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As we chase modern life, do we forget the powerful and potent benefits of nature? Simply going to the beach can have profound effects. Zara Adcock explains how the surf, sand, and sun affects our spiritual, mental, and physical health.
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The sun overhead not only encourages a sunny disposition but is necessary for Vitamin D production, which is vital to bone and muscle health. As over 90% of our vitamin D production comes from UVB rays, I personally consider it important to get some sunshine directly on my skin before covering up or applying a natural sunscreen to prevent burning.
The smell, the sights, the sounds, the sun overhead and the sand beneath our feet, all activate our parasympathetic nervous system, the ‘rest and digest’ arm of our autonomic nervous system, responsible for lowering cortisol, regulating hormones, lowering inflammation, and increasing metabolism, cognitive clarity, immune function, mood, sleep…
And that is before we even enter the water.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, doctors recommended a holiday by the sea, with specific instructions on how long and how frequently to go swimming, as both treatment and cure for various ailments including tuberculosis, consumption, scurvy, jaundice, and chest disease.
Modern research has backed up what these doctors already knew from observation: the ocean is an incredible curative.
When you put your face underwater, you are not only immersing your face in minerals that aid in skin repair and elasticity, you are also activating the human dive reflex, which slows the heart rate and constricts certain blood vessels, redistributing blood from the limbs to the brain, heart and other central organs, in turn activating the vagal nerve, and (once again) the all-important parasympathetic nervous system.
By leaving your technology behind, you have the opportunity to ‘detox’ and enter a state of effortless, mindful attention. I think now of my last beach visit. My gaze drifted from the gentle waves, to the light revealing patterns on a rock outcropping, and then to a lone seagull gliding through the twisting currents of air that would’ve otherwise been invisible to my eye. During my observation, my mind was completely present and my worries were irrelevant. By the time I left the beach, the tension was gone from my body, and I slept well that night.
Nature is amazing, we have only to be present with her to be reminded she’s got us, so long as we also remember and honour the fact that we have her.
Zara Adcock is a freelance writer, editor, poet and children’s author based in Northland (see zara-adcock.com). She is also co-founder of We Love Organics, a range of holistic organic personal care products handcrafted in NZ (weloveorganics.co.nz).
00Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2024-01-18 13:04:252024-01-18 13:04:25The benefits of Vitamin Sea
Rebecka Bjelfvenstam Keeling is not just a grower and a champion of local seasonal flowers; she is also an educator with a strong commitment to cultivating a greener tomorrow.
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In the picturesque landscape of Matakana, north of Auckland, Rebecka Bjelfvenstam Keeling has sown the seeds of a quiet floral revolution. The founder of pick-your-own flower farm, Slow Blooms, Rebecka was recently elected to the National Council of Soil & Health NZ.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Rebecka’s journey into sustainable flower options began when learning how the flowers traditionally used by florists or sold in supermarkets in the Western world, are often grown overseas in countries with poor wages and working conditions, using harsh sprays and unsustainable growing methods.
“I felt pretty bad for flying back to Sweden once a year to see my family,” she says, “so I couldn’t believe it when I realised we’re flying tons and tons of flowers across the world, packed in plastic sleeves – even though we can grow flowers year round here in New Zealand.”
Already a keen gardener of food for her family, Rebecka felt called to not only start growing seasonal flowers, but to also create a space to teach others about what flowers are in season and how anyone can grow and harvest them.
Slow Blooms proved popular right from the beginning.
“We have cultivated a space where people can slow down, and either just appreciate the beauty of local seasonal flowers, or participate through picking their own bouquet.”
It is an experience as much as a product.
It’s more than a traditional flower farm; it’s an immersive experience, as visitors are invited to pick their own blooms and connect with the land in a truly organic way.
This appreciation initially brought challenges which Rebecka turned into opportunities. Visitors’ appreciation, taking photographs, and desire to learn took up time, but didn’t add to the viability of the business.
“Like any gardeners, we do love talking about flowers and soil and showing off our garden, but we got to a point where we realised we actually needed to get work done.”
Having an organic garden open to the public all year takes, well, work.
So they now offer guided tours and workshops through Secret Gardens, and set up an honesty box for donations from those who are only coming to look or take photos without buying any flowers.
The Matakana community is a great place to be. In addition to selling direct from the farm, Rebecka also sells her flowers at the Matakana Village Farmers Market, which is proudly zero waste.
“I did my Permaculture Design Certificate with Trish Allen and Guenther Andraschko at Rainbow Valley Farm, which was an amazing experience,” Rebecka says. “Trish embodies the values of Matakana – the blend of community spirit and permaculture values.”
Every Friday morning, a group of Matakana locals meet up for Greenswap. “We exchange our excess homegrown or homemade produce, along with gardening tips and general catch-ups,” Rebecka says. “For someone like me, who originally learned to grow in the northern hemisphere, it’s been invaluable to get the local insight to what works here and not.”
At Slow Blooms, Rebecka is forgoing the artificial fertilisers, weed mats, and plastic netting that many growers use to create the perfect stems for maximum profit. Instead, she’s opting for organic inputs such as effective microorganisms (EM) along with using cardboard and organic matter as mulch to keep the weeds down. She’s also committed to bringing a range of different flowers of different heights to the market, from small posies to bigger bunches.
“Valentine’s Day is probably our busiest day, with a lot of loved-up couples in the rows,” Rebecka says. “We’re also hosting company Christmas parties, hen parties, and even a few DIY brides picking and arranging their own wedding flowers.
“Overall, we have been blown away by the overwhelming reception since we started. It probably also helps that we’re next door to Charlies Gelato, which has some of the best ice cream in the country,” she says.
Rebecka is looking forward to using her communications and PR background to support Soil & Health NZ with its important mission.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to be part of an organisation that shares my passion,” says Rebecka. “As a council member, I’m hoping to contribute to our advocacy work and fundraising, and also help us reach more potential members and supporters for our cause by strengthening our profile in social media as well as in traditional media.
“It’s not just about buying organic; it’s about fostering an understanding of the intricate relationship between ourselves and the land, which then guides us in making conscious choices that benefit both the environment and our own well-being.”
https://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/blooms-for-change-jf24_sml.jpg592888Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2024-01-18 13:04:232024-08-26 11:39:08Blooms for change with Rebecka Bjelfvenstam Keeling
School holidays, trips to the beach, and a house full of visitors – all great fun – but not so helpful when it comes to finding time for a garden in full swing. Diana Noonan shares labour-saving techniques so you can keep on top of the garden chores while enjoying the summer and the culinary delights it produces.
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I orea te tuatara ka puta ki waho – A problem is solved by continuing to find solutions.
Delay harvest
When so many garden edibles come on stream in early to midsummer, it can feel overwhelming, especially when you want to do your best to avoid food waste. But there are ways to slow down the rate at which you need to harvest. Peas and beans don’t have to be picked fresh. In fact, left to mature on their vines, they will dry into autumn, and provide a valuable source of protein for winter storage. They will also supply you with seeds to sow next season.
Unless you require the garden space for another crop, roots such as potato, Jerusalem artichoke, yacón, and beetroot, store best when left in the ground (at least until the cold, wet weather arrives). Other than in a wet summer, where fungal disease can be a problem, alliums such as shallot, onion, and garlic, will all but dry off, in situ, so leave them where they are to get on with the job. Devote your limited harvesting and processing time to hearting brassica, leafy salad greens, squash, corn, and greenhouse produce. The rest will wait for you.
Going green
Constructing a well-made compost stack is enjoyable, but it’s no walk in the park. So, whether you’re busy with a young family, or not as energetic as you once were, a ‘green manure crop’ is an excellent alternative. And in cooler parts of the country, late summer (rather than the traditional autumn period) is the time to sow it.
A green manure crop produces plants that can be chopped down and lightly dug back into the soil in late winter or early spring. It will provide similar garden nutrients to compost, but is easy-care, and also acts as a living mulch to protect the soil in harsh weather. When choosing a green manure crop for your garden, consider what will grow best in your region, and also your crop rotation plan (don’t, for example, grow a manure crop in the brassica family if you plan to grow brassica in the same spot immediately after it). Seed for green manure crops include mustard, lupin, vetch, field peas, buckwheat, rye, and tick beans.
