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Ross Vintiner of Dali Olives holding a handful of Johnson-Su compost

Organic probiotic for the soil

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By Ross Vintiner


Growers worldwide are experiencing two fundamental growing challenges โ€“ high and rising input costs, and climate extremes. Species, soil, plants, crops, food supply and affordability are all threatened.

Organics is well equipped to solve and lead solutions.


This article proposes one proven method โ€“ the Johnson-Su compost system โ€“ as an example of how growers of all stripes can reduce inputs and costs, improve soil health, resilience and yield, and reduce food costs and human contributions to climate extremes.

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First, a little context

Since the 1940s, agricultural fertiliser input volumes and prices have risen dramatically in real terms, whereas production per input unit has declined. More fertiliser, less crop and greater cost per input unit applied. The result: higher food prices, poorer soil, health, species, environmental outcomes, and lower grower returns.

Climate extremes will intensify with an elevated El Niรฑo weather pattern now in place. Resilience to adapt to fast-changing climate has become the grail of agriculture. As a result, a fundamental change is occurring to how we grow.

Mainstream and even progressive agronomists have until recently put huge productive store in soil and plant nutrition through fertiliser inputs. The soil as an ecosystem was lost to industrial agriculture. Thanks to those practising the wisdom of Rudolf Steiner, founder of biodynamics, Albert Howard, father of western organics, and indigenous systems, the soil is again being viewed more widely as a living, integrated organism rather than the dead chemical medium of dirt.

The living soil

Recent pioneers have applied scientific understanding of the soil food web, the soil ecosystem, to show how microbes are more critical to soil health and productive performance than fertiliser inputs. Everything we have in our environment today comes from microbes that have cycled carbon and minerals to grow life.

Despite this, fungi, for example, are being destroyed in modern agricultural soils โ€“ lowering plant immunity, eroding soil, reducing nutrient uptake, lessening water-holding capacity, producing food of poorer quality. There is a microbial species crisis.

Below our feet are armies of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses, microbes far greater in number and importance to us than the stars above. But they are under threat. It is imperative that we save soil microbes to save ourselves.

ABOVE: White fungal cap on a Johnson-Su compost

What are the best growing systems?

The Kete Ora Trust funded Plant & Food NZ to undertake a meta-analysis of world research findings to determine the best growing system to produce nutrient-dense food (read more here). Results were mixed.

Far clearer were these overwhelming findings:

  1. that organic and biodynamic growing increase microbial biomass, the total number of microbes in soil;
  2. that organics produces the highest percentage of soil organic matter (SOM), made in large part from microbes, compared to non-organic farming;
  3. and that organics often outperforms other farming systems, thanks to microbes, to help plants produce phytonutrients, vital natural protectors of plants, animals and us. Phytonutrients are antioxidants and anti-inflammatories for the bodyโ€™s immunity.

Microbes play a huge role in growing soil organic matter (SOM) and the root rhizosphere, where most nutrient transfer happens between plant roots and the soil. Less than six percent of soil volume, SOM is also a key driver of soil oxygen, soil water-holding capacity (reducing the need for irrigation), beneficial soil structure (less compaction), and fertility. The more and diverse the microbes, the more carbon and the healthier and more productive SOM, soil, plant and crop. Soil plant nutrients are only a tiny fraction of total soil mass.

The Johnson-Su compost system

Enter a professor and his partner, fully aware of these points and the United Nationโ€™s case that one third of the earthโ€™s soils are severely degraded, largely due to modern farming practices that destroy soil microbes.

Dr David Johnson and Hui-Chun Su developed a low-cost system that brings lifeless soils back to life. This is a paradigm shift. Rather than a nutrient fertiliser, Johnson-Su compost functions as a high-biology, fungal-dominant microbial inoculant. Up to 2500 species of bacteria and 400 species of fungi can be produced. That is much greater than most composts, which are normally bacteria dominant. A full complement of soil microbe species helps a soil system function properly.

A Johnson-Su compost heap is not turned, but is aerated via vertical pipes, and matures over many months. Just a kilogram of this compost will go a long way in your garden, and can be applied either as a straight compost, compost extract ground drench or foliar spray. An easy web or YouTube search will show you how to make and use Johnson-Su compost in your garden, farm or orchard.

Think of the Johnson-Su composting method as a soil probiotic. We highly value nutritional probiotics as cultured inoculants to improve our gut microbiome. Helpful microbes control the growth of potentially harmful ones. The same principles work with Johnson-Su compost applied to the soil or plant. A small amount of the clay-like compost can be added as extract in water to power the plantโ€™s immune system and increase its ability to grow and produce.

In the Johnson-Su method, beneficial microorganisms are reintroduced to the soil usually in the form of compost extract or seed inoculants. The extracted microbes build a diverse SOM, enable much greater plant uptake of native and introduced nutrients, improve yields, assist soil oxygen and water retention. Extract improves seed germination and growth rates, while also increasing carbon sequestration.

This is a free, open-source system. It is proven and at work in many countries around the world. It can be used in the garden and at scale, with some farms in the US, Europe and Australia applying extract to thousands of hectares. For reasons already outlined, the microbial heavy Johnson-Su compost works best organic.

Itโ€™s also an easy system. The static pile compost requires no turning. Feedstock is often free. The compost bioreactor is inexpensive to make and has no odour. There is no leaching or contamination.

Our experience in the olive grove

What I have found using this easy compost method for three years on a commercial olive grove is a 50% reduction in organic fertiliser inputs, along with high growth and yield rates, and green grazing pasture all year.

Our soil has gone from being bacterial dominant to a fungal:bacteria ratio of 4:1, equivalent to the forest floor. Trees require fungal dominant soils. Garden soils require a 1:1 ratio. All soils and roots need beneficial fungi and other microbes to function, exchanging sugar for nutrients, communicating via networks.

Our feedstock is chipped ramial (side fruiting) branches from Italian alders, with 20% leaf coverage. A range of inputs can be used, from leaves to olive and grape pomace, to wood chips, ensuring a high carbon over nitrogen ratio. The static compost pile is aerated with pipes and kept around 70% moist. Worms are added after a heating stage.

