As the summer winds down and the days shorten spare a thought for the complex interactions that abound in your garden. Above ground the weather, plants, birds, animals, insects and microorganisms all play a part. Below ground is just as important and similar in complexity. Think about a network of living inhabitants from worms to microorganisms, in addition to minerals, humus, plant roots and decaying organic matter. The magic is that it is all linked up with the top half and at the end of the day it pretty much runs on organic matter of one kind or another.

Growing food at home has become a hot topic, especially since covid, so local permaculturist, Trish Allen is offering another course in the Matakana area