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Sheryn DeanI grew up on an isolated 250 hectares on the East Coast. My parents were sustainable out of necessity and organic before it was trendy.
In my 30s I obtained a small block (3.5h) in the lush and temperate Waikato and learnt how to adjust farming practices to a small block. When one cow is a 25% of your herd, stock numbers make a huge difference and the economics of grazing a bull year round is not justifiable. Not only that, my tastes had expanded from that of my childhood. I now want feta cheese, ricotta and dukha and eat previously unknown vegetables like rocket, yacon, and pak choy. A lifelong love of growing trees was expanded when I edited the NZ Tree Crops Assn journal, TreeCropper, for eleven years. I also wrote columns and articles for various publications including NZ Lifestyle Block and NZ Gardener magazines. This established connections with a wide range of experienced and experimental horticulturists, researchers and lifestylers in New Zealand. I enjoyed gleaning information from them and applying it to my own piece of paradise. Over the years I collected and experimented with over 500 different fruits, nuts, and berries, hundreds of types of vegetables, a wide range of animals, and a multitude of preserving/cooking techniques. Much was learnt by experiment as the information available is often biased, aimed at larger farmers, urban gardens, or other climates. My focus is always on maximising the nutrient content of food. I have experimented or researched most systems and ideologies and utulise those which work in with my situation and nature's natural cycles. This results in organic, sustainable practices that are logical and functional. |
My block
I found the perfect 3.5h of bare land in the Waikato in 2006.
The land was part of a road reconstruction in the '70s and had been part of a dairy farm that had been heavily cropped. The soil was poor with sour boggy patches, (which is why the farmer agreed to sell it), but it was north-facing, the size I wanted and in our price range.
Within three years, organic methods had turned the soil around and the orchard was providing fruit. It produced more food than I knew what to do with and the focus was always on making that produce as nutritionally beneficial as possible.
The benign climate of the Waikato meant I could grow a huge range of food. Not all of it was successful but with sugar maples (they need cold) and bananas (which need heat) growing I reckon I am future-proofed for climate change - whichever way she goes. One thing I have learnt is that the variety of food we can grow far exceeds the range available in the supermarket. Ever tried an asimoya? A medlar? Rangpur lime? Yacon? Aronia berries?
I also learnt that it is best to work towards an overall plan, but realise that nature is always changing and evolving and the best plans are flexible.
I established diverse vegetable gardens, food forests, ran dairy and beef cattle, sheep, pigs, various poultry, beehives, and had hundreds of fruit and nut trees, berry plants and supporting understorey plants in an integrated holistic system that I managed organically with some homeopathic and bio-dynamic methodology. Over years I watched my land and environment improve considerably.
The land was part of a road reconstruction in the '70s and had been part of a dairy farm that had been heavily cropped. The soil was poor with sour boggy patches, (which is why the farmer agreed to sell it), but it was north-facing, the size I wanted and in our price range.
Within three years, organic methods had turned the soil around and the orchard was providing fruit. It produced more food than I knew what to do with and the focus was always on making that produce as nutritionally beneficial as possible.
The benign climate of the Waikato meant I could grow a huge range of food. Not all of it was successful but with sugar maples (they need cold) and bananas (which need heat) growing I reckon I am future-proofed for climate change - whichever way she goes. One thing I have learnt is that the variety of food we can grow far exceeds the range available in the supermarket. Ever tried an asimoya? A medlar? Rangpur lime? Yacon? Aronia berries?
I also learnt that it is best to work towards an overall plan, but realise that nature is always changing and evolving and the best plans are flexible.
I established diverse vegetable gardens, food forests, ran dairy and beef cattle, sheep, pigs, various poultry, beehives, and had hundreds of fruit and nut trees, berry plants and supporting understorey plants in an integrated holistic system that I managed organically with some homeopathic and bio-dynamic methodology. Over years I watched my land and environment improve considerably.