Pick and choose!
Let’s face it, there are only so many hours in a day, even in summer, and sometimes it’s simply not possible to attend to ousting all the weeds at once. Over summer, when weed growth is at its height, I prioritise. Anything in flower is chopped and dropped. This stops seed setting, and also provides a nitrogen-rich mulch for the soil. Weeds which smother from above, such as cleaver and Chilean flame creeper, are next on my list because they quickly shut out light and put paid to whatever is underneath. Deep-rooted weeds (think dock and buttercup) are time-consuming to dig, so they are doused in a pine needle mulch until I can attend to them. Serious invasives, such as couch and kikuyu grass, go under black plastic to be solarised. Nitrogenfixers, such as clover and vetch, stay where they are, contributing to the soil, until there’s time to dig them up and add them to the compost
Warning: water can harm your plants!
In summer, our thoughts automatically turn to keeping our soil damp. But even in dry periods, there are situations where water can do more harm than good. The first is in the deep-root crop beds. Carrot, parsnip, salsify, burdock, and horse radish grow strong, straight roots only when they are required to head down deep in search of moisture. Water these roots, especially lightly, and you’ll only encourage them to head up and out to lap up the moisture. If drought conditions absolutely require you to water these crops, do so infrequently, and be generous with the moisture so it sinks down deeply.
Over summer, water can also be a danger in the greenhouse. In this hot environment, we can easily overestimate the amount of moisture plants require, and saturate the soil. This inhibits oxygen penetrating down into the root zone where it is vitally needed. I use the knuckle test to decide when my greenhouse requires water. I insert my finger into the soil to the second knuckle. If my finger comes out clean, it’s time to water. If soil adheres, I wait.
Water can also be a killer in summer, when sprayed onto crops with dense foliage (runner beans and peas are a classic example). Evaporation in these situations is slow, and before you know it, fungal disease has set in, and your plants are succumbing. I try to water all my plants at ground level to keep moisture off foliage, and I water early in the day when there are plenty of sunshine hours left to dry off any splashes
Flower power
It’s sap-sucker season – in both the garden and the greenhouse! But when you’re growing organically, these pest insects don’t need to spell disaster. That’s because your aim isn’t to eliminate them entirely from your garden, but simply to keep them in balance so that they don’t overwhelm your crops.
I achieve this in several ways. First and foremost, I keep my plants in top condition, because sap-suckers are opportunistic, and prey on the weakest first. I water regularly and deeply, and mulch to lock in moisture. I feed my greenhouse plants every ten days with liquid fertiliser so that they develop strong, mandible-resistant stems. I make sure my garden beds are well-stocked with nutrients before planting, so that leafy green growth is rapid enough to out-compete attack. I allow my herbs, which are scattered throughout the garden, to flower profusely so that their blooms are a haven for the beneficial insects that devour sap-suckers. And if the battle is a tough one, I don rubber gloves, and squish pests with my fingers (my aim is to knock them back, not to get every last one). As a last resort, I treat foliage (that isn’t intended to be eaten) with a liquid soap spray*.
*Dissolve 1/4 tsp of hard bathroom soap in 1 litre of hot water. Allow to cool before spraying onto non-edible foliage every 3 to 4 days.
Diana Noonan lives in the Catlins where she grows 70 percent of her food using a variety of methods including permaculture food forest to French intensive.
00Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2024-01-18 13:04:212024-01-18 13:04:21‘Tis the season of bounty: summer gardening tips
Pro-GE lobbyists are saying we need to have a ‘mature’ conversation about genetic engineering. Originally they claimed it would solve world hunger, now they are claiming it will mitigate climate change. Philippa Jamieson logically and ‘maturely’ refutes their greenwashing.
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It’s primarily vested interests who are pushing for deregulation or weaker laws around GE – the biotech and agrichemical industries who want to patent and sell GE technologies, and those who would get research and development funding. They are well resourced to lobby politicians, and to flood the media with press releases and opinion pieces that are often published verbatim and uncritically. But are they willing to listen? Can we have a conversation that looks at GE in a holistic way?
Technology has changed – should rules change too?
GE proponents claim that the technologies have improved and become more precise over the years, so the regulations also need to change. Professor Jack Heinemann of the University of Canterbury says today’s techniques are no less risky than before and will explain this in-depth during our next webinar on 23 January. Regardless, technology isn’t the only thing regulations need to consider – there are also social, cultural, economic, environmental, ethical, and liability aspects. Indigenous and organic philosophies and practices are holistic, recognising the interconnectedness of everything. Science focuses on just one piece of the picture. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. For example, we could have nuclear power, or even nuclear bombs, but there are overwhelming reasons why this would not be beneficial.
GE conversations
In November, the Soil & Health NZ co-chair, Jenny Lux, hosted a webinar on genetic engineering featuring three panellists: Dr Jessica Hutchings (Papawhakaritorito Charitable Trust), myself – Philippa Jamieson (OrganicNZ writer on GE), and Charles Hyland (Soil & Health NZ national councillor and soil scientist).
Jessica set the scene in Aotearoa of mātauranga Māori and kaupapa Māori, and whakapapa, mauri and mana, which would be disturbed by genetic engineering. She also placed GE in the context of colonisation, biopiracy, and the current capitalist system that puts profit above people and the planet.
I talked about the GE-free movement over the past 25 years, including massive protests, the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification which gathered people’s views (2001), and the ban on GE organisms in the outdoor environment which was lifted in 2003. So far, no one has applied to release GMOs outdoors, apart from some problematic field trials – almost all of which have ceased.
Charles talked about GE ryegrass, which has been put forward by the pro-GE lobby and the National Party, as a way of reducing our methane emissions. However, this could potentially spread easily and would be impossible to recall, leading to risks not only for organic farmers but to farmers and the environment overall.
Watch this webinar online at soilandhealth.org.nz directly from the homepage, or under Our Work/Events.
Our next webinar, Demystifying GE techniques with Professor Jack Heinemann of the University of Canterbury, will be held on 23 January 2024, 7.30-8.30pm. See page 11 for more on our future webinars.
Gene editing – the new wunderkind
Scientists have discovered more about DNA over the years, and a notable breakthrough was the discovery of gene editing techniques over a decade ago. These techniques (such as CRISPR-Cas9) are much faster, cheaper, and easier than earlier GE techniques.
The biotech industry frequently promotes gene editing as the new, improved version of GE – precise and safe. However, numerous accidental or unintended changes occur, such as allergens or toxins being produced, antibiotic resistance increasing, and organisms interacting in yet unknown ways within ecosystems.
Are we really missing out?
Another argument continually rolled out by GE proponents is that our current laws mean we’re missing out on opportunities and are falling behind the rest of the world. There is some research that scientists are better able to pursue overseas, but there’s also lots that can be kept within the safer environment of the lab.
But rather than missing out, we’re profiting from a reputation of being clean, green, and GE-free. Imagine the benefits if all the funding going towards GE was instead channelled into organic and regenerative research? Consumers around the world want clean, safe, healthy organic food and other products, and are prepared to pay a premium for it.
Rather than missing out, we have the opportunity to lead in a safer, holistic, direction.
We don’t need GE.
What about farmers and climate change?
GE proponents claim that farmers and the climate will benefit from GE technologies, and should have the choice to do so. Yet they’re often vague about the crops or technologies. The species most often mentioned is GE ryegrass, with the potential to reduce methane emissions from ruminant animals like cows and sheep, therefore reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
Nice idea! But what are the other impacts and risks? On farm and native ecosystems, workers, animals, people who eat the products, the farmer’s bank balance? Who pays for any loss of organic certification, loss of income, and cleanup after GE ryegrass spread or contamination?
GE-free solutions
There are other ways we can lower methane emissions. Selective breeding offers some promise: AgResearch has successfully bred a lower methane emitting sheep – no GE needed.
But most significantly, organic and regenerative practices can help reduce methane and other greenhouse gas emissions by multi-species pastures and cover crops, less tillage, and by building healthy soils that sequester more carbon and have more methane-consuming microbes.
