July 2023

Words: Mrs Darling

Being in the middle of winter, but feeling like spring is coming, is like being stuck in a traffic jam, but your favourite song is playing on the radio.

We’re just past the middle of winter (23 July). It’s been a beautiful day, even quite warm once the sun was high enough in the sky. I put out three loads of washing then spent the rest of the day in the glasshouse. It was so warm in there the auto-vents were wide open. I had my iPods in, listening to a playlist of my favourite songs and really feeling as if spring was just around the corner. Well it’s a bit further down the road than that. But not too far – it’s actually only 5 weeks away. At my age that’ll flash by in a nanosecond.

So far this winter, we haven’t had a frost at our place. Not having one all winter has never happened in the more than 30 years we’ve lived here, so it doesn’t surprise me to find out (Met Service app on my phone) that it’s going to get pretty close to a frost tonight – down to 4 degrees C. That’s cold enough for the heater in the glasshouse to turn itself on which is a Very Good Thing because I need it to keep my plants reasonably snug. I’ve got seeds in punnets and pots and tender lettuces in the beds. The punnets and pots are all sitting on the heat pad though. I’ve planted tomatoes (Early Girl and Sweet 100s), cucumbers, butternut pumpkins, zucchinis and basil. I think the heat pad has a slightly warming effect on the glasshouse, but I can’t be sure. In any case, the seeds will be warm as.

In the picture above you can see a couple of tomato plants (back left). They’re self-seeded Sweet 100s from the legendary plant I pulled out last month. It produced thousands of tomatoes for 3 years and took over the entire glasshouse. I’ll plant these ones outside at Labour Weekend (21/22 October). They’ll be big and strong by then. I’ll put one Early Girl in the glasshouse, and the rest can also go outside.

My friend Colin “Bruiser” Smith sent me a photo of his tomato seedlings yesterday. They’re up to their second leaves. He’s probably a full month ahead of me. Not that it’s a competition, of course (*cough). I’d only really be competitive with him in my dreams. He had 80kgs of tomatoes in his freezer by the end of April, a lot of them grown in his glasshouse. Check out his marvellousness here when he did a guest post for me.

Last month I told you I’d planted some bean seeds, but none had germinated. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t come up at all. I was wrong (incredibly rare): they DID come up. That shows you how warm the soil is in the glasshouse because they need at least 15 degrees C to germinate. The beds in the glasshouse are slightly raised too and that makes a difference. Jo McCarroll, in the July issue of New Zealand Gardener magazine, wrote that she’d bought a soil thermometer and found the soil in her raised beds was 7 degrees C warmer than the ground, and the soil in her pots warmer still.

Yesterday I went to Mitre 10 with Dr Darling to buy a soil thermometer and came home with a pH- and moisture-probe instead. And some seedlings I hadn’t planned to buy (sugar snaps and lettuces – all now planted in the glasshouse). And some seeds for very pretty blue daisies. And some spraying oil.

The best part of going to Mitre 10 was checking out. On previous trips there Dr Darling would whip out his Airpoints card at the checkout, even if I was paying the bill, knowing I don’t carry mine. However, when I’d gone to Mitre 10 on my own a few days earlier (seeds, potting mix, punnets of irresistible seedlings), and the woman at the check out asked me if I had an Airpoints card, and I said “not with me, no”, she then asked if I had the Air NZ app on my phone. Well yes I did. She then showed me where to find the barcode for my Airpoints card on the app, scanned it, and sent me on my way. I could hardly wait for the next trip with Dr Darling. When we reached the checkout yesterday, and I was asked for my Airpoints card (I was paying), I saw him reach for his card wallet. With incredible speed (for someone my age), I found the app, brought up the barcode, and had it scanned. He was stunned, and I whooped with delight. Not that it’s a competition, of course. Because he’s such a good sport, he was delighted too, and we laughed all the way back to the car. I know what you’re thinking: that we probably need to get out more. You could be right.

