Garden design – flowering bean organic gardens

I first interviewed Coral Remiro in 2024. At that time, she was the farm manager at Earth Stewards, an urban farm in Kirikiriroa, Hamilton. We had a fascinating chat about the successful polycropping method she’d implemented on the farm.

What is polycropping?

Polycropping is a technique that involves growing different crops together in a garden bed instead of using the more traditional monocropping planting method. It can be used in a small garden or larger growing system.

*Spinach, cabbages, radish and coriander growing in a polycropping system*

What are the advantages of polycropping?

Coral has found that one of the advantages of polycropping is an increase in the number of plants that can be grown in a small space. This has created more space to plant cover crops. She says, this has been a game changer as the cover crops reduce weed pressure, add a source of nitrogen, and provide more compost material.

Polycropping also increases biological diversity in and above the soil, directly helping to maintain a balanced system. Different insects, microorganisms, and other animals are attracted to the different habitats provided by different plants in close proximity.

Is polycropping complicated?

Polycropping is complicated until, as Coral says, “you can get your head around it.” She does not spend time these days considering companion planting so much as thinking about how plants grow. She explains that there are some key concepts to consider when grouping plants together including:

how much space is available around a plant as it grows
how long it takes for each type of plant to reach harvest size
light requirements for each plant
how different plants grow – vertically or horizontally
if the plants are root or leaf crops.

Hero plants

In her planning Coral thinks about how to create guilds – groupings of plants that support each other. She has found the best way to plan her garden is to organise plants into groups based on how long it takes for them to grow to harvest size: short, medium, and long-term. Plants like tomatoes and brassica take the longest to grow and she says these are the ‘hero’ plants. She suggests using these plants as a base to work around and then planting faster growing and smaller plants around these, for example, coriander and radish.

The importance of record keeping

Like all gardeners and growers, Coral has learnt some lessons the hard way. For example, she planted lots of beetroot plants around other plants without considering how much light they needed. She says, one of the keys to success in polycropping is observation and recording what works well and what doesn’t. I would also suggest taking a photo before you forget – seasons pass fast!

*Brassica surrounded by a range of plants including lettuce and coriander*

What I really appreciated when talking to Coral was her openness to trying new things in the garden. I also valued her approach to creating diversity. It’s always good to remember that in a garden, diversity can mitigate risk.

Visiting Earth Stewarts Urban Farm https://earthstewards.nz/ and chatting to Coral was an inspiration.

Happy Gardening

Building fertility in the garden, Garden design, Growing food, Uncategorized

Benefits of Crop Rotation: A Sustainable Gardening Practice

October 23, 2025October 24, 2025 Sarah Oliver

Crop rotation is simply organising plants into different plant families and rotating the plantings over time, or basically not planting the same annual crops in the same place each year.

Crop rotation does require some planning. If detailed planning is your thing, you can create a long-term rotation design with a detailed plan (probably more for a market gardener), or you can also keep it simple and incorporate at least some rotation around the garden.

Sprouting purple broccoli flourishing after a crop of potatoes

Healthier Soil, Better Harvests

Different plants require different nutrient levels, so rotating your crops can help reduce the number of inputs you may need to use. A crop that is a heavy feeder can be followed by something that requires less nutrients, and a crop with deep roots followed by a shallow rooted crop.

Another advantage of crop rotation is reducing the potential for soil-borne disease. This is because plants in the same family are more likely to suffer from the same issues. For example, planting brassicas (e.g., kale, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower) in the same plot every year increases the risk of club-root, because the fungal disease’s spores can persist in the soil. It’s a good idea to leave a gap of at least three or four years between plantings.

Rotating crops can help reduce insect damage by preventing a build-up of damaging insects in a crop year after year.

Another advantage is different crops work on the soil in unique way, for example, deep rooting crops can improve the soil structure.

Different plant groupings

It is useful to have some understanding of the different families of plants if you want to use crop rotation. I also find it useful to keep seeds stored by the different groups in containers.

