Helen McKoy has been growing her own fruit and vegetables for 15 years.
In her garden she grows beans, silverbeet, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage. But it doesn't stop there.
She also grows zucchini, capsicum, New Zealand spinach, frilly lettuce and herbs.
Mrs McKoy is an avid horticulturist - she teaches
biology at Bethlehem College and has a degree in botany.
Ever since she can remember, Mrs McKoy has had an interest in nature. She grew up in an environment where her grandparents and her parents grew their own vegetables.
"I think that's one of the reasons why I'm passionate ... But I absolutely love it and the fact of growing things in your own garden and being able to eat them as well is really satisfying," she said.
Having an abundance of vegetables available at her fingertips was one of the many advantages of growing her own. Mrs McKoy said it was "very convenient" being able to walk to the garden and get what she needed for the evening meal.
"I pick whatever I need and it's fresh and it's right there," she said. "Here in Tauranga we're very lucky because it's very easy to grow things. Even if you've got a small section, if you have a raised bed you'll be amazed at what you can grow."
Mrs McKoy has been growing her own vegetables for more than a decade and is unsure what effect this has had on her budget.
"Even if it is not cheaper, you still get a much greater variety and you often have things in the garden that you wouldn't be able to afford from the supermarket."
For example, in a supermarket Mrs McKoy said she wouldn't normally buy more expensive items such as capsicum but having them growing in her garden made them available at almost no cost.
Mrs McKoy grows her vegetables from seeds, which she said can further reduce costs. A number of her colleagues also grow their own vegetables, so they often share.
"If we grow too much we just put it on the bench and say help yourself, otherwise we swap seedlings and this makes it really cheap." As well as saving money, Mrs McKoy said growing your own vegetables was very good for the environment.
"It's an ongoing cycle ... legumes add nitrates back into the soil and you can make your own compost," she said.
Mrs McKoy also has a worm-farm. She recycles the water that drains from the tank and returns it to her garden. "It's a great fertiliser and a great way to recycle kitchen waste," she said.