September 2021

Words: Mrs Darling

Ka tangi te wharauroa, ko ngā karere a Mahuru – If the shining cuckoo cries, it is the messenger of spring

Māori whakataukī

^{Photo by missterryw from FreeImages}

On 26 September this year I heard the unmistakeable call of a shining cuckoo – pīpīwharauroa. It’s the earliest I’ve heard one in over 20 years. In fact in the past few years they haven’t arrived in Gisborne until November. A chap called Ray Paterson up in Northland, who’s paid attention to the arrival of shining cuckoos since he was a boy 70-odd years ago, heard one this year around the middle of August. He said they usually arrive in Northland in September. They fly to Aotearoa New Zealand from the Bismarck Archipelago every spring, and stay until autumn. It’s a journey of over 4,600kms and the bird is about the size of a sparrow. They’re not as sexy as godwits which seem to have their own marketing managers who encourage bird lovers to record the godwits’ every move once they hit our shores (ok, ok, they do fly about 12,000kms). But I reckon a journey like that for a tiny bird is pretty amazing. Once they arrive in Northland they slowly work their way south.

I know what you’re thinking – isn’t she supposed to be writing about glasshouses? Yes, yes, I am. But I’m just so excited I had to share it with you. And also shining cuckoos mean that spring is here. That means it’s a busy time in the glasshouse (there you go).

First, an update: The sweet 100 tomato I grew from seed planted in May is now covered in fruit. None have ripened yet – another reminder to get seeds planted in January or February for tomatoes I want to eat over the winter in the glasshouse. However, we will be eating our own glasshouse tomatoes a lot earlier than the ones I’m about to plant out in the garden, so growing the plant over the winter hasn’t been a complete waste of time. (Note to self: Must Do Better.)

The cucumbers and supermarket truss tomatoes I grew from seed are now more than ready to plant out in the garden. The tomatoes are too big for their pots, but I’m hesitating to plant them out because the nights are still quite cold – only 4 degrees a few days ago. The earliest day for planting them out for optimal growth and health is 9 October, according to the gardeners’ moon calendar, and the maramataka calendar compiled by my friend Ron Taiapa – kia ora Ron, and thank you e hoa. I don’t think the seedlings can wait for another week though (see below).

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The courgette plant inside the glasshouse is still growing strongly and we’re picking a couple of courgettes a week. The butternut pumpkin seeds germinated and are also growing well. On top of all this abundance, we’re picking sugar snaps daily. This latter comes just in time for the school holidays when our two “nieces” spend their days with us while their parents work. The younger one gets a glint in her eye whenever sugar snaps are mentioned.

The most exciting arrival in September (apart from the shining cuckoo) was some tomato seeds from Heritage Food Crops Research Trust. I sent away for them after reading in the August issue of the New Zealand Gardener magazine about Mark Christensen’s research into high lycopene tomatoes. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant which has been shown to reduce the incidence of heart disease and some cancers. Two sorts of tomato seeds came, both for golden tomatoes – “Golden Bell” with high lycopene, and “Eye Drop” which is high in beta-carotene. HFCRT asked gardeners from around the motu to assist them in “citizen science work” by planting the tomatoes and watching to see how they develop.

One of the instructions was to put the seeds in the saliva in your mouth before planting them in moist seed-raising mix. My friend Robyn, who’s in her 80s, told me that her great aunt had routinely done this before planting her seeds. It made me wonder what gardening lore and wisdom we might have lost as I haven’t seen anyone else do this. I also wondered about the role of saliva, which has proteins and enzymes in it. Do these elements somehow prepare the seeds for germination? Soften them? The instructions also advised to wait two days before watering the pots which implies that the saliva is important, and not to be watered down too soon. I followed the instructions and now have four punnets of seedlings. I’ll be planting one “Golden Bell” plant in the glasshouse with the rest outside to take their chances.