Peas and beans (Fabaceae or legume)
Broccoli, kales, cabbages, cauliflower, radish (Brassicaceae, or brassica – cabbage family)
Beetroot, chards and silverbeet (Amaranthaceae)
Leeks, onions, spring onions, garlic (Allium family)
Courgette, melons (Cucurbitaceae)
Carrots, celeriac, celery (Umbellifeae)
Tomatoes, capsicums, potatoes, and eggplants (Solanaceae – nightshade family)
Corn and grains (Poaceae – grass family)
Kumara (Conolvulaceae – bindweeds or morning glories)

Developing a crop rotation plan

There are many different examples of rotation plans
available so I am not putting one specific one here and
it really depends on your own set up. You might choose a more complex rotation that runs over a seven-year cycle and incorporates a couple of years of fertility building with cover crops (more for a market gardener). Another alternative for a smaller plot could be based on grouping your rotations by root crops, brassica, greens and legumes, and alliums. You would then try to have a long gap between replanting in the same bed those that are more susceptible to disease like alliums, tomatoes,
brassicas and potatoes.

I find it particularly successful if I have an area that has been in a cover crop or a new bed that has been in grass, to start with potatoes to break up the soil, then I will then grow a range of brassica depending on timing as they require more fertility; if it is later in autumn and too late to get the brassica in I may just pop in a legume after potatoes such as broad beans over winter. Lettuce I pop in wherever I have a gap. Another successful rotation I have had is planting broccoli after kumara.

There are loads of great resources on rotation planting, so again how you plant depends on what you are doing in the garden and how detailed you want to be. And keep a record of what you plant where, you’ll think you’ll remember, but two years later it can be different story – jot it down or take a photo.

Diversity is still key

Whatever you decide to do in your garden, don’t forget the other principles to incorporate, mulching well, well matured compost and adding in lots of plant diversity. Add in flowers and natives wherever you can to attract all those beneficial insects and increase soil life – remember nature loves diversity and flowers can lift the spirit on a gloomy day.

Happy growing.

Bees, Building fertility in the garden, Critters, Flowers, herbs and weeds, Garden design, Growing food

Creating a Balanced Ecosystem in Your Garden

April 21, 2025April 21, 2025 Sarah Oliver

A close-up view of a spider web glistening in the sunlight, suspended between branches of a flowering tree.

It’s certainly a challenge managing those creatures that are in the wrong place in your garden. Knowing what to do and who to believe is difficult when you find an animal decimating your carefully tended crop.

Having a baseline can help us make garden decisions. With this foundation, plans can be made in line with your own ethics, climate, needs, and the surrounding environment. My aim is to grow organically, and I also try to create a diverse environment. This approach helps with my decision making.

Slugs and snails

An explosion of snails and slugs in any garden is an ongoing problem, especially during damp conditions. Most gardeners will attest that it’s pretty hard to get rid of any one species of animal permanently. Yet, there are some things you can do that can help create a balance.

One way is to create habitats for the animals you want, while working to reduce the habitat of those you don’t. Some birds, like thrushes and blackbirds, eat snails and slugs so we encourage them. We try to create bird habitats with lots of trees and some scrubby areas. However, we also try to remove hiding places for slugs and snails. We do this by keeping the grass short close to the garden beds.

A close-up of four baby thrush birds with brown and yellow feathers, sitting together in a nest made of twigs and dry grass. — Without a cat around Mamma Thrush decided to have her babies
close to ground level.

Another popular method is to place pots upside down on the garden patch. This encourages snails to gather. Then, you can move them away from the garden. Be sure to take them far enough away as they will work hard to find their way back!

Slugs and snails particularly like smaller or weaker seedlings, so strong healthy plants are often less vulnerable. Growing some seedlings larger before planting them out in the garden has been a game changer. This is especially true for those plants that are vulnerable. You can read more about this here.

Sometimes it is also worth allowing one plant to act as a sacrificial plant. Leave it in place to let the slugs and snails eat it. This way, others can continue to grow strong. It seems counter intuitive, but we have had some success trying this method.