Johnson-Su is far more than compost. Please read the research. Make a batch of Johnson-Su compost this month, let it sit for nine months at least, apply and enjoy the results. You will be helping to save soil microbes.

Just when we most need to lower growing inputs and costs, and to help mitigate and build resilience against climate extremes, here is one tool to help. Organics and nature can lead not only to grow far better, but also to save species and soil, and feed us as nature intended. No GE required.

Ross Vintiner of Dali Olives

Ross Vintiner asks questions and sometimes answers come. He took a broken olive grove that now ranks in the top 100 best groves in the world, organic and biodynamic by choice. Natureโ€™s answer.

www.daliolives.co.nz 

Text and photos: Ross Vintiner

Biochar, black gold and bananas

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What started as a simple experiment to improve soil in the direction of terra pretaโ€”a famously fertile, friable soil that seems to sequester carbon permanentlyโ€”has become a national field trial for the use of biochar in New Zealand.


Betsy Kettle from Hibiscus Coast Zero Waste tells the story.

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Phil and Jenny Grainger with banana trees grown in compost swales at their Waitoki farm


One of the programmes of our environmental education trust is City to Farm, which involves schools, retirement villages and cafes collecting their food scraps in wheelie bins, along with bokashi to add microorganisms and biochar to control odour and build topsoil.

The bins are transported to a local farm for composting.

Jenny and Phil Grainger have been experimenting at their Waitoki farm, in Rodney district north of Auckland, creating compost swales, enriching the soil and growing bananas.

Seven years later, the results are in. The compost swales created at the Graingersโ€™ farmโ€”layered with mulch, food scraps, and biochar, then planted with bananasโ€”have transformed from hard, lifeless clay into something resembling the black, soft soil of the Amazon. Soil tests from Hill Labs and the Bioeconomy Science Research Lab confirm it.

ABOVE: Phil and Jenny Grainger | Photo: Betsy Kettle

WHAT IS BIOCHAR? Biochar is a form of stabilised carbon that can last for decades, centuries, or even millennia in the soil without decomposing โ€“ read more about it on the Biochar Networkโ€™s website here.

The black gold of terra preta

Archaeologists who have analysed terra preta tell us that ancient Amazonians placed organic waste of many kinds, along with biochar, into trenches to transform their infamous clay into their famous, long-lasting topsoil.

So we followed their lead. We imitated the process by collecting food scraps from town, using donated biochar from Soil Conditioner Products (SoilPro), and keeping both the composted area and the area around it planted.

The biggest mystery, though, is this: how long does it take to make terra preta? We know there are areas of this โ€˜black earthโ€™ that are centuries, perhaps even millennia, old. But does it really take that long to create it? Landcare Research told us it would take at least five years before we would notice even the slightest change in soil carbon. We were a little concerned, but we carried on.

ABOVE: Paul Candy of Future Ready Farms checks out the soil in the compost swales | Photo: Rebecka Keeling

Compost swales

Compost swales are designed especially for clay soils to catch water from above and help it soak into the subsoil. Long, shallow excavations are dug across the contours of a hill, sloping gently downhill. The excavated soil is mounded on the downhill side and planted.

The hollowed area is then layered again and again with woody mulch and food scraps with biochar, or another nitrogen source, until the desired height is reached.

After that, it is simply left to compost. The compost is not turned and not moved. Instead, the combination we used of biochar and bokashi in the food scraps keeps the heap fresh and healthy, if it is not sitting in standing water. The bokashi โ€˜zingโ€™ (microorganism mix) in the food scraps supports some anaerobic breakdown, and worms move in once the heap has cooled. Fungal hyphae grow undisturbed.

Climate action tool

Swales are useful climate action tools because in times of drought the biochar and deepened topsoil act as a reservoir that plants can draw from. They can also help ease flooding by encouraging runoff to soak into the subsoil. And when the swales are saturated, the bunds provide a drier, more aerated area for roots.

Compost swales are also climate action because they use the stabilised carbon that is biocharโ€”making it a carbon sink in its own right. But this is not the biggest carbon sink. The growth of the living soil microbiome may be much larger.

Biochar acts as a long-lasting home for soil microorganisms, giving them more surface area to colonise. Fungal hyphae also seem to be stimulated by biochar and add to the growing carbon mass. But the fungi and bacteria must still rely on a steady source of food from the starches and sugars that plants pump into the soil.

ABOVE: Banana trees growing in compost swales | Photo: Rebecka Keeling

Holistic approach

So, the swale, biochar, compost, plants, and microorganisms all work together symbiotically and synergistically to transform the soil.

Will this work in other parts of New Zealand? We may have been fortunate: we were working with the same โ€˜deadโ€™ kaolinite clay found in much of Rodneyโ€™s soils, that are also found in the Amazon.

We encourage growers throughout the country to experimentโ€”not only with biochar, but with creating diverse living systems that work together to create living carbon sinks that are resilient to an ever-changing climate.

Betsy Kettle has been a zero-waste advocate and composter for at least three decades and is a trustee of the Sustainable North Trust. She thanks Auckland Council for their support for the City to Farm project over the past eight years.

Parsley on chopping board with knife

Parsley: More than just a garnish

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There are some foods that quietly get on with the job without demanding much attention.

Parsley is one of them. Paula Sharp shines a light on this humble herb that also deserves to be considered a vegetable.

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Often sprinkled over a meal almost as an afterthought, this hardy little herb can be more than a pretty finishing touch. It brings flavour, colour and a surprising range of nutrients and plant compounds to the plate. It is particularly fabulous during winter to add a little more freshness and variety to our meals.

Growing parsley


Parsley is relatively easy to grow in most parts of New Zealand.

Give it reasonable sunshine, good soil and regular watering and it can keep producing through the cooler months.

It doesnโ€™t need much space, making it ideal for a garden, raised bed or even a pot outside the kitchen door.

