Organic NZ

A recent article in a farming magazine1, bemoaned that an estimated $55 million has been spent comparing organic/regenerative to industrial (named conventional) farming – with the conclusion that regenerative farming produced less profit and more GHG

$55 1-year subscription 6 issues $100 2-year subscription 12 issues Overseas subscriptions and back issues are also available www.organicnz.org.nz 09 419 4536 Gift a subscription to OrganicNZ and automatically be in to win a gift pack of organic fair

1st May marks the start of Organic Week 2023, a national campaign designed to elevate knowledge of organics through a series of events and promotions hosted across the country. Organics is on the rise globally and nationally and has the potential to

Every OrganicNZ magazine subscriber is automatically a member of the Soil & Health Association, New Zealand’s oldest organisation promoting sustainable, healthy food. Soil & Health publishes OrganicNZ magazine and works with like-minded individuals a

Betsy and David Kettle of City to Farm collect food scraps from commercial kitchens in Auckland and ferment them in bins by the Bokashi method. Regenerative farmers Phil and Jenny Grainger compost the results to grow organic bananas and pumpkins. It’

Aunty’s Garden is a source of vegetables, fruit, herbs, and community support which fortunately withstood the recent Cyclone Gabrielle. Arohanui Lawrence (Ngāti Kahungunu), known as Hanui or Aunty, has been involved with the Waipatu Marae all her lif

Gardening organically means working with nature to optimise healthy growth. Organic Edible Garden works with the moon phases as an intrinsic part of their growing philosophy. The influence of the moon on seeds and plants is a big part of this and set

Fungi have come out from the gloom and starting to get the credit for the amazing life forms that they are. Part of this is an increased desire to forage and eat them. A noble goal. But imagine you went to someone’s garden in an environment you were

Owaka (population: 300) is the Catlins’ main service centre. See the small town on a warm day in summer, and you could be lulled into thinking it enjoys a mild climate. But the dense rain forest further south, the wild ocean just over the hill, and t

FEEDS 4 ⅓ cup sunflower seeds4 heaped tbsp miso paste2 tbsp olive oil3 tbsp water6 potatoes, scrubbed, chopped into big wedges8 cloves garlic¼ cup olive oil5 big kale leaves1 whole chilli, finely chopped, or dried flakes2–3 limes, zest and flesh salt

With it being well-established that up to 80% of our serotonin, also known as our ‘happy hormone’ is produced in the gut, it’s becoming clear that our gut health has a vital impact on our mental health via the gut-brain axis. And we’re only just disc

Twenty years ago 10,000 people marched down Auckland’s Queen St, demanding the continuation of the moratorium on genetically engineered organisms in New Zealand. Even though the government lifted the moratorium in October 2003, no one has yet applied

Look away now if you’re a bit tired of politics. Because food sovereignty is definitely at the pointy end of organics. Defining for ourselves what is good to eat, and retaining the rights to our own food systems, is at the heart of the food sovereign

The practice of biodynamics runs deep in Aotearoa. Almost 100 years ago, the ideas expressed by Rudolf Steiner were adopted by a farm in Hawke’s Bay. A small but passionate community has existed ever since, spreading and taking root in diverse landho

We talk about the carbon in the atmosphere and the carbon in our trees, but our soil contains twice as much carbon as these put together. The carbon in the Earth’s soil is estimated to be 2.5 trillion tonnes, while that in all the vegetation in the w

The United Kingdom supports farming that benefits the environment via Countryside Stewardship. Payments for organic farming rose by between 46 and 500 percent for those in the scheme and has been boosted by an agreement that will run for a further fi

With autumn settling into winter, what better advice than turning to the sun and letting the shadows fall behind you could gardeners take? Especially those who have lost so much in recent weather events. For those whose gardens have weathered the sto