It’s also good to observe your garden to see what is chewing on your plant. Check at different times of the day. What looks like slug damage may in fact be something else.

Larger animals

You can protect your plants from seed and fruit eating birds by using netting. This method also works against small mammals. It’s a good idea to use netting that is small enough, so birds won’t get caught in it. Always keep a close eye on it and check daily in case there are issues.

Covering seeds in the ground with a green shade cloth can protect them before they germinate. This prevents seeds from being disturbed by birds. For carrot seeds this also helps to keep the soil moist which helps the seeds germinate.

Insects

Celebrate insects! It means you have diversity. But of course, you don’t want to lose all of your crops to an overpopulation of certain insects. Having a wide variety of plants in a garden is therefore very beneficial. Diverse plantings help diverse insect populations thrive.

Flowers of different shapes and sizes will support different insects’ feeding habits. For example, the small hoverfly, often referred to as a beneficial insect, needs different things at different stages. At the larvae stage, they feed on insects like aphids. At the adult stage, they will need flowers for pollen and nectar.¹

Close-up of a vibrant pink flower with elongated petals and green leaves, set against a blurred background of greenery. — Flowers entice insects and humans alike!

Create permanent habitats to support beneficial insects. You may wish to keep a section of the garden for perennial plants. Alternatively, dedicate a row in your vege patch. This allows for some longer-term insect habitats.

Aim to have flowers all year round, both native and introduced. Plant some eco-sourced natives to encourage native insects. Don’t forget about our native bees, ngaro-huruhuru. Other easy to grow plants to encourage beneficial insects include phacelia, alyssum, buckwheat, bergamot, cornflowers, chives and marigolds.

A diverse garden landscape featuring vibrant flowers, greenery, and various plants, surrounded by trees and a cloudy sky. — One of our wild and mostly perennial insect habitat plantings.

Spiders

I’ll finish with the wonderful spider. They are a good sign that things are going well, and you have a diverse environment. They eat both the bugs you want and those you don’t. However, they can help prevent an imbalance of one species.

A close-up of a spider web intricate and glistening in the sunlight, draped between small plants with budding leaves. The background features blurred greenery.

Above all experiment and play in the garden. Even commercial and experienced growers sometimes lose crops and must go back to square one. It’s also another good reason to create diversity and spread the risk.

Martin, N.A. (2010, revised 2015). Small hoverfly – Melanostoma fasciatum. Interesting Insects and other invertebrates. ↩︎

Disclaimer
The information provided on this site is for general guidance only. Users of the information contained on this site must make their own assessment of the suitability and appropriateness of the products, services and information for their particular use.

Building fertility in the garden, Garden design, Growing food, Uncategorized

Woodchip to build fertility

May 18, 2024June 6, 2024 Sarah Oliver

In this interview, I chat to Iain Tolhurst from the UK about using woodchip
on his farm.

I discovered Iain Tolhurst’s work when I Googled Veganic in 2016. Tolhurst grows certified organic food on leased land for a box scheme and farm shop in the UK. He has been growing without using animal inputs such as manures and blood and bone, on just under 20 acres (about 8 hectares) for 35 years. His farm was described in George Monbiot’s 2022 book Regenesis as “a genuinely regenerative, organic system”¹ using no artificial or livestock inputs and creating a space for diversity and wildlife to return.

Tolhurst grows about 100 different varieties of vegetables on his farm. He uses a system of long seven-year rotations and times the planting of the various crops to fit their differing fertility needs. When a plot is at the end of five years, he takes it out of production for two years to build the soil fertility using green manures of legumes and wildflowers to which he also adds ramial woodchip.

It was his use of woodchip that I was particularly interested in when I asked for an interview. Woodchip offers a good addition to the growing toolkit of alternative solutions to using manures, other animal inputs or artificial fertilisers in gardens and growing systems.

