Urban Pantry Update

The twelve weeks since I launched my rooftop gardens project in Happyzine's Dream to Reality competition have flown by. Since then I've christened the venture Urban Pantry, spread the word about what I'm doing to hundreds of people, forged relationships with numerous people and organisations who can help me out in various ways, applied for funding, spent many hours researching rooftop garden design and construction, and plenty more besides. 

I have some exciting news to share with you. I've secured a roof that I can set up a garden on to demonstrate what is possible. 

We intend to position several large wooden planters around the edges of the space. The tenant is keen to try his hand at growing vegetables there, and if he's successful he intends to donate some of the produce to the City Mission. The next step is to secure funding for the tools and materials needed to set up the garden.

I'm having a blast, and hope to be able to share lots more exciting announcements with you over the coming months. There are a number of ways you can keep up to date with what's happening and opportunities to get involved. 

• Join the Urban Pantry Facebook group.
• Read my fortnightly updates on Happyzine.
• Read about developments, vote for me and leave a comment on my Pure Futures page.
• Sign up for Urban Pantry's monthly email newsletter. The first edition will go out next month.

Thanks for your support!

Produce Box Delivery Review: Eco-Organics

In a bid to make eating local, seasonal produce as easy as possible, I've decided to try out some of the produce box delivery services available in Auckland. Eco-Organics, a family business based on an organic farm near Kumeu, has been run by the same family since it was established more than 25 years ago. They are strong believers in the benefits of eating fresh, organic produce. They offer a large range of organic products for sale online, including a number of organic produce box options. I opted for the '$30 Organic Mixed Eco Box'. There's an additional $6 delivery charge for Auckland. The quality of the produce was high, and there was a good variety and quantity to feed us for the week. Eco-Organics guarantees the quality of their produce, so you should be able to get a refund or replacement if something is not up to scratch.

They deliver on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and require orders to be placed 36 hours in advance. Before you can place an order you need to register and receive a code for online shopping. Based on my experience, they must process registrations at least once a day, but make sure you factor in time for this if you're trying to arrange a delivery for a particular day. You can pay by internet banking, credit card or cheque (with postal orders).

Because Eco-Organics is a family-run operation, it has a nice personal feel to its communications. When you register, you get an email back from one of the owners containing your shopping code and some information on shopping with them. Then they send follow-up emails each week to inform you about the new produce available that week and remind you it's time to place your order. Since they're such an authentic family affair, this feels like a thoughtful service to me, rather than yet another annoying commercial invasion of my inbox.

Reviews of other organic produce box delivery services:

All Good Food

Naturally Organic

Foodbox.co.nz

Setting up a Balcony Garden

My balcony planter box one week after transplanting seedlings

There are so many different options for growing food on your balcony. You could use a collection of different pots and containers to suit your space, hanging baskets, tiered systems, or a big wooden planter box like mine. Here's how I set up my planter box.

1. I lined it with black plastic to stop the soil from escaping out the gaps between the pieces of wood on windy days. I took the measurements of the box to a garden centre and bought the appropriate length of black plastic off the big roll they have there. I wasn't planning on lining the box, but when I initially started filling it with soil, a lot was falling through the drainage gaps at the bottom so I had to modify my plan.

2. I cut slits in the black plastic lining the bottom of the box for drainage.

3. I put in a layer of scoria (volcanic rock) that I bought from the garden centre to help with drainage. 

4. I added a layer of soil (vegetable potting mix I bought from the garden centre).

5. I tipped in the fermented contents of my bokashi bucket (not for the squeamish).

6. I filled it up to near the top with potting mix. It took three and a half 40L bags of potting mix to fill the planter (which is 130 cm long, 40 cm wide and 40 cm high).

7. I transplanted my seedlings. I tried to position them so they'd all have enough room to grow, but it's looking a bit crowded in there so I might have to put them through some kind of plant Survivor down the track.

I can't vouch for this being the best ever way of setting up a balcony planter box, but it was really easy and the plants are growing well so far.

Produce Box Delivery Review: Foodbox.co.nz

In a bid to make eating local, seasonal produce as easy as possible, I've decided to try out some of the produce box delivery services available in Auckland. This week's box is from Foodbox.co.nz, an online produce box delivery service set up because its founders were frustrated at how difficult it was to get their "5 plus a day". I find any claim that it's difficult to eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day in New Zealand dubious, but I think it's great that people like Foodbox.co.nz are making it easier for us. They source, pack and deliver the produce on the day.

I ordered their Singles Fruit 'n' Veg Box for $32.00, including delivery. I live with my partner, but we still had some fruit and vegetables left from last week's box, and the photo on Foodbox.co.nz suggested the Singles Fruit 'n' Veg Box would be sufficient for us. It sure looks like it will be. The box contained a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including potatoes, onions and tomatoes, which you have to order separately from some of the other produce box delivery services. The produce came unwrapped, except for the salad leaves and mushrooms. It all looked fresh and in great condition, apart from one of the chillies, which was a bit squashed.

Foodbox.co.nz is more of a slick, professional operation than the other Auckland produce box delivery services I've tried so far. They have their own branded cardboard delivery boxes rather than the reused banana boxes utilised by other companies. When I opened the box I found a little envelope addressed to me, which contained a welcome letter, order form, recipe based on the produce in the box and a flyer identifying the less common contents of the box. I found this really appealing. Recipe suggestions are really helpful to someone like me who's used to cooking with common vegetables, and I liked receiving the information about the contents in the box, rather than having to track it down on the website.

The Foodbox.co.nz website is easy to use. You can check out what will be in the next week's boxes on the preceding weekend. Then when you order, you can specify anything you don't want in your box and they'll substitute it with something else. Unlike some of the other produce box delivery services, there's no provision in the ordering process for customers to give delivery instructions. That meant the delivery guy had to call me when he got to my apartment to find out where to bring my box, which wouldn't have been ideal if I couldn't answer my phone when he called.

The big downside of Foodbox.co.nz is that the produce is not organic. Still, much better than buying your produce from the supermarket!

Reviews of other organic produce box delivery services:
All Good Food
Naturally Organic
Eco-Organics