Rodale Institute (USA) has run comparative farming trials since 1981, and have found that ‘regenerative organic systems, which prioritise soil health and good farming practices, like cover cropping, crop rotations, and pasturing animals, use 45 percent less energy and release 40 percent fewer carbon emissions than conventional agriculture, with no statistical difference in yields’. (rodaleinstitute.org/science/farming-systems-trial)
Not only do regenerative organic systems emit fewer greenhouse gases, they also have multiple other benefits – healthy soil, cleaner waterways, greater biodiversity, and healthier people and animals. No need for GE!
Philippa Jamieson, previously OrganicNZ editor, has campaigned against, researched, and written about GE for over 20 years.
00Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2024-01-18 13:04:202024-01-18 13:04:20So let’s talk about GE
An ambitious new study looks at nutrient-dense food production in New Zealand.
The content below is free to read from our Nov-Dec 2023 issue. This article is sponsored by Kete Ora Trust.
What is the best food we can eat for good human health? How is it grown and produced? What connections do New Zealanders make between the food they eat and how it is grown?
Many growers and their customers believe biodynamic and organically-grown food has specific health benefits. Kete Ora Trust is undertaking research here in Aotearoa New Zealand that compares the nutrient density of food produced in biodynamic, organic, and non-organic systems respectively. It will also investigate consumer perceptions of these different foods.
This is world-class research, firmly evidence-based, that will review and build on a handful of studies done around the world over the past 30 years. Kete Ora has commissioned Plant & Food Research Rangahau Ahumāra Kai to carry out three distinct stages of enquiry.
A review of existing studies will identify research gaps, which will inform applied research into specific topics. Kete Ora Trust is funding the first two areas of research and will invite co-sponsors for the third stage.
Above: Picual Olive – ripe fruit on tree.
Why biodynamics?
Ask the people who grow biodynamic food, and those who search it out to buy it, and they’ll tell you about the full, rich flavour of the fruit and vegetables, its resistance to disease and how well it keeps. “Biodynamic food has vitality,” says Dieter Proebst, one of New Zealand’s most experienced biodynamic growers and consultants. “And that vitality is imparted to the people who eat it.
“Biodynamics treats the soil, the crops, and the animals gently. There are no tricks used to produce a crop. As an apple grower, I sought to bring out what the winemakers call terroir, the expression of all the unique characteristics of where and how that food was grown.”
Ross Vintiner of Dali Estate in Martinborough is a Kete Ora trustee and careful steward of an organic and biodynamic grove of 1100 olive trees. He’s been instrumental in establishing this research project. Ross has won major international competitions with his olive oils, which have very high levels of polyphenols, a micronutrient that helps fight diseases like cancer and heart disease. Dali’s customers pay a premium for oils of this quality.
In a biodynamic system – whether growing crops or pasture on which livestock graze – the health of the soil is inextricably linked with the health of the food it produces. The percentage of soil organic matter is a key measure of soil health. With its teeming microbial life, organic matter is vital for the transfer of nutrients between soil and plants and from there to animals, humans included. High organic matter and high microbial biomass correlate to nutrient-dense food.
Ross credits providing nutrition for soil life plus foliar feeding for significant gains in yield and quality. He doubled the kilograms of fruit, and litres of oil per tree over a five-year period, coinciding with doubling his soil’s organic matter content. In a tough drought-stricken year, when other olive growers had virtually no fruit, Dali Estate still brought in a good harvest. “That was thanks to high organic matter and an abundant leaf canopy, both resulting from careful mineral, microbe, moisture, and tree management,” says Ross.
Above: Instead of a herbicide-drenched dead zone under the canopy, as is usual in conventional systems, there’s a prolific and diverse sward under the Dali Estate olive trees, protecting the soil, providing habitat and food for pollinators and beneficial insects, and increasing production.
Urgent action required
On North American farmland today, soil organic matter levels are only half of what they were at the time those lands were converted from forest and prairie into farming. Modern non-organic farming practices, particularly cultivation and the use of chemical fertilisers, have decreased and degraded soil organic matter and the life it contains. In many industrialised farming systems, soil organic matter is often as low as one percent: it should be above seven.
At the same time, measures of the nutrient density of food grown in the US show a decline of forty percent since the 1940s. It’s likely similar in most Western nations given common agricultural practices. This is despite vastly more investment in farming intensity, chemical fertilisers, and machinery during this period. There’s a lot at stake, so gathering accurate and up-to-date global data about the impact and consequences of different production systems is vitally important. Two local production studies done in the 1990s demonstrated biodynamic and organic soils have higher biological and physical qualities compared to non-organic practices. (Physical qualities include the levels of soil organic matter, microbial activity, soil structure and root symbiosis, permeability, topsoil, and diversity.) Additionally, biodynamic and organic farms use less inputs and energy and produce less erosion and pollution.
These and other studies showed that the nutrient content of crops produced in biodynamic and organic systems varied, although compared with non-organic production, they had higher nutrient content the majority of the time.
Kete Ora’s research aims to answer questions, such as:
What is a high nutrient-dense food? Why are high nutrient-dense foods beneficial to human health?
Is there a difference, and if so, what is the difference in the nutrient and phytochemical content of foods grown using biodynamic methods compared with organic and conventional?
Which compounds are influenced to a greater degree by growing practice (micronutrients, macronutrients, phytochemicals)?
What nutrients are inputted and produced in biodynamic systems, compared to organic and non-organic systems?
Does the microbial biomass of living soil in biodynamics, organics, and conventional growing systems influence the nutrient density of food produced?
What crops respond best to biodynamics with respect to nutrient content?
Which nutrients do consumers care the most about?
What do consumers understand about biodynamics, compared to organic and conventional growing systems? What value do consumers place on biodynamic and organic food, compared with conventional food?
Kete Ora’s trustees hope answering these and other questions will assist consumers, growers and policy makers to make best choices for healthy food from the best growing systems.
Kete Ora Trust is a charitable organisation established in 1997 thanks to generous bequests. It invests in, and supports education and research into biodynamic, organic, and regenerative land use in Aotearoa New Zealand. Visit keteora.nz for more information. Donations to support its kaupapa are warmly invited.
00Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2023-11-01 08:37:002023-11-01 08:37:00Studying the benefits
Summer is such a waiting and watching period. All the hard work of spring is about to come to fruition – if we protect and nurture our precious plants and their ground crew. Diana Noonan shares her experience of growing food organically and reminds us, as we tinker in the garden, to enjoy the riot of colour all around and to marvel at how the earth, the essence of life, really can bring forth food in abundance.
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E hoa ma, ina te ora o te tangata – My friends, this is the essence of life.
Berry blossom
Berry bushes are among the most productive food producers in the garden, with their fruit considered to be full of disease-fighting nutrients. The blossom of some of the most health-giving berries (Worcester, currants, and blueberries, for instance) is so obscure that we barely notice it. But birds are fully aware of its presence!
In spring and early summer, berry flower buds and blossom provide nutrition to birds whose other food sources, such as fruit and seeds, are not yet available. And once the blossom is eaten, there’s no hope of berries.
For the past few years, I’ve begun netting my berry bushes long before their blossom even appears, and the net stays on right through until harvest has been completed. The rewards are kilos of fruit where before there was none!
TIP: Keep a careful watch for the subtle buds and blossoms on berry bushes, and cover the plants before they even start to bloom.
Mulch in the menagerie!
Think ‘mulch’ and your mind immediately goes to weed suppression and locking in moisture. But mulch has an even more important job – it provides a safe home for all sorts of insects that devour slugs, snails, and their eggs.
When looking for a summer mulch, I go for one that is less open, and more likely to create the cool, damp conditions my garden helpers prefer to hide under (think dried lawn clippings mixed with leaf mould, organic sawdust, and soaked, ground, coconut coir). I save more open mulches (such as pea and oat straw) for when conditions are wet, and the ground needs to dry out.
TIP: Plant some quick-growing biomass and invest in a chipper to grow your own mulch. Sugar cane and bana grass provide shelter and an annual supply of mulch material for frost-free areas (but must be chipped or will grow).
