Sarah Oliver recently presented at Soil to Supper, a Whāingaroa Environment Centre (WEC) Science Night at the iconic Harbour View Hotel. The event also featured guest speaker Shai Brod, and a large diverse group of young, inspired gardeners came to soak up their insight. This article gives a little more info on what Sarah and Shai are getting up to in their gardens, the challenges they have faced, and inspirations.
Sarah is based in Waitetuna. I asked Sarah how she met Tania Ashman, the food coordinator at WEC, “Probably through Hamilton GO ECO, or OFNZ when she was an auditor there”. This chat led me to understand the process Sarah has gone through to gain Organic Certification; Sarah and her partner have been certified organic for five years, “It’s kinda my baby. I spent the majority of my adult life renting; it’s really challenging renting and gardening. I put in many gardens while renting.”
As a renter myself, Sarah encouraged me to keep the garden thriving in my rental. I grow simple crops to teach my kids how easy it is! And, how food can be free if you save seeds and plant them the following season. For me this is my inspiration to grow, however, when I was talking with Sarah she gave vision to a wider picture; the story of bugs, the ecosystem, and the crop we can reap. The process of home-growing nourishes not just us but also nourishes our planet. If you can grab a copy of Vegan Magazine, you can reap the benefits of Sarah’s advice, her column is fantastic!
This sentiment of connection to and with the land was shared with Shai. I asked him about his journey growing food. “When I was 18, I bought some strawberry plants to try to grow at home, and since then I got hooked, and have always been involved in growing food in some way, for almost 20 years. Nowadays I grow to supply approximately 6 extra families and have all-year-round vegetables to feed my own family”.
Shai commented that growing up on a small farm in Israel gave him a tight relationship to the land. He also said, “There’s currently a huge awareness shift for many people, knowing that growing their own food is not only better for them physically, but also mentally and spiritually. You become a part of your environment and ecosystem when you feed yourself from your garden, from the ocean and the forest, and the separation between us and nature no longer exists.”
Sarah is enthusiastic about insect life, “Particularly native bees. They are such important pollinators for our native bush; now when I go into the bush, I see the holes and I love that. And we have native worms.”
At WEC, we have been amazed at the crowds we have hosted at the Science Nights at the pub – thanks so much to all who have showed up and participated; up-skilling as a community enables us to connect, inform one another, and increase our collective resilience. These events are free of charge, and we ask attendees what other topics they would like to hear about. Jasmine at WEC has a wonderful flurry of speakers for the next few months, but we welcome other groups in our community. Send us an email or contact via social media @wec.raglan
We loved hearing Harry Kitiona speak on Raglan Radio about being inspired to start a permaculture garden at the Papahua Campground. I was down there at the end-of-season football celebration and it is very impressive. It really is such a great space Harry, thanks for sharing it with us. Both established gardeners and novice gardeners can approach soil to supper growing, and work toward abundant kai in Whāingaroa. I asked Shai and Sarah what crop they would like to grow, Shai replied, “My son says coconut, and I really wanted to grow successful mango. I have 3 young trees and I am hoping they will grow and fruit one day”. And Sarah said, “If I could, I would grow Cherimoya tree – the weirdest looking fruit that tastes like ice cream. My favourite thing to grow is chickpeas. I’ve been growing them for 3 years now. Seeds are for sale somewhere!”
For me personally, I would describe myself as primarily a cook who is now working on her growing skills. I am interested in the relationship between growing and cooking and asked Shai and Sarah, ‘Are you a grower and a cook?’
Shai: “Growing up I was often helping my mother in the kitchen, she is a very good cook and I just love her way, very intuitive and creative but also full of classic traditional recipes with her Moroccan background. I learnt a lot from her and I enjoy cooking good hearty meals to share with family and friends. I also love to preserve, ferment and bake, so with all the produce around I’m often busy in the kitchen. Next in line are kohlrabi, carrot, and fennel pickles.”
Sarah: “Well I do cook, we eat vegan and we eat a lot of our own veggies, roast beetroot & chickpea falafels with tahini for example. The biggest journey for me as a vegan grower, who is also growing organic, is veganic gardening (no manures or chicken manures and things like that). I don’t want to be bringing in chicken manures and with a lot of the commercial products that is where that is coming from. That is probably a really big thing. A lot of this is not new to vegans, but the local and international sharing of science and knowledge of growing is exciting.”
At WEC, we never know who will turn up to Science Nights; the door is open and booking is not necessary, however, the front room of the pub has been full month after month. What we noted from this Soil to Supper crowd, was that it attracted the youngest crowd yet, and this inspires hope, hope that we are changing to a more sustainable style of living. A huge thanks to Shai and Sarah for sharing your time and knowledge. And another thanks to the staff at the Harbour View for making us so welcome every month, and a thanks to those that have sponsored this event: Stendy Solar and the Mazda Foundation. Go follow us on Facebook or Insta @wec.raglan and keep your peepers open for the next Science Night coming soon.
Shai has a place in Ruapuke and offers workshops there, as well as being a permaculture landscaper designer. You can contact him here:
edible_landscapes@hotmail.com
Sarah is a columnist and all-round wise person; you can connect to her work here:
@floweringbean_organicgardens