Woodchip at Tolhurst Organics

While we are used to seeing woodchips around fruit trees, on ornamental perennial beds and in forest gardens, using it in vegetable beds often raises questions about nitrogen lockup and soil health. Nitrogen lockup can occur when a carbon-rich material, such as woodchip, creates an imbalance in the soil. However, Tolhurst agreed to the interview as he wanted to highlight the potential of using woodchip in horticultural growing systems.

At Tolhurst’s farm, they use woodchips in various ways; as a propagation substrate, a seedling mix, applying it directly to the plots to build fertility and as a weed suppressant on pathways in tunnel houses. However, he explains, the key to the system working and avoiding nitrogen lockup, is to use different forms of woodchip, appling it correctly, and timing the harvest of the woodchip.

Tolhurst sources the woodchip for the farm from local arborists and it comes from a mix of trees, usually from local gardens. Using local material also reduces the carbon footprint of transport, an issue with many fertilisers. Tolhurst explains that the woodchip is very different from wood shavings or sawdust, as using these would cause issues as they are difficult to compost.

Woodchips and composting

Once the woodchip arrives on the farm, it is composted in a long pile called a windrow. This is turned four times in the first year, after which it is applied directly in the tunnel houses as compost.

To make a seed-raising mix, they also keep some of this composted woodchip and continue composting it for another six months to two years. At this stage, it becomes very crumbly and there is not much visible woodchip left. They then grade it and add a little vermiculite. In Tolhurst’s experience he says, it acts as well as any peat-based material. Finding an alternative to peat-based material has been important in their search for alternative fertility-building materials, especially in potting mixes.

Ramial woodchip

Ramial woodchip is an exciting development in growing systems and growers are experimenting with its use. Ramial woodchip is chipped branch wood sourced from branches less than 7cm in diameter and excludes any wood from the tree trunk. The reason for using chipped branch wood is it has a lower carbon-to-nitrogen ratio than trunk wood and, as the chip is applied fresh, it retains many of the tree’s nutrients and energy in the chip.

Tolhurst explains that he uses ramial woodchip in very modest amounts and adds this into the green manure phase of the growing system. Because they are in the UK, most of their ramial woodchip is harvested in winter and this works well as many of their indigenous trees are deciduous.

At Flowering Bean Organic Gardens, we are exploring using ramial woodchip from introduced deciduous trees and may experiment with some branches from native non-deciduous trees. Not scientific, but certainly a fun to experiment to see what happens in our growing system.

A mixed cover crop that has had ramial woodchip added for fertility
Flowering Bean Organic Gardens

Woodchips on pathways

The other application of woodchips at Tolhurst Organics is the more traditional use of woodchips on pathways. The advantage, Tolhurst explains, is that the woodchip suppresses weeds and adds fertility as it breaks down and the fertility moves across into the beds carried by microorganisms. They lay it about 7cm thick and it reduces weeds for about 2 to 3 years before it is topped up again.

Spot the worm! Woodchip pile full of worms at Flowering Bean Organic Gardens

Talking to Tolhurst and learning more about the innovations on his farm, was certainly inspiring and I know there are many here in Aotearoa trying out new systems and ideas in both commercial and residential gardens. I hope this interview inspires and provides an introduction to the huge topic of using woodchips for fertility.

Happy gardening and growing!

Monbiot, G. (2022). Regenesis. Allen Lane ↩︎

Further information

For anyone wanting to do a deep dive into using woodchip in gardens and farms, I found the Woodchip Handbook, A Complete Guide for Farmers, Gardeners and Landscapers by Ben Raskin and published by Chelsea Green Publishing had lots of great information.

Don’t forget to always consider your safety when working with woodchip and compost materials. Here are some links to more more information about protecting your health when working with composting material.

Toi te Ora Public Health Protect yourself from Legionnaires’ disease when gardening

WorkSafe Legionnaires’ disease and legionellosis

Bees, Critters, Garden design

Ngaro huruhuru

January 27, 2024August 20, 2025 Sarah Oliver

An abundance of bees is one of the most exciting things for a gardener. However, while we talk about and admire the introduced honeybee, we often neglect to notice or perhaps have no knowledge of, our native bees. The obsession with the honeybee perhaps feeds our lack of knowledge. However, as we develop our gardens and farms, we’re in a great position to support the unassuming ngaro huruhuru – native bees.

