Recently Friends of the Farm (FOF) teamed up with Māngere Bridge local Meeghan to run a Seedling Swap event at the Ambury Regional Park in the farm barn.
This was a first for FOF and was so successful on many fronts that it will probably become an annual event.
It was more than a ‘seedling swap’; it was a plant, plant containers, information and seed swap. Tables were set up to show people how to make newspaper plant pots for seeds, newspaper bags to use as Food Scraps bin liners, and how to make a potent Guava Moth trap. Plus, outside there was a load of horse manure to shovel into sacks and take home for your garden. The Food Fairy was there to help, patiently showing children how to fold newspaper into bin liners and hats! Lots of people brought along plants and surplus pots and were happy to see them being taken and used by others.
There were lively discussions about when to plant, what to plant, weeds, bitter citrus fruit, and what to do about them. The most unusual vegetable was Yacon (google it!), and a sample tuber was on show as well as plants ready to go into the garden. Meeghan had produced a colourful and informative brochure on planting and you can download it here 4Mb PDF).
The Guava Moth is a pest that has recently spoiled feijoa crops and many were interested to learn the recipe and take away a sample bottle. If everyone worked together on the eradication of Guava Moths by using traps our citrus and feijoas would be better to eat. It not only spoils fruit, it can damage the tree and lead to it stopping producing fruit. If you are interested in making your own it’s a simple recipe. Combine 1 tsp vegemite, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1 litre of boiling water. Mix well then add 1 tsp vanilla essence and 1 tsp Handy Andy. Pour 250ml into a clean 2 litre milk bottle, cut a small hole in the top half of the bottle ( so the Guava Moths can get in to it) and hang it in your feijoa or citrus tree. Hang 2-3 bottles in each tree. Replace every 6 weeks. Companion planting garlic bulbs around the base of your citrus and feijoa trees is also a useful deterrent.
Morning tea was available, too, with a selection of delicious homemade biscuits cooked by Meeghan’s grandmother.
There was a heap of energy in the room and lots of connections being made, especially for some recent arrivals who were keen to earn what grows well in the Bridge. And the answer to that? Well, actually pretty much everything grows well in Māngere Bridge.