Hokianga Heirloom Tomatoes
Epic Tomatoes - How to Select & Grow the Best Varieties of All Time
This is the tomato bible.
If you've ever tasted a homegrown tomato and wondered how to grow the juiciest, weirdest, most flavour-packed varieties on earth, this is the book that will change everything. Craig LeHoullier, the “tomato whisperer,” takes you deep into the world of heirloom tomatoes with stories, growing tips, and a seed-saving passion that’s utterly infectious.
From the dusky, legendary Cherokee Purple to bursting rainbow cherries, Epic Tomatoes is a love letter to the weird and wonderful.
Perfect for gardeners, food lovers, seed savers, or anyone ready to ditch boring supermarket tomatoes forever.
“A single tomato can tell the story of generations.” – Craig LeHoullier
Matariki: The Star of the Year - Rangi Mātāmua
Dr Rangi Mātāmua’s Matariki: The Star of the Year is more than a book, it is a reclamation of time, space, and identity. Rooted in Mātauranga Māori and passed through generations of celestial observation, this work restores Matariki to its rightful place as a sophisticated system of renewal, remembrance, and seasonal alignment.
The book journeys through:
The ancient names and meanings of the Matariki stars
The lunar calendar (maramataka) and how Māori used it to align planting, harvesting, fishing, and rest
The whakapapa of the stars and their domains: kai, rain, wind, water, and death
The power of ritual, food, storytelling, and karakia during the Matariki period
The effects of colonisation on the suppression of star lore, and its remarkable revival in our lifetime.Mātāmua doesn’t just teach us about Matariki, he reminds us how to feel it. Through the stars, we connect to the departed, honour the present, and cast our dreams upward to Hiwa-i-te-rangi.
"We look to Matariki to remember to celebrate and to dream" – Rangi Mātāmua
Silent Earth: Averting The Insect Apocalyspe - Dave Goulson
This book cracked open my understanding of insects and deepend my sense of urgency and awe. Goulson's writing is warm, witty and scientific without being dry. He doesn't just explain the crisis: he offers a map for hope, calling on gardeners, farmers, and policy makers to protect the tiny creatures holding the whole system together.
You'll learn:
How insect population are collapsing globally, and why it matters.
The hidden role of bugs in food systems, ecosystems, and soil.
Simple changes we can all make to turn the tide (from wildflower strips to pesticide bans).
Perfect for nature lovers, gardeners, educator, and anyone wondering what's really happening to the bees.
You'll notice this is a library book because I gave my last copy to the Mayor!
"Insects are the small creatures that run the world, they pollinate our crops recycle waste, keep the soil healthy, and underpin every food chain." – Dave Goulson
Buy Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse with Dave Goulson
Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
This is the book that cracked open the modern environmental movement.
Before climate change became dinner-table conversation, before “eco-friendly” was stamped on shampoo bottles, there was Rachel Carson, a marine biologist with a typewriter and an unstoppable truth.
Silent Spring is not just a book; it’s a warning, a love letter, and a battle cry rolled into one. It exposed the devastating impact of pesticides like DDT on birds, bees, soil, and even our own bodies, at a time when no one dared to question chemical corporations. With poetic precision and scientific clarity, Carson reminded the world that we are not separate from nature, we are embedded in it.
Reading Silent Spring will change how you see the garden, the farm, the roadside, and your own backyard.
It will awaken your sense of guardian-ship. It will make you a better grower, seed saver, and steward of life.
“In nature, nothing exists alone.”— Rachel Carson
