Here are some of my favourite products and businesses that I use and recommend:
Essential Microorganisms from EMNZ. Essential microorganisms are a microbial inoculant that gets all the good bacteria in your soil humming. You can also use EM as a plant and / or foliar feed. EM improves soil and plant health and is good for the garden at any time of year, but particularly in spring and summer when you want to give everything a boost!
Pea straw from Auckland Pea Straw. It’s a weed free mulch for your garden that will also feed and protect the soil. Using pea straw as mulch can reduce watering up to 60% and helps to suppress weeds. If you’re lucky you might get some peas too!
Daltons Coconut coir mulch from Bunnings. One pack can expand to up to 60L when its hydrated. It is an excellent weed suppressant, and helps to make a resilient garden – in the heavy rain and floods we had earlier this year, it absorbed a ton of water . Looks good too.
Neem oil from Naturally Neem (not all neem oils are created equal). Neem oil is a natural insecticide and I use it for white fly, aphids and guava moth. Basically if your plants are being attacked by a pest, spray them with some neem. While the nasties don’t like it, Neem is kind to humans, pets, plants and beneficial insects. You can also purchase it from the excellent Gubba Gardens and Kings Plant Barn.
My favourite weeding tool is a Japanese hand fork and mattock from Lakewood Products. If the weed is stubborn and won’t come out by hand, this will do the trick. The head is grunty enough to get stubborn tap roots out but its not so heavy that your wrist hurts.
The Edible Backyard by Kath Irvine has become my gardening Bible. Its practical, helpful, gentle, organic gardening that works and written in New Zealand! I’ve learnt so much from this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in gardening.
Diatomaceous earth is super fine silica powder which feels like razor blades to slugs and snails. In addition to keeping insect pests away from your plants, diatomaceous earth contains minerals and trace elements which are beneficial to soil health. A good supplier with high quality product is Diatomaceous Earth New Zealand.
Biochar from Warrick at Char Bro in Ōrewa… its a great product (high carbon content and not made with treated timber), local and Warrick is really helpful. Biochar will condition your soil, improve soil structure and give your plants a boost. Biochar is even better when it’s inoculated with Essential Microorganisms!
Fodda is a New Zealand made, organic, slow release general fertiliser. It contains all the major elements and 45 trace elements. Ingredients include: seaweed, sawdust, fish waste, wood ash, chicken manure. This gives your plants and soil what they need to thrive and encourages microbial activity.
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