Midwinter Kitchen Garden

Winter can be a dreary time, but there is always something to do in a garden!  We are fortunate here in that our winters are comparatively mild and we can garden all year round.

I thought it would be interesting to see what was happening in the Kitchen Garden at the Hamilton Gardens complex, so I went to have a look.

One section of the garden has had its green-manure crop cut and left to start decomposing and thus fertilizing the soil.  I imagine it will be dug in over the next few weeks.

Another section had young seedlings planted out in it – onions, brassicas and broad beans.  Celery is growing at the back of the bed.

There was Florence fennel, radishes, carrots and beetroot being harvested.  None of this produce is sold or given to the public.  Instead, most of it goes to the local Wintec (Waikato Polytechnic Institute) restaurant where trainee chefs practice their art.  Council staff are responsible for the care of the Gardens but Wintec horticulture students often help out, especially in the Kitchen Garden.

The rhubarb was beginning to go to seed.

The harvest of Globe Artichokes is almost finished.

The grape vines have been pruned.  They are attached to the walls on the sunniest side of the Kitchen Garden.

Espalier fruit trees clothe another wall, and the back shaded wall has a hedge of feijoas along it.  The other side wall is home to citrus and kiwifruit.

On one side of the Kitchen Garden there is a Herb Garden, and on the far side is a Sustainable Back Yard (to give ideas to what can be done in your own garden).  Together, these three gardens cover quite a large area and there is always something interesting to see.

It was a nice little jaunt outside, dodging showers and enjoying the weak winter sun.  Quite a few people had the same idea, but it was not crowded at all.

Stay safe and keep smiling J

Margaret.