How to harvest
I always think of insect pests as being opportunistic. If there’s a way for them to access the tender, sweet part of a plant without having to pierce or gnaw their way through a tough stem or skin to do so, they’ll take it! That’s why it’s so important to harvest carefully. When you roughly tear a lettuce or silverbeet leaf off a plant instead of breaking it off cleanly at its base, you leave behind a jagged, raw edge, and seeping juice. Nothing is more inviting to insects (or to diseasecausing fungi) than having such easy access to the food or environment they crave.
It’s the same when you cut a cauliflower or cabbage from its stem, and leave the stump in the garden. The soft exterior of the stem is exposed, and in comes an army of pests and diseases to set up home in it.
Curse of the Cabbage White
First recorded in Napier in 1929, cabbage white butterflies are getting more numerous and their caterpillars wreak havoc in my brassicas. All my vegetable beds are covered with plastic netting to protect them from birds, rabbits, and possums, but my brassicas live under a double layer of net – it’s the only way to keep the butterflies out as they can fold their wings and slip through a single layer of netting. Alternatively, consider growing in a crop tunnel (similar to a tunnel house but not designed to trap heat).
Double-layered netting is no fun to lift and crawl under to weed, so I mulch round seedlings right from the start to keep the ground clear beneath the plants.
If you have slug and snail problems, and going under the netting is essential to catch them, do it at night when the cabbage white butterflies are not about.
Aphids also tend to set up home on brassica as the weather warms up, but birds (the usual go-to for pest control) can’t reach them under double netting. I plant yarrow, fennel, marigold, and alyssum close by to attract ladybirds to do the job instead.
Orchard irrigation
It’s tempting to think that only newly planted fruit trees require water, but nothing could be further from the truth. As the summer heats up, a medium-sized, established fruit tree in dry conditions will welcome 6-8 household buckets of water a day to keep its young fruit healthy. I lock in the moisture around my orchard trees with a living mulch of dwarf comfrey. I clip this to the ground several times during the summer, and over the clippings I spread any compost I have spare. Treating my trees in this way helps them produce plump, full fruit with strong stems that hold tight to the branches during hot summer winds.
TIP: Scrape existing mulch out to create a ‘bowl’ to direct the water down to the roots, then kick back over top to reduce evaporation.
Compost care
November and December are my compost-making months. They have to be, because my supplies of this essential ingredient have largely been used up with spring garden preparation.
To make maximum use of the sun, I build my compost in an open, north-facing spot, incorporating animal manure, kelp and pine needles into the ‘brown’ carbon layers, and then pile on lashings of fresh, green, garden waste and lawn clippings.
Once I have a free-standing cubic metre sized pile, I water it well, cover it with a double layer of cardboard, and top it off with a covering of old carpet to lock in the heat.
If time permits, over the coming weeks, I’ll turn the pile a couple of times. If time is short – the maturing compost looks after itself. In a couple of months, when the heat has died down, I remove the covering and move the compost into open bags in the shed to protect it from the rain while it matures
It can be nerve-racking to go without synthetic fertilisers for the first time. Will lettuces really have the nitrogen they need? Can kelp load your tomatoes with the potassium they crave? I remember having these concerns when I first gave up using crumbly chemicals from plastic bags.
Growing organically is about learning to trust your soil, its structure, and the microorganisms within it. Don’t be tempted to ‘cheat’ with a handful of Nitrophoska ‘just in case.’ Organic nutrients really will provide for your plants, slowly and steadily, for many weeks or months and chemical fertilisers will interfere with the ecological system and its ability to hold and convert nutrients into food for your plants.
If you must do something, mix up some liquid compost, seaweed or worm tea, and water it around the base of your plants.
Diana Noonan lives in the Catlins where she grows 70 percent of her food using a variety of methods including permaculture food forest to French intensive.
https://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/29671_highlight-1.jpg8001200Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2023-10-26 12:18:272023-10-26 12:18:27Summer is here! Berry crops and other organic garden tips
Over four decades, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of voluntary hours have been committed to establishing a solid foundation for organics in New Zealand. Brendan Hoare recounts the journey, the challenges, and the lessons learnt in the creation of the Organic Product and Production Act 2023.
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Like all landmark events, there is a back story. Our tumultuous expedition to protect and promote organics in Aotearoa New Zealand through regulation is no different. Like all journeys, there are multiple trials, tribulations, twists, and turns that test intent, motivations, and determination. This article outlines the ten-year journey that led to the passing of the Organic Products and Production Act 2023 (Organic Act) and will conclude with key observations for present and future. The article follows on from ‘Getting our Organic Act Together’ (OrganicNZ March/April 2020).
The Organic Products and Production Bill became law on 5 April 2023. It is the most profound change to the organic sector in New Zealand to date and will shape our progress for decades to come.
Since the 1980s, the organic sector has sought from the government a policy to protect and grow organic. By 1999, we’d gone as far as to publish and describe in Organic NZ describing our preferred future that required: “…government regulation standards, for both domestic and export markets, and support policy that safeguarded organic e.g. spray drift legislation”.
The Organic Federation of New Zealand (OFNZ)1 formed in 1999 and morphed into Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) as a united force representing the organic sector with the core purpose to ‘grow and develop organic’. OANZ identified regulation and national standards were required to do this2.
OANZ’s formal creation in 2006 had government funding to assist it in its initial development. The funding ran out without its intent being fully achieved. Prior to 2012, OANZ had nearly collapsed. Rebuilding was a slow, incremental task which began with the launch of our 2012 Organic Market Report (Market Report), on 6 March 20133 in Parliament. This launch was not supported or attended by the National-lead government, but by opposition MPs; Green Party member Steffan Browning, and Labour’s Damien O’Connor. (O’Connor would, in 2018, be the Minister of Primary Industries and introduce the Organic Bill to parliament.)
By June 2013 OANZ had engaged communications expertise from Christine Dann and we raised awareness of the need for regulation by utilising the Market Report, front-page articles in NZ Herald highlighting the proliferation of ‘Dodgy Organic Labels’4 and the fact that, at that time, all the top 25 organic trading countries had regulation, except New Zealand, Australia, India, and several others did not.
OANZ decided to focus on and initiate discussions with government officials responsible for market regulations and consumer protection. We developed and published an ‘Introduction to Regulations’ paper for our members, and officially adopted the OANZ Regulation Working Group, which, for the first time, consisted of all the certification bodies. It also included the Organic Exporters Association of New Zealand. We also secured a meeting with Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) directors to explain the situation and opportunity. We were on a roll.
By September 2013 we had met with Food Minister Hon Nikki Kaye, MPI’s technical lead Glen Neal, and Director of Food Policy Karen Adair. Nikki Kaye’s advisor was MPI’s Fiona Duncan who had been close to the sector’s work since 2002. We had invited the Primary Industry Minister Nathan Guy, but he was not available. The meeting with Kaye was positive and progressive and as agreed, we spent the next six months defining the problem with MPI’s technical and policy teams. We liaised with a wide cross-section of the organic community who openly shared examples of organic fraud and risks to their business. By March 2014 we, with MPI, had identified that there was a problem that required regulatory protection. The regulatory framework as it was in 2014 offered no protection for organic producers and consumers and also jeopardised potential trade relationships with international markets that had regulated organic. MPI presented these findings to OANZ’s AGM in Auckland on 4 July 2014, affirming that a regulatory approach was to be sought.
Simultaneously OANZ had actively engaged and enrolled what it called its ‘5 + 2 strategy’. Horticulture New Zealand, New Zealand Winegrowers, Beef and Lamb, Dairy NZ, and the Federation of Māori Authority being the five and Countdown and Foodstuffs being the two, were provided clear logic and rationale for regulating organic. Progress with New Zealand’s primary industry, all political parties, and government was positive and by December 2014 OANZ had released a position paper on why to regulate organic in NZ. This was well received by everyone. All was on track. We had created great working relationships across the organic community, primary industry, major retail and government. We felt positive and were still on a roll.
