Grow On Waihi

16/06/2026

June in the garden growing guide

NICKI'S GUIDE FOR JUNE IN THE GARDEN

Winter has officially arrived, and it certainly feels like it in Waihi. After the stunningly dry and warm month of May, June has arrived with a wet and blustery bang. With the Winter Solstice just around the corner, our window for sowing and planting outdoors is closing. It's a natural time to slow down, pause, and take stock.

June is ultimately about protection and care. Protect your soil, preserve its structure, and prevent nutrients from washing away. Mulch generously - vegetable beds with hay, straw, chopped leaves, or seaw**d, and woodchip through the orchard and along pathways.

Make compost and tidy the garden without "cleaning everything up". Leaves and plant material provide habitat for beneficial insects, while roots left in the soil continue to feed microbial life. Clear old crops by cutting them off at the base and leaving the roots to decompose. Minimal soil disturbance helps keep underground ecosystems healthy. Prune back spent crops, deadhead flowering plants, and get those compost piles going.

To keep harvests ticking over, stagger your plantings. In June, you can still sow:
Veggies – broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, onions, spring onions, radishes, silverbeet, spinach, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme and, in the greenhouse, beetroot, Asian greens, celery, lettuce, coriander, mizuna and rocket.
Companion flowers – alyssum, borage, calendula, cornflowers, stock, violas and poppies. These add winter colour while supporting pollinators and beneficial insects.

Now is also a good time to plant asparagus and rhubarb crowns. Strawberry runners can be potted up or planted out to refresh older patches and maintain productivity.

Garlic growers, if you haven't already, get those cloves in now. Plant your largest cloves into free-draining, compost-rich soil and mulch generously - garlic doesn't like w**d competition. Feed regularly to encourage strong bulb formation. I feed mine fortnightly with Ocean Organics NZ NZ Foliar Concentrate particularly in the early months.

If you're growing fewer edibles over winter, sow cover crops such as mustard, peas, oats, lupins, or broad beans. They suppress w**ds, improve soil structure, support microbial life, and legumes will also fix nitrogen for future crops. Broad beans and lupins are my go-to cover crops for beds destined for tomatoes in spring.

June is also an excellent time to plant deciduous fruit trees. Stake young trees if needed, mulch well with woodchip, and feed with compost. Pick up and compost any fallen or rotting fruit to help prevent disease carryover.

When pruning, remove damaged or diseased wood first, then shape the tree to improve light pe*******on and airflow. Sterilise tools between trees and only use copper sprays if fungal issues are present. Otherwise, focus on maintaining tree health with compost, mulch, and seaw**d foliar sprays.

Seed catalogues are my winter gardening fix when all else is said and done.

Need a Hand?
If you need help maximising your garden's productivity, designing an orchard, pruning fruit trees, or have landscaping questions, jump onto my website for a free 15-minute consultation or send me a message. I'm always happy to help.

Happy growing,
Nicki – Vital Harvest

14/06/2026

Lambs ear, another plant we had at our seedling giveaway last Saturday

Lamb’s Ear is one of those plants that looks soft and simple, but it carries a powerful history behind it. Most people know it for its thick, silver, fuzzy leaves that feel just like a lamb’s ear, but this plant has been used for generations as a natural “woundwort,” meaning a plant connected to wound care, skin comfort, and first-aid type uses around the homestead.

Traditionally, Lamb’s Ear was used as a natural bandage because the leaves are soft, absorbent, and gentle on the skin. Old-time herbalists and gardeners used the fresh leaves over small cuts, scrapes, stings, and irritated spots because the fuzzy leaf could help cover and protect the area while also offering a cooling, soothing feel. This is one of the reasons it became known as a children’s garden plant, a sensory plant, and a homestead first-aid plant. It is not just pretty. It had a purpose.

Lamb’s Ear has been traditionally used for minor wounds, insect stings, skin irritation, sore spots, and inflamed skin. Some old uses also included teas or infusions for sore throats, colds, coughs, and general discomfort, though today most people know it best for its external uses. The leaves have been valued because they are soft, cooling, and naturally comforting when applied to the skin.