My life
In 2019, I came to the realisation that domestic abuse never improves. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you hope, it is a situation that will only ever get worse. The more you give, the more a narcissist will take, The more you sacrifice, the more they abuse. Emotional abuse is toxic, confusing, extremely stressful, and eventually, so absolutely exhausting at a level so deep I call it soul tired - which is three levels tireder than bone tired.
Leaving my animals and plants and the life I had worked so hard to establish, what everyone else called paradise, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Watching it be vandalised and destroyed while the justice system dragged ineffectively and expensively on reset my thinking.
Previously I had thought that if we all took self responsibility and care of our own little patch of dirt, we would collectively take care of the planet and the population.
Now I believe we need to take a wider view. As individuals we are vulnerable; defined areas are susceptible.
I was two years homeless, during the pandemic. I went house sitting and Wwoofing around the North Island. I widened my knowledge with experience in other climates and soils and challenges and appreciated the considerations of other lifestyles, I managed bull farms and organic feijoa orchards (and pray guava moth never comes the Waikato). I worked making cheese and developed food forests amongst existing native forest. I worked with coastal clay and deep Taranaki loam, in tropical climates, amongst hot droughts and mountainous cold. It was a great way to test my knowledge against a range of conditions and differing expectations, before the court finally ordered that his sole occupation of our two properties end and they were to be divided. I got my orchard and home back but by then my animals had been sold, my experiments destroyed, my trees were sick, ecosystems damaged, understories grazed out - not to mention fences, water systems and even the house itself damaged and stripped.
Another two years and over $140,000 of money I don't have in costs and I am still awaiting judgement on our other marital assets, and damages. I am not holding my breath.
Instead I have learnt how to repair and remedy prune and am working to see how long it will take to repair the soil - the ecosystems - the health of my trees. Our planet is remarkably, and thankfully, resilient (as are we). But everything has a limit.
So now I work with Soil & Health NZ to produce the OrganicNZ magazine. Our maxim is healthy soil = healthy food = healthy people, and our goal is an organic New Zealand. I no longer host tours, courses or interns but am occasionally available for public speaking and when time permits, assist others in getting established. Mostly I just enjoy the simple pleasure of growing my own food and being happy.
Leaving my animals and plants and the life I had worked so hard to establish, what everyone else called paradise, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Watching it be vandalised and destroyed while the justice system dragged ineffectively and expensively on reset my thinking.
Previously I had thought that if we all took self responsibility and care of our own little patch of dirt, we would collectively take care of the planet and the population.
Now I believe we need to take a wider view. As individuals we are vulnerable; defined areas are susceptible.
I was two years homeless, during the pandemic. I went house sitting and Wwoofing around the North Island. I widened my knowledge with experience in other climates and soils and challenges and appreciated the considerations of other lifestyles, I managed bull farms and organic feijoa orchards (and pray guava moth never comes the Waikato). I worked making cheese and developed food forests amongst existing native forest. I worked with coastal clay and deep Taranaki loam, in tropical climates, amongst hot droughts and mountainous cold. It was a great way to test my knowledge against a range of conditions and differing expectations, before the court finally ordered that his sole occupation of our two properties end and they were to be divided. I got my orchard and home back but by then my animals had been sold, my experiments destroyed, my trees were sick, ecosystems damaged, understories grazed out - not to mention fences, water systems and even the house itself damaged and stripped.
Another two years and over $140,000 of money I don't have in costs and I am still awaiting judgement on our other marital assets, and damages. I am not holding my breath.
Instead I have learnt how to repair and remedy prune and am working to see how long it will take to repair the soil - the ecosystems - the health of my trees. Our planet is remarkably, and thankfully, resilient (as are we). But everything has a limit.
So now I work with Soil & Health NZ to produce the OrganicNZ magazine. Our maxim is healthy soil = healthy food = healthy people, and our goal is an organic New Zealand. I no longer host tours, courses or interns but am occasionally available for public speaking and when time permits, assist others in getting established. Mostly I just enjoy the simple pleasure of growing my own food and being happy.
Google my name to link to numerous articles I have written for various publications on gardening. lifestyle block living and stock management.