Grow it from seed or seedlings โ€“ ask around your neighbourhood if anyone has self-sown seedlings to spare. Once itโ€™s established you can let it go to seed and watch it pop up of its own accord.

It is biennial, meaning it will set seed in its second year, so to ensure continuous supply you may need to sow or plant parsley a couple of years in a row.

ABOVE: Parsley grows easily in a pot. Photo: Magnus Franklin, Flickr

ABOVE: Parsley going to seed, by Theen Moy, Flickr

Packed with nutrients


If you already have parsley growing, here’s your encouragement to stop thinking of it as a garnish and start thinking of it as food.

Parsley may be small, but it is surprisingly nutrient-dense. It provides:

  • Vitamin K โ€“ important for normal blood clotting and maintaining healthy bones.
  • Vitamin C โ€“ contributes to normal immune function and helps the body absorb iron from plant foods.
  • Folate โ€“ needed for normal cell division and the formation of healthy red blood cells.
  • Carotenoids โ€“ Including beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, naturally occurring plant compounds.
  • A variety of phytochemicals โ€“ the natural compounds found in plants that contribute to their colour, flavour and aroma and help protect plants from environmental stress.

Eat a variety of plants

Of course, weโ€™re not going to meet all our nutritional needs from a handful of parsley. But thatโ€™s not really the point. One of my favourite nutrition messages is simply: eat a variety of plants.

Different plants provide different combinations of vitamins, minerals, fibre and phytochemicals. Rather than eating the same three or four vegetables week after week, look for easy ways to increase the variety on your plate. And this is where herbs are brilliant.

A generous handful of parsley adds another plant to your diet while bringing a completely different flavour and collection of plant compounds to the meal. Think of herbs as small but mighty contributors to dietary diversity.

You donโ€™t need to overhaul your diet. Add a handful of parsley here, some fresh herbs there, try a different vegetable next week and gradually your plant variety starts to grow.


VITAMIN K:
A note about vitamin K โ€“ parsley is particularly high in vitamin K. If you take warfarin or another vitamin-K-sensitive anticoagulant, the important thing isnโ€™t necessarily to avoid parsley altogether, but to keep your intake of vitamin-K-rich foods consistent and follow your healthcare professionalโ€™s advice.

Flavour and savour

Did you know there are different types of parsley? The two most familiar are curly-leaf parsley, with its frilly leaves and slightly milder flavour, and flat-leaf or Italian parsley, which has broader leaves and a stronger, fresher flavour.

Both have a place in the kitchen, but flat-leaf parsley is particularly lovely when you want the herb itself to be a feature rather than simply a decoration.

ABOVE LEFT: Flat-leaf parsley (photo: H Zell, Wikimedia Commons), and RIGHT: curly-leaf parsley (Hanna Stolt, Unsplash)

Donโ€™t throw away the stalks. The tender stalks are perfectly edible and packed with flavour. Finely chop them into soups, sauces, stocks, casseroles, dressings or salads. Itโ€™s a simple way to reduce food waste while getting more from the bunch. Put parsley to work!

Serving suggestions


Fresh parsley can lift the flavour of winter foods beautifully. Try chopping a generous handful and adding it to:

  • Vegetable, chicken or lentil soup
  • Roasted kลซmara, pumpkin or carrots
  • Mashed potato or cauliflower
  • Scrambled eggs or omelettes
  • Homemade dips
  • Fish cakes or meatballs
  • Brown rice, quinoa or other grain salads
  • A simple lemon and olive oil dressing

It brings freshness, colour and flavour without needing much else. And there is something particularly satisfying about stepping outside just before dinner, snipping a handful of herbs and taking them straight into the kitchen.

Next time you see that little bunch of parsley sitting in the fridge, donโ€™t save it for decoration.

Chop it. Eat it. Enjoy it!

Sometimes the simplest foods are the ones we overlook.

Recipe


Parsley & lemon dressing


This takes just minutes to make and is a delicious way to use a generous amount of parsley rather than just a garnish.

Ingredients

  • 1 large handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

ABOVE: Aaron Blanco Tejedor, Unsplash

Method

  1. Mix everything together and drizzle over roasted vegetables, fish, chicken, potatoes or a warm grain salad.
  2. Store any leftovers in a sealed jar in the refrigerator and use within a few days.

Parsley tabbouleh

Serves 4. This is a show-stopper at a barbecue!

  • 1 cup cooked bulgur wheat, cooled
  • 2 large handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • ยฝ cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes, finely diced
  • ยฝ small cucumber, finely diced
  • 2 spring onions, finely sliced
  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ยฝ tsp ground cumin
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Someone passing a bowl of tabbouleh

ABOVE: Ali Dashti, Pexels

  1. Place the cooled bulgur in a large bowl and fluff with a fork.
  2. Add the parsley, mint, tomatoes, cucumber and spring onion.
  3. Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and cumin, then pour over the salad.
  4. Toss well and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Leave to stand for 15โ€“20 minutes before serving so the flavours can mingle.

Want more seasonal nutrition inspiration?

Iโ€™m Paula Sharp, nutritional therapist and founder of Paula Sharp Nutrition, supporting women to nourish their health with sustainable food and mindset habits.

If youโ€™d like seasonal recipes, practical nutrition tips and evidence-based wellness insights delivered straight to your inbox, Iโ€™d love you to join my newsletter. Sign up at: www.paulasharpnutrition.com

Photo at top of article:

Hardening off seedlings in mid spring

Growing Vegetables: Mid spring โ€” hardening off

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Growing Vegetables is a revised and updated edition of Waiuku gardener Sarah Oโ€™Neilโ€™s book.

This accessible, user-friendly guide guides the reader through the seasons with practical gardening information about the soil, weeds, crop rotation and much more โ€” all specific to Aotearoa New Zealand. Thereโ€™s also space for your own notes and observations.

Here is an extract from the book, from the mid spring chapter, on hardening off your vege seedlings.