Modern research on Lamb’s Ear and plants in the Stachys family shows why our ancestors paid attention to this plant. Studies have looked at Stachys species for antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, and anti-inflammatory potential. More recent research on Stachys byzantina, the plant we commonly call Lamb’s Ear, has looked at its potential in skin inflammation models. That does not mean this plant is a magic cure, but it does show that the old uses were not random. There are real plant compounds here worth respecting.

Lamb’s Ear is also considered edible. The young leaves are the best part to use if you choose to eat it. They can be eaten in small amounts fresh, added to salads, or used as a mild green. Some people use the leaves in tea, and others lightly cook them like a green. Because the leaves are thick and fuzzy, not everyone enjoys the texture raw, so using young tender leaves or making tea is often preferred. As with all edible wild and garden plants, start small and make sure you have the correct plant before using it.

This plant is also a blessing in the garden. Lamb’s Ear is drought tolerant once established, loves well-drained soil, and grows beautifully in sunny areas. The silver leaves help brighten the garden, and the flower stalks can bring in bees and other pollinators. Deer and rabbits usually leave it alone because of the fuzzy leaves, making it a strong plant for borders, children’s gardens, medicinal gardens, and pollinator beds.

For the homestead, Lamb’s Ear is one of those plants that teaches a bigger lesson. Father placed healing, food, beauty, and usefulness all around us, but we have to slow down enough to learn what He made. A plant does not have to be rare to be valuable. Sometimes the soft little plant growing quietly by the walkway is carrying generations of wisdom.

Grow it. Learn it. Respect it. Teach your children what it is. Lamb’s Ear is more than an ornamental plant. It is a soft-leafed reminder that the Creator filled the earth with plants for beauty, food, comfort, and household learning.

12/06/2026

Frosty cold morning at your house? Well the sun is shining at the Waihi Community Resource Centre! ☀️ and this months plants are ready for their new homes. Come on down! 4 Mueller St, 10-11.30 today 🌱

11/06/2026

10/06/2026

Riddle for members.... what is this Saturday the 13th of June? 🌱
😉
Hint: it's the S....d S......y of the month....

03/06/2026

Radishes fast growing, good for a kids garden and so good for you

Radishes appear on plates primarily as decoration — a sliced round of red and white, a few scattered on a salad, occasionally pickled as a condiment in Mexican or Korean cuisine. Almost nobody eats them regularly as a health food with intention, and almost nobody knows what is inside them that makes them worth eating far more deliberately. Radishes are a member of the cruciferous vegetable family — the same plant family as broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts — and like their crucifer relatives, they contain glucosinolates that convert to biologically active isothiocyanate compounds when chopped or chewed. The isothiocyanate unique to radishes is called sulforaphene — structurally related to but distinct from the sulforaphane in broccoli — and it has been studied specifically for its hepatoprotective effects, meaning its ability to protect liver cells from damage and inhibit the growth of liver cancer cell lines in laboratory research. The daikon radish — the large white variety used extensively in Japanese and Korean cooking — contains significantly higher concentrations of these glucosinolates than the small red salad radishes most Western consumers are familiar with. Daikon also contains the enzyme myrosinase in higher concentrations, which activates the glucosinolates into their bioactive isothiocyanate form more completely than heat-processed sources. Eating daikon raw or lightly pickled — as in Japanese sunomono or Korean kkakdugi kimchi — preserves the full enzymatic activity and delivers the complete glucosinolate benefit. Radish leaves, which are almost universally discarded, contain even higher glucosinolate concentrations than the root and are completely edible sautéed or blended into sauces.

31/05/2026

🌱 Community Film Night – Growing Food, Growing Community 🌱

Sometimes the inspiration to live differently begins with a simple idea — people coming together to grow food, strengthen community, and care for the land.

Join us for an evening with three inspiring, short documentaries exploring how ordinary people transformed unused spaces into thriving food-growing communities.

Two documentaries follow volunteer-led projects turning neglected land into communal vegetable gardens and open-access urban food forests to help tackle food insecurity and reconnect communities through food.

The third documentary showcases an inspiring iwi-led initiative transforming a former crop farm into a flourishing food forest.

Date: Tuesday, 16 June, 6–8PM
Location: Patuki Manawa (Digital Hub)
💚 $5 Koha Entry

Plus — be in to win a Food Dehydrator generously donated by Ezidri worth $234!

Register at: [email protected] or Message Us.

Come along for an evening of inspiration, ideas, and community connection. 🌱