org/
Website dedicated to the illicit cultivation of neglected public space. An interesting page of links focusing on sustainable gardening in urban areas, especially public spaces.
Get Growing
http://www.nzgardener.co.nz/
An initiative of New Zealand Gardener editor, Lynda Hallinan, Get Growing is a free email newsletter that comes out every Friday. Includes hints, tips and weekend tasks - whether you're a beginner gardener or an expert grower. Also includes competitions, recipes, events, requests for particular plants or seeds and answers to your vege growing questions. To receive Get Growing, sign up via the NZ Gardener website or send an email to getgrowing@nzgardener.co.nz
An archive of past newsletters can be found on the NZ Gardener website.
Whenua For the People
http://www.whenuaforthepeople.org.nz/
A community of individuals, whanau, groups and friends looking to reconnect with the land, share ideas and information, learn new skills, get involved in planting and growing, save old seed, make new friends and embrace all things to do with nurturing and caring for Papatuanuku (Earth Mother).
Topics covered include:
- Whenua (land) Health
- Maramataka (Maori Moon Calendar)
- Maori Kai (traditional food gardening)
- Maori Seedbank Online
- Nutritional Kai
- Rongoa Maori
You will need to join to get past the front page.
This is an initiative of the Centre for Papatuanuku - http://centreforpapatuanuku.org.nz/
Edible Wellington – A Gatherer’s Guide
http://www.42collective.org.nz/projects.html
This map shows fruit trees and other edible goodies available to Wellington gatherers. No listings for Kapiti, but maybe we could add some?
American Community Gardening Association
http://www.communitygarden.org/learn/
ACGA has many printable articles and tip sheets covering different topics related to community gardening, garden organising, general gardening and horticulture.
Grow Sheffield: Urban Food Growing Landscapes
http://www.growsheffield.com/
Grow Sheffield is an active network of individuals and groups promoting urban organic food growing. Beautiful and interesting site with an artistic bent, in particular:
• ALLOTMENT SOUP is an annual creative and artistic harvest celebration. The aim of the event is to celebrate food growing and allotment culture.
• ABUNDANCE is a project to harvest the seasonal glut of local fruit. Last year they produced the Handbook as a guide to community urban harvesting.
Incredible Edible Todmorden
http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/
Incredible Edible Todmorden aims to increase the amount of local food grown and eaten in the town. Involves businesses, schools, farmers and the community are all involved. Projects include transforming public flower beds into community herb gardens and vegetable patches, community orchards, working with public bodies - like the fire station and churches – to use their land, a campaign to encourage the production and consumption of local eggs, and supporting local growers and farmers.
Go to http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ideas/20100502 to hear Chris Laidlaw interview one of the projects’ founders for Radio New Zealand’s Ideas programme on 9 May 2010.
Just for the Love of It
http://www.justfortheloveofit.org/
Alternative economy website with a space for sharing skills, tools and spaces.
Best Gardening
http://www.bestgardening.com/bgc/howto/organic.htm
Quite an old-style gardening website, but some useful stuff in the ‘Organic’ section.
Organic Pathways
http://www.organicpathways.co.nz/garden/
Organic Pathways provide an online guide and marketplace for organics in New Zealand. Includes a gardening page with a broad range of articles.
Koanga Gardens
http://www.koanga.co.nz/
Koanga Gardens is an organic garden centre started by Kay Baxter. They sell a wide range of garden products, books, seeds and tools online. From June 21, this site will be trading at http://www.kaiwakaorganics.co.nz, but will retain an association with the Koanga Institute.
Koanga Institute
http://www.koanga.org.nz/
Since 1920 we have lost around 90% of our vegetable seed and 85% of the fruit varieties. In response the Koanga Institute has been collecting and growing old fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers for 25 years to conserve the seed. They are particularly focused on New Zealand heirlooms.
The Institute is a membership-based organization: for $30/35 a year members receive Spring and Autumn catalogues which list the rare and endangered seeds (available to members only) for each growing season and contain news articles, heritage seed information, gardening techniques and details of Koanga Open Days and workshops, and are entitled to two free packets of seed from the catalogue.
Permaculture in New Zealand
http://permaculture.org.nz/
Various forums and a resources page with reading materials and links to other permaculture sites in NZ and overseas.
Homegrown
http://www.homegrown.org/
An American site created by Farm Aid, which “celebrates all of us who pioneer a HOMEGROWN way to eat, grow, and express ourselves. We connect to the land and to each other.”
Kings Seeds
http://kingsseeds.co.nz
Online seed shop with huge range that includes some organic seed, sprouting seeds, green mulches etc. A paper copy of the new annual catalogue is sent to anyone who ordered in the last year, so there will be people in Paekakariki Gardeners who have copies if you want to borrow one.
Levin Soil & Health Association
http://www.organicnz.org/branch/levin/.
Local branch of Organic NZ which organises fieldtrips, guest speakers and shares their knowledge of organic gardening and sustainable living to encourage others to live more organically. See website for contact details and archived monthly newsletters.
Transition Aotearoa
http://transitionaotearoa.org.nz/forum/topics/2069185:Topic:5449?co...
Link to discussion “Community gardens – How to start one’, including pdf of document “Community Engaged Agriculture Project: Sustainable Development for Communities“ by Finn Mackesy and Daniel Nepia.
Organic Garden Calendar for Kapiti to Manawatu,
by Kath Irvine. Published by the Levin Branch of the Soil & Health Association.
A month-by-month guide to organic gardening in our area. Available from Commonsense Organics in Paraparaumu or through Levin Soil & Health http://www.organicnz.org/branch/levin/
I enjoyed making the list - lots of inspiring stuff.