The answer lies in the soil

Our chiller supplies are dwindling as the annual re-supply draws near. All that is now left of the last fresh food shipment are onions and potatoes; we feel a little like the Irish did in the famine of 1848.

We do have plenty of frozen, dried and canned foods. Fresh food is always preferred, however.

Since arriving here, Neil and I have “taken over” the bottom vege garden. We have been enjoying salad meals of rocket, radish and lettuce and recently broccoli, beans and coriander from Chauncy’s garden. The supply of red and green chillies has been constant and they are a welcome addition to our curries, pizzas and the odd Mexican meal that is served up on our historic large red Formica dinner table.

Chauncy and some of the garden goodies

We grow all our plants from seed and it has taken me until now to realise I need to think ahead and have things in the seed raising mix at least six weeks ahead of when I intend to plant them out. Germination and growth has been slow with some of the cool wet weather we have had until recently. Things should be humming along nicely for the next guardians of Raoul Island when they arrive here in mid-October.

Pook-proof fence

Our bottom garden is well fenced against the pooks as they have mercilessly ravaged it in the past. The kakariki still visit at will and a few seeds are lost to them, but on the whole they don’t do a lot of damage and in fact are helpful as they nibble away at the oxalis corms. We know they’ve paid us a call when we discover the silver beet plants stripped back to the stem.