DIARY OF AN URBAN GARDENER: A STIRLING GARDEN

I’ve come to the realisation, gardeners and especially ones that till vegetable plots are some of the hardest working and most productive people I know. Bending, raking, digging, pulling, pushing can be back breaking work. Even when the plot is in full bloom maintaining these sights is more time consuming and often more expensive than a 20 year old property-tycoon hunting, wannabe-model, sometimes-PR-assistant, celebrity-page stalker. But the pay-off to gardeners is tremendous and multilayered, where as pay back in the latter is usually in damages to pocket and reputation.

I have a great mate. Julie Stirling is her name, she is super productive and not a tycoon-hunter, celebrity stalker. She lives in Pt Chevalier and has a tremendous vegetable garden. In fact if Julie and her flatmates were strictly vegetarian of the vegan kind, there would be no need for them to shop for food. Julie has created a self sufficient, self sustaining world. She has the usual suspects, corn, cabbages, radishes, lettuces, strawberries and raspberries. There are also fruit trees, apples, lemons.

This is a good thing because putting food on the table is becoming more difficult for the average household. A few months ago Otago University's school of human nutrition released its annual food costs survey of how much it costs to feed a family based on healthy nutritional guidelines. The Otago survey confirms what shoppers already know – it's getting more expensive to buy even the most basic of groceries. In some areas prices have risen by more than half over the past five years with Auckland being the most expensive place for a family of four to eat. It costs $274 a week for basic food items, $14 more than it did a year ago for the most basic shop but a staggering $100 more than five years ago. Wellington is the second most expensive city, with basic prices almost on a par with Auckland, while Hamilton is the second-cheapest, with prices being just $2 higher than Christchurch (the cheapest).

The Otago figures do not include non-food items such as personal care and cleaning products, or other household supplies such as rubbish bags and paper towels.

So Julie is doing herself and flatmates a great financial service. Of course it would have cost them in upfront costs to get started. Probably $250 to buy the seedlings, or first plants, a couple of the new fruit trees some implements. So for a little less than an average families weekly spend, Julie’s household can dine on their fare all year round. That’s an incredible saving. There is the labour involved which is intensive or not depending on your gardening-ethics, but in actual money spent versus money saved there is no comparison.

Julie puts a lot of time and attention into her garden. In return she’s reaped what she’s sowed, including honey. The outstanding feature for me was her bee-hive. Buzzing away merrily in the corner was a swarm of honey-bees in what looked like a metal box the size of a small portable smoker. Surrounding it were a myriad of dwarf fruit trees and more vegetable plants. Julie handed me the outcome of the bees hard work. I’m not a great honey eater – too sweet, but this beautifully textured almost toffee like stuff tasted a hint of woody smoke. Amazing that this honey comes from a small Pt Chevalier backyard.

Each night I watch my friend Julie Stirling’s Facebook postings to see what culinary fare she’s whipping up with produce from her garden. She eats meat so; her garden fare on occasion compliments the main dish. With her herbs I notice Julie tosses into salads and like many keen chefs she also has a knack of turning them into delectable dressings. The mix of salty and bitter herbs Julie mixed to dress her salad would have brought out the nuttiness of the pesto in her chicken mignon – the dinner she served up to her flatmates the other night. Julie will no doubt get some egg-laying chickens next. I look forward to her critique, and to learning all about the feathered creatures because I intend to get some for our little Mt Albert backyard as well.

In the meanwhile Julie gave me some cabbage plants which I’ve planted and look for all intents and purposes doing very well. But the proof is in the growing and eating and I look forward to the eating.