Topics

Community

• People Care Is Land Care Working bees, burnout, and household design — the social layer that decides whether an edible landscape lasts.

Design

• Site Survey on Wet Boots A winter inventory without fancy software — sectors, slopes, and the story the mud already tells.
• Observe and Interact — July A Holmgren principle walked on a Te Puke block in winter light — before you buy another plant.
• Rows That Leave Room Winter layout for trees and grass — spacing so machinery, light, and livestock can all still work.
• Canopy Before Crop Why the first decade of an edible landscape is decided by shade, shelter, and structure — not seedlings.
• Layers Before Beds Why canopy, shrub, and ground cover decide the garden — before another row of annuals.
• Urban Edge Polyculture Balconies, courtyards, and town sections — stacking herbs, fruit, and greens where space is mean.
• Shade Is Infrastructure Open paddocks and bare yards cook stock and gardens. Living shade is a design decision — not a nice-to-have.
• Water Lines in High Summer How paths, mulch, and shade decide whether January feeds you or fights you.

Farm edge

• Rural Block Autumn Edges Fence lines, races, and wet corners — where lifestyle blocks and small farms either leak fertility or catch it.
• Willow as Living Hay Fast trees that hold soil, cool stock, and feed through a dry spell — useful on farms and lifestyle edges.

Orchards

• Orchard Understorey in Heat What belongs under kiwifruit, citrus, and pipfruit when January strips the grass and cooks the alley.

Plants

• Totara on the Edge A native podocarp as long-game shade and shelter — planted with respect for time, stock, and place.
• Feijoa on the Boundary A plant profile for the hedge that feeds you — and forgives a little neglect.
• Autumn Herb Shelves What to cut, dry, and pot up now so winter kitchens still smell like the garden.
• Feijoa Fall Notes Daily pickup, variety notes, and why autumn is when the hedge proves itself.

Practice

• Saplings Before Stock Winter is when you plant the trees summer will need — and build the guards so spring animals do not eat the plan.
• Pruning the Mid-Storey A short practical guide for winter cuts that keep fruiting wood in light.
• Garlic and Green Manure What goes in while autumn soil still holds warmth — the plantings that pay next winter and next spring.
• The Preserve Bench Autumn’s second harvest happens indoors — dry, ferment, and jar so the food forest keeps feeding you in July.
• Seed and Store What to save from the autumn garden — and what to plant while the soil still holds warmth.
• Five-Minute Summer Habits Small daily moves that keep a busy edible landscape from tipping into crisis in January.
• Continuous Pick Notes A practical summer rhythm for herbs, greens, and soft fruit without stripping the plant.

Soil

• Winter Soil, Quiet Work A field conversation on compost, cover, and what not to disturb while the ground rests.
• Compost While It’s Warm Hot piles, autumn leaves, and why waiting until mid-winter to start a heap is a cold hobby.
• Mulch Maths for January How deep, how wide, and what happens when bare soil meets Bay of Plenty heat.