Taranaki Regional Council media release

11 August 2009
For immediate release

Creatures That Can Comfort Gardeners

Expect clucking and writhing on a grand scale at Hollard Gardens, Kaponga, on Sunday 30 August.

That’s because chooks and worms will be the focus of the next in a series of free home gardening workshops at the gardens, which are owned and managed by the Taranaki Regional Council on behalf of the people of the region.

Workshop participants will see a chook dome and worm farm put together, and learn how the inhabitants of both can work for the gardener.

“Chooks can weed and fertilise the food garden, and provide eggs – and entertainment, in many cases,” says the Council’s Regional Gardens Manager, Greg Rine.

“We’ll be demonstrating how to build a dome that can be moved around the garden, and we’ll talk about the merits of different types of chook, and the requirements for keeping them in an urban area.”

Affordable worm-farm set-ups will also be discussed, along with the way that vermicast and “worm tea” can be used in the garden.

The two-hour workshop, which starts at 2pm on 30 August, is the third of five aimed at the home gardener. The series began with a “getting started” session in July, while the second workshop earlier this month focused on bees, and attracted more than 70 participants.

The workshops continue next month with sessions on seed sowing (13 September) and companion planting and composting (27 September).

By the end of the series, Hollard Gardens will have a new “home garden plot” that will be on display during the Taranaki Rhododendron and Garden Festival (30 October-8 November).

The workshops are part of a full programme of free public events at Hollard Gardens and at the Taranaki Regional Council’s other heritage property, Tupare in New Plymouth. For more information, see www.hollardgardens.info and www.tupare.info.

Both properties are open from 9am to 5pm daily. Entry is free.

ENDS

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