By February 2015, as we were gearing into what promised to be a prosperous year, we came across several roadblocks. Firstly, critical MPI staff who had been instrumental in progressing the organic case had changed roles and our Ministerial champion Niki Kaye had been promoted to Minister of ACC. With new staff and Minster Nathan Guy now in charge we had to rebuild relationships, and felt comfortable in doing so. However, at the end of April 2015 MPI senior staff advised that any regulation would be under the Food Act 2014 and when we explained this would not work, because organic was not just about food, we were told categorically that organic was now “a low priority for MPI”. MPI provided us their very (in)famous ‘Development of Domestic Organic Regulation Programme scorecard which demonstrated their assessment only gave us 45 out of 365 – that is 12.3%!
While this seems incredulous, or even cynically humorous now, it was utterly devastating then.
In May we reflected on our work on regulation to date. As we communicated MPI’s decision to discontinue work on regulation to our wide community, we received full support,shared frustration and dismay.
This was a critical moment for the regulation of organics and OANZ. While we had rebuilt trust and demonstrated value in OANZ as a national organisation, and communicated the need to protect and grow organic through regulation, it was also true that this had largely been achieved through the vision, networks, drive, and tenacity of myself as Executive Chair, the communications and political skills of Christine Dann, and reliance on a few critical members from leading organic sectors; all voluntary. We were exhausted. It was not sustainable. We needed help and resources.
In August 2015 we held an OANZ national special meeting to explain the situation. Doug Voss, the Chair of the Certified Organic Kiwifruit Organisation became Chair of OANZ, a Board was elected, I moved to being the Executive Director, and Niki Morell took over Christine’s work to lead communications.
We wasted no time re- engaging past leaders of MPI as to what might be the reason for MPI’s ‘change in heart’ and utilised the sector’s networks to lobby political parties and other Ministries such as the Commerce Commission, Ministry of Business and Innovation, Standards New Zealand, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We transferred our energy towards directly engaging the Primary Production Select Committee (PPSC) where we found favour across all political parties. By the end of year, we had rekindled the ‘OANZ Regulation Working Group’ and changed its name to the ‘Standards Working Group and included MPI staff from their Official Organic Assurance Programme (OOAP)’ The name change was to appease the concerns that using the word regulation would upset trade negotiations by giving the perception that we did not have any regulation; which was true.
We utilised the frustration of the sector being told there ‘was no need to protect or grow organic’ to raise substantial sponsorship and presented our updated 2015 Market Report to Parliament on 7 April 2016. This time we had the leadership of the PPSC chair and National MP Ian McKelvie and support from Greens, Labour, and NZ First as well of course the whole organic community. It was a great success.
The OANZ 2016 Market Report5 again demonstrated substantial growth and the requirement to safeguard the domestic and international markets. We emphasised one simple message: serious export earnings were increasingly at risk because we did not have a domestic organic regulation. However, this time, immediately following the Market Report launch, we had arranged a public presentation with the Primary Production Select Committee (PPSC) where we reiterated OANZ’s simple, clear four-point plan to:
Regulate the use of the term organic
Develop a single national standard.
Adopt MPI’s OOAP Technical Rules as the National Standard.
The National Standard will cover export, domestic, and imported certified organic product.
The PPSC’s subsequent report noted that: “We support the work OANZ is doing and agree that a universal regulated standard should be developed and implemented as soon as possible.”6
The Minister’s official response to the PPSC was that he: “Welcomed an application from the sector to become a Primary Growth Partnership programme recipient in the future”, and that we would have to meet the criteria.
Within a month we had developed a simple plan and met with Minister for Primary industries Nathan Guy. By June, off the success of the Market Report, meetings with PPSC, and the Minister, we had created another position paper on the development of ‘Organic Regulation and Standards’ and delivered this to MPI. When, six weeks later, we had still not received areply from MPI, we knew where we had a problem.
As chance would have it, I met Scott Gallacher, the then Deputy Director General Regulation and Food Assurance at a Building Brand and Reputation Across Boarders conference in July 2016, we agreed to bring OANZ’s grievance to MPI’s senior management’s attention. In August, Scott hosted a meeting with Director Food and Regulatory Policy Karen Adair and Director Plants, Food and Environment Peter Thompson.
This meeting resulted in direct access to the Manager of Food Policy Colin Holden and senior policy staff. The outcome of the communications was that while MPI may have shared their support for our goals, their solution was to ‘consider’ bringing us under their Future of Food programme and utilising existing regulations that would connect with Ministry Business, Innovation & Employment, the Commerce Commission and the Fair Trading Act. They were struggling to find where and how we fitted. While we were being heard and told there was an understanding of how complex organic was, we still felt we were not being understood. We had to wait for MPI policy to come back to us.
This period also brought to a head internal issues withing OANZ’s members that had been brewing since the formation and appointment of a full board. This was largely centred around existing relationships between the certification agencies of BioGro, AsureQuality, and the Exporters group, who had a direct relationship with the MPI staff running the OOAP, and the position that OANZ was taking on behalf of the whole sector directly with senior MPI staff and the policy division. The tension was potentially divisive. The espoused threat was that anything new would disrupt existing trade relationships with markets through the OOAP and we had changed the name of our working group to appease this. However, through deeper engagement and correct persistence, OANZ’s found this position not to be of benefit or serve all its members and what is best for organics in Aotearoa New Zealand – hence its name.
We continued to build relationships with key industry sector partners, in particular, Horticulture New Zealand and New Zealand Winegrowers, which both represented large volumes of certified organic growers and export product. The Chair of Horticulture NZ at the time, and some of their board members, were organic licensees. It was great to have others singing our praises’ and voicing our concerns from another perspective. This gave our collective position gravitas.
We also stepped up the engagement. Simultaneous to our relationship building in the commercial sector and financial sector like ANZ, we organised for the PPSC to visit one of NZ’s leading organic regions – Hawkes Bay – and meet the whole OANZ Board. Our rationale was to demonstrate that organic is a total system from production to ingredients, inputs, products, services and yes, food, with a discerning consumer who participates in its definition and setting of standards. So, we wined and dined, visited organic viticulture, chicken, vegetable, and apple production systems at all scales, and demonstrated our world. MPs got to see first-hand what we had been talking about and got to talk directly to those most affected. This is always powerful.
The result of our networking (nationally and internationally), hosting, sharing, and lobbying was profound. We had mounting proof that the current MPI strategy was not working and was resulting in opportunity and advantage being lost. NZ’s failure to act was affecting growth in export markets.
This was an intense period of engagement that delivered results and by early 2017 we had returned to constructive dialogue with MPI – and organised a meeting with the recently appointed Minister for Food Safety David Bennet (who is a certified organic dairy farmer) and confirmed his commitment to establishing regulation. Special mention needs to go to Horticulture NZ’s Mike Chapman for hosting and arranging some of these meetings.
At the end of 2017 we had an election and a change in government. Damien O’Connor (who had been supportive since 2013) became the Minister of Agriculture, Biosecurity, Food Safety, Rural Communities, and later Trade. Being a-political and securing all political parties as to the benefit of organic had deep ramifications.
OANZ then met with Minister O’Connor who, on the advice of MPI’s policy team’s review, concluded that to protect and grow organic in New Zealand needed to have its own organic act.
Then on 20 June, our 2018 Market Report was launched in parliament for the third time. Ministers attended, as did MPs from all political parties, MPI and other ministry agencies, ambassadors, and a full array of organic practitioners. It was a great celebration; there was a sense of progress and success.
This period had been exhilarating, but exhausting on resources and relationships. The organic sector’s efforts were voluntary and draining on personal and inter-relationships on those that had led the work.
As OANZ reconciled this and went through its own internal changes our new law was being written by MPI staff. The first reading of the Organic Products Bill took place on 19 March 2020. On o 5 April 2023 it was passed into law. It took just over three years with three readings, and a select committee process, before it became law.
The process has seen multiple reviews, a name change, created extensive debate both within and between the organic sector, and with and within MPI and politicians. MPI’s consultation process has improved over time. During this process it has reiterated that the organic sector is complex, diverse, not homogeneous, but of a common culture outlined in our principles of health, ecology, fairness and care.7 We remain committed, passionate, and seek practical change. We are relentless and persistent in our pursuit.
