I have loved gardening my whole life. My earliest memories are being with my father in his garden, me hanging onto his pants and jumping in his footsteps as he moved down the rows with his trusty masport rotary-hoe, tilling his vegetable garden. Dad and I, bandicooting new potatoes for the first taste of the season. So he grew in me a seed, a love of the earth.

Growing food for my family and friends has been my passion. After 49 years I am slowly starting to catch on that it is the soil we feed, and the garden grows as a result of that.

We were very fortunate when Kay and Bob moved four bays from our village. I was always staining my neck as I drove past, to see what was happening in their garden, when I finally plucked up the courage to go down and introduce myself. From that first meeting and many after, I have learnt so much from Kay and am now delighted to grow seeds for the institute.

We live in the small coastal village of Torere on the East coast, Bay of Plenty. We have really good soil and excellent growing conditions. I follow biological farming methods providing our well drained soil which is loose and crumbly, with lots of soil life and also highly mineralized with all the essential elements.

I have two gardens. One smaller house garden which is double dug raised beds all done by hand. The other larger garden I use a tractor. I use tillage tools and methods that enhance soil life. Primary tillage will be done with a chisel plow and followed by a disc bedder and shaper. None of the beds themselves are ever driven on and I will use s-tines to cultivate the beds. I am trialing these new methods of cultivation.

Most important for me is to work with nature, feed soil life, balance soil minerals and grow the most nutritious food and seeds possible. The soil is our most important national resource along with water and vital for maintaining good health.