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Extracted from Growing Vegetables: A Simple Guide for New Zealand Gardeners by Sarah Oโ€™Neil $39.99 RRP, White Cloud Books from Upstart Press

Hardening off

By now [mid spring], you should have some lovely healthy seedlings, however, donโ€™t be tempted to plant them out โ€” not yet. It may seem lovely and warm outside, but the thing is, it is not safe for the plants to go out yet. They need to be prepared for the big wide world.

They need to get used to the climate in your garden. It will be quite different from the cosy warmth of the greenhouse or windowsill. If you just planted them straight out from indoors into the garden they wonโ€™t like it. It is a harsh world out there. They could go into what is known as โ€˜transplant shockโ€™ and slow or stop growing. They need to acclimatise. It could cause long-term damage that would result in stunted plants, a reduced harvest or in some cases, death.

Cucumbers can be particularly fussy if the weather isnโ€™t warm enough. You have to ease them into the real world, like a reluctant swimmer getting into a cold swimming pool . . . Slowly and gently.

The process

1. About a week or two before your last frost date, in the morning take all your plants and put them outside in a warm sunny spot out of the breeze and leave them there all day and bring them in again at night.

2. The next day put them back outside and this time allow them to feel a gentle breeze through their leaves and put them away again at night.

3. Continue this each day for at least a week and ideally two weeks, gradually exposing them to the full extent of the weather they would experience in the garden.

4. Towards the end of this in-and-out routine, in a sheltered spot where they would be protected from any possible frost, leave them out overnight a couple of times.

5. Then come the date it is safe to plant them out, they will be completely acclimatised to life on the outside and will slip into the garden without even noticing too much that life has changed and will continue growing happily.

6. Watering them in with a seaweed solution can help minimise the shock and help the roots to establish in the new location.

7. I canโ€™t say it enough: Donโ€™t trust the weather! There is always a risk of a late frost, so just to be safe โ€” keep one eye on the overnight forecast and keep some frost cloth handy.

This is why we grow spare seedlings, in case of disaster.

Donโ€™t feel you have to plant your seedlings out on the last frost date. This is the โ€˜firstโ€™ date where it is deemed safe to plant things out โ€” not the โ€˜onlyโ€™ date.

If your seedlings are too small โ€” less than about 6cm or donโ€™t look strong enough, leave them inside for another week or so. It wonโ€™t harm them and in fact you are doing them a favour, and they will get a better start to life on the outside.

Wind โ€” a blessing and a curse

Plants exposed to a mild wind grow stronger and thicker than those in a sheltered position as their cell walls adapt to the conditions and make the plant more resilient.

If you take a plant straight from the greenhouse or sunny windowsill and plant it in the garden, not only will it be shocked by the temperature, but it will be skinny and weak and not as prepared for life in the garden as a plant that had been hardened off properly. Although take care, if the wind is too strong it can burn the leaves and dry out the soil. You will need to use your judgement. If it is too windy while hardening off your plants, put them in a sheltered place or keep them tucked up indoors.


Soil dried out by the wind can become so dry that it actually repels water and normal watering wonโ€™t fix it. What you need to do is to immerse the whole plant in a bucket of water. Some seaweed solution will help here, too.
Float the pot and allow it to sink to the bottom in its own time, then wait until the bubbles stop coming and then a little bit longer and pull the plant out of the bucket and let it drain. You will find that the soil has rehydrated and you can carry on as normal.

Take note

What is going on in your garden?


Is the garden ready to plant into? Have you begun hardening off? What is the weather like?

Gardener Sarah Oโ€™Neil lives with her family beside the sea at Waiuku.

Find out more at her website here, where she has a blog, photos, podcasts and videos.

Text and photos: Sarah Oโ€™Neil

Mandarins in a bowl

Mandarins: Winter vitamin boost

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Easy to peel, naturally sweet and perfectly portable, these vibrant little citrus fruits are often vying for attention alongside oranges.

But mandarins definitely deserve their place as one of winterโ€™s superstars, as Paula Sharp writes.

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Originally cultivated over a thousand years ago in China, mandarins were considered a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. Their name comes from the wealthy mandarin officials who prized these fruits.

Today, they are grown throughout many parts of the world, including New Zealand, where our cool winters and warm summers produce beautifully sweet citrus fruits from June to September.

Mandarins come wrapped in their own biodegradable packaging and require no preparation, making them one of the easiest healthy snacks to pop into a lunchbox, handbag or backpack.

ABOVE: Mandarin tree | Photo by Brittany Lee on Unsplash

Naturally nutritious

One medium mandarin contains around 35โ€“45 calories; itโ€™s a satisfying snack without excessive energy intake. More importantly, it provides an impressive range of nutrients that support overall health.

Mandarins are an excellent source of vitamin C, providing around half of an adultโ€™s daily recommended requirement in just one piece of fruit.

Vitamin C supports immune function, assists collagen production for healthy skin, joints and blood vessels and helps the body absorb iron from plant foods.

Mandarins are also rich in flavonoids, including hesperidin and naringenin: plant compounds that act as antioxidants. These compounds help reduce oxidative stress and support cardiovascular health by helping maintain healthy blood vessels.

Photo: Anna Danilina, Pexels

Mandarins also contain:

  • Potassium for healthy blood pressure
  • Folate for cell repair and growth
  • Fibre for digestive health
  • Small amounts of calcium and magnesium
  • Beta-cryptoxanthin, a carotenoid that supports eye health and immune function.

Mandarins arrive exactly when we need them most. During winter our immune systems face greater challenges from seasonal viruses and different bacteria. Regular intake of vitamin C-rich foods supports immune cell function and may reduce the duration of common colds.

Their bright colour also reflects their high carotenoid content: nutrients associated with reduced inflammation and healthy ageing. For older adults or small children, mandarins are particularly useful because they are soft, easy to chew and digest, and ideal for people with smaller appetites.

If you enjoy simple, grounded nutrition like this; practical, seasonal, and realistic, you can join Paulaโ€™s Sharp Bite newsletter for weekly insights, recipes, and support HERE.

The perks of pith and peel

Eating the whole mandarin provides more than just natural sweetness. Each segment contains dietary fibre, while the white pith, the fine, stringy layer under the peel, is one of the most nutritious parts of the fruit.

