TAURANGA’S FAVOURITE GARDEN STOP IN SEASON

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With the price of fresh produce increasing daily and shortages at the supermarkets, there has never been a better time to start growing your own groceries. Whether you have a large property or small rental, you can plan, plant and successfully harvest your own homegrown fruit and vegetables year round.

Tips For Growing Your Own Orchard

Buy only quality plants.

For more information pick up a FREE copy of the Ican Harvest brochure.

decorgardenworld.co.nz

The first thing to consider is what you like to eat. We all have our favourites. Here in the Bay we are blessed with great growing conditions. Citrus trees like lemons, limes, mandarins and oranges are a must, and if you plan well, you can be picking some form of citrus at all times of the year. Other favourites are feijoas. These are a hardy fruit and can act as both a fruit producer and a handy shelter hedge or pot plant. Use your existing fencelines to espalier fruit along them. That way you don't need to look at an ugly fence. If you don't have much room for your fruit, do not despair. A lot of varieties are grafted onto semi-dwarf or dwarf rootstocks, resulting in a tree that is much reduced in size. Pruning your fruit trees from a young age is a must. Many are also happy in pots or containers, which will also restrict the size of the plant. While most of us love the idea of growing fruit, remember we can't do this without bees, insects and birds. So make sure you plant bee-attracting and companion plants like lavender and rosemary close by. Pears and plums will sometimes need to be planted with a second tree of a different variety, which acts as the pollinator. Consider harvest times, too. There is no point growing a plum that ripens in January if you know you always go away that month. And remember to always choose quality and tried-and-true varieties.

Give them a good start with part sunlight, part shelter, and plant with planting mix and a base dressing such as Ican Slow Food.

Plant at least two fruit trees of the same type to help cross-pollination.

Mulch and feed with compost, blood and bone and fruit food.

Water regularly and thin excess fruit out through the growing season.

Protect the crop from birds.

Prune correctly from day one. Check out our website for expert advice and videos on pruning or come to our pruning session on July 24 at Decor Gardenworld.

Decor Gardenworld in Bethlehem has been providing BOP gardeners with top-quality fruiting, flowering and fabulous plants for over 55 years. It is family owned and operated and is committed to providing friendly service and advice.

In times of uncertainty and fear, it’s hard to know where your money should go. All this talk about inflation can be confusing but by taking a step back, and looking at the bigger picture, you can get a better understanding of where your money is best kept in hard times.

In times of rising inflation, commercial investment can be a wise move. Even when the yield on a commercial property remains the same, your dollar is still worth a dollar. The bank’s dollar, on the other hand, is worth less and less with inflation.

Growth assets, such as commercial investment, will protect the spending power of your dollar. Long leases hold through to the next cycle, and so being exposed to growth assets is a game you need to be playing if you hope to grow your wealth long term.

However, with all of today’s challenges, it becomes hard to even create a wealth plan and build a future in the first place. That’s where a collaborative approach can work. Joining a private collective means you join a group of like-minded individuals who jointly purchase, then lease, the building in question.