Growing vegetables or fruit in your own backyard has made a comeback. Rosie Manins learns how it's done.
Raised vegetable gardens are the way to go, Murray and Raylene Walshaw insist.
The long-time Waldronville residents converted to raised garden beds about five years ago and will never go back to digging in the ground.
''It's been so successful, it's definitely the way to go. Things grow so much faster, it's quite amazing, really,'' Mrs Walshaw says.
''I was picking lettuces in winter - I couldn't believe it. No questions about it, it's far superior.''
With the soil level about half a metre off the ground, the raised beds mean gardening is also physically easier for the retired couple.
Anything can be grown in raised beds, which require quality soil in only the top 40cm or so.
The base can be clay or any other low nutrient dirt, Mr Walshaw says.
''You just need enough rich soil to turn over. It's not a digging garden, it's a turning garden.''
Raised beds are drier and good irrigation is essential, he says.
Mr Walshaw constructed the 3.5m by 1.5m beds using macrocarpa panels, preferring not to risk chemical leach from tanalised wood.
The change from toiling in damp, hard clay-based soil has revolutionised the Walshaw's enthusiasm for vegetable gardening.
Mr Walshaw grew up in Waldronville and bought the quarter-acre section ''down the road'' as an 18-year-old.
When it was divided, developers scraped most of the topsoil off to sell, and what remained was hard clay, he says.
''It's about 2km from the sea, but the ground is not sandy as people often think.''
He planted the entire plot in swedes to pay the rates, then after a few years built a house.
The swedes helped break the ground up slightly, but more helpful has been Mr Walshaw's long involvement in the equestrian industry.
''The soil was terrible. You couldn't grow much unless you broke it down and built it up with nutrients. I have trained and owned race horses so have had a ready supply of stable manure, and I also use a bit of sand and compost.''
Mr and Mrs Walshaw plant early rocket potatoes in September and usually start eating them in mid-November.
The fast-growing spud is ''very tasty'', and doesn't turn to mush like Jersey Bennes, Mrs Walshaw says.
This year, pink fir apple is also being planted, which is like a yam or Maori potato, Mrs Walshaw says.
Cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli are grown in the raised beds, which also accommodate little cutie pumpkins.
''They just hang over the side. They're perfect for two people, so sweet and tasty.''
Broad beans, carrots, courgettes, celery, silverbeet, parsnips, spring onions and rhubarb grow in the raised beds, but tomatoes remain in the glasshouse.
That, too, has been altered for maximum results.
A concrete base seals heat inside, and the whole construction is on blocks allowing water to drain out.
Horse manure and liquid tomato feed makes Mrs Walshaw's tasty toms the envy of the neighbourhood.
''You don't have to give them much if the soil's good, just enough to keep them going. I always have a tomato ready for Christmas, even if it's just the one.''
Each year, she grows enough to give away, and usually experiments with different varieties.
''Last year, I grew a big massive thing called dad's delight, which was big and juicy and great for relish. I also like berry toms and super sweets,'' she says.
''There's nothing nicer than going out and getting fresh vegetables from your garden, which taste totally different to the ones in the supermarket.''
Top tips
• Raised-bed gardening is easy and produces better crops.
• Sand, stable manure and compost breaks up hard soil.
• Glasshouses are more effective with concrete bases, raised on blocks for drainage.
• Water tomato seedlings when planted, then leave them dry for two weeks so the roots spread out in search of moisture. ''It makes them stronger.''
• A little bit of liquid tomato feed goes a long way.