Rich in fibre and antioxidant plant compounds called flavonoids, the pith helps nourish beneficial gut bacteria, supports healthy digestion, promotes steadier blood sugar levels and helps keep you feeling satisfied for longer.

Rather than removing every trace of the pith, leave a little attached and enjoy.

Organic mandarins offer an extra nutritional bonus ยญโ€“ the peel. After washing well, the zest can be grated into baking, porridge, overnight oats or yoghurt for an intense citrus flavour.

Dried peel can also be added to herbal teas or slow-cooked dishes. The aromatic oils found in the peel contain compounds that have traditionally been used to support digestion.

When using zest, always choose organically grown or spray-free fruit.

Photo: Aditya Bhatia, Pexels

How to choose, use and store

For the best quality, choose mandarins that feel heavy for their size with smooth, brightly coloured skin. Store them at room temperature if eating within a few days, or refrigerate them to extend their freshness for up to two weeks.

Adding one or two mandarins to your daily routine is one of the easiest nutritional upgrades you can make during winter. Enjoy one with breakfast, slice segments into salads, stir through grain bowls or pair with a handful of nuts for a balanced snack.

Sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference to long-term health, and mandarins are a delicious reminder that eating well doesn’t have to be complicated.

Mandarin recipes

Winter mandarin & fennel salad


Beautifully zingy with grilled fish or roast chicken. Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 mandarins, peeled and segmented
  • 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced (Florence fennel)
  • 2 handfuls baby spinach
  • ยผ cup toasted walnuts
  • 40g crumbled feta
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
  • Salt and cracked pepper to taste

ABOVE: The crunch and mild aniseed flavour of Florence fennel pairs well with the soft sweetness of mandarins. Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Method

  1. Arrange spinach, fennel and mandarin segments on a serving platter.
  2. Sprinkle over walnuts and feta.
  3. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad just before serving.

Mandarin & almond loaf

Delicious served warm with Greek yoghurt. Gluten-free, or you can use wheat flour instead of the almond meal.

Makes 1 loaf (10 slices)

Ingredients

  • 2 whole organic mandarins
  • 3 eggs
  • ยผ cup honey
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cups almond meal
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • Pinch sea salt
  • Flaked almonds for topping

Method

  1. Simmer whole mandarins for 40 minutes until soft. Cool slightly.
  2. Cut into quarters, remove seeds and blend (skin included) until smooth.
  3. Preheat oven to 180ยฐC.
  4. Mix mandarin puree with eggs, honey, olive oil and vanilla.
  5. Fold in the almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
  6. Pour into a lined loaf tin and sprinkle with flaked almonds.
  7. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and cooked through. Cool before slicing.

Photo: Magnific

Want more seasonal nutrition inspiration?

Iโ€™m Paula Sharp, nutritional therapist and founder of Paula Sharp Nutrition, supporting women to nourish their health with sustainable food and mindset habits.

If youโ€™d like seasonal recipes, practical nutrition tips and evidence-based wellness insights delivered straight to your inbox, Iโ€™d love you to join my newsletter. Sign up at: www.paulasharpnutrition.com

Photo at top of article: Earl Wilcox on Unsplash

2026 Example calendar covers

2027 Calendars

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Our Calendars are coming back for 2027. Right now we’re calling for submissions, and asking you to fill out a feedback survey about them…

Read more
Fantail on tree branch

Parable of the paddock edge

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We are the ones who live beside the paddock.

No one asked us whether the new substance belonged here.

A parable for our times by David McNeill

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We are the ones who live beside the paddock.

We are the children breathing at the fence line, the old woman hanging washing when the wind changes, the dog nosing the ditch, the cat washing its paws after walking through wet grass.

We are the swallows taking insects from the air, the worms folding leaves into the soil, the fungi threading unseen through roots, the bees reading flowers as maps, the fish waiting downstream where every paddock eventually arrives.

No one asked us whether the new substance belonged here.

It came with a label, a number, an approval, a promise. It came as efficiency. It came as yield. It came as a solution to a problem measured in tonnes and dollars.

It came with confidence from elsewhere, from another regulator, another climate, another soil, another river system, another idea of acceptable loss.

The farmer saw a treatment. The supplier saw a market. The regulator saw a pathway. The Minister saw growth. The paddock saw a fog settle on its skin.

We do not speak in quarterly returns.

We speak in hatchings, germinations, moults, root hairs, spawning, coughing, composting, mauri and the slow inheritance of residues.

What is temporary to a permit may be permanent to a stream. What is negligible to a model may be everything to a mayfly. What is โ€˜acceptable exposureโ€™ to an adult may not be acceptable to a child, an embryo, a wetland, or a handful of living soil.

The farmer may gain this season. The grass may stand thicker. The invoice may be justified. But the paddock is not an isolated factory floor. It is connected: to field drains, lungs, gardens, milk, birds, rain, worms, neighbours, memory, and whakapapa.

  • We ask for a law that hears the quiet witnesses before the loudest applicant.
  • We ask that novelty not be mistaken for progress.
  • We ask that profit not be allowed to outrun proof.
  • We ask that soil be treated not as a surface to be managed, but as a living community with its own right to caution, to abundance.

For once a substance has crossed the fence, entered the ditch, touched the root, settled in the silt, or moved through the body of a child, the question is no longer whether approval was efficient. The question is who was made to carry the cost.

This is kaitiakitanga.

The Soil Act — the shortest and most important act for the environment. Clause 1. No person shall do anything to harm the soil. The end.

David McNeill is a member of Soil & Health’s National Council, its treasurer, and is a Soil & Health appointee on the board of BioGro NZ.

Photo at top: Fantail – piwakawaka on a tree branch, by Lolita Alekseeva, Unsplash

Green kiwifruit

Kiwifruit: Treasures in red, gold and green

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There’s something quietly satisfying about growing the fruit that put New Zealand on the global produce map.