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The plants growing in the glasshouse right now are the healthiest I’ve ever grown. I reckon this is mostly down to using an auto-spray to keep the bugs off (thanks again Colin). Not only have the bugs been kept off, but there is absolutely no powdery or downy mildew on any of the plants. This is astounding as my plants have been plagued by mildew in previous years, even in the height of summer. My hypothesis is that mildews are carried by insects which bring the spores into the glasshouse on their legs and bodies. In our glasshouse the plants are clean because the insects either can’t get in (we have screens on the door and windows we open), or they die very quickly thanks to the auto-spray (if they’re small enough to get in through the fine mesh). It would be brilliant if they stay this way, and who knows, maybe, maybe, maybe, I can finally beat the psyllids. Fingers crossed.

May 2021

Words: Mrs Darling

I’m falling for you.

_{^{Painting of Waiteata Park in autumn by Zoe Alford}}

It’s that time of year when the nights are closing in, and the temperatures are dropping. I’ve fished out my possum and merino socks (my precious), and my ugg boots (my other precious). The volume of leaves falling from the deciduous trees in the park across the road from where we live is increasing exponentially. Some of the leaves are flying rather than falling, as they float many metres high above the house from the tops of the huge London plane trees. The liquidambars are dazzling, with all their leaves still to fall.

Dr Darling spends a lot of time raking leaves in May and June. Between you and me (shhh), he puts the leaves from the ditch in the council verge on the wheelbarrow and takes them back over to the park. He says they come from there, and it’s only right they should go back. It’s better for the environment (he says) to have them composting under the trees rather than burning them which we used to do back in the day before we understood its effects. Before you write and tell me to use the leaves for compost, rest assured we do that too but we would need compost bins the size of shipping containers to use them all. We wait for the oak leaves which are a lot smaller and make beautiful compost.

The question this month is, what shall I plant in the Crystal Palace (CP = our glasshouse) to grow over the winter?

This time last year I planted zucchini and tomato seeds which came up very quickly. I was expecting the tomatoes and cucumbers I’d been growing over the summer to be nearing the end of their usefulness, but they just didn’t give up and I was forced to give the tomato seedlings away. I did plant one of the zucchini seedlings I’d grown, but it didn’t thrive. I’ve had great success with zucchini in the past though, so thought I’d give them another go this winter.

In autumn I often find self-seeded tomatoes growing wherever I’ve used our home-made compost. However I couldn’t find a single one this year when I went fossicking around to pluck one out to plant in the CP. Similarly when I went to the local nurseries to look for seedlings last month I couldn’t help but notice the complete absence of zucchinis or tomatoes. Fair enough. The nurseries aren’t growing seedlings for glasshouse owners. They must reason that if you have a glasshouse you can grow your own plants from seed. Yes we can.

I decided to plant some Sweet 100s because I have lots of winter recipes for using them cooked. I don’t like eating cold food in winter and am always amazed at people who tell me they eat salads all year round. Are you mad? The last thing I want on a freezing cold day is to bite into a cucumber. No siree Bob.

I also planted two zucchini seeds (an heir and a spare). None of the seeds had germinated five days later, so I decided to put them on the heat pad. Within 48 hours the first two tomatoes had germinated, and a couple of days later the first of the zucchini had come up. Those first seedlings will be the ones I keep. They are quite clearly the strongest.

A week ago I planted onion seedlings in the glasshouse – Italian long keepers I’d grown from seed, and Pukekohe long keeper seedlings I bought from the nursery. They’ve taken off in the soft heat of the glasshouse. It’s such a wonderful feeling to have onions growing. They’re so easy to grow, and I use them almost every day.

Also in the glasshouse at the moment are basil plants, cut back into bushes from being almost a metre tall by the end of summer. Some of their leaves are turning black though, so I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep them going. I still have King Sweetie capsicums growing. One of the plants has been in over 2 years now and is still producing fruit. The others I grew from seed in September. All are doing well, although they were covered in whiteflies until a few weeks ago. Read here how I got rid of them.

I have broccoli and kale seedlings ready to plant out in the main garden (they take up too much room in the CP). The only other thing I’m going to plant soon is sugar snap peas. Last year I planted them in July and they did spectacularly well. I want to see how they do if I plant them now. I’ll report back.