Eco-Warriors Update!

A big well done to all the Eco-warriors from Room 20 who got stuck in today and tidied up our vegetable gardens. You have made them look fantastic! - we are now ready to plant new vegetables

Pickled Beetroot Recipe

Ann's Pickled Beetroot

PRINT

I recommend this 

4 people recommend this

Pin It

Thank you to Ann from Auckland for providing this recipe for pickled beetroot. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 Kg Meduim size raw beetroot
• 300 ml white vinegar
• 100 g castor sugar
• 5 cloves
• 3 star anise
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 200 ml water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• pinch of salt

Method: 

1. Place Beetroot in a pot and just cover with water.
2. Add a pinch of salt and cook until you can put a knife through the beetroot (then you know they are cooked), then drain.
3. In another saucepan bring to boil the water, sugar, white vinegar, bay leaves and spices.
4. Once boiling bring down to simmer for 2 - 3 minutes, or until sugar has dissolved.
5. Switch off heat and add the balsamic vinegar.
6. Let the beetroot cool down a bit so you can handle them.
7. Remove the skin and either grate them, slice or keep whole (as you prefer them - I like mine grated).
8. Put them in a jar and pour the reduced mixture over the beetroot.
9. Let it cool then add the olive oil, seal, and put in the fridge.
10. Enjoy!

Transplanting!

In Focus: Transplanting Guide

Sometimes plants need to be moved and transplanted, and winter is the best time to do this for most plants, with the exception of bulbs. Over the coldest months when most plants are not actively growing their metabolism slows right down, which means there is less chance of transplant shock when moving. When transplanting dig out the plant, taking as much of the root as possible. Once planted in the new location, water in well with Seasol – a seaweed based plant tonic which reduces transplant shock. Not all plants transplant well - rosemary and lavender do not transplant well, and nor do plants with a long tap root such as cabbage trees - as soon as the tap root is cut, the plant generally dies. Citrus, blueberries, cranberries, feijoa, raspberries, dwarf apples, peaches and apricots will readily transplant before the plants get too established (or are less than 1 metre tall). Taller shrubs like camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas can be moved up until they are approximately 1 – 1.5 metres tall as they have a shallow root systems. Read on for more information

Rhubarb, Banana and Berry Crumble

PRINT

I recommend this 

1 people recommend this

Pin It

Serves: 

6

A good crumble is a winter staple, and this recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

• 6 rhubarb stems, chopped into 2cm pieces
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 125g butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup plain flour
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 cup cornflakes
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 (firm) ripe bananas, sliced
• 1 cup berries (fresh or frozen)

Method: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C
2. Place rhubarb in a baking dish (the one you will cook the crumble in)
3. Sprinkle sugar over it, cover with a lid or foil, and bake for 15 minutes
4. Beat the butter and brown sugar until pale and creamy
5. Mix in remaining ingredients apart from fruit and combine well.
6. When rhubarb is cooked, add banana and berries, and then sprinkle with crumble topping.
7. Cook for 30 minutes or until topping golden and firm.

Recipe taken with permission from The Tui NZ Vegetable Garden, by Rachel Vogan, recipes by Helen Jackson www.foodlovers.co.nz

In Focus: Growing Garlic!

Garlic is one of the easiest and least fuss vege crops you can grow. It takes up hardly any room (width wise above the soil) and once you plant it requires little care other than moist soil. If you don’t have a lot of space garlic is a vege that grows happily in pots and containers, so you can still get your green fix! Garlic needs good soil to thrive, so if planting in a garden dig in lots of compost and sheep pellets. If planting in a pot, fill with a good potting mix like Tui Vegetable Mix. Bury each clove (segment) finger depth (at least 5 cm) below the ground, shallow planting can lead to the plant falling over down the track. Once planted, shoots will appear within a month or so. Small garlic cloves are often caused by lack of water through the warmer months, so ensure you keep the soil moist.