Kiwifruit has become so woven into our national identity that itโ€™s easy to forget it isnโ€™t actually native here at all, and its journey from a fuzzy Chinese curiosity to a backyard favourite is a story worth knowing.

Paula Sharp finds out more.

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Chinese origins

Kiwifruit originated in the Yangtze River valley of China, where it grew wild for centuries and was known as a monkey peach. Seeds made their way to New Zealand in 1904, brought home by a Mary Isabel Fraser, principal of Whanganui Girls’ College who had been visiting her missionary sister in China.

Early growers in this country called it the Chinese gooseberry, and it was mostly a curiosity in home gardens until commercial growers in the Bay of Plenty began cultivating it seriously from the 1930s onward. The name kiwifruit wasnโ€™t adopted until the 1950s and 60s, partly as a marketing move to make the fruit more appealing, and more exportable, to American buyers.

From there, New Zealand growers and breeders turned it into one of the countryโ€™s most successful horticultural exports, eventually breeding the golden SunGold variety thatโ€™s now found on supermarket shelves worldwide, and most recently the RubyRed.

Green kiwifruit
Stacked from 20 images. Method=B (R=1,S=4)

ABOVE: Green, gold and red kiwifruit

Photos: Luc Viatour (Wikimedia Commons), Ivar Leidus (Wikimedia Commons), Seiji Seiji (Unsplash)

Nutrition boost for winter



From a nutrition standpoint, kiwifruit punches well above its size. A single fruit delivers more vitamin C than an orange, supporting immune function and collagen production for skin and joint health.

Itโ€™s also a useful source of dietary fibre, including both soluble and insoluble types that support digestion and a healthy gut microbiome.

Kiwifruit contains actinidin, a natural enzyme that helps break down protein, which is part of why itโ€™s traditionally used as a meat tenderiser and why some people find it eases digestion after a protein-heavy meal.

Youโ€™ll also get a useful dose of vitamin E, folate, and potassium, along with antioxidants that support cardiovascular health.

Gold varieties tend to have even higher vitamin C levels than green ones, while green kiwifruit slightly edges ahead on fibre.

Photo: Anderson Martins, Pexels

If you enjoy simple, grounded nutrition like this; practical, seasonal, and realistic, you can join Paulaโ€™s Sharp Bite newsletter for weekly insights, recipes, and support HERE.

Growing kiwifruit

If you already have kiwifruit in your home garden, youโ€™re fortunate. If not, you may not be able to source plants unless youโ€™re growing commercially under licence. When the highly infectious bacterial PSA vine disease arrived in New Zealand in 2010, the entire kiwifruit industry was threatened, and many orchards suffered severely. Restrictions were put on the movement of plant material in order to curb the spread of the disease.

Kiwifruit vines are vigorous, long-lived, and well suited to organic home gardens, provided you have space and a sturdy structure. They need a strong pergola or trellis system, as a mature vine can spread several metres and becomes heavy with growth.

Plant in free-draining, humus-rich soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH, and choose a sheltered, sunny spot protected from strong winds, which can damage the large leaves and developing fruit. Bay of Plenty research on mycorrhizal fungi under kiwifruit and other land uses is summarised in our Research News piece on worm juice, soil fungi and living compost partners.

Photo: Pixamio, Pixabay

Most kiwifruit varieties are dioecious, meaning you need both a male and a female vine for fruit to set, unless you have a self-fertile variety bred for smaller gardens. Bees do most of the pollination work, so avoid spraying anything that might deter them during flowering in late spring.

Mulch generously with organic compost or aged manure to retain moisture and feed the soil naturally, and water consistently through summer, as kiwifruit vines are shallow-rooted and dislike drying out.

Annual winter pruning keeps the vine productive and manageable, removing old fruiting canes to make way for new growth. Harvest in autumn when the fruit feels firm but the seeds inside have turned black, then allow them to ripen further at room temperature.

Simple kiwifruit recipes

Zesty kiwifruit & coriander salsa


Bright, enzyme-rich, and lovely with grilled fish or tacos.

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe green or gold kiwifruit, peeled and diced
  • ยฝ small red onion, finely diced
  • 1 small red chilli, finely chopped (seeds removed if preferred)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Pinch of sea salt

Method

  1. Combine the kiwifruit, red onion, chilli, and coriander in a bowl.
  2. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, and salt, then pour over the salsa.
  3. Toss gently and let sit for 10 minutes before serving to let the flavours combine.

Photo: Sarah Deason, Pexels


Kiwifruit green smoothie bowl

A snack or breakfast thatโ€™s packed with fibre and vitamin C.

Ingredients

  • 3 ripe kiwifruit, peeled
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 cup baby spinach
  • ยฝ cup plain yoghurt (dairy or coconut)
  • ยผ cup water or milk of choice
  • Pinch of spice โ€“ cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger
  • Toppings: sliced kiwifruit, chia seeds, granola, shredded coconut

Method

  1. Blend (with a Nutribullet, stick blender etc.) the kiwifruit, banana, spinach, yoghurt, and water until smooth and thick.
  2. Pour into a bowl and top with your choice of sliced kiwifruit, a sprinkle of chia seeds, granola, shredded coconut, then serve immediately.

Photo: Nicola Barts, Pexels

Want more seasonal nutrition inspiration?

Iโ€™m Paula Sharp, nutritional therapist and founder of Paula Sharp Nutrition, supporting women to nourish their health with sustainable food and mindset habits.

If youโ€™d like seasonal recipes, practical nutrition tips and evidence-based wellness insights delivered straight to your inbox, Iโ€™d love you to join my newsletter. Sign up at: www.paulasharpnutrition.com

Photo at top of article: Luc Viatour, Wikimedia Commons

runny honey dripping from spurtle into jar

The Queen Bee of ลŒhope

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One woman.
Thirty hives.
Thousands upon thousands of bees.
And a lifelong love affair with some of natureโ€™s most essential pollinators. Paula Sharp interviews beekeeper Jewelle Lloyd.