Looking to extend my limited understanding of these native bees, I was lucky enough to have a chat to, Dr Ngaire Hart. An engineer, environmental scientist and ngaro huruhuru expert, Ngaire was happy to share her knowledge.

When Ngaire first started studying ngaro huruhuru in the early 2000s, there was very little published on our bees, and even today there is still not a huge body of work in the area. After trialing different ways to track bees, Ngaire designed her PhD to measure bee populations by capturing data on the number of active nests of ground-nesting bees.

Species of ngaro huruhuru

Aotearoa NZ has only two main families of ngaro huruhuru; Colletidae and Halictidae. Both families are described as primitive (have not changed markedly over time). There are currently 28 recognised species of native bees; 27 are endemic species (occur only in NZ) and one species is also found in Australia.

Ngaire says that ngaro huruhuru may be mistaken as small flies, and often go unnoticed because of their size and colour. They can be anywhere from 4-12 mm long and are mostly black in colour. They are not aggressive and while they do have the ability to sting, she says it is doubtful you would feel it.

Ngaro huruhuru fall into two broad categories; the ground-nesting species Leioproctus and Lasioglossum, and the wood-nesting species Hylaeus, who construct their nests in hollow plant materials.

Ground nesting bees

You may recognise the Leioproctus females from their nest building activities as they will dig a tunnel in a bank or ground to lay an egg and then collect pollen from around the area for the larvae to feed on when they hatch.

Their nests will appear as tiny holes and Ngaire says, that while they will nest in any ground, they particularly like patches of bare soil and are sometimes found in sandpits, playgrounds, golf courses, roadside verges and people’s lawns.

The ground-nesting Lasiogolssum, are commonly called a sweat bee because they like to land on you and suck the sweat off your skin. Ngaire says that these are very tiny bees. They are 4-8 mm long.

Wood-nesting bees

Masked bee foraging on a flax flower. She is hairless but has unique markings on her face.

Hylaeus, are commonly called masked bees because they have a marking on their face. They are hairless and don’t look like a bee. To the untrained eye, they may look more like a wasp. They nest in plant material, such as the dead kōrari (flower stem of the flax).

Observing bees

To find ngaro huruhuru, Ngaire says it’s about learning where they might be and going out and looking for them in your own backyard. Quite often they are there, but we just don’t notice them.

Look for them foraging on plants during summer. Go out and find harakeke, kānuka and mānuka – pause, stand still for a while and watch – if they are there, you will see them foraging. They are much smaller and tend to stay on a flower longer and sometimes you can see the females with pollen on their legs. Male colletids may be spotted as mating swards around scrubby areas and gorse and Ngaire suggests you look for movement.

Threats to ngaro huruhuru

Habitat loss, pollutants and competition with non-native species are all threats to these animals. We need to be aware of things like roadside verges being sprayed when ngaro huruhuru are emerging – gardeners have been known to mistake them for wasps when they mass and mistakenly kill them.

The population of bees in the sites Ngaire has been studying is not increasing and, in some places, it is declining. It is possibly the same elsewhere, with changing landscapes and habitat fragmentation.

Supporting bees to thrive

To support ngaro huruhuru in our gardens, it is important to try not to disturb their habitat. For example, some bees nest in old wooden cavities such as old logs or kōrari so Ngaire suggests leaving the kōrari on your flax to age and when you do remove them, put them somewhere for the bees to nest in.

It is also an idea to plan your garden with more than just aesthetics in mind – plant more bee-friendly plants and natives and keep things organic and insect-friendly – using weedkillers in your garden might be killing a lot more than your weeds.