Engage to change
As the sector works with MPI to develop the regulations that will give shape to the Organic Act, key lessons from the decade include:
Stay close and connected with the community that you represent. Engage in participative, open transparent processes by sharing openly and listening. Be honest and clear in all responses, say when you do not know, work together to find solutions.
Have clear, powerful effective communications and engage professionals to help do this.
Ask for help, people want organic to succeed.
Always be inclusive of all political parties when engaging change at a national level. Politicians and political parties come and go from being in Government.
Build relationships and maintain them at every opportunity.
Find and nurture relationships with empathetic officials across multiple Ministries. People get promoted in their careers.
Stay true to organic values.
Moving forward
As we move closer to implementing the Organic Act through the regulations8, there is a lot for us to consider. They include:
1. What training would be required to manage the Act, regulations, standards, and auditors? What would that cost? Who is going to pay and through what system? 2. The organic standard may be owned by Government, but, who will manage it? 3. What would the future of OANZ look like and how will it be funded? 4. How will education and training be managed throughout the supply chain and by whom? 5. How will existing and new certification agencies engage with the national standard? 6. Will there be a national mark (logo)? Who will own, maintain and manage it? 7. What role will MPI and other key government agencies have in the new model? 8. How will it fit in global best practice models? Could New Zealand lead? Who would lead? 9. How do we ensure the organic sector remains both rigorous and united? 10. What other opportunities and expertise is required?
With the passing of the Act and development of supporting regulations, it is critical that we remain united, focused, strategic and work together with officials to ensure our Organic Act achieves it purpose to: – increase consumer confidence in buying products labelled “organic” – increase certainty for businesses claiming products as organic – facilitate international trade in organic products.
References
Original members of OFNZ were Soil and Health Association, BioGro NZ, Bio-Dynamic Association of NZ and Organic Products Exporters Group. ↩︎
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, ‘Organics Working Group Report’. September 2001 ISBN 0-478-07647-9 ↩︎
Brendan Hoare is a managing director of Buy Pure New Zealand. His involvement in organics has included holding positions with Soil & Health NZ (president), BioGro (director), OANZ (founder, executive chair, and CEO) and IFOAM (world board member). He is serves on the Organic Farm NZ Council. His business is run from the OFNZ certified ‘Long Breath Farm’, on the edge of the Waitakere Ranges.
00Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2023-09-12 10:30:162023-09-12 10:30:16Behind the scenes of the Organic Act
A philosophy that transcends all cultures, religions, or science has been practised in Aotearoa for nearly a century. It’s a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach to farming, gardening, food, and nutrition that is gaining recognition worldwide.
A holistic attitude to agriculture was initially proposed by philosopher and scientist, Rudolf Steiner, in the 1920s. Biological-dynamics (biodynamics) is a systems approach where the farm, vineyard, orchard, or garden is viewed as a living whole and each activity affects everything else.
“Biodynamics is an appropriate and powerful tool because of the way it works with different realms,” says biodynamics practitioner, Sam Weaver. “Biodynamics is inclusive, not reductive. It works with conventional science but also on a spiritual plane – that’s the power of it. It acknowledges that there are things beyond our knowledge that we can’t completely explain and certainly can’t control.
“Rudolf Steiner gave some suggestions about how those things might work, and biodynamic practitioners have been exploring and evolving those ideas ever since.”
Sam Weaver is the owner of Churton Wines, a certified organic vineyard run biodynamically in Marlborough. He says there is a growing interest in biodynamics in Aotearoa from those gardening and growing inside a Te Ao Māori framework, but the fastest expansion of biodynamics is in Southeast Asia; in places like Thailand, the Philippines and China.
Above: Village women in India learning from Rachel Pomeroy how to make biodynamic preparations.
There is also a lot of interest in Brazil and other parts of South America, says biodynamics practitioner and educator, Rachel Pomeroy.
“Biodynamics is compatible with any religious or philosophical system that is based on the truth of the world,” says Rachel. She spent many years teaching in India alongside her partner, biodynamics legend, Peter Proctor. Biodynamics was a system that all of India’s diverse traditions could embrace, whether Muslim, Catholic or Hindu.
Sam Weaver has given presentations on biodynamics to sommelier and wine students in Shanghai and other major cities in China. “Those audiences understood the importance of a lunar calendar; cosmic influences are still part of their framework of belief. So biodynamics is very comfortable for them. It’s inclusive, just as applicable to modern Western cultures as it is to people of different cultures and spiritual traditions.”
While biodynamics is often associated with viticulture and wine-making (see OrganicNZ May/June 2023), there are other sectors that prize heightened senses and appreciate the subtle terrior enhanced by biodynamic practices. In India, growing and blending the best tea and coffee is comparable to premium wine-making. “Professional tea tasters and blenders in India, have lifelong expertise. They are sampling teas all day and they can notice the difference in the teas grown biodynamically,” says Rachel.
Above: Rachel Pomeroy discussing soil fertility management with Arifa Rafee, owner of a biodynamic mango orchard in India.
Rachel’s cheerful enthusiasm and curiosity are infectious. She has a MSc(hons) in Botany and Plant Physiology and decades of practical experience with biodynamics. She is comfortable in both views and adept at weaving insights from Western science into her teaching of biodynamics. For instance, the biodynamic practice of making a cow pat pit (CPP), which has many applications and encourages health and vigour, has been found to be exceptionally high in natural growth-promoting hormones, like auxins and gibberellins.
Rachel says it would be helpful to have more science that substantiates the impact of biodynamic practices, especially given the urgent need for practices that mitigate climate change and produce food in a more environmentally-sustainable way.
But for individual farmers themselves, corroboration from Western science isn’t needed. “It would verify what they already know from their own experience. People stick with biodynamics because they like the end result. If you hate putting poison on the ground, you’re not going to enjoy your days as an industrial farmer. Those who stick with biodynamics are those making a satisfactory income while farming in a way they find satisfying and worthwhile.”
Biodynamics in Aotearoa
There are many ways that biodynamics resonates with traditional ways of knowing and here in Aotearoa it seems there is a lot of enthusiasm for exploring how biodynamic ideas reflect customary Māori systems of food growing.
Kete Ora Trust supported a two-day workshop near Wellington in 2021, co-led by Rachel Pomeroy and Dr Jessica Hutchings, a notable Māori researcher, activist, and gardener. Dozens of people gathered to share their knowledge and deepen their understanding of both biodynamics and Hua Parakore, a kaupapa Māori system and framework for growing kai.
Above: Working together to make a large biodynamic compost heap was among the many hands-on activities at the Wellington workshop.
The workshop featured conversations grounded in the Kaupapa Māori principles underpinning Hua Parakore practices and the ordering principles of the cosmos as understood through biodynamics. “Just as Ranginui and Papatūānuku ground the woven universe that is Te Ao Māori; biodynamic approaches acknowledge and harness the polarity of light and dark and the relationship between stars and soil,” said Jessica.
“Both approaches task tangata (people) with the role of rebuilding the vitality of our soils and strengthening the relationships between people and nature. Understanding ourselves as nature, and as nurturers of nature, were key learnings from our time together.”
Kete Ora Trust is a charitable organisation established in 1997 thanks to generous bequests. It invests in, and supports education and research into biodynamic, organic, and regenerative land use in Aotearoa New Zealand. Visit keteora.nz for more information about applying for grants or making a donation.
00Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2023-08-25 11:10:002023-08-25 11:10:00Healing the earth through biodynamics
At this critical point of organic development in Aotearoa, government support is going to be crucial for organic and sustainable practices to evolve. Jenny Lux asks our political parties what they intend to do about it.
The General Election will be held on 14 October 2023 and those of us who care deeply about Soil & Health NZ’s long-held ambition for an organic New Zealand are asking: which party is going to really deliver?
Brendan Hoare outlines here the journey the organic sector has been on to get organics recognised by the government with the passing of the Organic Products and Production Act 2023 (Organic Act). As Brendan states, cooperation from government was pivotal.