We hope you enjoy this free article from Organic NZ.  Join us to access more, exclusive member-only content

ลŒhope Beach in the Eastern Bay of Plenty is known for its surf breaks, salt air and sweeping coastline. But tucked quietly behind the relaxed coastal lifestyle is a woman whose life revolves around one of natureโ€™s most remarkable creatures, the honey bee.

For local honey producer Jewelle Lloyd, bees are not simply livestock, nor merely a business venture. They are part of her family history, her everyday rhythm and deeply woven into her identity.

Jewelle laughs when she admits she may be slightly obsessed with bees. Bee earrings. Bee socks. Bee-themed gifts. Bee conversations.

โ€œI just love them,โ€ she says. This is no passing hobby; beekeeping runs through generations of her family.

Her earliest memories are tied to her grandmotherโ€™s homestead, where hives stood only a short walk from the back door. While many children kept a cautious distance, Jewelle was fascinated.

Her grandmother harvested honey straight from the hives and treated the bees with enormous respect. She spoke to them often, chatting gently as she moved around the property. To some this may sound whimsical, but experienced beekeepers understand that calm energy around bees matters. Her grandmother rarely wore a protective suit and stings were uncommon.

Jewelle remembers standing nearby, watching closely, asking endless questions and quietly absorbing knowledge through observation. โ€œMy brothers werenโ€™t interested in the bees at all, but I was always curious.โ€

That curiosity never left. Now, decades later, the next generation is beginning to circle back to the hives as well. Her sons, now grown with families of their own, are beginning to show interest in the craft that has travelled down through the family line. A cousin is also well established in the industry, working in kiwifruit pollination.

Today, Jewelle manages around 15 hives on a coastal Bay of Plenty farm, and another 15 hives on her partnerโ€™s property near Gisborne. The two regions provide distinctly different landscapes, climates and flowering plants, resulting in unique honey varieties and flavour profiles.

Unlike many large-scale commercial operations, Jewelleโ€™s beekeeping is intentionally personal and hands-on. One of the most important aspects of her practice is independently raising her own queen bees, no small undertaking in the beekeeping world.

Queen breeding

The queen bee is the heart of the hive. Her genetics influence things like productivity and overall colony strength. By breeding and selecting her own queens, Jewelle maintains close oversight of the lineage within her hives. โ€œIt means I know exactly where my queens have come from. I can monitor strength, temperament and disease resistance much more closely.โ€

Each year, she introduces new queens into the hives to maintain vitality and healthy colony performance. Strong queens are essential for resilient hives, particularly as modern beekeeping faces increasing environmental pressures. Jewelleโ€™s careful management reflects a growing movement among smaller New Zealand beekeepers who prioritise sustainability, hive health and biodiversity over mass production.

The Bay of Plenty coastline offers bees rich and varied food sources. Depending on the season, bees forage on clover, pลhutukawa, mฤnuka, wildflowers and native coastal species. This diversity contributes to the flavour, colour and nutritional complexity of locally produced honey. The Gisborne hives experience slightly different conditions, creating subtle variations in the final harvest.

Raw and minimally processed

Honey is far more than simply a natural sweetener. Raw honey contains trace enzymes, antioxidants, plant compounds and naturally occurring antibacterial properties. New Zealand honey, particularly mฤnuka honey, has gained international recognition for its medicinal properties. Traditionally, raw honey has been used to soothe sore throats, calm coughs, support wound healing and provide a quick source of natural energy. Emerging research also suggests certain honeys may assist in reducing bacterial growth due to naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide activity and other bioactive compounds.

Jewelle sells her honey raw, meaning it is minimally processed and not heavily heat-treated. This matters because excessive heating can damage delicate enzymes and beneficial compounds naturally present in honey. Raw honey retains more of its natural character, complexity and nutritional integrity.

Over time, raw honey may crystallise, something many consumers mistakenly view as a flaw. In fact, crystallisation is often a sign the honey has been minimally processed and remains closer to its natural state.

While Jewelle carefully manages the hives herself, the honey frames are sent away for extraction once ready for harvest. During extraction, honey-filled frames are spun to remove the honey while preserving the delicate wax comb structure. The honey is then lightly filtered and jarred. And nothing goes to waste.

Jewelle also sells beeswax, which is used in candles, skincare products, balms and reusable wraps. The circular nature of beekeeping strongly appeals to many small-scale producers. Bees pollinate crops and gardens, produce honey and wax, and play a vital role in biodiversity and food production systems. Without pollinators, our range of food would be greatly reduced.

Close observation

Modern beekeeping, however, is not without challenges. Across the world, bee populations face growing pressure from habitat loss, pesticide exposure, climate instability and disease. In New Zealand, varroa mite management remains one of the largest ongoing concerns for beekeepers. Maintaining healthy hives requires constant observation, careful intervention and proactive management. Healthy bees are not accidental. Good beekeeping requires patience, consistency and deep respect for the natural behaviour of the hive.

Her connection to the bees also reflects something increasingly valued within the organic and regenerative food movement: relationship. Small-scale producers often know their land intimately. They observe flowering cycles, seasonal changes and environmental stressors in ways industrial systems do not. That relationship with land and environment ultimately shows up in the final product.

Outside the hives, Jewelleโ€™s day job is teaching hairdressing at Whakatฤneโ€™s Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology. On the surface, teaching hairdressing and keeping bees seem worlds apart, but there are surprising similarities. Both require patience, creativity, steady hands and strong people skills. And while teaching may pay the bills, the bees nourish something deeper.

At local markets, Jewelle lights up when talking about hive behaviour, queen development and seasonal honey variations. Customers quickly realise they are buying from someone genuinely connected to her craft. She sells her honey at several outlets in the Whakatฤne, ลŒhope and Gisborne areas, as well as directly via email at iamjewelle@hotmail.co.nz or phone on 0274 260 985.

For many people, purchasing local honey is about far more than taste. It supports regional food resilience, small-scale producers and the protection of pollinator populations. In Jewelleโ€™s case, every jar carries a story, from a grandmother chatting quietly to bees outside a homestead door, to a passionate beekeeper in ลŒhope continuing that tradition today.

