In 2021 Soil & Health marks 80 years since it was first founded as the Humic Compost Club. Throughout the year Organic NZ will publish highlights from the past eight decades. Can you help? Please share your memories of Soil & Health, and especially a

Next spring will see nationwide activities and celebrations as part of the annual Organic Week Aotearoa. The week will be held from 11–19 September, slightly later in the year to harness the energy of spring and align with International Organics Day

More plant biodiversity means less need for pesticides, a new study has found. This confirms the experience of organic farmers and gardeners. Increasing plant diversity naturally controls plant-eating insects in grasslands, according to a study led b

The level of animal suffering in AgResearch’s experiments at its Ruakura facility is unacceptable, says GE-Free NZ. “GM animal experiments have failed dismally and caused much suffering and ill health as well as deformities in the surrogate and exist

There is plenty of evidence that glyphosate is harmful to mammals, including dogs, cats, rodents and humans. Protecting our family pets is one of the many reasons Soil & Health wants to limit glyphosate-based herbicides in public spaces in Aotearoa N

The Soil & Health Association – publisher of Organic NZ – has groups that meet in different parts of the country. These meetings and field days are wonderful ways in which to meet fellow gardeners and growers, and other people interested in healthy s

More and more genetically engineered foods and ingredients are being approved by the trans-Tasman body Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), and continue to enter the food chains of New Zealand and Australia. Eating certified organic, local a

At the end of last year we moved house – we downsized from the six-bedroom, large garden family home we had lived in for 34 years to a three-bedroom cottage with a small garden. I had been quietly congratulating myself on how well we were both coping

Membership Soil & Health Association members automatically receive Organic NZ six times per year. See page 64 Chair of Soil & Health Marion Wood National Councillors Jodie Bruning, Barbara Collis, Ella Lawton, Jenny Lux, Bernie Mabbs, Peter Wells Nat

What a year 2020 was! Tough, unpredictable, and with much disruption – but also resilience and compassion. On behalf of the team, I’d like to thank all of you, our members, subscribers, readers, contributors, advertisers and ambassadors at large, for

A mid-summer garden can feel completely overwhelming, especially if you’ve recently returned from a well-earned holiday. Head-high herbs, overgrown greenhouse, courgettes on steroids, and flowers knocking at the windows to be let in! But amidst the s

Email: editor@organicnz.org.nz Post: PO Box 9693, Marion Square, Wellington, 6141. I was surprised to see that avocados and citrus trees were not recommended for poultry runs (‘Keep your chooks in tiptop health’, Organic NZ Nov/Dec 2020). A few years

Kua makuru te kai; ka kai te tangataingā kai hou o te tau. Food is abundant; we partake in the new foods of the season. Fruits of the new season are set and ready for ripening as the karaka berries ripen. The kiekie is ready for gathering. Unless you

Edited by Jessica Hutchings and Jo Smith Freerange Press, 2020, $40 Order via projectfreerange.com This thought-provoking and inspirational multi-authored book focuses on Māori relationships with the taonga that is the soil. It begins by looking at t

Be in to win! Treat your skin and be in to win! Three lucky winners will each receive a prize pack from Living Nature containing the award-winning Active Brightening Serum and their new Advanced Renewal Night Serum, valued at $98. Crafted in sunny Ke

Soil & Health’s pilot programme to establish Soil4Climate test sites in Wellington has been successful with two new sites started in the last month. Thanks to everyone whose been in touch offering to host a site! We have a healthy number of potential

Haere rā to Florence Lundon-Moore who leaves the Soil & Health and Organic NZ team to take up a legal role with the Commerce Commission. Florence helped us through some challenging times – thank you Florence! Meghan Read has taken on Florence’s dutie