The Taranaki Sustainable Backyards Trails may have wrapped up for 2025, but the growing season, and the conversations around sustainable food production are far from over.
With summer in full swing, many locals are turning their attention to what’s happening in their own backyards, gardens, farms, and lifestyle blocks. Organisers of the Sustainable Backyards programme say it’s not too late to start growing and experimenting in the māra.
Sustainable gardening doesn’t look the same for everyone. People come to it with different levels of experience, time, and motivation.
For beginners, don’t worry, start small and keep it simple, choosing food you’ll actually eat. If you don’t have a garden bed, a container garden works just as well and can be as simple as a sack or a bucket with drainage holes in the bottom. Containers warm up quickly, are easy to manage, and are perfect for beginners.
A great place to start is a cherry tomato planted in good-quality soil, with basil and lettuce growing underneath. At this stage in the summer, you’ll want to plant a strong seedling.This combination makes the most of the space, is easy to care for, and gives quick rewards. Focus on the basics: good soil, regular watering, and a sunny spot, and you’ll be surprised how much you can grow from a small start.
For those a few years in, you might notice that a garden bed that was booming in the first few years doesn’t quite have the umph it used to. That’s a sign it’s time to focus less on what you’re planting and more on soil health. Regular mulching protects the soil, keeps moisture in, and feeds the life below the surface, while lasagna layering (stacking organic matter like compost, leaves, and straw) rebuilds nutrients naturally and mimics how healthy soils form in nature.
At this stage, intercropping different species helps reduce pests, improves nutrient use, and keeps the soil active year-round. By caring for the soil and increasing variety, you bring the energy back into your garden — stronger plants, better harvests, and less effort over time.
For the seasoned gardener, it’s about being more in tune with the garden as a living system. This stage often means working more naturally — relying less on pesticides and store-bought inputs, and trusting the balance that comes from healthy soil and biodiversity. Making your own compost becomes part of the rhythm, closing the loop between kitchen, garden, and harvest.
Soil care goes deeper with home composting, worm farms, and even chickens, all helping to build rich, living soil while reducing waste. Plant choices also shift: encouraging beneficial insects to handle pest control and boost pollination, and experimenting with saving your own seeds to grow plants already adapted to your space. The garden becomes less about control, and more about observation, patience, and partnership with nature.
At its heart, the Sustainable Trails is about learning and sharing. Gardening is an ongoing process, shaped by seasons, climate, and experience, and the Trails provide a platform for that collective learning to happen face-to-face.
In the seasons between the Trails themselves, initiatives like CropSwap, Seedsavers, community gardens, and local gardening groups are continuing to share knowledge alongside surplus produce, ideas to reduce waste while strengthening food resilience and community connections.
Trail organisers encourage anyone on the sustainable journey to consider being a host, whether they have a small urban backyard, a lifestyle block, a farm or sustainable build. Those curious about hosting can join us on our exclusive Summer Trail in February/March to visit several properties, connect with experienced hosts, and Trail organisers.
“You don’t need a ‘perfect’ garden to be involved. The most valuable thing hosts bring is honesty and openness — what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what they’re still learning.” Jen Hammonds, Sustainable Trails Coordinator
While the 2025 Trails have finished, expressions of interest are now open for 2026 hosts and for those wanting to stay connected.
For more information, or to register interest in hosting or attending future Trails, visit http://www.sustainablebackyards.org.nz or follow Sustainable Backyards NZ on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/sustainablebackyardsnz
Summer might already be here, but it’s not too late to grow, learn, and start planning for what’s next.
