Tinui Food Forest

22/05/2026

Please note- if you're coming to visit us at Tinui Food Forest this spring there are some speed restrictions in place.
Please let us know if you understand what they are 😆

20/05/2026

Think like a bird!
So why on earth would I say that.. 🧐🤔
I'm lucky enough to be spending a few days with some gardening folk- all very lovely, but it does bring home that us gardeners/ Food Foresters and humans in general can all be a weeny bit focused on what we want- to the exclusion of other species. Funny that! So here I go- next time you're out and about try to take a step back and say "what do the birds need?" In practice that comes back to habitat for the birds, a bit of naturally occuring food, and of course lots of insect life.
All very simplistic but not something we do nearly enough of! Give it a go today and the birds and nature will love you!

14/05/2026

Ok so what are we looking at here then?
The obvious answer is- someone who likes to play with their food!
But the real answer is Food Security!
What these bean seeds mean for us here in the Food Forest is the promise of next seasons growth and harvest. Just about better than money in the bank- you can't eat money, but these little beauties will guarantee us food. Money's not bad either.😁

I grow beans every year- and I wouldn't say this has been the best year for beans- I mean they grew- but I had them growing alongside and mixed in with tomatoes, cucumbers and gherkins- so they got a bit lost in all the growth. I think come the spring I will be re-thinking the approach- not sure what the new approach will be yet! Ask me in spring!

So the types of beans I grow - they are all climbing beans- and I've got runner, purple, golden, and no doubt a few other varieties in the mix.

And meantime in the Food Forest the Broad Beans are just starting to get themselves organised! No rest here folks!

10/05/2026

Rhubarb Rhubarb Rhubarb. I guess you can tell what I've been up to over the last couple of days!
First off I've dividing some of the rhubarb clumps up- idea is to have as many rhubarb clumps around in the Food Forest as I can- no half measures here! As well as being edible, rhubarb is a very striking plant to have in the Food Forest. Best bit is that it needs zero maintenance!
And with the rhubarb stalks- I've been busy in the kitchen.
Rhubarb crumble - yum.
Rhubarb cake- I over baked it but it was still - yum.
Rhubarb jam- a real success! I left the rhubarb macerating (great word eh?) in a mix of sugar and lemon juice over night. Next day I made the jam. Tastes great, and has set really well.
And to top it all off- apparently rhubarb wine is a thing too! I really really need to grow as much of the stuff as possible!🤣

06/05/2026

Tinui Food Forest interview with chief Food Forester Deb!
Thanks to Camille and Arrow FM- that was a fun interview!

04/05/2026

Declared a success! I'm happy to update that my recent go at making Pickled Jerusalem Artichokes has been a tasty test that has worked out nicely.
After leaving them to mature for a bit, we have now done the taste test - scientifically of course! Ray gets roped in for this bit. So all good on their own, and even better with a bit of cheese n cracker. Next step is to repeat the cheese n cracker bit and add in a glass of wine. See- told you it was scientific- it's all about the process!😆

29/04/2026

Who doesn't love free food?
Wild parsnips grow everywhere in the Tinui Food Forest and they are the most super useful plant to have around! In the first year of their growth they grow abundant beautiful leaves- and when it's autumn / winter you can dig them up and eat them just like shop bought parsnips- except they taste better than the shop bought ones! So absolutely no effort from me involved apart from a little foraging and digging. That definitely works for me.
If you leave the plants to grow for a second year- that is when you get the flowers- big beautiful umbelliferous flowers - for the insects to enjoy.
And being in the Food Forest business , we are all about making sure everything that lives here in the Food Forest Ecosystem has enough to eat😁
And yet the sad fact remains that in a "normal" garden or even growing on a roadside edge these useful and tasty plants would be ruthlessly removed- sprayed and chopped and gone.
Oh! And did I mention that the old wild parsnip bodies make great biomass for chop n dropping. I mean really- what is there not to love about them??

23/04/2026

What to do when the weathers bad? Preserving time in the kitchen!
On todays menu is a test batch of pickled jerusalem artichokes..something I've definitely not tried before.
We've got MASSES of jerusalem artichokes growing in the Food Forest- which is a good thing! They look pretty- especially when they're in flower, the plant stems are great biomass when I get around to chopping and dropping them in autumn- and of course you can eat them. Unknown to my long suffering hubby Ray we have been eating jerusalem artichokes in most meals- we are slowly building a tolerance for them. They are high in inulin which is great for the digestion, but you want at all costs to avoid their other reputation as "fartichokes". There has been a lot of wind around lately- but none from us I'm pleased to advise!
So pictured here is my test batch of pickled jerusalem artichokes- they've been brined, heated in a pickling mix, and then canned in my trusty old Agee Preserver.
This preserver is one of my favorite kitchen items- it stopped working a while back and there were just about tears..luckily the repairer got it working again. I nearly got inappropriately over emotional with him.
So that's how I spend my rainy days!

21/04/2026

We're on the telly! Tomorrow 9am! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ja7fmN2qr/

🎙 This Wednesday at 9am on Everyday People with Camille!

🌿 Camille chats with Deb Butterfield, kaitiaki of the Tinui Food Forest.

Tune in to learn how this incredible ecosystem came to life...now one of the largest and most established food forests in Aotearoa, spanning four acres of pure magic. From animals and guided walks to special talks and a farm shop full of locally made goodies, it’s a truly inspiring space.

📻This is shaping up to be another great show, not to be missed.

https://www.arrowfm.co.nz/programmes/show/246/everyday-people/

13/04/2026

We made it! Another tropical cyclone down- and to be honest it was pretty mild where we are. Actually quite pleasant and warm. And we needed the rain. The sunrise this morning was spectacular too!
So chooks are all ok- and look what I spotted in the chicken run- some dramatic large and very yellow zucchinis or something similar- who knows what- I certainly didn't plant them!😆I hadn't spotted them before as they were hidden by a lot of leaves.
Happy Autumn everyone!