Rose Time As the season changes from one to another it signals time to start thinking about refreshing and replenishing existing rose beds and planting new roses. New season roses begin appearing in the garden stores in May and will be around until the end of July. Ginger Kisses is a new variety looking to steal the show this winter (pictured right). And keep an eye out for Pope John Paul II - the pure white hybrid tea rose set to appear later in spring. Click through to the Tui website to see an picture of the Pope John Paul II rose, and for 5 top tips for establishing ravishing roses! Read more

Flower Gardener’s Diary When it begins getting cold and dreary outdoors, it can be tempting to cover the garden with a layer of mulch and walk away until spring. However if you want to inject some colour into your garden (and it is not covered in snow!), start with flowers! Garden Tips for June Brightly coloured polyanthus, primula, pansies and violas can be planted now by the barrow load. If you prefer to start with seeds: sow poppies, sweetpeas, wildflowers, calendula, violas and pansies. Collect seeds from poppies, wild flowers and other flowering annuals to grow your own free flowers in spring. Deadhead or pinch out old flowers of snapdragons, stocks, polys and pansies to encourage a new flush of flowers.   Read on for the full flower gardening diary

Winter Planting!

A bumper crop of strawberries

Research shows that planting strawberries in New Zealand’s winter temperatures will increase vigour and produce a higher number of berries over the season so don’t be afraid to plant early. The delicate flowers can't handle really frosty conditions so in frost prone areas it is best to protect plants from the elements or wait until a little later to plant. Make sure you have enough planted for the whole family to enjoy - a rule of thumb is plant 5 strawberry plants for every member of the family.  Read More Winter to do list: To protect your plants from cold weather, now is a great time to add a layer of Tui Mulch & Feed - about 5cm thick over your whole garden. Tui Mulch & Feed will protect from the cold and also add valuable nitrogen back to the soil with the healthy additions of pea straw, blood and bone, and powdered sheep manure. Check your tool cupboard and give them some TLC - sharpening, cleaning, oiling, and ultimately replacing anything beyond repair. Clean out the garden shed. Take stock of what is actually in there. Seal up half empty bags of fertilizer and keep these and chemicals safely out of reach of children and pets. Have a frost cloth or tunnels handy for those cold days and nights. Cover your compost heap to keep the warmth in, old carpet is great. Try your hand at building a birdfeeder or take a look at the new Tui range of bird feeders and seed.  Natural food sources are scarce for birds during winter so help them out with a regular food source – they will reward you with hours of entertainment. Watch the Tui Time Wild Bird Guide for more information. Get planning for spring. Grab a copy of our vegetable, fruit and flower gardening books – there’s even one for the kids – and plan your next steps. Take care of your vegetable garden: For root crops, dig over garden beds as all the action happens underground and root crops need well worked soil. If you have lumps in your soil chances are your carrots won’t grow nice and straight. Early crop potatoes like Agria can be planted in late winter. In warmer parts of New Zealand use sheltered areas of your garden to sow broccoli, broad beans, cabbage, cauliflower, and peas. Lettuce seeds can be sown too, if you choose hardy winter varieties. The shortest day of the year is traditionally garlic planting day, but you can plant through into early spring in some areas. Dig the soil over well - add lots of lovely compost.  Plant the cloves 5cm deep with the pointy end to the sky. Garlic can be harvested mid-late summer. See the Tui Time Garlic Growing Guide for more information. If frosts are a concern, plant crops into containers that you can move around to catch the midday sun and keep a cloche or growing tunnel handy. Don't forget your Quash - slugs and snails love juicy vegetable seedlings! Fruit: Winter is a busy time for pruning in the fruit garden.  Most deciduous fruit trees can be pruned except peaches, plums, and nectarines.  Prune grapes and kiwifruit vines. Autumn cropping raspberries can be pruned back to ground level.  Make sure your tools are well oiled and nice and sharp. Winter is also time for planting new season deciduous fruit trees. Select the healthiest specimens from your garden centre with straight stems. Prepare and plant into Tui Garden Mixfor the best possible start. See the Tui Time Fruit Tree Growing Guide for more information. In the flower garden: It's time to prune your roses. Check out our Tui Time Roses Guide for more information. Deadhead any plants that have finished flowering for the season. Keep on top of weeding.