Organic NZ

Organic NZ is filled with info to live a healthier lifestyle - for you and the planet! Published by the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand, working since 1941 for sustainable organic agricultural and good health. Topics range from home garden to large-scale success stories; eco-building; urban organics; genetic engineering & chemical issues; food matters & natural health.

Organic NZ

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From the world of organics

Things we like • Cool stuff we’re enjoying this issue

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Edible legacy • Jared Hiakita is a practitioner of syntropic agroforestry and the founder of ōNuku, a charitable trust in Hokianga that provides opportunities for the community to build more resilient food systems. He talks about growing food for whānau and the whenua.

Jared’s food forest fundamentals

A case for eating MEAT • Meat is a divisive subject for ethical, environmental and health reasons. As part of an ongoing conversation we'll be running on this topic, Bonnie Flaws shares her view on why planetary and human health is compatible with ethical omnivorism.

DEGROWTH IS IT TIME TO LIVE WITH LESS? • Capitalism is hurting the planet and people, yet we all play a part in driving consumerism. Ger Tew from upcycling collective The ReCreators talks about learning to tread lightly.

Degrowth on a global scale

Thought for food • Tips and tasks for the November and December māra

Early starters

Sow me now

Transplant me now

We hear you!

INTRODUCTION TO Biodynamics • Biodynamics is a holistic organic practice that views a farm as an entire organism. Rebecca Reider explains the fundamentals of this earthy yet cosmic system of growing.

Biodynamic growers on why they do it • Practising biodynamics tends to be a matter of commitment and passion. We asked some of New Zealand’s long-term biodynamic practitioners and teachers why they grow biodynamically.

Maramataka • For Whiringa-ā-rangi and Hakihea

Maramataka for Hakihea

Kai is love • In a sublime new book, Manawatū photographer and foodie Christall Lowe shares favourite family recipes that celebrate fresh, local and seasonal.

Daylilies • Herbalist Sara Mertens celebrates the day-by-day delights for the palate and health of hemerocallis.

Meet the locals • Organic Pantry is a social enterprise in Ranui, West Auckland, run by Shakti – an organisation that supports migrant and refugee women in vulnerable situations. We talked to its founder, Farida Sultana.

Eco-friendly period products • The average menstruating person uses up to 15,000 sanitary products in their lifetime, with the majority of them ending up landfill, waterways and the ocean. Claire Brunette investigates planet-conscious alternatives.

Period inequity

HYDROPONICS Can it count as organic? • Ahead of the government passing the Organic Products Bill, the Soil & Health Association’s general manager Pete Huggins talks dirt and water with horticulturists.

An organic grower’s perspective • Marco de Groot is the general manager of Monavale Blueberries in Cambridge, which has been BioGro-certified since 1993. Here’s his perspective on hydroponics.

Humus is dead LONG LIVE MAOM! • Compost and manure certainly contribute to soil health, says Charles Merfield, but new research shows that root exudates from living plants are the true drivers of soil health – and that plant diversity is everything.

Latest reads

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Explaining organics...