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Gardening with Gael - More than tea for two

 

Tea Plant Camellia Sinensis-408It is interesting how a chance remark can elicit a chain of ideas. We had been having a walk around the vineyard with friends Maureen and Mark and on reaching the end of the paddock Mark had looked at the east hill below the house and asked “Can you get back that way?”

I shook my head. “It’s pretty steep,” I replied, but the germ of an idea had been successfully planted.

A path down a steep hill has to dissect in a zig zag pattern. The path would also open the hillside for planting. I have a few magnolias and a couple of red chestnut [aesculus carnea] planted randomly on the hill. A path would improve access to these plants for occasional watering, feeding and mulching providing benefits to them as well.

At about this time I noticed the tea plants [camellia sinesis] dotted about the garden weren’t doing as well as I hoped. I began by cutting a path into the side of the hill (I have a very sharp spade) and clearing the thigh high weeds. Within a few yards I began to uncover alkathene pipes stretching at metre intervals across the hill. These pipes are part of the NaturalFlow waste water and sewage treatment system. The black water flows in to the wormorator and from there the clean filtered water is distributed by gravity to the application field, in this case this hillside.

Every metre across the pipes there is an emitter which delivers the water to the soil. What a perfect environment for some plants either side of my path. Most of the plants on The Block have been chosen for their productivity, fruit, nuts, vegetables and of course flowers.

What could I plant? My struggling tea plants provided the answer. Camellias have done really well on the rest of The Block. How about I plant our own tea plantation. By moving the plants on to the emitters and using the piles of weeds as mulch, a tea plantation might be the perfect choice for the hillside. Box has already planted 750 manuka and kanuka in a block covering the end of the hillside and the tea plants could run into them. I set about exposing all the emitters and carefully cutting a path between the pipes which resulted in exactly the link between the house and the vineyard that I was looking for.

One of the treats for my 70th birthday was a trip to Cambridge to stay with my friend Jan and visit the Zealong Tea Gardens near Hamilton. The owner had noticed how well camellias grew and that gave him the confidence to plant his plantation which now covers 40 acres.

Different processes are used to craft the tea leaves and create green tea and black tea. I will need to grow bergamot if i want Earl Grey.

Incredible Edibles have propagated the tea plant [camellia sinesis] which can be bought at most nurseries. The flowers are small and insignificant compared to other camellias. I have planted a hedge of them either side of the path below each of the emitters. Camellias require a mildly acidic free-draining soil with lots of organic matter. During dry months they respond well to heavy mulching. I have piled up the weeds which in a few weeks will have rotted enough to be excellent organic matter for the new plants. Winter is the perfect time to move camellias. While they are flowering they are dormant. I hope my plants like their new location, and in a couple of years we will be able to harvest our own tea.

Tip: If the leaves of camellias are yellowing, sprinkle some Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) around the drip line. Gather up pine needles and mulch around the plant. This will add acidity to the soil.

Camellia sinesis

 
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