There is no need to conquer the world. It is enough that we make it again. We. Today. Zapatismo Full article “Grow”
On Inspiration and personal journeys
On Inspiration and personal journeys
By Ashleigh Payne
In late May I saw on her Instagram story that Monique Fiso’s mum had pre-ordered a copy of Hiakai — her daughter’s book, which had been three...
Ron Finley
Ron Finley
By Marty Jones
“Because I’m a badass”. That’s Ron Finley’s response as to how he ended up with his own entry in the online video seminar series, Masterclass. And he’s...
Together, we grow
Together, we grow
Katherine Descours visits Julia Milne of Common Unity, to see what’s been going on since Stone Soup was there last, in 2016. Lightly edited for clarity and length.
Common Unity...
Other ways of Talking
Other ways of Talking
by Sarah Smuts-Kennedy
I am going to share something with you that changed my life and led me to create an artwork with a whole city. It’s a simple story...
Hua Parakore: A brief history
Hua Parakore: A brief history
He kai he rongoā, he rongoā he kai Food is medicine, medicine is food
New Zealand was founded as an agricultural enterprise, by a people whose cosmology placed them... 
Journey to self-sufficiency
by Emma Boyd
I grew up on the North Shore of Auckland. My two brothers and I are kids of the 80’s. We roamed the streets with the neighbour’s kids, we tramped in the Waitakere Ranges and spent many a dreamy summer under our big canvas tent beside the sea. Full article “Journey to self-sufficiency”
Other ways of Talking
by Sarah Smuts-Kennedy
I am going to share something with you that changed my life and led me to create an artwork with a whole city. It’s a simple story about how plants and microbes work together to create a world where we all can thrive. Full article “Other ways of Talking”
Everything Garden
Starting A Veggie Patch, Managing Fertility, Observing and Caring for Your Garden
by Yotam Kay Full article “Everything Garden”
Never buy soil again – make it instead!
In a localised, circular economy, we need to make better use of the materials readily available to us. How can we do this in gardening? Could we save money by making our own soil from scratch? Full article “Never buy soil again – make it instead!”
Heritage Seed
by Kay Baxter
Why are our heritage seeds so important? Why should we make the effort to ensure that these are the seeds we grow? Full article “Heritage Seed”
Plant a seed
Seed
For me, planning seeding is the first step towards a successful harvest. During our downtime, we enjoy spending many hours creating a clear, simple and flexible garden plan. Full article “Plant a seed”
Maramataka – the lunar calendar
by Liliana Clarke
The maramataka reflects the sophisticated and comprehensive scientific knowledge bases and technological traditional practices of Māori timekeeping. Full article “Maramataka – the lunar calendar”
Lunagraph
Whau Solar, Jenny Tomlin. Exposure 3 weeks, June 15 – July 7, 2019. Solargraph continuously exposed in beer can pinhole. Full article “Lunagraph”
Digging Deeper
by India Essuah
“Disruption creates gaps, nooks, and sometimes chasms in which hope and a new way of being can be explored.”
Michael Reynolds, Stone Soup Volume Seven. Full article “Digging Deeper”
What? Where? When?
A Market Gardener’s guide on what to plant, where and when
By Tony Hudson Full article “What? Where? When?”
Harvest
by Levi Brinsdon-Hall
Did you know you can harvest one lettuce or celery plant for months? By knowing and using best practice harvesting methods, you are able to increase the amount of food (yield) that you harvest from the same plant. Full article “Harvest”
Tools for conviviality
Months before the government announcement of Level 4 lockdown to fight COVID-19, New Zealand society started to resemble my experiences of America’s ‘Black Friday’ shopping hysteria. Grocery stores and garden centres had bare shelves, but I was fortunate enough to have my own mini DIY polytunnel. Full article “Tools for conviviality”
Nurture
Photograhpy and styling: Charlie McKay & Jess Murphy Full article “Nurture”
Growing fruit and vegetables in pots at the Great Dixter
by Marty Jones
Growing up in New Zealand, Aaron Bertelsen’s first taste of gardening was with his grandfather on the West Coast beaches of Auckland. Full article “Growing fruit and vegetables in pots at the Great Dixter”
On growing a veggie garden (or not) with my parents during lockdown.
Hannah Spyksma reflects on her relationship with growing and cooking food, and the complexities of a failed gardening project. Full article “On growing a veggie garden (or not) with my parents during lockdown.”
Saving the seasons
As we write this, it’s early April and the country is in level four lockdown to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaves have turned golden and everything feels a bit weird, but hopeful. Full article “Saving the seasons”
An introduction to pollinators and what you can do to support them.
by Ella Rose Shnapp
What is a pollinator?
Pollinators are the many species that pollinate and fertilise flowering plants, including bees, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, bats and birds. Without them, more than 70% of the world’s flowering plants would not fruit, seed or reproduce. Full article “An introduction to pollinators and what you can do to support them.”
Embrace Rampancy – How PermaDynamics changed my life
“If you’re holding a sapling in your hand when the Messiah arrives, first plant the sapling and then go out and greet the Messiah.”
The Overstory. Richard Powers Full article “Embrace Rampancy – How PermaDynamics changed my life”
The Guild Method at PermaDynamics for intergenerational food resilience
A guild is a community of plants working together in harmony over space and time. By placing plants together in a specific configuration we create an interdependent ecosystem where the needs of one plant are provided for by the existence of others. Full article “The Guild Method at PermaDynamics for intergenerational food resilience”
Cover crops
by Levi Brinsdon-Hall
Planting a cover crop is a wonderful way to bring a new garden bed to life, or to keep living plants feeding your soil over the winter period, allowing you the time and space to plan your next season. Full article “Cover crops”
Apocalypse Diaries: Maine 2016 – on growing and reaping your own
“Control is what civilizations do… If we can control the world, we can protect ourselves from the darkness it contains. We can protect ourselves from what lies under the ground, in the tombs. Who doesn’t want to be protected? But who, in the end, can ever be?”
Paul Kingsnorth Full article “Apocalypse Diaries: Maine 2016 – on growing and reaping your own”
Garden farms or farming gardens
Garden farms or farming gardens. I like this description. It’s an apt way of thinking about The Food Farm. Over the last 15 years, it has inhaled and exhaled to suit our lives: from selling at markets to feeding ourselves to feeding a larger community and back to extended whānau. Full article “Garden farms or farming gardens”