In a fast-moving world, there is something deeply reassuring about that continuity.

If you would like my free PDF Medicinal Honey Recipes, including simple ways to use raw honey for wellness, soothing winter tonics and nourishing kitchen remedies, email me at paulasharp31@icloud.com

Want some seasonal nutrition inspiration?

Iโ€™m Paula Sharp, nutritional therapist and founder of Paula Sharp Nutrition, supporting women to nourish their health with sustainable food and mindset habits.

If youโ€™d like seasonal recipes, practical nutrition tips and evidence-based wellness insights delivered straight to your inbox, Iโ€™d love you to join my newsletter. Sign up at: www.paulasharpnutrition.com

Photo at top: Daria Yakovleva, Pixabay

Box of aubergines (eggplants)

Aubergines

/in , ,

The aubergine is one of those vegetables that people often overlook, until they learn how to cook it well. Then everything changes, writes Paula Sharp.

We hope you enjoy this free article from Organic NZ.  Join us to access more, exclusive member-only content

When handled right, the aubergine turns soft, silky, and deeply satisfying, carrying flavour in a way few other vegetables can. Itโ€™s not loud or showy; itโ€™s grounding, nourishing, and incredibly versatile โ€“ exactly the kind of food that supports steady, sustainable health.

While the aubergine (also known as eggplant) wasnโ€™t a traditional staple in many New Zealand kitchens a generation ago, itโ€™s now finding its place. Youโ€™ll spot it at local markets, tucked into home gardens, and increasingly on menus that celebrate seasonal, plant-forward eating.

Why the name ‘eggplant’?



The aubergine traces its origins back over 2000 years to India and Southeast Asia, where it grew wild before being cultivated. It gradually travelled west along trade routes into the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Early varieties were small, pale, and egg-shaped, hence the name eggplant.


By the Middle Ages, it had gained a slightly dubious reputation in Europe for bitterness and poor preparation. Fortunately, modern cultivation has softened those edges, giving us the milder, more reliable varieties we enjoy today.

Photo: Japanese white eggplant, Wikimedia Commons


Growing aubergines


Aubergines are warmth-loving plants, which makes them well suited to New Zealandโ€™s warmer regions like Northland, Auckland, and the Bay of Plenty. With shelter and care, they can still be grown further south.

They thrive with:

  • Full sun (6โ€“8 hours daily)
  • Rich, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter
  • Consistent warmth and protection from wind.

Plant in spring after the last frost, and in cooler areas, use cloches or grow under cover to get them established. In places like Tauranga, you can expect a generous harvest through late summer into early autumn.

Keep watering consistently (but not excessively), mulch well, and feed with an organic fertiliser to support strong, steady growth.

Photo: Jason Leung, Unsplash

ABOVE: Aubergines come in a wide range of shapes and colours

Photos: Grey Geezer/Wikimedia Commons; Kod B/Wikimedia Commons (aubergines from Ivory Coast); Chixpix/Pexels

Nutritional benefits

Aubergine is one of those quietly supportive foods. It wonโ€™t spike your blood sugar or overwhelm your system; it works gently in the background. Its deep purple skin contains nasunin, a potent antioxidant that helps protect cells from oxidative stress, particularly in the brain. That alone makes it worth keeping the skin on when cooking.

It also offers:

  • Polyphenols that support metabolic function
  • Fibre to support digestion and blood sugar balance
  • Potassium for heart and nervous system health

Its ability to absorb healthy fats like olive oil makes it especially satisfying, helping meals feel complete and sustaining.

If you enjoy simple, grounded nutrition like this; practical, seasonal, and realistic, you can join Paulaโ€™s Sharp Bite newsletter for weekly insights, recipes, and support HERE.


In the kitchen

Aubergine rewards good cooking. Undercooked, it can be spongy. Cooked well, it becomes soft, rich and almost creamy. Salting beforehand can improve texture and reduce bitterness, though many modern varieties donโ€™t require it. Roasting, grilling, or slow cooking are the best approaches; these bring out its depth and allow it to fully absorb flavours.

In New Zealand, aubergines sit comfortably alongside other late summer and early autumn produce like tomatoes, courgettes, capsicums, and fresh herbs. The aubergine is a natural fit for a more diverse, plant-rich way of eating that many people are moving toward.

Itโ€™s also a great vegetable for those wanting to reduce reliance on heavily processed foods. When paired with good fats, herbs, and whole ingredients, it becomes something deeply nourishing rather than just an add-on.

Photo: OlgaVolkovitskaia, Pixabay

Simple aubergine recipes



Roasted aubergine with garlic yoghurt & herbs


Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 large aubergine
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • ยฝ cup natural yoghurt
  • juice of ยฝ lemon
  • handful fresh parsley or mint, chopped
  • salt and pepper

Photo: shokotov from Pixabay

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200ยฐC.
  2. Add coconut oil to roasting dish and allow it to melt in the oven.
  3. Slice aubergine in half lengthways and score the cut flesh. Toss pieces in the melted oil and season well.
  4. Roast for 30โ€“40 minutes until soft and golden, and remove from oven.
  5. Mix yoghurt, garlic and lemon juice. Spoon over aubergine and top with herbs.



Aubergine & lentil stew

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 aubergine, diced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • ยฝ cup red lentils
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Photo: Sanket Shah, Unsplash


Method

  1. Heat oil and sautรฉ onion and garlic until soft.
  2. Add aubergine and cook until lightly browned.
  3. Stir in remaining ingredients, and simmer 25โ€“30 minutes until lentils are tender.
  4. Season and serve.

Want more seasonal nutrition inspiration?

Iโ€™m Paula Sharp, nutritional therapist and founder of Paula Sharp Nutrition, supporting women to nourish their health with sustainable food and mindset habits.

If youโ€™d like seasonal recipes, practical nutrition tips and evidence-based wellness insights delivered straight to your inbox, Iโ€™d love you to join my newsletter. Sign up at: www.paulasharpnutrition.com

Photo at top of article: Zen Chung, Pexels