Visit Howden Val 2023

On a cracker of a spring day, a large group of club members gathered at Val’s gorgeous property in Howden to talk about plants, share a cuppa, and enjoy the morning. Keep reading to see a few pics and learn more about our visit

 
The area around Val’s house is surrounded by ornamentals which created a lovely cottage garden effect. Of course, a few food plants snuck in but who doesn’t think artichokes are ornamental?

  
Behind and beside the house, the space is dedicated to food plants, most of which have been planted since Val moved onto this old diary and apple farm in 2000. A couple of mature apple trees remain from the previous owners, but the rest of what we saw was all Val’s handiwork.

 A new orchard stands in rows with a large variety of fruit trees. Spring is in full swing and the signs are obvious in the trees. Below is an alley of fruit trees, nashi flowers, and a baby quince promising a nice harvest through to late-summer.

A lot of work has gone into fashioning a usable, low(ish) maintenance, and productive vegetable patch. Rabbit-proof fencing was installed around most of the food garden area which keeps the marauding down (though possums, blackbirds and their ilk still do their worst), but some internal fencing is used to protect the most vulnerable and tasty plants. A zip-able cage protects the berries and some netting protects one of Val’s lemon trees.

 The slightly raised veggie beds are separated by walkways lined with black plastic to control weeds.

To the southwest of the beds, 3 rows of wind blocks have been planted to protect the veggies from the strong, prevailing winds. Nearest the veggies is a dense hedge (see photo above). Then a row of productive hazelnuts (about 20kg last year) and olives (the alley between the rows can be seen below).

One of the things that Val stressed was how she loves pollinators in her garden. She’s let a neighbour place 3 beehives on her property, and she’s planted many flowering shrubs to keep the bees happy. She’s also taking advantage of the seasonal change in the veggie beds to let the old plants flower. The brassicas were full of honeybees taking advantage of Val’s largesse.

Most gardens have their “factory area” where compost is made, tools are stored, and the magic behind the curtain happens. Val’s garden is no exception. In the back, you can see three worm farms and a large area where garden waste is shredded and heaped to be spread on beds and under trees.

 

In this area, Val installed a greenhouse in 2021 which provides a more suitable environment for plants which need more warmth. The greenhouse is currently burgeoning with peas with seedlings tucked in the back to take over the next shift of providing food for Val’s kitchen.

Even with most gardens not fully productive yet, the produce table was filled with goodies waiting for a new home. And the morning tea table was so overloaded that a 2nd table had to be brought in. Well done and thanks to everyone who contributed.

Thank you, Max and Gaye, for organising the day and keeping everything running so well – your hard work allows us all to sit back and relax and enjoy ourselves. And, especially, thank you Val for opening your property to all of us. I hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did.