About

Gender

Female


Location

Tokoroa


Suburb

Paraonui


Post / Zip Code

3420


I can offer

Gardening advice, Food from my garden


Food Growing Skill Level

Confident


Experience and Qualifications

Lots of years in the garden


I am interested in...

Community Gardens, Learning, Helping Others


Tell us about your garden and what you're growing

Yakon, Jerusalem Artichoke, Kiwano, Ulluco, three types of corn - for porridge and polenta, for flour, for the hens, - a variety of runner beans including King George, Lima and pinto beans. Plus all the usual vegetables I am learning about all the varieties of Native potatoes. I am growing on eight varieties to pass on but have found out that there are up to thirty varieties in NZ. I am involved in helping new gardeners start off their veg. gardens which is fun. I love trying new things and the best part is planting the seeds and watching them develop. The challenge is to keep things growing in the winter. Here we have quite heavy frosts because we are high above sea-level. Someone said we're as high as the Kaimais(?) I have worked in a community garden for three years but have loved gardening all my life. As a small girl I was allowed to buy one packet of seed in spring, and I always had a path in 'my garden.' I think I was a chook in a former life! (Love scratching in it) If there are folk in my area who need help, support, advice or start-up materials, please feel free to contact me through SPARC Waikato, phone 886 9002 in Tokoroa. It will cost you nothing!


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Comments

  • Daniel Martin May 12, 2013 at 10:20am

    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

  • Daniel Martin December 3, 2012 at 11:48am

    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.

  • WIC Garden Project October 22, 2012 at 11:28pm

    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.

  • WIC Garden Project October 15, 2012 at 10:44pm

    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.

     

  • Daniel Martin September 16, 2012 at 7:23am

    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?

  • Daniel Martin July 31, 2012 at 10:16am

    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)

  • Megan June 1, 2012 at 7:21am

    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?

  • Megan May 24, 2012 at 5:06am

    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 :)

  • Jude May 3, 2012 at 12:36am

    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.

  • Kali April 1, 2012 at 10:40am

    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.

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