24 March 2010

THE GARDEN’S TIME HAS COME

Two days this week I have found myself in two gardens and it’s only Wednesday! Both very different, but both with the aim of feeding people with handsome produce…

On Monday, after an early golf match (we lost on the 19th hole), I drove to Mangere in South Auckland and picked a big basketful of the most beautiful tomatoes. The Young family in Pukaki Rd has grown produce for Auckland markets for as long as both my mother and I can remember. Late in summer, their beefsteak tomato crop ripens and on fine weekdays, from 10am to 3pm they open their fields to PYO customers. That may not seem unusual but in this modern age of mass production and cultivation in a controlled environment, there is something extremely special about getting dirt on your shoes, your fingers green from pinching the tomato stalks, and then bottling, saucing or simply eating this heavy sweet ripe fruit that has grown outdoors.

It made me think that we accept produce far too easily that is picked green, carefully transported to markets, distributed and then sometimes re-distributed, arranged on shelves, chosen, and sent through the checkout before we get to take it home and eat it. And sometimes after all this activity we still have to wait for it to fully ripen. At least at farmers markets, farm stands and in PYO gardens we get to eliminate many of these steps and we can choose vine or tree ripened produce. Long may the Youngs continue to cultivate their land, and not succumb to the encroaching suburban sprawl of housing estates that now border their gardens.

On Tuesday, another heart-warming experience. I again drove to South Auckland, this time to the East Tamaki Primary School for the launch of the Garden to Table Trust. Modelled on Stephanie Alexander’s School Kitchen Garden programme, the trust aims to teach children to grow, cook and eat their own vegetables and fruit. I had heard a lot about the hard work that has already got this project up and running in this school and in two more in the Auckland region. Many of my friends and neighbours are involved in a voluntary capacity, many large corporations, companies and charitable trusts have got behind it, and the delight and commitment shown by the school children was fabulous.

Every spare inch of land that is not used for play areas has been turned into gardens. The Year 4, 5 & 6 children tend these vegetables and fruits, then cook with them and sit together family style to share the yummy food they have produced under supervision. The school is part of a now very proud community and the activity has even influenced several of the neighbours to start their own gardens, with much success. Let’s hope it really takes off and more schools not only teach the children about cultivation, but also how to cook, eat and adequately provide for their nutritional needs. There’s real hope for a healthy future with this initiative.