Far North gardener Zora Brunette’s top tips on growing vegetables to be self-sufficient

Prolific gardener Zora Brunette has a bountiful vegetable garden and orchard in the Far North. Photo / Jenny Ling

Two seasons of the dreaded armyworm combined with Cyclone Gabrielle may have decimated Zora Brunette’s bountiful vegetable garden and orchard in Northland.

But the green-thumbed Ōhaeawai resident has whipped her garden into the best shape ever this summer and is keen to pass on her knowledge of gardening to others.

Brunette has an abundance of vegetables, fruit, herbs and edible flowers growing on her 3000sq m property, where she has lived for the last eight years.

Her fruit trees are bursting with lemons, oranges, figs, feijoas, tangelos, olives and avocados at various times of the year, and a couple of blackberry bushes thrive on the garden fence.

Around the rest of the property are vegetable plots chocka with pumpkins, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuces, beans, courgettes, garlic chives, capsicums and cucumbers.

Even more vegetables and herbs are tucked away in a greenhouse.

Brunette credits her Italian heritage – she was raised in Slovenia by Italian parents – with her passion for growing and eating fresh produce.

“I always had a vege garden wherever I’ve been, but this is the biggest garden effort yet,” she said.

“My parents had a farm in a tiny village, and everyone grew whatever they ate.

“It’s deeply instilled in me.

“As an adult, wherever I’ve been, the first thing I do is plant a garden.

“Even before I unpack anything, I put something in the ground.”

Now retired, the woodworker and puzzle artist supplies her son - 2013 MasterChef winner Aaron Brunet - with vegetables and chilis for his stall Mexi Corner at the Kerikeri Packhouse Market.

Brunette also supplies the Packhouse Market kitchen with herbs and edible flowers.

Zora Brunette is keen to share her knowledge of gardening with others, so they can be a bit more self-sufficient. Photo / Jenny Ling

She makes sauerkraut from her cabbages, basil pesto with excess basil, and green smoothies from kale and dandelion.

Brunette suggests buying plants, unless you’ve got loads of time to nurture seedlings, along with bags of compost and potting mix.

Dig the compost and potting mix into the soil before planting, then add a little liquid fertiliser, which helps the roots settle in quicker, she said.

The easiest produce to grow is silver beet, lettuce, potatoes and sweetcorn, while tomatoes, capsicums and beans will need to be staked.

“When they’re little they need your constant attention, for the first few days until their roots have got the nutrients happening.

“Because our climate is so kind, you can plant anything at the moment; whatever is at the garden centre you can put in.”

Brunette loves summer because she bottles and preserves excess produce, such as chillis and feijoas, and dehydrates some as well.

Zora Brunette’s vegetable plots are chocka with fresh produce like lettuce, basil, chives and beans. Photo / Jenny Ling

She even makes use of edible flowers like nasturtium, calendula and dandelion in salads.

Gardening doesn’t have to be an expensive exercise, as you can use grass clippings as mulch, she said.

Brunette also suggests planting companion plants such as borage, calendula and marigolds to repel pests and attract bees.

“People need to realise that times are changing and we do need to be more self-reliant - as much as possible.”

Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, roading, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.