Become a ngaro huruhuru advocate

Ngaro huruhuru also need us to advocate for them – learn and speak up about these unassuming creatures because, as Ngaire says, it is hard to care about something you do not know about. Another option is to support and get involved in community science. Ngaire is supportive of community science taking the lead to understand what is happening to our bee populations.

So, it seems like a good time to focus on our small unassuming ngaro huruhuru, learn more about them and provide habitats and plantings for them in our gardens.

For lots of great posters and resources visit Kaitiaki Creations

Ngaro hurururu photos courtesy of Dr Ngaire Hart

Flowers, herbs and weeds, Garden design

The garden, a sensory experience

December 3, 2022January 12, 2024 Sarah Oliver

Back when we were in COVID lockdown I noticed amongst all the big changes and emotional upheavals, a more subtle change; the increase of smells from highly scented cleaning products and fragrances. I previously had not considered the potential effects of our highly scented environment on humans, and I had certainly not before considered how it must be for the non-human animals we share our lives with. What it must be like for a dog, so sensitive to scents, to share our living spaces?

So, what does this have to do with gardening? Well, our private and public garden spaces can provide us with much more than food. Even if you only have room for one plant in a pot, it can still provide a natural, outdoor sensory experience – one which can fill our senses with the beauty of nature. In this post I thought I would share a few of the plants I love to include in the garden, a small collection from the huge selection nature has provided to delight your senses.

Pineapple sage

My favourite fragrant herb is pineapple sage. For some reason, it always reminds me of Christmas and never ceases to give me a lift. Planted in spring it is super easy to care for. It prefers a sunny place and well-draining soil and because it is frost-sensitive you may find it is more of an annual than perennial depending on where you live.

Lemon verbena

Lemon verbena is another favourite fragrant herb, which I try valiantly to keep alive through our frosty winter. As with many herbs, the scent of lemon verbena comes from its leaves when they are crushed. Lemon verbena has delicate white flowers in later spring and grows into a small shrub up to 3 metres tall.

Daphne

The flowers of the shrub daphne produce a fragrance that can lift your spirits on a cold, overcast winter day as it flowers from winter to early spring. If space is limited, you can also grow in a pot and a big pot is preferable so it can stay put as it grows as it does not like to be moved. It also likes a bit of shade but soil that is slightly acidic, not too damp. Don’t overwater in summer.

Jonquils

When looking for some autumn planting, take a look into the many different types of bulbs you can plant that will bring natural and often strong scents into your life. Keep a look out for scented jonquils, you may well need to trial a mix of types to get some truly worth persevering with. The wonderful thing about the bulbs as they will multiply so if your budget does not stretch to buying a lot, patience over the years will provide a growing number of bulbs to divide in autumn.

Citrus

Citrus trees not only provide gorgeous fruit, they also have gorgeous scented blossoms. If you have the room and the right climate (not too frosty!), you can find a range of citrus trees that fruit and therefore blossom, at different times of the year.

Tī kōuka and tarata

In Aotearoa New Zealand we also have some beautiful native trees that produce gorgeous scents. For example, I did not know until recently that what I was smelling in spring evening walks, turned out to be from the tī kōuka (cabbage tree) flowers. In spring they produce large sprays of flowers that in a still early evening, while not overpowering, are gorgeous to experience. Tarata, (lemonwood) also produces a beautiful scent from flowers and a milder scent when you crush a leaf.

Of course, this is a very short list of what’s available to plant, take some time to investigate the huge range; plants such as lavenders, sweetpeas, hyacinths and gardenias can all go in the garden or pots, and of course, there’s always roses, which you may need to hunt out varieties that retain their fragrance.

So my final word is with anything you plant, take a moment to check out how it will be with the animals and other people in your household. Make sure animals and toddlers won’t be tempted to eat any that may be toxic to them as well! Some scented plants can also cause allergies so before you spend up, a bit of time researching will save you from the sad moment of having to remove plants that cause problems. Your planting plan will have to take into consideration anyone whom you might share your household with.

Category: Garden design

Understanding Polycropping: Benefits and Techniques