GrownUps New Zealand

Small Garden Growing

You don’t need a huge area to create a really productive fruit and vegetable garden. Make the most of small outdoor spaces – you’ll learn new skills, have a great excuse to spend time outdoors and save money at the supermarket!

Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon recently interviewed Tim Martin from Auckland about his fantastic small garden of less than 100m2 that is producing an endless supply of fruit and produce, and providing a lot of personal satisfaction as well.

Here is a quick summary of what was mentioned during the interview and some extracts from Tim’s blog.

At the moment we have a spectacular display of sunflowers which are brightening up our garden – once their display is done the seeds will be fed to the chooks.

Now to some other tips:

Lorraine from Hamilton has this recipe for cleaning and softening fabric. “I use a 2L clean milk bottle to which I add 1L white vinegar and 1L of boiled cold water. Mix together and let stand for a week.”

Karen from Palmerston North has a tip to freshen up a smelly mattress (she says it works on carpets also). “Mix a few drops of essential oil with one cup baking soda. Sprinkle on mattress and let it sit for 1 hour before vacuuming. Baking soda will absorb any dirt, moisture, odours, while the essential oil will leave things smelling fresh”.

By Frank and Muriel Newman. Read more here.

Please send in your tips by visiting the oily rag website (www.oilyrag.co.nz) or by writing to Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.