My Account
Trish Allen recommends growing your own tea.
Anybody with even a smidgen of concern for the environment or the need to minimise waste will quickly see the benefits of having one’s own veggie garden.
As waste minimisation guru Trish Allen, of Matakana, points out, fruit and veggies bought at the supermarket are liable to be wrapped in plastic packaging and have had to travel considerable distances via polluting trucks to reach the consumer.
“In the UK, it’s especially bad because their veggies and fruit come from so far afield. I was reading the other day that a normal shop at Tesco for 26 standard food items represents 150,000 food miles,” she says.
Moreover, a home gardener’s food scraps end up in the compost where it’s used to create even more good food. The scraps of those without a garden tend to end up in landfill, where they end up producing methane and contributing to adverse climate change.
Trish adds that in addition to the environmental benefits, food grown in one’s own garden is fresher and, therefore, healthier food, containing vitamins that are at their peak.
She says a veggie garden also creates a degree of confidence in tough times.
“I know that when Level 4 lockdown was announced, everyone went out madly shopping for seeds and plants and potting mix. All of a sudden, people realised, ‘Oh wouldn’t it be good to have a few veggies at home’,” Trish says.
There is yet another benefit. A good veggie garden can help you make a splendid cup of tea.
Trish says herbal tea is very popular these days, but supermarket herbal tea often comes in cardboard boxes and sometimes even in separate little plastic sachets.
“But if you have, say, some lemon verbena in your garden or some mint – go out, grab a few leaves and chuck them in the teapot. If there’s anything left over, it goes in the compost. It’s a win-win.”
Trish says almost any herb can be used to make tea and they are relatively easy to grow all year round. They usually prefer a sunny spot, but can cope with average soil.
Camomile tea calms the nervous system and promotes sleep, sage tea is good for the digestive system. Tea made from kawakawa – a traditional Maori medicinal plant – tastes delicious and purifies the blood.
Trish’s personal favourite is lemon and ginger tea. Ginger is a tropical plant but can be grown in a greenhouse. To make the tea, chop up the root and throw into a pot with some lemon peel.
“It’s really good and lemons are plentiful at the moment,” she says.
Trish says if you do buy tea at the supermarket, choose loose-leaf tea rather than tea bags. She says a lot of teabags contain plastic, which ends up in your soil if you try to compost them.