The next eighteen months are when it is decided how the new Organic Act will be actioned by establishing the national organic standards and regulations. So we’d like to know which parties are planning to help a smooth transition to the new rules? Who has policies that will help boost organics to the next level? Despite amazing achievements by our organic growers, farmers and brands (see the 2020 OANZ Market Report), New Zealand still has less than one percent of organic certified land, whereas in Europe they are currently at 9.1 percent and are aiming for higher.
It’s going to take not only the grit, determination, and creativity of organic producers (which they have in bundles), but also the commitment of partners in the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to enable organic businesses to thrive. The resourcing of ministries and the policies that drive them are down to the government of the day.
In early June 2023, I went to the five political parties in parliament, as well as TOP and NZ First, and I asked them these three questions:
Organics is climate action. World-wide, governments are putting significant funding towards organic agriculture, because it helps meet biodiversity, freshwater, and emissions goals. For example, the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy aims to have at least 25 percent of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by 2030, along with a significant increase in organic aquaculture. What is your party’s policy with regard to using organic farming to meet climate change and environmental goals for NZ, so that we remain internationally competitive?
The Organic Products and Production Act 2023 (Organic Act) was passed in April this year. This means a step up in regulation for new and existing organic businesses, and a chance to really grow the organic sector both domestically and for export. How are you going to help the organic sector adapt and thrive under the new regulatory regime?
Farmer extension programmes for organic farmers and growers are almost non-existent in NZ. What funding would your party provide to work with farmers who want to convert to organic, or who already are organic, but need the right information and support to create a world-leading organic business?
I got answers from four parties, printed verbatim below in alphabetical order of the party’s name. I got an acknowledgement of receipt, but no reply, from the Māori Party, TOP, nor NZ First.
If these answers do not satisfy, then I encourage you to keep asking the parties: what are you going to do for organics?
ACT New Zealand
Organics is climate action: ACT acknowledges that New Zealand’s farmers and growers utilise a variety of systems and practices to maximise on farm productivity and sustainability. ACT believes that farmers and growers should, within limits, be free to implement the tools that best allow them to pursue climate, environmental, and sustainability goals as they see fit.
Helping the organic sector adapt to new regulations: Although well intended, the Organic Act failed to strike a balance between ensuring a strong regulatory standard for certifying the organic status of products for the export market, and keeping costs for small, local, or domestic organic producers at a minimum. ACT will continue to explore options which strike this balance.
Farmer extension programmes: ACT believes that free market principles should drive innovation. Uptake of organic agricultural practices should be driven by market demand.
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
Organics is climate action: The Green Party agrees that shifting towards organic farming will be key to transition to more sustainable forms of agriculture and horticulture. We would support this transition for farmers through low-interest grants and loans, and phase out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use. These actions are just a couple of steps to take to ensure we remain credible internationally on climate, and to ensure our products meet the increasingly high standards now needed on the international market.
Helping the organic sector adapt to new regulations: The Green Party has worked alongside advocates for years to achieve mandatory organics standards. Minimum standards not only provide greater certainty for consumers, but they also give producers a guarantee that everyone is working to the same standard. OANZ’s sector strategy that was released in 2020 said that there is the potential to add $4.7 billion in what they call ‘better growth’ to our economy by the year 2030, of which the Organic Act was identified as a key tool for achieving this. That said, we recognise the transition to the new legislative regime will require resourcing, and we have been actively lobbying the Minister of Agriculture for both short-term and long-term financial support for the organic sector in light of these changes.
Farmer extension programmes: We would support farmers to transition to more sustainable forms of agriculture, including organic agriculture, through low-interest loans and grants. This incentive, paired with regulatory changes to the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser will send a strong signal to the market, with time and support as we shift to value over volume – reducing emissions and pollution in our waterways.
NZ Labour Party
The Labour Party chose not to answer the specific questions, rather they sent us this statement:
Labour’s election manifesto will be released later this year when the election campaign kicks off and we will be able to comment with more specificity at that point. However, the Government’s record speaks for itself. We passed the Organic Act at the beginning of this year which will introduce robust and practical regulation to give farmers, growers, and businesses the certainty needed to continue investing in our organics sector. The Government recognised that it was key to put in place a framework to support the growing industry and to allow producers to back up their organic status with a standardised system of certification. Alongside the Ministry for Primary Industries, we are currently undertaking the work needed to get the system up and running – including consultation with organic farmers and growers on the new regulatory system.
NZ National Party
Organics is climate action: National recognises that New Zealand farmers and growers are among the most carbon efficient in the world. However, we also recognise that to remain competitive we must work to reduce agricultural emissions. Meeting our emissions targets ensures New Zealand growers will get the best possible deal in overseas markets and for us to be attractive to international consumers. National will provide farmers with the tools they need, including choices around organic production, to reduce emissions and meet environmental obligations. We will ensure that the recently adopted Organic Act is implemented quickly and effectively in cooperation with the organics sector, and to a world standard. Offering farmers and growers choices without cost regulations, will mean New Zealand continues to lead the world in food production.
Helping the organic sector adapt to new regulations: The Organic Act passed earlier this year will help enhance the reputation of New Zealand’s organic sector and ensure it remains world leading. National believes that regulation should be ‘light touch’ and outcome focused. The Act should be implemented in a cooperative way keeping regulation and cost low for organic producers. National believes the establishment of an Organics Review Board, driven by the sector, would be the best way to ensure quick and efficient decisions that work for organic growers. We will give farmers a regulatory environment where they can have the confidence to invest and grow the organic marketplace.
Farmer extension programmes: The Organic Act is an important tool for farmers and growers to have the choice to convert to organic production. It provides the framework for clear decision making and to ensure our quality reputation remains high. National believes in the importance of strong industry engagement as a means to drive better outcomes from government policy and regulation. A strong industry representation body is the best means to build a collaborative relationship with producers. National will look to reprioritise existing funds from the MPI budget to support the New Zealand organics sector and its representation bodies and to identify ways to grow organic exports as a priority.
Organic Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ), the united voice of the organic sector in New Zealand, has formulated a strategy to grow the organic sector in New Zealand. To that end, we call for the next government to:
Recognise the key role that organic agriculture plays in achieving its sustainability goals.
Recognise organics as a public good. Organic production brings about many environmental – and societal – benefits that go beyond economics. Organic agriculture should be acknowledged for the positive effect it has on society.
Implement policies to support and promote organic farming, production, and distribution, such as incentives for converting to organic, streamlined, and subsidised certification processes and other compliance requirements, and funding for extension services.
Fund and support research in organic agriculture.
Fund consumer campaigns so consumers can make informed choices, understand the value of organic products, and encourage healthy and sustainable food consumption. Education about organic products and their benefits is vital to the sector’s success.
Facilitate market access for organic producers, both domestically and internationally. Organic products need to be promoted in government-run programmes, organic export opportunities need to be supported, and resources provided to help organic farmers, growers, and businesses market their products effectively.
Speaking of resourcing …
Why is so little funding put into organic research and development in New Zealand? Why do we not have organic centres of research at all of our universities and polytechnics? Also, why is it so hard for farmers and growers to get tried and tested, independent, peer-reviewed, NZ-specific information on organic management? As a grower myself, I’d love to have an organic extension agent that I can call up to help me with a pest problem or a soil fertility issue, like in many parts of the USA. As it stands, we create our own unfunded networks and try to help each other. I’d personally like to see more of my tax dollar going towards finding organic solutions for our farmers!
Call for Climate
Soil & Health NZ have joined a campaign for urgent climate action – from all political parties. Climate Shift is a ten-point plan for climate action. Guided by the themes of real emissions reduction, supporting frontline communities, and restoring and rewilding nature, the call is for the following actions:
Climate Shift ten point plan (condensed)
End new oil, gas, and coal exploration and extraction, and commit to Fossil Fuel Free Pacific.
Accelerate the transition to public and locally-owned, nature-friendly, renewable electricity.
Transition towards high-density, low emissions communities by prioritising investment in walking, cycling, and accessible public transport infrastructure over road spending.
Transition intensive dairying to low emissions farming by phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and imported animal feed, reducing herd size, and banning new large scale irrigation schemes.*
Ensure our laws address the climate crisis by strengthening the Emissions Trading Scheme, requiring all government decisions to keep warming below 1.5°C, and establishing meaningful environmental bottom lines in new planning rules.
Protect communities through stopping new development in coastal and river flood zones.
Scale up our climate finance commitments with funding to address loss and damage caused by climate change.
Maximise native forests’ role by effectively controlling deer, goats, and possums on all public land, and implementing a native reforestation programme.
Preserve the ocean’s crucial role in storing carbon by shifting to ecosystem-based fisheries management.
Double the area of wetlands in Aotearoa New Zealand
*We think it would have been even better if point 4 of the Call for Climate plan was reworded to: Transition all farming to low (nil?) emission organic farming by subsidising organic compliance costs, research, and training with financing from levies on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, imported animal feed, and irrigation schemes.
Jenny Lux is the owner of the organic market garden, Lux Organics, and an environmental activist, actively involved in Organic Farm NZ, BioGro, and The Green Party and currently chair of Soil & Health NZ. She was deservedly the recipient of our OrganicNZ 2023 Farmer of the Year award. luxorganics.co.nz
00Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2023-08-25 10:52:002023-08-25 10:52:00Vote organics this 2023 election
Tips and tasks for the July/August māra, by Diana Noonan
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Tohea! Ko te tohe i te kai – Be strenuous – it is a struggle for food.
While the the days are short and nights are cold, there’s still so much we can do to make sure our gardens are in the best possible state to enter the growing season. From clearing out pest insects and adding nutrition to the soil, to encouraging the earliest food-bearers, and even sowing some super-hardy vegetables, winter is a much more active gardening season than you might imagine!
Bring in the birds
Birds are one of our greatest assets in the organic garden, especially in winter. They come into my garden in flocks and return again and again to devour overwintering pest insects such as spider mites, aphids, mealy bugs, caterpillars, and scale insects.
Silvereyes appear to be especially deadly hunters, gobbling insects all day. To take advantage of their appetites, I make sure that all nets are removed from berry bushes and fruit trees and sections of the garden that don’t require protection from rabbits and possums.
If conditions are dry enough in the garden, use a rake to disturb mulches. This exposes pests such as grassgrub, slugs, snails, and their eggs, and allows other birds, such as thrush and blackbirds, to discover them. I scratch around the base of my fruit and nut trees with a rake to achieve the same results. Providing bird baths and feeding tables will encourage even more birds into your garden.
Dig in!
Towards the end of winter, if the ground is dry enough, I take the opportunity to dig my green manure crops (also known as cover crops) into the soil. In my garden, these are lupin, vetch, grain, or tick beans, the seeds of which I sowed en masse in autumn.
These plants take 6-8 weeks to break down in the soil, so digging them in now means they will be ready to provide nutrients to spring-sown plants. I dig my green manure crops to a depth of just 10-15cm (I want to disturb the soil as little as possible), turn them over, and lightly chop them back into the ground. If the weather is horribly wet, I’ll cover the bed with black plastic to protect the soil while the goodies decompose.
Sow early!
In winter, it’s not so much what early seed we sow, but how we sow and protect it, that’s important. Birds are more desperate for food in winter than in any other season, so netting or covering what you sow is essential. I always cover small seed (such as spinach and mesclun mixes) with clear plastic, raising it a few centimetres off the ground with the help of narrow boards.
This keeps the plastic just high enough to trap the heat beneath, hurry along germination, and let the seedlings develop their first true leaves. After that, it’s on with the bird netting.
To combat the winter wet, I sow smaller seed into slightly raised rows to assist with drainage and cover them, to the recommended depth, with light, dry, soil or friable compost.
In warmer months I always soak larger, more robust seed, such as pea and broad bean, before sowing to hurry along germination, but I never do this in winter. In winter, soaking the seed often causes it to decay in the already-damp ground before it has time to sprout. And even though the seed is larger, it is also netted.
Sow me now
Flowers In warm and mild regions (undercover or outdoors in seed trays or individual pots, depending on location): foxglove, hollyhock, bachelor’s button, cosmos, evening primrose, echinacea, marigold, nasturtium, statice, sunflower, sweet pea. In cold regions: As for warm and mild regions but sow into seed trays and place on heated propagation mats.
Herbs In warm and mild regions (undercover or outdoors in seed trays or individual pots, depending on location): basil, chervil, dill, fennel, marjoram, mint, parsley, thyme. In cold regions: As for warm and mild regions but sow into seed trays and place on heated propagation mats.
Veges In warm and mild regions (outdoors): Asian greens, broad and dwarf beans, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, green manure crops, lettuce, parsnip, onions, potato, radish, rocket, silverbeet, spinach, spring onion. (Undercover in seed trays or individual pots): aubergine, celeriac, capsicum, cucumber, celery, leek, melon, pumpkin, tomato. In cold regions (undercover or outdoors, depending on location): brassica, broad beans, cool season microgreens, lettuce, peas, pea shoots, perpetual spinach beet, silverbeet. (Undercover, in seed trays or individual pots): chili, capsicum, sweet corn, tomato
Healthy herbs
Some of the very first ‘greens’ to come through the soil toward the end of winter are hardy, tasty herbs. Chives, marjoram, fennel, and sorrel are longed-for flavour boosters in my late winter garden and I lavish attention on them. I make sure to mark their whereabouts in autumn (as some all but disappear beneath the ground as the days shorten), and toward the end of winter I clear the sites of fallen leaves and other debris.
I carefully scratch away any weeds, and mulch around (but not over) the spots. I pop a cloche (a cut off plastic soda bottle) over the delicate foliage as it emerges to lock in the heat and protect it from browsing animals.
I harvest cautiously at first, to keep the growth coming, and more vigorously after 2-3 weeks, as these ‘earlies’ are often the first edibles to run to seed.
Gear-up the greenhouse
If you’re lucky enough to have a greenhouse, this is the time to press it into service (if you don’t have a greenhouse, you can build a simple cloche from hoops of willow pushed into the ground and covered with clear plastic held down with a brick at each end). Whatever you do, don’t wait until the start of spring to raise your seedlings. It can take from 3-8 weeks, depending on what kind of seed you sow, before a seedling is ready to transplant. Wash down the greenhouse inside and out to let in more light, and remove any overwintering plants that may be hosting pest bugs (be sure the bugs don’t drop off inside the greenhouse as you shift them).
Set up staged shelving to hold your seed trays (staged shelving is similar to a set of steps, and allows all seedling equal access to the light). Cover seed-raising containers with a sheet of glass to stop mice scratching them up in search of food, and once the seeds have germinated, check nightly for signs of slugs and snails.
Don’t forget to keep the greenhouse door shut to keep out the birds.
Bare necessities
It’s fruit and berry planting time, and the best deal is to purchase those that are bare-rooted.
Bare-rooted plants are dug straight from the soil while still dormant. Their roots are wrapped in a covering to stop them drying out. Bare-rooted trees and bushes have a better start in your garden than potted plants, the roots of which are likely to have been restricted for many months. Niche nurseries often specialise in bare-rooted plants so you usually have a great choice of variety.
Transplant me now
Flowers In warm and mild regions: alyssum, Canterbury bells, dianthus, delphinium, gypsophilla, larkspur, marigold, sweet William, sweet pea, viola. In cold regions (where conditions permit): alyssum, gypsophilla, larkspur, marigold, sweet pea, sweet William.
Herbs In warm and mild regions: mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme. (Under cover or when danger of frost has passed): basil and lemon grass. In cold regions: chives, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme. (Under cover): marjoram.
Veges In warm and mild regions: asparagus crowns, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, silverbeet, shallots, strawberry. In cold regions (undercover, in planter bags that can be moved outdoors when space is required): brassica, celery, hardy lettuce, perpetual beet, rocket, silverbeet, spinach.
Diana Noonan lives in the Catlins where she grows 70 percent of her food using a variety of methods including permaculture food forest to French intensive.
https://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/Header-option-scaled-e1687388246965.jpg19212560Staff Writerhttps://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/ONZ-Masthead-2024-1.pngStaff Writer2023-07-27 11:09:162023-07-27 11:09:16Get ready for spring: seasonal gardening tips and tasks
